Surviving the King

Face Off

-Jada-

It was frustrating as hell that the powers that be had no leads on Mari's location or status.

"If she owed about three million in taxes, maybe they would find her faster," I muttered as I slid from my desk and walked over to the window. Daniel was still hoping to work through his contacts, but it still seemed odd that he wasn't coming apart at the seams. Nothing about this situation was right. There had to be something we overlooked, I thought. The security footage…

I spun a bit too quickly on my high heel and sprang at my computer. The breach happened just after the board meeting, so I scrolled back until about an hour before and slightly sped up the playback.

"Who is that?"

Near the main entrance there was a woman that strongly reminded me of Vivienne. But that was clearly impossible. I found myself replaying the five seconds over and over to get a better idea of who I was actually looking at. "Uh uh….there is NO way that woman's alive!" While I was pondering the possibilities of this the footage continued rolling. I happened to look up as a detail I almost forgot re-appeared. “Corbin.”

There was no way all of this was a coincidence. I grabbed my cell phone and called the only person I felt I could trust. “Elena, I need your help.”

–Corbin–

First of all, you’re not a little b***h. You’re going to go in there and tell her the truth.

My mental pep talk was absolutely failing. Miserably. At half a foot shorter than me and less than half my weight, Mari could still deal me horrific damage if I wasn’t prepared. And there was simply no preparation for this kind of situation.

“Ah, hell,” I grumbled as I quickened my pace to the nursery and quickly opened the door. At least I can have the advantage of surprise. I peered through the openings looking for her position in the room, and didn’t see her. “Mari?”

“You can’t call me that anymore!”

Her voice came from above the door right before I felt her thighs clamp around my neck and her fists hailing punches on my head. She hit hard! My old wrestling instincts kicked in and I dropped to my knees and she landed on her back harder than I intended. It knocked the wind out of her long enough for me to use the split second to free myself from the vice grip of her legs.

Scrambling I stood, but she stood just as quickly and proceeded to backhand me then plant her bare foot against my chest and send me flying a couple feet. I felt myself beginning to panic because I didn’t want to hurt her. But she definitely wanted and had every reasonable right to want to hurt me. I tried blocking and dodging her defensively without countering for a while. She wasn’t getting tired. That may be helpful at some point, my mind strayed.

“What the hell,” Mari growled as she wound up for another beautiful kick. “Is so funny?” That kick landed even harder than the others. It came from a feral place. She was even madder. I immediately dropped to my knees in surrender.

“Mari, please!”

My voice cracked in pleading and she froze for a moment and looked down at me as her chest heaved a bit. I could see so many things in her face and eyes: anger, confusion, more anger, and disgust. That last one hurt more than I imagined.

“I won’t fight you,” I said slowly rising to my feet as I held my hand out cautiously. “Please, listen to me.”

Eyes fiery with rage, she wiped her nose with the back of her hand in defiance. “Nah. You left before we got to say ‘love, honor, and obey.’” Mari indignantly spat at my feet and walked to the bathroom. I flinched when the door slammed behind her.

It felt extremely dangerous to even approach the door, but I gathered what was left in me to do it. I rested my forehead against the ornate wood. “You were never the reason I left. Nothing you did and nothing about who you are made me leave. And I couldn’t explain it then, so I didn’t and I left.” I took a moment to listen for any type of response, but there was nothing. “You don’t have to forgive me. I don’t expect you to forgive me for that. But I need you to work with me through this.”

The door suddenly opened and someone that looked like Marisca peered at me. She had gone stone cold on me and I knew what that meant. “Once I’m out of this situation, I don’t ever want to see you again.”

“Ok,” I whispered and let her by. I couldn’t look at her again right then. The easiest way out was to take the vaulted secret door. I heard her laugh sneeringly knowing why I chose that path and the shame settled deeper in my gut.