Behind The Mask

Chapter 44

Michael’s POV

I was hurrying back home, trying to get back to my Nooki as soon as possible. And I got to Neverland, only to be met by a frantic Manny:

“Michael, help! There is a big man in there and he is hurting Anouk! You must stop him! You must stop him!”

I look at Manny, who’s bigger than me, physically, by the way, and I’m in half a mind to ask why he didn’t do something about it. And who this man may be? Who could get in here without my knowing? It is absurd. But Manny was literally dragging me inside the house. And suddenly it struck me: Manny is a child deep inside. He doesn’t realize that he is strong enough to stop anyone by sheer physical force. He acts and thinks like a 12 year old boy.

“Manny, what kind of man is it?”

“Big, Black man. He shouted at first, then he grabbed Nooki and he is shaking her and he is strong. Michael, you must stop him!”

Only one fits this description. And, sure enough, it was him – my own father, squeezing Anouk’s arm with one hand and preparing to hit her with the other, the way he hit me so many times in the past.

I saw red in front of my eyes, and before I could realize what I was doing, I punched Joseph in the jaw and sent him to the floor.

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! GET OUT NOW!” I yell, trembling with rage. “I don’t wanna see you again, Joseph! How could you dare hit a woman! YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A COWARD!”

“I made you Michael Jackson!”

Oh, please! This is getting old already. I’ve heard the exact same phrase a thousand times at least. Most of the times accompanied by requests for loans.

“Get out of here, Joseph! I mean it!”

“I’m not leaving before we talk. You’re my son, you owe me everything you have in here.”

“I don’t owe you shit anymore, Joseph. GET OUT!”

By this time, my bodyguards were around him and Joseph started walking reluctantly.

“All I was asking for was 500 thousands…BUT YOU’D RATHER SPEND IT ON THAT WHORE, THAN GIVE TO YOUR OWN FATHER!”

Thankfully for Joseph, he was out of reach by now. Because I swear to God I would have punched him again. So instead I focused on Anouk. She was quite calm and composed. No tears, no hysterics. But, as I lift her sleeves, I already see the purple bruises forming on her arms. Each of them clearly shaped as a finger.

“Don’t panic, Michael. I bruise easily, but they are not dangerous. I’m gonna be fine.”

“It is not fine. He shouldn’t have got in here. They shouldn’t have let him pass. Manny, please stay with Anouk for a little while.”

It only took me 10 minutes to fire the team at the gate control post. I called my manager to inform him that I need new people instead of them, with the clear instructions that no one gets inside my house, unless I approve it. I stopped to take a deep breath before I entered the villa again. Joseph…once again Joseph meddles with my life and nearly turns it into hell. God knows what could have happened if I didn’t arrive in time. The dumb idiot doesn’t know that, because of her condition, Nooki could have bled for hours and hours if he broke her nose. He doesn’t know that he could have killed her with a slap over her face.

Her bruises are a horrible sight. Deep purple, nearly black, contrasting with her pure white skin. I feel like howling like a rabid dog, breaking every object in sight. I am so consumed with impotent fury and rage.

“Let’s lie down for a while and try to be calm”, she says to me.

“I can’t be calm, Nooki. I could kill him right now.”