Oh, hell no!

Chapter 12

Chapter 12.

“First you have to understand your dad was never like you know him now. After everything that happened he changed and I stayed with him because I knew who he was before and why he is like this. He was loving, kind, tentative and a friend to all.” Grace’s mom said with a small smile. Grace could see her mom loved her dad even after he became the opposite of what she described. ‘This must be what they meant by if you love someone you would survive even the worst side of them.’ Grace thought rubbing her mom’s back with one hand and holding her mom’s with the other; quietly encouraging her to continue.
“It all started years ago, even before you were born. We made friends with people from your dad’s work they seemed really nice and they were for a while. Then one day this woman started to get, I don’t know, weird. She became obsessed with how we lived, what we did and who we did it with. She started to buy the clothes I bought, use the same make up I used and even tried to get her voice to sound the same as mine. I told your father about this and he said that, maybe she just saw me as an inspiration. I use to be a secretary for a business man that was highly successful, so we thought that maybe she just looked up to me for still being independent even after marriage.  Her husband was the total opposite to your father. He was domineering, jealous and controlling, much like the father you know now.” Mrs. Hayward gave a small laugh, seeing the irony of it all.
“When I got pregnant with you, she had to get pregnant to. She just had to get everything the same time and way I got it. She would get furious at herself if she just did the slightest thing differently from me. For months I would nag at your father telling him that this was starting to worry me, but as always he only saw the best in people. Later you and her baby were born on the same day. He was a little bit premature and had to stay a little longer in hospital due to the fact. Your father and his father were great friends by then and some of his domineering personality started to rub off on your dad. Weeks later when the baby was ready to go home we started to see less and less of her. I felt relieved that she would not copy me anymore and later when you were six months old, I got a letter in the post.” The tears started to roll down her mother’s face again and Grace could see that the memory of that time was bearing hard on her mother even now.
“It was a letter from her. It said that your father was her son’s father and that she did all the things she did to get him to love her, like she knew how he loved me. I was devastated and furious at your father for what he had done and for betraying me. I packed our bags and was ready to leave when your father came home a bit earlier than usual to surprise me and to spend some time with us. He was enraged when he saw our bags packed and demanded to know what was going on. I told him that I knew about his unfaithfulness. He became violent and in a fit of rage he hit me. I was shocked and immediately took you and ran out the door. We went to my mother’s to stay until I could find a new job and afford a place of our own. My father would have none of that and send us back to your father. He did not want to see any reason. He made me go back. He told me that if I ever wanted to leave your father again I should remember the words he told me when I got married.” A silent sob filled the air when Mrs. Hayward remembered those words.
“He said: ‘If you say yes to this man today, I was my hands from you. You will never be welcomed back into my house as more than a visitor.  You will never divorce or claim to have fallen out of love. If he cheats it’s your fault for not keeping him happy and you will suffer the consequences. No one in my family shall ever divorce.’ I had no choice but to return to your father. When I got back home your father was drinking and was drunk already to the state of tears. He cried for you and he swore he never slept with anyone besides me. I could not get myself to believe him and that was the day that everything between us changed. I was broken and betrayed. My own father threw me out of his home to go back to a man that I thought cheated on me. I started to withdraw and blamed myself. Whenever anything bad happened I blamed myself. I felt worthless and unloved. I loved your father with all I were and still does. I was so stupid.” Mrs. Hayward shook her head, feeling the all too familiar feeling of regret.
“During the time that your father and I had our difficulties, that man and your father spent more and more time together. I never saw that women again and one day I received a letter again. It was sent through a lawyer. It was in her will and testimony that I would receive the letter on the day of her death. You were five by then and became very close to Brian, the boy I thought was your half-brother for so long. The reason why I never saw that women again was because the day that the first letter arrived in the post that horrible man made her pack her bags and she was never to hear from again. The second letter explained it all. She was forced to dress like me, act like me and talk like me. If she didn’t he would hurt her and she was deathly afraid of him. She asked me to forgive her for everything and explained the first letter as well. She was forced to write it, to lie to me about your father being Brian’s father. She explained that that man was behind it all. He wanted me to leave your father for him and when it did not work like he planned, because of my father. He decided to do the next best thing and destroy our marriage.” Grace did not know what to say and all she could do was silently cry for her mom and dad’s heartache they had to suffer, because of another’s jealousy.
“I received the second letter only because Brian’s mother had enough of the torture she still had to endure even after he chased her away. She took her own live, because she could not handle the physical or emotional abuse anymore. When I showed your father the letter he refused to read it and told me I’m stupid for believing the first letter so I should know she would just lie again. He did not want to hear that she was forced to write the first letter or that she was dead. Years past and your father just grow more heartless and demanding. I wanted to leave so many times, but I could not bear seeing the look of disgust on my father’s face again.” Time stood still while Mrs. Hayward told Grace the story of why she did not know a father’s love.
“After months your father came home one day and asked for the letter I told him about. Without asking for an explanation I gave them both to him. He left with the two letters without another word. Later when he got back he could not look at me or you, he just went to his room and locked the door. It was years already that we did not share the same room and I was use to him being distant by then. My heart would ache every time I thought of the man I fell in love with, but I still learned that if you love someone enough you will continue to love that person even if he changed or if you learn something about them you did not like. You love the good and the bad. You love the big and small parts of their personality, even if the big over shadow the small. Your father is still the man I love and will always be, even if he lost his way.” Grace knew she felt the exact same way for Jake she could just not understand how she could feel this way in just a few hours.
“The next day your father did not go to work and I thought that maybe he was ill, so I went to his room to see if he needed help with anything. At first he did not open the door so I left. Hours later I went back up with a bowl of soup. He unlocked the door and took the soup without a word. Later he came down and sat next to me on the sofa. You were playing outside with the neighbour’s daughter. We sat there in silence for a while then he spoke. He said: ‘I’m sorry for what I did to you. I know it is too late and that you hate me now.’ Before I could tell him that I don’t hate him or could respond in anyway, he continued: ‘Brian is not my son, but I did something really stupid. Grace will hate me for it for the rest of her live so I won’t even try to win her love as my child. When she turns twenty- four she will have to get married to Brian or we lose everything.’ He stood up before I could ask or say anything as my brain struggled to absorb the information. He left the house that day with only the clothes on his back. We went searching for him a week later. We found him in his car at the lake, he looked terrible and lost.” Mrs. Hayward had a forlorn look on her face; she looked so small and vulnerable.
“I remember that day.” Grace said quietly. “It was the day I saw daddy cry and he said he was sorry and that I should remember that he loved me even when I can’t see it, I should try to feel it.” She did not understand what he meant then, but now listening to her mom she started to.
“He really does love you Grace. What he did back then was my fault he did it to spite me for not believing him. The day we found him he told me ever thing that night. He still can’t forgive himself for what he did. He told me that the day he asked for the letters was the day that he last saw that man. He told your father that he will be back by the time they should arrange the wedding. Your father was tricked into a deal he did not know he made. The man waited one night until your father was drunk and made him sign papers that stated that when you turn twenty-four and did not marry before then, you must marry Brian. If you did get married before then the contract will become null and void. If you aren’t married by then or on that day and still did not marry Brian within a week your father will lose all the worldly possessions he has. He also has to take his own life so that man can truly say he won. We hoped that he will forget about this stupid contract and believed he did until he showed up a week ago. That is why we sent Darren we hoped that he could convince you to at least get engaged with him, but when your father told that man you are engaged he said that that does not mean you are married. You have to be married.” Mrs. Hayward had a pleading look in her eyes, begging her daughter to understand.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Grace asked trying to understand why this is happening to her.
“Like I said we hoped it would just be a sick joke. He is serious about this, Grace and there is only one way out. You have to get married before the twenty-second. I know your father does not show you his love and he really did not mean to put you in this situation. He feels terrible for the way he treated you as a child and he feels guilty for using you to get back at me, but he swore he did not know he signed the contract. He can only remember telling him that he wanted to get back at me for believing his wife. Your father said he believes that he thinks she took her own life because of a similar contract, but he does not have the proof to go to the authorities. Grace, this man is very manipulative and I know Brian would be exactly the same. Please, Grace, your father did not want to tell you about this, but I convinced him to come so I could. Your father wanted to take his own life so you did not have to suffer for his mistakes. We were so glad to hear about Jake and when he told your father that he loved you, he knew that Jake was our only hope. I don’t want to lose you or your father, Grace and that is what is going to happen if you did not marry Jake by next week. Please, Grace do it for me if you can’t do it for your father.” Mrs. Hayward begged her daughter she was desperate to save her family.
“I love you mom and I love dad even after this, but it is not up to me. Jake is the one that needs to decide this. I can’t demand that he marries me.” Grace said forgetting for a minute that her parents did not know that this was a fake relationship.
“We need to go to sleep now. We can discuss this tomorrow when Jake is present.” Her mom said defeated. Grace knew she had to save her dad, but what if Jake did not care enough about her to help her. She kissed her mom goodnight and told her again she loved them both. Grace sat in the darkness of the living room for a while trying to process everything she learnt that night.

Jake heard Grace’s mom leaving the living room. After a while he got up to go fetch Grace. Seeing her in the dim glow of the moonlight he slowly and silently made his way to her he did not want to disturb her, so he tried to sit in the chair near the hallway. “Sit with me, please?” Grace said softly.
Jake was shocked to know she knew he was there. “How did you know I was here?” He asked. While picking her up, he sat down where she sat and putting her down on his lap.
She nestled her head into the crook of his neck, as he slid his arm around her, cocooning her in his embrace. “You mean I was not supposed to hear you elephant stomping down the hall?” She questioned teasingly a smile on her lips.
“No dissing on my ninja skills, woman. I am deadly I’ll let you know.” Jake said faking hurt.
‘Deadly sexy, you mean.’ She thought smelling the soap he used when he showered after leaving them to talk. Slowly she slid her hand around Jake’s body. Suddenly realising something she shot up immediately, looking shocked at Jake. “Oh, hell no! Where’s your shirt Jake?” She yelled.
A hearty laughter filled the apartment as her mom and dad burst out laughing at their daughter yelp. Grace’s face flashed as she realized that they must have heard her shocking discovery. Jake’s chest vibrated with the laugh he was trying to hide. Trying to hide her embarrassment she hit Jake on the arm and he fake flinched as he could not contain his laughter anymore.