Retaliation #Wattys2015

Damsel in Distress

 I was shocked to put it lightly. Someone else was going to marry my woman. Someone else was going to make her carry their children. Someone else was going to touch her! These thoughts began racing through my skull and they made me insanely jealous.

"Whose the bastard?" I asked.

She trembled and whispered "Johan von Mangrum".

My heart froze when she mentioned that name. Von Mangrum was one of Europe's most feared businessmen. He knew how to subjugate people to his will. He took pride in the fact that he was a ruthless brute and his reputation was built by him leaving a trail of blood on his way to the top. He also had a bunch of hideous looking facial scars on him that made him look as ugly as incest. Just imagining him being with Alexis made me sick to my stomach.

In business Alexis was a force to be reckoned with since she always got the results she wanted. Away from work, she was a shy,quiet, and sweet girl who loved to curl up on the sofa with a good book or just to watch bad TV and she had no problem crying or laughing. I can't see why Kevin and Elaine would have matched her with someone like him. Did they want their little girl to get violated every night? Why would they saddle her with a man twice her age? ARRGH! Those people all deserved to die!

I looked at Lexi and my heart broke. She looked so vulnerable and afraid. "Why are they doing this?" I had to ask.

"Dad and Mom saw the videos and pictures of Peter with the whores. His wife left him and filed for divorce. They child who is married will inherit the company and the other is supposed to be there to merge another company. They are letting Peter stay despite his reputation and they are making me marry Von Mangrum to bring Mangrum Financial together with Stanton Industrial!"

The whole time I listened I got so angry. How dare they use Lexi like some business deal? They have the gall to make this arrangement so that they can have a prestigous accounting firm tacked on to their empire. Just thinking about it made me sick!

"This is all my fault!" Lexi sobbed into my chest. "What are you talking about? I asked.

"If I trusted you and our love I would have never divorced you! If I wasn't so insecure about us, I would have believed you and stayed with you. You gave me everything and I walked away from it and now karma is punishing me! I lost a wonderful husband and now I'm supposed to marry some autocratic monster." She sobbed. I held her as she cried into my chest.

"Lexi, you know that you can say no." I told her but she shook her head. "I can't leave the company Ethan. My whole life I was told and groomed to lead it. If I refuse to marry Mangrum, I will be disinherited and I will lose everything that I have worked for!"

She took a breath and continuued"Grandma told me that you were going to get even with mom, dad, Peter, and Denise. She told me that I was the one who was going to be last one standing when you were done and that I was to run the company to keep it from falling.Even  though you brought down the Ashford's and humiliated Peter, its not enough! Mangrum will take over the company if I marry him and I don't want Stanton Industries in someone elses hands! I'm so scared Ethan! He will break me and I'll die!" She sobbed.

I couldn't help it. I kissed her.She pushed me away but I held her to me. A few seconds later she gave in and started kissing me back. I slid my hand under her shirt and felt her smooth skin under my palms. I almost pulled off her shirt when I heard "Dada why you eat mama's mouth?" causing Lexi and I to break apart and look at little Charlie who was staring at us curiously. She and I looked at each other and blushed. "Sorry you had to see that bud." I told him, "How bout some apples?"

It worked instantly as Charlie waddled over to the kitchen and waited for one of us to put him in his chair. Lexi got him situated andd I went ahead and cut up his apple and put the plate in front of him. He eagerly began scarfing down the apple and babbled away happily to Lexi about what he and Ms.Danvers do when he goes over there.