Finding Grace

Better Gone

It had been two weeks since their last encounter, and Grant still hadn't come around.

Both Amara and their daughter Grace preferred it that way, as unfortunate as it was. It broke her heart that it was this way. Every girl deserved a father she could feel safe and secure around. Grant definitely wasn't one Gracie could feel safe with. It was definitely such a happier place when he wasn't home.

No one had to walk on eggshells or worry about upsetting him and causing an outburst. Which happened way too often lately.

She hated that things had become like this. That this was their life.

She used to get so excited about him coming home. To throw her arms around him. He'd hold her and spin her around in his arms before landing kisses all over her face.

They were so in love once, she didn't know what happened.

He'd been pulling away for so long that she didn't even know how to make any of it better or what she could do.

There was a time she would have done anything to get her happy and loving husband back.

However, with everything he's said to her, she could never be in love with him ever again.

There are just some things that you can never come back from, but at the very least, she wished that they could figure something out that would be better than this. Something that would be better for Grace that wasn't so toxic.

She knew he needed her for his perfect family image.

She had her part to play, and she played it very well. So why did it have to be like this?

They could still be the perfect happy suburban family while living separately.

They already do anyway, but at least him getting a place closer to work would make more sense.

It'd also be better than him just randomly being gone all the time. At least they could tell people an explanation for him being gone all the time. All she could tell people was that he was doing "work stuff".

Which, screwing your secretary counts as 'work stuff' right?

Each and every time she tried to make an excuse for him, she'd get raised eyebrows. She hears the murmurs. The rumors about their marriage.

She tried to talk to him about it, but he became enraged at the conversation. At her idea to live separately but play a happy couple.

He screamed at her ruthlessly. Making it out to be about her wanting to screw other men.

Throwing every insult he could at her when, in reality, she could never see a naked man again and be perfectly happy with it.

Grant and his behavior over the years had made her never want to have that type of intimacy ever again.

She was disgusted at the thought and at Grant for making her out to be like that when he knew better.

He knew she wasn't this monstrous maneater that he played her up to be. He knew how hard she worked for him. For their family. So why did he make her suffer so? Why did he enjoy torturing her at every turn?

Amara was back to full health, but her mind was forever tortured by Grant. How to please him, avoid him, but yet never had the thought crossed her mind to leave him. Well, it did, but never in any serious fashion.

If the circumstances were different, maybe. But how could she provide for anyone, let alone herself and Grace?

Just like everyone tells her all the time, she has nothing without Williamson's.

No car, no house, no money.

No college education so no one would hire her.

No judge in their right mind would let Grace stay with her. And to Amara, Grace was everything and then some to her.

She's worth everything this life has thrown at her. She would withstand any stone or storm thrown at her as long as she could be with her little girl.

Amara took one last look in her bathroom mirror before going downstairs to rejoin Gracie.

Amara, Grace, and Roberta were enjoying a nice tea party that the staff had set up for them.

They all knew their time was short, and they tried to enjoy it while it lasted.

Even the staff knew it was only a matter of time before the tyrant came back and with a fury.

Amara made a mental note to repay with a nice dinner and a few days off for their thoughtfulness. They were always there for her and, as long as Grant didn't interfere, would always do the same for them.

The perk about Grant being gone so long was being able to give the staff the time off that they wanted. The Williamson's weren't known for their generosity and Amara couldn't stand to watch another of her friends go without spending time with their loved ones on important occasions.

They had become her real family and she owed them so much. Any happiness she could look back on was either with them or because of them.

None of them liked the way Amara was treated, but when the entire system was rigged in favor of the rich, what could any of them do?

Each one of them could testify in court, but it wouldn't matter when the judge is in the Williamson's pocket.

____________

They were all enjoying their tea and tiny sandwiches when they heard a car pulling up.

Amara could hear Roberta's breath hitch, and she watched as Grace's face began to sink into a sullen stare.

The moments of joy and laughter left and were replaced with an overwhelming coldness.

Even Amara's stomach began to feel like it was knotting up.

She didn't know what to expect when Grant walked through the door.

It seemed as though his fuse of annoyance with her was getting shorter every time they saw each other.

Hearing three light knocks on the door didn't help her nervousness one bit, but it did surprise her.

She motioned for Grace to stay behind with Roberta as she left them to answer the door.

Instinctively putting on sunglasses, even though her face was in perfect condition.

Looking through the peephole, she didn't know if she should be more worried or relieved.