What Once Was

Chapter 40: Call It Fate, Call It Karma

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Renewal was a lie.

Bruce Wayne had to pay for the sins of his father.

Before his death, Thomas Wayne made a lot of promises. "$1 billion for public works". To help children like me who grew up in squalor. To clean the streets. To fix this shithole of a city once and for all.

But these were false promises.

Thomas Wayne's death came with it the complete and utter exploitation of the Renewal Fund. It fell into the hands of Gotham's most notorious criminals. Then came the money laundering and the drug rings and the fucking bribery of public officials.

And not a penny went to those who needed it.

Bruce Wayne continued to let it happen. He sat in his ivory tower, neglecting his duties, allowing the rich to bleed the Renewal Fund dry.

(Y/N) didn't know this, of course. Ever since the shooting, she saw Bruce Wayne as some sort of hero. A God. Someone she owed her life too. She didn't know about the Renewal Fund. About Thomas and Martha. About the reporter. About the coverup.

One good deed is not enough to wipe away an entire lifetime of sin. A whole family fucking tree of it, even.

The evening of the KTMJ Ball. The plan was set in motion. One C-4 explosive sent anonymously in the mail. Attached to it, one letter to The Batman.

It was perfect. A tight alibi, plus keeping my boss off my back, it would be like killing two birds with one stone, as they say.

I initially regretted asking (Y/N) to come along with me. I knew how my co-workers would react. How they'd stare. How they'd whisper to each other. I never spoke about her at work. Then again, no one ever asked me anything about my personal life. (Y/N) was too good to be true. Too beautiful. Too captivating. Too perfect to be with a man as pathetic as me. I knew how we'd look to them. Her lazily hanging onto my arm, dressed in some tight ball gown, laughing at my awful jokes, like I hired her as a fucking escort to pretend to be my girlfriend for the night. But I did it anyway. And I'm glad I did.

"Promise your eyes are closed?" She shouted from the bedroom of her apartment.

"I promise". I shouted back, hands covering my eyes like a child waiting for this parents to reveal his birthday present.

Ironic.

"Pinky promise?"

God, I love you so much.

"(Y/N), I pinky promise". I laughed.

"Okay. I'm coming out! You better keep your eyes closed!" She sung.

I kept my hands tightly cupped over my eyes. I waited in anticipation as the sound of her heels clacking on the floor grew louder and louder, signalling her presence.

"Ta-da!" She exclaimed.

I dropped my arms and my jaw followed suit. There she stood, dressed in a dark green, velvet ball gown.

She knows it's your favourite colour, Edward. She gets you. She loves you.

The dress cinched at her waist, accentuating her curves beautifully. She donned a pair of matching gloves, which extended just past her elbows. Despite wearing a pair of tall, black heels, she remained significantly smaller than me. The curls of her hair sat gently against her bare shoulders. Her makeup was barely there. She looked... stunning.

"Oh..." Was all I could falter. There wasn't a word in the dictionary that could describe how heavenly she looked.

"You don't like it..." She mumbled, dropping her head to the ground.