Stark's Daughter

Chapter 51

{2 days later}

The grey clouds hung lowly in the sky as my mothers casket was brought to the deep hole in the ground. There's four rows of chairs for the family to sit, but only two were taken up. The first row was; Dad, me, Kyra, Rhys, and Steve. The second row was; Bruce, Natasha, And Clint. The other two rows were empty.

The preacher preaches over her casket, calling for our attention, but my mind was too far gone. I had made peace with her death. Or I'm trying to. Instead, I think of Marc. He, too, is dealing with his mothers death. Thor is there, comforting Loki with the situation. I wish of being there for him, like he wishes to be here for me.

I glance over at my dad, watching how he blinks the tears away. As I look at him, I close my eyes slowly and try not to cry, myself. Seeing my own father this way, pains me. I open my eyes to one single tear falling down my cheekbone. My eyes find the casket, that's cased in a beautiful dark wood. It slowly sinks down into the grave, and I watch my mother finally disappear.

After the ceremony, we all walked to our cars and said our goodbyes. Several people tried getting my attention, but I didn't want to speak to anyone.

"Mommy? Are we going home now?" Kyra asked me, holding my right hand, as Rhys held the other.

"Yes, baby. We're going home now." I replied.

Approaching the car, I grab the keys and unlock it quickly. I opened the back door and let the two climb into their car seats.

"Excuse me. Stephanie?" A familiar, yet some what annoying voice asked from behind me.

"What?" I asked, hardly putting any emotion into it.

I turn around and find the face of Nathaniel. Clint's Nathaniel. To be exact, the same Nathaniel that made a move on me while Marc was in boot camp. What is he doing here?

"Wow. You look-" Nathaniel began, but I cut him off.

"Save it. I'm married, Nathaniel. We've already been over this. Although, if you'd like, I'll call my dad over here for you; and you can talk to him." I say, taking my attention back to the kids.

I buckle in both Kyra and Rhys, shutting the door. I force my eyes back to Nathaniel, who looks annoyed by what I said.

"Look. I just wanted to apologize about our past incidents and about your mother." He said, stepping closer to me.

"I think you should go." I say, now opening the driver door.

I lean into the car and slide the key into the ignition. Turning the key, the car starts and the radio turns on. I put the heat on low and lean back out of the car, shutting the door.

"You know, I thought I'd be here for you while Marc wasn't. Because his mom supposedly died at the same time yours did. You really think that happened? I know what actually happened, but since you think I should go...." Nathaniel turned on the ball of his foot and began to leave.

"What do you mean 'what actually happened'"? I ask, trying not to take this too seriously, as I know this is coming from him.

He stopped and turned around, facing me. That's when I saw he had to think about it. He had to pause and think about what to say. Whatever comes out of his mouth is a lie. Don't believe this crap.

"Your husbands mom didn't die. That was an excuse to go see a girl. Just like all of the times he's been in the 'military' ." Nathaniel holds a smirk behind this lie.

"You're a piece of shit. I'm going to head home. And I better not see you again." I threatened.

"Fine. Fair enough. If you don't believe me, go look through his phone. Then call me." He winked, and started walking away.

~~two hours later~~

A small knock approaches the door, almost as if whoever knocked knew it was Kyra and Rhys's nap time. I walked to the door and pulled it open, ever so slightly.

Marc is back.

I throw my arms around him, hugging him tightly. He returns the favor, leans back, then kisses my forehead.

"I missed you so much." I hug him again, placing my head on his chest.

Marc wraps his arms around my waist, "I missed you more. I'm also really sorry I couldn't been here earlier."

"Me too. I'm sure you had good reason, you know, with your mother passing away too." I say, almost manipulating him to tell me what he was really doing.

Wait. What am I thinking? Marc would never cheat on me. I can't believe I'm even thinking about what Nathaniel said. He's a liar. My husband would never do that to me.

"Yeah. I guess we're both having a bad week, huh?" He asks, setting his chin on my head.

I nod slowly, trying not to think about him cheating. It can't be true....it's not true.

"I assume the kids are asleep?" Marc asks, pulling out of the hug.

"Of course. They always are these days. Hey, um, can I call my dad real quick on your phone? My phone is dead and the signal for our house phones aren't working today." I ask, staring into his soul, basically.

"Yeah, no problem." He reached into his pocket and handed me his phone.

Opening the door, I walk outside and into the light rain. I took in a sharp breath and closed my eyes, praying it won't be true. As I open my eyes again, I turn on the phone.

"Go look through his phone. Then call me." Nathaniel's voice rings through my mind.

I tap on the call log and find the same number dialed over and over again. My heart begins beating faster and my mind starts spiraling. I go to the text messages and find that same number in there. I tap the number and read through the texts.

"Can you help me?"

"I think you need to teach me to be better" *winking face*

A text from Marc, "I'll be there in a few."

My heart drops and my stomach ties in knots. This is NOT happening. I go back to the call log and call the number.

It rings two times before picking up. A voice comes through the line and my anger takes on new heights.

"Hey! Oh my gosh. I miss you! How are you!?" A womanly voice emerges from the other side.

Nathaniel was right....

Marc is ch-cheating on me.....