Pearls and Power

Chapter 1

Warnings: Suggestions and mentions of DV.

She remembers her friends greeting and comforting her when the visitation started. But now, as she stands in front of a sea of people, she cannot recognize a single face. The only face she knows is the one immortalized in a frame next to the closed casket and various sprays of funeral flowers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I wish I was here under better circumstances. "She takes a deep breath as she feels her emotions begin to overtake her.

"How do I summarize the life of this beauty...this woman who I thought I would spend forever with, in just a few short minutes? We have been robbed of the fortunate person she was. I know she has touched many lives, and if she still had breath in her body, I know she would have touched hundreds more. She turned my world upside down the moment I saw her smile...and she has taken my world with her in her passing,"

My eyes open immediately, and the taste of bile at the back of my throat rushes me from my bed to the bathroom. I hurriedly stumble through the bathroom, causing bottles of cosmetics to clatter to the floor. Thankfully, I make it in time to empty my stomach into the bowl of the toilet.

My stomach heaves as it forces everything from me, and a cold sweat breaks out against me.

The light in the bathroom turns on, causing me to squint at the sudden brightness.

"Charlotte, baby, are you okay?" The gruff voice of my fiancee asks.

I try to signal him to go away, but my attempt is foiled when my attention is forced back to the bowl as I wretch.

I hear him pad around the bathroom and the sink running with water. Soon, I feel a cold towel against the back of my neck, and my shoulders relax at the relief.

"Did you have that dream again?" He asks.

I nod.

"Everything is going to be okay. There's nothing to worry about," He says

"That's easy for you to say," I grumble.

"Look, I'm trying to be comforting, but if you're going to give me attitude," He says. I try not to flinch at his tone, but I can already feel another wave of anxiety building within me.

"Roman, I'm sorry. It's the stress," I say, placing a hand on his leg to calm him down. I already don't feel well. The last thing I need to deal with is one of his tantrums.

"Go back to bed. I'll join you in a minute," I reassure him.

He huffs in annoyance, but he still gets up to leave. I try to enjoy the calm and silence of the bathroom for a few more moments before going back to bed, but my heart still beats heavily in my chest. I continue to reassure myself that I'm fine, hoping to ward off the impending anxiety attack. I flush the toilet and wash my wands. I take the towel Roman gave me and throw it in the dirty clothes hamper.

I shut the lights off in the bathroom, and I go back to my side of the bed. I sit on my side of the bed, watching the nightlife of the city below me through the sheer curtains. I'm brought from my gazing when my phone begins to buzz incessantly on the nightstand. I hear Roman begin to stir, so I quickly grab it to keep it from disturbing him any further. I look at the caller ID, and my stomach drops so much for keeping my anxiety at bay.

"Do you have to answer that now?" Roman asks. I turn to look at him, and I find him staring at me.

"I'll just be a moment. Let me see why work is calling. I doubt it's nothing," I say. I lean in to kiss his cheek, hoping that would keep him in bed while I take the call.