Tis The Season For Revenge

Chapter 3: Christmas Eve

Jernail

It's Christmas Eve, so I decided to sleep in a bit. I hadn’t done that in a long time and it felt good. When I finally got up, I fixed myself the last breakfast I will ever have in this house. The Du Pont family lawyer came to collect the signed divorce agreement himself. Charles set that up for me, and I am so grateful to him. Alfonso won’t know until it’s too late for him to stop this divorce.

The lawyer, Kenneth Brown, knows to handle this with secrecy, and he has no love for Alfonso anyway. Everyone can see what is really going on. The only ones that are oblivious are the Walters and my i***t ex-husband. I know Alfonso won’t show his face at home now and that is perfect. I don’t even think he cares what today really means to me... to us. But I need to pack up the contents of my life and I don’t need him showing up. So that is exactly what I did. I packed up the rest of the things I didn’t get a chance to.

I lied when I told Alfonso I would be at Charles’s. I just needed time to get everything done. By three in the afternoon, the moving truck arrived to take all the boxes of clothes and supplies I am donating to the shelters in town. I don’t want anything that reminds me of Alfonso. Now it’s just me, alone in this empty house I used to call home. I was contemplating whether to go to my favorite club to drown my sorrows, but one text from the guy I hired to watch Alfonso, had me squash that plan.

Alfonso is apparently there partying in a private room with Anne and some of her friends. Hmm, so much for meeting with a new investor. And they are in our private room. That used to be our special place where we could just let loose and have fun. Clearly, it meant nothing to him if he took her there. I am sure he f***s her there too. They really are disgusting in their affection. I have had to wash my eyes out a few times after I secretly caught them f*****g.

My phone rings, breaking me out of my thoughts. I smile when I see it’s my bestie, Derena. She was Alfonso’s assistant before he made me take over her role. Now she works in HR. She is my only friend and I love her. She always has my back, and she knows what has been going on. She has been trying to get me to leave Alfonso for three years now. I should've listened to her. But I was a love sick fool.

“Hey b***h, what are you up to?” “Wallowing in self-pity and you?” I answered. “I wish I was there to snap you out of it. Did your plan work?” “Of course. He signed, and the papers are already with Kenneth. He has no reason to suspect me. I have been playing the perfect wife for an entire year. I am just sitting and biding my time waiting for midnight so I can leave.”

“Good, I am glad you are taking your power back. I will be home on the 27th, then we can meet up. Just send me your new address.” “Will do, Dee.” “Are you sure you are okay? It’s the 24th,” she says softly. “I am. I wish things were different, but I can’t change anything. I feel okay, just a little sad,” I answer. We chat a bit more, before we end the call. Today marks exactly a year since I lost my son.

I was six months pregnant, and he had already become my entire world. But he was ripped away from me because of his father. And for that, he will pay and so will Anne. I sat and watched the clock and waited. At midnight, I would have fulfilled my promise to grandpa Charles. And I can finally move on with my new life, with my real family. A family who really loves me and will put me first.

Charles and Dee are the only people I will stay in contact with when I leave here. People seem to take the bonds of family for granted. Sometimes, blood is not thicker than water. I believe that everyone is born with a sense of right and wrong, but some just choose to ignore their conscience. Luckily for me, Charles is not one of those. He is truly a good man, who had hoped I could make his grandson happy. But the odds were against me from the start.

Charles and I never realized what an iron-clad hold Anne had on Alfonso. The minute she came back, she hooked her claws into him. Our marriage never stood a chance. But I did not expect to fall pregnant. Alfonso didn’t share my bed much after Anne came back. But there were a few odd occasions when he was drunk. Our baby was a product of one of those nights.

My son may not have been planned, but he was very much loved. The miscarriage set Charles’s health back and he suffered a stroke. His health hasn't been the same since. Anne made Alfonso believe that it was all my fault, and he just went along with what she said. But ever since Charles told Alfonso that he would disown him if he didn’t start treating me better, he at least made an effort to come home and play 'happy family'.

At the office, he also acts like the perfect husband. He thinks he is pulling off the perfect affair, and that I don’t know about them. He flaunts Anne around under the guise of family bonds and that she is his ‘bestie’. He even gave her my old job after he asked me to step down as COO and be his assistant. And now she is always with him because he is apparently training her. I am sure he is, but it has nothing to do with business.

“You need to lighten your load. We can’t have you miscarry again. Grandpa wants some great grandbabies. And you know I can’t function without you helping me. Anne needs something to keep her mind busy. You owe her for pushing her down the stairs and your job is perfect for her,” he said this year when I came back after I lost the baby. I played along, because by then my mind was already made up to leave and get my revenge.

I have just been biding my time and gathering enough information to help me fulfill my plans. Alfonso has a very nasty surprise waiting for him and I can’t wait to see his face when the proverbial s**t hits the fan. Alfonso and that b***h, Anne, will feel every humiliation and betrayal I endured. Karma is a b***h and her new name is Jay. I need to do this for me, and for my innocent baby.

When the clock struck twelve, I got up and grabbed my bag. I made good on my promise to Charles, so now I can leave with a clear conscience. I take one last look around the place I called home for four years, before I leave. This place is filled with memories, both good and bad. But all that is left now is an empty space. Just as empty as my marriage had become.

All Alfonso will find in the room we used to share, is the wedding ring he bought me. Oh, and I left the Christmas tree up as a symbol of my revenge. Since Alfonso and Anne love to ruin Christmas for me, I think it’s only fair that I return the favor tenfold, or shall I say twelve. Call it my version of the twelve days of Christmas. This used to be my favorite time of the year.

Until Alfonso started ruining it for me. Christmas day is also the day I finally decided to put myself first, so it now holds new meaning to me. This festive season, every day will be filled with misery for Alfonso and Anne. My revenge starts today, and by the time I delivered all twelve gifts to him, everything Alfonso worked for would have crumbled beneath his feet.

There will be no Merry Christmas for my now ex-husband. He has been a naughty boy these past four years and his list has been checked twice. Coal in his stocking is too good for him. His stocking will be filled with misery and regret. Not even Santa can save him from me this year. Oh, ‘tis the season, hubby. This is my season for revenge.

I closed the door and stepped out into the night air and smiled. My biological brother, Marcello Moretti, saw me leave the house, so he ran over to help me. He said he would pick me up and take me to my new home, and he was right on time. “Merry Christmas sis. You okay?” he asked as he hugged me. “Merry Christmas bro. I have never felt better. Let’s go, I don’t want to risk him coming home and seeing me,” I say, and he nods and loads my luggage, before he opens the door for me.

We drive off, and I see we have two cars following us. That must be his men. I will have to start getting used to having armed muscle around. “Are you really okay? He didn't do anything to hurt you, did he?” “He doesn't even know I am gone. And grandpa Charles won’t say anything either. This will be my first Christmas away from Charles and I hate it. But he understands that I need to do this, and he is on board. I will call him later to wish him a Merry Christmas,” I say, and he nods.

“I am glad he treated you so well. We owe him a debt, and we always pay our debts.” “He doesn’t want anything, Marcello. Grandpa Charles is a good man with a good heart. I will miss him,” I say, and he smiles and nods. While he drives, my mind drifts and I hate it when that happens. “Don’t forget those self-defense lessons you promised me.” I say, remembering the time Alfonso slapped me around. And all because Anne made him believe I slapped her. When she was the one that hit me.

I promised myself then that I would learn to defend myself. I just haven't had the time with my heavy work load. I basically ran that company for Alfonso while he was off f*****g Anne. But he is about to see what happens when I am not there. Also, my new life will be filled with danger, so I need to be able to defend myself.