Bloom in Deception

Her heart pounded against her ribs so loud , she was sure Marcus could hear it. She had rehearsed this moment in her head for months; quietly, carefully, the way she rehearsed everything these days so nothing would change her mind from the big decision she has concluded. But rehearsals never included the real sound of his footsteps showing up when she was about to leave. “Samantha!” His voice cracked through the house like a wipe! “Don’t you dare walk out that door.” She swallowed hard. The suitcase in her hand felt heavier than it should for the few belongings inside she had taken. Still, She forced her legs to move. dragging the suitcase toward the door just as Marcus showed up in the room. He was still wearing the charcoal suit from his morning meeting. His tie hung loose around his neck, the top button of his shirt undone, the only sign that he might be rattled. A thousand questions crashed through Samanthas' mind. who informed him? how did he find out? is this a sign I shouldn't leave? the though froze when his hand struck her face. the slap echoed in the room. “If I hadn’t come home early,“you would have left without my consent.” Marcus said coldly, Samantha's cheek burned, but she refused to cry. “Are you serious?” he said, voice low now, the dangerous kind of low. “After everything my family did to bring light into your father’s business?” Samantha’s throat still tightened. She hated how small his words could still make her feel. “I’m leaving, Marcus,” The words came out quieter than she wanted, but they came out. He laughed sharply. “You think you can just walk away? He sneered You poor and ungrateful fellow. My family rescued your father from bankruptcy, and this is how you repay us?” you think anyone will consider you as a wife or accept you with your poor background? Don’t even bother filling for a divorce as you know, we own the city! His eyes hardened. “And as for my son, the court will hand him over to me and You’ll never see him again.” Samantha’s chest tightened the more. “He’s our son,” she said quietly. Marcus scoffed. “Do you even care if he exists?” she added, the words escaping before she could stop them. From birth till date has he ever felt a fatherly love from you?" she corrected automatically, then hated herself for correcting him at all. For a moment his expression darkened, he took a step to obstruct the doorway, then move away. The air seemed to shrink around them. But then he smiled again, that familiar smile that always made her stomach twist. “Go ahead,” he said. “Leave. But when the world rejects you, don’t come crawling back to me.” "You think your mother’s little house in Albany is going to protect you from the reality of suffering you will face all your life?” Samantha’s fingers tightened on the suitcase handle until her knuckles ached. she replied nothing this time. Another laugh, this one colder. “Your plan is to run back to Mommy? "i know" To live in that cramped two-bedroom like some charity case? You’ll be begging me to take you back in a month.” I’m not begging anymore.” Something flickered in his eyes. Surprise. Maybe even fear. For the first time in years, she held his gaze. And then she walked past him. Samantha looked straight to his eyes and slowly said. “Let me suffer” For one terrible second she thought she will collect another slap before her exit; She had never looked into his eyes for years now, she cant even believe she still have this confidence in her, the yank, the shove she’d felt too many times before. But something in her face, something new, something unbroken; made him hesitate. Slowly, deliberately, she withdrew her face from her eyes, She didn’t feel intimidated or remorsed for any reason, She didn’t flinch. She simply stepped past him, suitcase wheels whispering against the hardwood; He didn’t follow her down the stairs. At the front door she paused, hand on the knob. Behind her, his voice came again, quieter now, almost conversational. “You’ll be back!”