Black Iris

Fully commit.

Iris

"She's a fucking bitch."

Blake's rage was unkempt, and I couldn't help but recoil when he slammed his fist against the table. He scowled at me as I sat at the table across from him, before pushing a newspaper towards me.

Displayed on the front page was a picture of Blake, his face dark and angry, snapped by the press at some moment or another. And beside it, a picture of a familiar girl, lying in a hospital bed, marks along her neck, with a swollen lip and a black eye. Thalia. Above the two photos was the heading, 'He almost killed me,' then, beneath it in a smaller font, 'Canadian girl becomes latest Ivy victim.'

I glanced up at him, keeping my face passive. "I don't understand, didn't you tell me you made her sign an NDA?"

He growled. "Yes, of course I did. But in the chaos, I lost the pages, so my attorney can't file it to sue her."

I, of course, knew this already. I was the one that had gone rifling through Blake's desk while he was out to find it, then deliver it in a sealed envelope with a note saying 'tear him to pieces.' The newspaper article was also no surprise, given that a reporter reached out to me for a comment days ago. I, of course, acted the innocent party, unable to comment on my husband's affairs. It all felt rather coy.

Now, seeing Blake's reaction, I couldn't help but feel a flash of pride at my efforts.

"So what are your options?" I ask him, once again playing the role of the supportive wife.

He scowled. "We have to take the offence for a bit. Confirm my innocence, tell the press I would never do that to a woman. Claim it's a smear campaign, that sort of thing. You'll help, of course. Back me up."

I nodded, wordlessly saying, of course, and, I'd do anything for you, Blake.

"We'll make it look like I'm the bigger person, like this is all some stunt to make me look bad. The media will have a field day, but if anything it will make my supporters more mad, and the other side look even more evil. The more polarised this is, the better."

I once again nodded, though I was starting to feel a bit sick to my stomach. What he was saying was true. This wouldn't be the end for him. If anything, it would just add more fuel to the fire. For the first time, I wondered if I had made the wrong call.

Did I really want to go down this path? Eventually he would find the truth, and he would see me as the enemy. He'd turn on me, and I'd lose him. Did I want that?

I looked up at his face and saw fury written across it and the doubt eased away.

Yes. I did want that.

But I also wanted something else.

"Have you heard anything about her?" I asked quietly.

His face softened and he glanced at me. I could see hurt in his eyes. "She's out of the city. In the mountains. Foothills summer camp. But Jarred can't keep tabs on her out there without setting off alarm bells."

I bit my lip. "Oh. Well it's probably for the best, right? Gives us a moment to collect ourselves, move on a bit?"

Blake scoffed. "I can't fucking move on, Gwen. I spend every moment of every day trying to fix the life she screwed up."

I recoiled, and we fell into a stiff silence. After a few minutes Blake scowled and stood up.

"I need to get to work," He said.

I frowned, confused. "Wait, I thought you didn't have to go in today? You told me we could go out to my parents place and see Jackson."

"The board called an emergency meeting to come up with a response to all this bullshit, and I need to be there," He said. "I'll have Sampson take you out to your parents."

I tried not to feel disappointed. "But you agreed you'd come with me."

He rolled his eyes. "Plans change, Gwen."

I bit my lip. "He wants to see you."

At this, he looked at me. "What?"

"Jackson," I said, "He keeps asking me when he's going to see Daddy. When we're all going to be together again."

He was quiet for a moment. Then, he spoke, his voice tired. "I'm working on it, Gwen. You know I am."

I bit my lip. "Can't we just bring him here for a while? Have him live with us? It would give us some good press, right, having a kid around?"

He sighed, looking down at the newspaper. "Or, it could be the opposite. They could spin it the other way, make it even worse for us. Instead of this on the front page, it will be Jackson's face under some other outrageous headline. Do you want that for him?"

I shook my head, defeated. In a broken voice I whispered, "I just miss him, that's all."

There was a moment of silence, then I felt Blake's hand on mine. "I know, Gwen. And I hope you know that I'm doing all of this for us. For Jackson."

"Really?" I asked. "Because it seems more like you're doing it for yourself. Or for her."

Neither of us said her name. We tried not to, whenever we could.

"I meant what I said that morning after the fire," he said after a few moments. His voice was quiet. "We'll get her back, Gwen."

I bit my lip. "How? In this mess, how can we?"

He hesitated at this, and for a second, I saw the truth flash across his face.

He didn't know. He never knew. He'd dug himself a hole that he could no longer climb out from.

And I had to make sure I wouldn't be buried with him. 

"We'll do it," Blake said. "We'll work it out."

But I didn't believe him.

And I knew that this was it. This was the moment I had to fully commit.

So I did.

In that moment, I decided that I was going to try take Blake Ivy down.

Even if I very might well be taking myself down with him.