Never Rush Fate

Chapter One: Fated

Alexus always thought she would live happily ever after. You know, two kids and a dog, this perfect house in this perfect neighborhood. She always thought she would be married to this perfect man and they would have this perfect life and she would have everything she ever dreamed of.

Well, reality hit her hard as she stared in her broken bathroom mirror cleaning her bloody lip and holding ice on her now swollen cheek.

Back when they first met, she had thought Brian to be a real catch. She had just graduated high school and she got a job working as a secretary in a small law firm just outside of Phoenix Arizona. He was 25 and on his way to graduating law school. Working for his father in the small firm until he could make a name for himself.

He made good money and was interested in her. Alexus, being the innocent woman she was at the time thought that was the start of her happily ever after.

A few short months of dating and he unexpectedly popped the question. Of course she said yes, he was such a catch after all.

The wedding was planned for the middle of spring and it was to be grand. Her father-in-law went above and beyond her expectations with the ceremony and it was beautiful.

At the reception she had overheard a few women talking about how amazing her wedding night should be. They said they had heard Brian was amazing in bed and was sure to give her the night of her life.

And the night of her life it was.

The worst, that is.

He was anything but gentle and he was easily angered if she ventured to bring herself any pleasure, telling her only sluts did such things.

Needless to say sex in their relationship was mediocre at best. It was just for him and she derived zero pleasure from the act. She was actually very afraid of the nights he came home smelling of alcohol and was in the mood to use the bed for things besides sleep.

For the past four years it has been the same. He leaves for work early in the morning and for a few hours Alexus can breathe easy. If she leaves the house he somehow finds out about it and within a half hour he is calling telling her that she better be home within the hour or he would have to correct her behavior and teach her how to be a good wife.

By mid-afternoon he takes his hour lunch break and is home at two on the dot. If he doesn't see his lunch on the table she pays the price.

At 2:45 he is out the door again until ten in the evening. If she is lucky she only gets one more call to make sure she isn't out "Whoring around".

Now if he is having a good day then she can expect him to come home and eat and head straight to bed, sometimes requesting her presence.

If he is having a "bad" day then she can tell almost as soon as he walks through the door.

She can smell the alcohol on him from across the room and she can try her best to stay away from him and be as obedient as possible.

Some nights she gets lucky, but others, not so much.

Last night was one of those nights.

He came in roaring drunk and decided that he didn't like what was being served for dinner. Now, in his mind that is a valid excuse for laying your hands on a woman. So after three laps around the house, a busted door frame and one shattered vase that her grandmother gave her, she was here in her bathroom trying to clean up all of the blood that was still spilling from her mouth.

Brian usually tries to keep the marks in places that can be covered up but tonight he was sloppy. Now Alexus had to walk around for the next week or two sporting the nice shiner he gave her and trying to come up with a logical excuse for why her face looks like it was used as a ping pong ball.