Dream Girl

Old Money

Ben's P.O.V

"He's my husband," Rhys said. Ben got a good look at the man and it was Edward Wymore, the son of the oil tycoon. The one who sent the mail to Rhys. She attempted to pick herself up from the floor but Edward pushed her back down. "Don't put your hands on her," Ben said. Edward looked down at Rhys and then back at Ben. "It's best you go. This doesn't involve you," he said. His voice was cold and calculated. Ben was scared of what would happen if he left Rhys alone with him. "I'm not going anywhere," Ben said. Rhys got up from the floor and walked towards him. "Just go home Benjamin. I'll call you later". He had never before heard her voice this way. It was shaken, uneasy, scared. He noticed the long diagonal scar on each of her arms. The bandages had finally come off and that's what remained.

He knew he needed an explanation for whatever this was later, but right now his priority was getting the guy out of her house. "Whatever point you felt the need to make to her, I think it's been said. Maybe it's best that you go," Ben said to Edward. "Drop the tough guy act," Edward said. "This isn't the kind of girl worth defending". Rhys stood in between the two of them so nothing would happen. "If that's the case then why did you marry her?" Ben retorted. Edward walked up to Rhys and began to pet her head like she was a dog. "Oh she knows what she signed up for". Rhys physically recoiled at his touch and was visibly uncomfortable.

Edward turned his attention to Rhys. He leaned into her ear and whispered, "You know you'll never leave". He stared Ben down in an attempt to intimidate him and then walked out the back door. Rhys immediately started picking up the shards from the plate he had thrown to the floor. Ben stood frozen as he didn't know what to do. He had never before been in a situation like this. There was too much for him to process and he couldn't handle it. He sat down at the table as Rhys dumped the shards in a trash can.

"Do you want anything to eat? Something to drink?" she asked frantically. "I'm good," Ben said as he watched her shaky hands take a bottle of water from the fridge. He walked over to her and put his hand over hers. "Stop. Just sit down". He walked her over to table and pulled out a chair for her. She sat down, hunched into herself. He sat down across from her but she didn't make eye contact. Instead she looked down at the floor. "Whenever you want to explain what happened, I'm ready," he said to her. 

30 minutes had gone by and she had yet to say anything. Ben's patience was growing thin and he considered just walking out. "I married him when I was eighteen," she said softly. Ben reached across the table for her hand. She put hers in his and he rubbed it to show his support. 

"I left out some parts about what Ziggy and I went through. After my grandparents had died, I was out on the streets with Zig and then she met her boyfriend. This guy would come around his house periodically. Zig's boyfriend was the dealer of the neighborhood so we just though it was some weird white dude that would come by to score some drugs. He introduced himself as Eddie and took a liking to me. He would give me cash whenever he came around and I would always split my money with Zig. When the house got raided, we stayed in that closet for what felt like days just crying. When it was daylight out, Edward found us in the closet and he moved us into his house. The place was huge, like a castle almost. We had never seen anything like it. Edward put us into a drug rehab program and got us clean. Zig and I went back to school and kept our grades up, that's what he asked of us. Stay clean, get good grades, and you can continue to live here fully funded".

Ben looked at her as she told the story. She was so numb and he could see it in her face.

"Three months after I turned eighteen, we got married. I had finally thought my years of struggling were over. He paid for Zig and I to go to college here in Philly. All the money he had given us was stashed in a bank account that he didn't know about. Zig and I moved into this house together and lived here. But Edward was never a good husband. I was a girl desperate for someone to rescue her and I ignored how weird a man in his thirties pursuing a teenager was. He groomed me essentially". Ben looked down at their joined hands and bit his lips.

"So you have a child with him?" he asked. "No," she said. "I saw the crib behind the curtain". She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. "Shortly after we moved in here, I found out I was pregnant. Edward had moved out of the country by then but was still coming to Philly to check on us. When I told him, he was very excited. It was the most attentive he had ever been towards me. I went into labor much earlier than I was supposed to and the baby was stillborn. That was when the letters started. He blamed me for the baby dying. He resented me for what happened and still does. He permanently moved and would only communicate with me through the letters. I always made sure to respond to them to keep the money coming in". Tears welled up in here eyes.

"Everything I did, I did out of survival. He made it so that all my success was owed to him and his resources. I'm sorry for not telling you". She wiped away the tears that had fallen down her face and sniffled. "Why don't you just divorce him?" he asked. A distorted smile appeared on her face and she chuckled. "I don't know. I really don't". Ben looked around. "So does he own the place?" he asked. "No. Ziggy and I had it put in our names". He pursed his lips and nodded. "Did you save any money he gave you?" he asked. "Just about all of it," she said.

Ben nodded slowly as he still looked at her. "Alright," he said. "I'll help you divorce him". She sat straight up and shook her head. "This is not your problem to solve," she said. "I love you Rhys and I want to be with you no matter what it takes". She smiled at him. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?" she asked. "Anything for you".