Hidden Identities // H.S

Chapter 25

Tw: mentions of abuse!!

Before

I kick off my shoes on the mat as I hang my keys up on the key rack. As I toss my bag on the couch I realize how silent the house is. It's never silent.

I furrow my eyebrows as I start walking deeper into the house. It's his turn to cook dinner. The kitchen is empty. Everything feels empty.

"Christopher?" I call out as I start going up the stairs, the stairs creaking with every step I take, "Chris?"

I see our bedroom door cracked a bit open. He is home. I slightly sigh in relief as I push open the door. I see him sitting at the edge of the bed with his back turned to me. I chuckle at him and his weird behavior, "Did you not hear me calling you? I thought you were cooking dinner tonight?"

He stays silent.

"Okay, joke's over." I slightly chuckle, trying to ease the awkward silence. "Christopher-"

"I stopped by your work today," He finally speaks up, "I was going to be a nice fiancé and bring you lunch. You always mentioned how you never have time for lunch so I thought I'd take you some."

He stands up from the bed, slowly walking towards me. My heartbeat picks up as he gets closer to me, making me step backwards, closer to the door.

He takes a big step forward, shutting the door shut. "You don't get to run away!"

I flinch at his loud voice, walking backwards until my back hits the wall. "You're scaring me." I gulp.

"You were talking to another man, Avalon. He had your hand over your shoulder and the both of you were laughing." He lowly mumbles, "Am I not good enough for you? Is that what you do at work? Act like a whore?"

"Excuse me?" My mouth nearly drops at his words.

"You heard me." He clenches his jaw, "Are you cheating on me? After everything I've done for you? After I proposed to you? You're cheating on me?"

"I'm not cheating on you!" My voice comes out shaky. He realizes the fear in my voice, but his tone doesn't change. I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt a tear stream down my cheek. "I would never cheat on you, Chris! We were just looking at the work schedule and were laughing about another coworker. Why won't you believe me? You won't believe your own fiancé!"

He takes my left wrist in his hand, forcefully holding it up. His strong grip makes me wince in pain as he examines my hand. "Look at the ring on your finger, Avalon."

"You're hurting me-"

"Look at your ring!" He raises his voice at me.

I sniffle as I look at the diamond ring on my finger. It's supposed to signify a happy couple or some other bullshit. Instead, it signifies a happy couple on the outside with a terrible relationship on the inside.

"I worked my ass off to buy you this ring! Do you how much I've sacrificed for our relationship, Avalon? Everything I've done to make you happy? And you're throwing that all away for another man?" He scoffs, still holding my wrist tightly.