Emmy sat in the garden in the afternoon sunlight and sipped her tea. She was lost in her thoughts again and that always made Paul smile. There was a time when she was so closed in, and now he felt he could read her like an open book.
“Earth to Emmy, come in Emmy,” he teased as he took a seat in the chair next to her.
She looked up and smiled, “Hey, you! You’re home early!” Her face lit up when she realized he was home.
“I missed my wife,” he said as he leaned over to kiss her.
“Mm, I missed my husband, too!” she smiled.
“I like the sound of that,” he grinned. “Want to go in the house and fool around?”
“I thought you’d never ask!” she said, nearly upending her teacup, as she practically jumped out of her chair to head for the house. She sighed, it was a beautiful house and she felt like a princess living here.
Everything had happened so quickly in the past year. She took a chance, met the man of her dreams, got engaged, bought a house, and got married all within a short span of time. Their relationship wasn’t perfect, but it was damn near close! Her life, once ruled by dark needs, was full of light and happiness.
That wasn’t to say she didn’t still crave and enjoy pain. Those dark needs were still very real. But now, she found joy and release in other ways as well. Paul had helped her find balance in her life and behind closed doors.
Once inside, Emmy headed upstairs with Paul following close behind. Before she reached the top, the doorbell rang. She sighed, “Oh, so close! Can’t we just ignore it?”
“Emmy I am sure whoever it is can see us through the sidelight,” Paul said. “It would be rude not to answer the door.”
“I guess you’re right, but I hope it’s a salesman so you can tell him we aren’t interested and then send him away!” she pouted.
Paul laughed and opened the door, “Hi, may I help you?”
A tall man with dark hair and dark eyes stood on the porch, “Hello, I’m here to see Emily. Is she at home?”
Emmy froze. She knew that voice, would know it anywhere, and it made her skin crawl. Suddenly, it felt like she could barely breathe.
“I’m sorry, but there is no Emily here,” Paul said sternly, realizing in an instant by Emmy’s reaction that this was Alexander.
“Of course,” Alexander scoffed. “I mean Emmy. I have something of hers that I need to return, and I’d like to speak with her please. It took a while for me to even find her.”
Paul glanced quickly at his wife who worked hard to pull herself together. He wanted, more than anything to send this bastard away. But he knew that Emmy needed to confront him if she was ever going to be rid of him in her mind. He looked at her with questioning eyes. When she nodded, he stepped aside and let the unwelcome visitor enter.
Alexander looked up at her as Emmy descended the stairs. “Emily. You look absolutely breathtaking, my dear,” he said as he looked at her like he wanted to devour her.
She prayed her voice wouldn’t fail her, “I’m not your dear and my name is not Emily.” She thanked God she sounded much calmer than she felt.
“May I come in?” Alexander asked, directing his question toward her.
“You are in, Alexander. What do you want?” she asked impatiently.
“Of course, I meant, may I sit down? I’ve a few things I need to say to you,” he looked uncomfortable, which made her feel better, somehow. It was nice to see him look so uneasy. Perhaps that made her petty, but she didn’t care. She nodded toward the living room and offered him a seat. She didn’t, however, offer any type of refreshment. He wasn’t a guest, after all, he was an intruder that had no business being in her home. But, she knew, in her heart, that she’d be stronger for having dealt with him, rather than turning him away.
“May we speak privately, Emily? I mean Emmy?” he asked, pretending he accidentally misspoke her name. But all three of them knew it was done on purpose to see if he could ruffle her feathers.
Paul was about to tell him he had five minutes when Emmy interrupted his thoughts, “No, we may not. I have no secrets from Paul. He knows who you are and what we were. So, whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of my husband.”
Paul suppressed a laugh and watched his wife confront her demons. He allowed his amusement to show on his face as Alexander shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Congratulations on your wedding.” He paused as if trying to figure out his next tactic. “You look well, Emmy. Have you had your breasts enlarged?” Alexander asked pointedly. “I don’t recall you being quite so voluptuous when you belonged to me.” He emphasized the last part as he stared directly at her bosom like a lecher.
“Is that what you came to say, Alex?” she called him by his nickname, realizing she had no need to address him respectfully anymore. “Surely you don’t think it’s acceptable to come into another man’s home and comment on his wife’s tits. You’re slipping, Al.”
Alexander’s face pinched. “I see manners are no longer part of your repertoire,” he quipped.
“You’re trying my patience, Alexander. What is it that you need to say to me?” she huffed.
Paul got up, kissed Emmy on the neck, and whispered, “You’ve got this, Tiger! I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Alexander relaxed a bit when Paul left the room. “I see you’ve forgotten your training,” he sniped.
Fury rose in Emmy’s eyes, but she retained her cool composure. “I’m not just his slut, nor his property. I’m his wife! Giving myself to him for his pleasure didn’t mean denying myself a happily ever after, because I am everything to him, and he is everything to me. It turns out, you were the fool for not seeing the gift I had given you. You made me believe that I was nothing, that I should be satisfied with table scraps. Well, I deserve the whole God damned smorgasbord!”
“Emily, I…” he started, stunned by her anger.
She stopped him in his tracks, “It’s Emmy, not Emily, you condescending fuck! You don’t own me anymore, Alexander. You don’t get to sit in my living room and disrespect me. So, do us both a favor and tell me why, after all this time, you hunted me down. What was so important that you couldn’t call or write me a letter. You never even bothered to come after me when it might have still mattered. John did. Even Serena did. But not you.”
“I’m sorry for that, Emmy, I truly am. I was angry and hurt. You know, I didn’t twist your arm to be with me, Emmy. I seem to recall you signing a contract giving yourself to me, freely,” he said sardonically.
“Is that what this is about? The fucking contract?” Emmy asked incredulously.
“No,” Alexander said softly. “I’m sorry, I’m handling this badly. I’ve always struggled with how I felt about you, Emmy. I lied when I said I didn’t love you. But I can see you’ve done just fine without me.”
Emmy stood silent, unsure what she was supposed to say.
“I came to give you this,” Alexander said, handing her a bracelet.
Emmy looked at the silver bracelet he laid in her hands. “Where do you find this?” she asked. “This is the bracelet my grandmother gave me before she died. I looked everywhere for it. I thought it was lost forever. Why do you have it?”
“I’m embarrassed to admit that I found it recently in Serena’s jewelry box. I recognized it immediately. She said you gave it to her for safe keeping the night she put you in the cage at the club. I don’t know why she never gave it back. She had no answer for me when I asked her. She just said that you never asked for it back,” he explained.