Married to the Devil

Chapter 36

Bright and early on Christmas morning I knocked on Evelyn Reed's door. The thought of ringing the doorbell came to mind but I didn't want to attract any more attention than I already had. I was dressed in my pajamas and was standing outside her enormous mansion of a house.

Suddenly I was starting to regret my hasty decision, and almost turned away to hurry down the cobblestone steps, when the door opened.

Evelyn greeted me with perfect hair and an even more perfect face that I was surprised she could this good so early in the morning. I stood awkwardly in the doorway, my face void of any trace of makeup and my hands quaking from the absence of much-needed caffeine in the morning.

Evelyn's face went from happy to irritated as she recognised who I was.

"Kate," She said distastefully, as if she'd just realized she'd eaten a rotten blueberry.

"Hi, Evelyn," I said equally, slowly regaining my confidence.

She paused to look me up and down and raised an eyebrow to question my dressing style. My cheeks burned in embarrassment and I mentally cursed myself for not thinking of my outfit before going to confront the richest person I knew. Certainly she wouldn't welcome me with open arms, considering our history, even though it was Christmas. What did I expect?

Evelyn sighed and flipped her brunette hair with new, shiny golden highlights, probably done especially for the holiday, over her shoulder.

The sound of laughter and clinking glasses echoed from the other room as we stood stiffly in the foyer.

"Is there something I can get you?" Evelyn asked, her voice harsh and unfriendly.

This was new. Evelyn usually voiced herself in sweet, mellow tones before dramatically unveiling her disastrous plans for all to see. Her hardness this morning was probably due to her surprise to find me standing on her front porch. Hah! I'd finally one-upped her!

Mentally, I smiled to myself and readjusted my ketchup stained T-shirt.

"No, thanks," I replied,"I actually came to talk."

"I have guests," She said, before adding, "And you're not one of them."

"I'm sure they can wait," I said in an equally snappy tone, "We need to talk about what happened in my apartment."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Sorry but I don't seem to recall ever being in your apartment. It's probably all dark and dingy looking anyway."

"Let me remind you then! That was the night that I found out that you and Derek planned the contracts of our marriage together."

The laughter in the other room stopped and quickly silenced.

"Lower your voice," Evelyn whispered, "This house isn't sound proof!"

"Take back the contracts then!" I said fiercely after leveling my tone, "I don't want to be married to him anymore. In fact, I don't think I'll ever want to be married again, thanks to you."

She pouted, "No."

"No?" I echoed incredulously, "Why the hell not?"

She smiled and regained her old character, "Because. It's fun to watch you suffer. And I need Josh to realize that being on my side has more benefits than being on yours. I really can offer him everything that he ever dreamed of. You, however, will never make him truly happy."

"I don't want Josh!"

She clicked her tongue as if she'd caught me in a lie, "But he wants you. And I need to be able to stop him from ever coming back to you."

"You can't do this," I said in disbelief, then angrily, "I'll sue you for this!"

She smiled, "You don't have a case. You signed the contracts. Trust me, anything you've thought of, I already brought to the attention of lawyers. Sorry Kate, but the plan is foolproof. I've thought of every possible case you could bring up for months."

"I was drunk and you took advantage of me. You and Derek!"

Her smile brightened as if she enjoyed toying with me, "Yet you still signed the contracts. One after another. Your fault. Not mine."

I wanted to slap her. She really was a little bitch.

Evelyn turned and walked to a table with a box wrapped in gift wrap. A Christmas gift, I presumed.

She threw it at me, "Here. It's a sweater I don't like. You can wear it the next time you come here," She eyed me critically before adding, "Because it seems like you don't have anything decent to wear."

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Derek wasn't at school the next day and I wondered what had happened after I left him. I hadn't told anyone about it, even Cass, although I was bursting at the seams to let someone know.

Derek had been physically abused. I just wondered why I hadn't known about it sooner. It was clear his father didn't have the best of intentions when I found out about what he'd done to his daughter. Lilianne was in a horrible situation because of the deal her father had struck with Mark. Drugs and an alcohol supply in exchange for her.

God knows the type of things he'd done to her behind closed doors. And get father was a horrible person for letting it happen.

It was English period and I worriedly stared at Derek's empty desk wondering what happened to him and where he'd gone.