Back downstairs, Jackson is cleaning the kitchen. Liam and Marcus sit talking, and the girls are in the playroom. I go to Jackson and help clean up quickly. Iโm still smiling after last night and still wearing the collar. It gets a confused look from Liam. Marcus, however, has a look of respect and then laughs at me, playfully winking. I canโt help but laugh. Georgina looks pissed off with me, though. โAre you seriously going to wear that thing all the time? What will people think?โ Her words are loud and cold. Turning, I smile at her gently, trying not to cause an argument. My reply is the best I can think of at the time. โThat is the point, Georgina. I have given up giving a shit about what other people think. All that did was get me screwed over time and time again. I know what it symbolises; I know what happens in our life, in our bedroom. I know there is no shame in it, so if people have an issue or donโt like it, guess what, I donโt care.โ
Marcus is standing behind me, his arms wrapping around me. โAlena, are you okay? You sounded like you were being murdered.โ My body trembles next to his. It felt so real, so, so real. I need to call Jackson. I need to make sure he is okay. Walking back into my room, I grab the phone and dial Jacksonโs number, waiting for him to answer, but he doesnโt. Why isnโt he answering? Is this it? Has he gone for good? Will she come for the girls? โAlena, what are you doing? If youโre calling Jackson, there is no point. He is in meetings until after 2 am. Youโre safe and fine. I am here.โ โI just want to make sure Jackson is safe. That is all.โ My fingers start redialing his number. Marcus sits next to me on the bed, his hand clasping around mine. โHe is fine, totally safe Alena. He was in a meeting when I left. He is with loads of people. It was just a dream.โ I wish his words comfort me. I need Jackson. I need him to hold me and tell
Sitting, talking to Georgina, the conversation finally turns to Jackson and me. โI didnโt mean it disrespectfully. I care what you think, of course, I do, but it is mine and Jacksonโs life.โ I hug her, feeling awful for how I spoke to her before. โNo, I am just jealous.โ Her words are quiet. Wow, why would she be jealous? โYou and Jackson are so close, so connected. You talk so openly about sex, life and everything. He knows what you want and need. Liam and I are more routine, the same thing every day. Reading up on it all, it is something I would love to have, but Liam, I doubt he is the sort to do it. Even just a small bit would be nice. Sex is kind of boring at the minute.โ I look at her, shocked. Is she bored of Liam already? โWhat exactly is it that you want, Georgina? Have you ever spoken to him about it?โ The first part reminds me of Jackson, the playroom, when I stand there naked and blindfolded, his words in my head. โWh
โWake up Alena.โ His hands are pushing harder on my chest. I have too much to live for. This is not going to take me after everything else. This is not how I will die! I start screaming. I am trying to pull myself back down, down to my body. My body jolts, eyes opening wide. I am lying on the pavement, Marcus looking over me, as I take a breath. Had I just died? โAlena.โ Marcusโ voice makes me realise how real this is. His eyes are full of panic as he pulls me farther away from the car as we watch it explode. That could have been me! I feel fine. Iโm not in pain, just shock. I could have died. I had died. I drove while drunk. These are country roads which is a good thing because, had it been a busy road, anyone could have gotten hurt. โHow the hell did you survive that? We need to get you to the hospital.โ My head begins shaking. He is not taking me to the hospital. I feel totally fine. โNo hospital.โ My words are quiet. โA
I look back to Jackson. โIs Katy okay now?โ I look at her. She looks well, so hopefully it was just a bug. โShe is fine. What the hell were you thinking driving that drunk? Then refusing to go to the hospital?โ My body jumps back. He is angry, shouting and angry, a side of Jackson I have never seen before. โJust punish me and get it over with.โ My scream back at him doesnโt help. If anything, it makes me worse. โWhat the fuck, Alena. You know full well you never punish through anger, ever. I never have and never will.โ He wouldnโt, and that is exactly why I love him and feel safe with him. Max got angry. He would punish me there and then through anger, even if it had nothing to do with me. Jackson, however, seems to get angry and walk away and come back after it had passed. No matter how hard I push, he refuses to punish me if he is angry. โYet youโre shouting at me, which you never do.โ I am too weak and in too much pain to ar
We get to the hospital and the worst part is sitting for hours, waiting. I just want to go home. This is time in my life. Time that I wonโt get back, and more than likely, it will lead to nothing, just me being told everything is okay and to go home. The nurse finally calls my name. Sitting in the room waiting for the doctor to start, I feel stupid and like Iโm wasting their time. โSo, I hear you were in a car accident? I need to ask some questions about the crash first if that is possible?โ I nod, waiting for his questions. โOkay. Were you wearing a seatbelt?โ โYes.โ I nod. I am not that stupid, and to me, it is a pointless question. It wonโt change the damage caused, knowing if I did or not. โGood. Did the airbag go off okay?โ โYes.โ These questions really are stupid in my eyes and a waste of time. โWhat happened? Did the car slide? Flip? If it flipped, how many times?โ I canโt remember that. I know it slid
Opening my eyes, Jackson is staring down at me. I canโt help but smile. โMorning, Sir.โ โDonโt โmorning Sirโ me Kitten, with that pretty, innocent look. You know, full well, youโre not innocent.โ Trying my hardest to remove my pretty, innocent look, I fail and smirk. Why am I smirking? I have no idea. โSmirking at me? Really, Alena? Youโre lucky your body needs to recover because, by god, you need to be punished.โ His words make my smirk grow bigger. โTwitchy palm, Sir?โ I canโt help it. Today I feel like a brat, 100%, a total bloody brat, and when I am better, my punishment will be epic! โTwitchy? No, not twitchy. It is jumping, waiting to spank you, but you enjoy me spanking you, so that wonโt be your punishment, Kitten.โ Pushing my lips into a pout, I sulk, looking up at him through my eyelashes, trying to tease him. โPlease, Sir.โ Climbing to my knees, I lean forward, ass sticking in the air. โPlease, Sir? What
Walking back to the bedroom, the house is so quiet. After a shower, I walk out to see Jackson sitting on the bed, waiting for me. โI have messaged Demitri. He can fit you in today if you want? He is currently drawing up a few things like what you want.โ Wow, that is quick. I was expecting a monthโs wait time, but I am guessing with them being friends, there isnโt. โFine with me. What are we doing about the girls?โ I would love to take them with me, but it is not exactly the best idea in the world. โGeorgina and my Mum will watch them. My Mum wants to spend more time with them anyway. Letโs get them up. We will be going around 4.โ Sitting, I watch him walk out of the room. I should really get up and dressed, so I move to the wardrobe. I grab clothes and get dressed. Going downstairs, Jackson is cooking breakfast. The day passes quickly with us sitting playing with the girls with the toys they got for their birthday. Georgina arrives
Sitting, we talk about the wedding and her plans, ideas and what she wants. โSo, I have kept quiet for an hour, talk.โ Looking at her, I know what she means but I am not sure I want to talk about it, yet I havenโt really spoken about it. โI donโt know what to say. It has happened and now I am trying my best to move forward.โ I am. It is hard but I am slowly getting there. โWell, talk to me about the last few minutes with him, because the first I heard of what was said was in the church.โ Sitting, I talk about those last moments, explaining how it was then that I realised just how much I loved him. It was still nothing compared to how much I love Jackson, but it is still a lot more than I admitted to before. Sitting, it actually feels nice talking to Georgina. When I am trying to talk to Jackson, I am scared my feelings for Marcus might hurt him. โAnyway, Liam mentioned the will. I am guessing that was a shock.โ Nodding, it was, and no amount of time will make it feel alright
Sitting, we wait for the solicitor. When he arrives, we sit down to discuss everything. Everyone is happy with the will and we each sign. It feels weird. My signature just made me have 1.8 million pounds for the business, but if it helps women and men who suffer domestic abuse, why not? Everyone leaves and we sit down to eat tea. Our bags are packed ready to leave. โI was thinking, I know the will stated for the business, but could it be used to support other people, not just those who suffered domestic abuse?โ Looking at him, he shrugs his shoulders. โI am not sure. The money will be paid into the business account, but I guess it depends on what you were thinking about?โ How do I explain this? My mind finds the words and tries to get them in the right order so that it makes sense. โI want to do something similar but for those who have lost someone in the army, navy or similar, or through cases like Marcusโs.โ I want something there to support these people, the ones like me who d
The day has been tiring. Getting home with the bags, I am ready for bed. We spent hours walking around shops getting the things we needed. The girls practically have a full wardrobe of holiday clothes thanks to Jackson. Getting in, we get the girls ready for bed. Sitting together, I read them a story each, the ones Marcus bought them with their own names in. Finishing, we put them in their cots. Walking out, we close the door quietly as they fall asleep. โI was thinking, Liam and Georgina were asking about the holiday and coming along. I understand if you say no. They will be in a hut away from us, but Georgina suggested they come for one or two nights there. They would have the girls for us.โ It sounds like a good idea, us all together but separate. We could maybe even get a girlsโ night in with me and Georgina, and Jackson and Liam can go out. โWhat about Helen? Sorry, your mum.โ She isnโt well, and I donโt like the idea of her flying or being left alone. โI am going to pay f
Opening the drawers, I pull out his clothes. Folding them, I put them in a suitcase. With all his clothes away, I move onto one of the trunks. Opening it, I am shocked. It is a range of toys, all different. I had no idea he had brought it all here, but it has me wondering, would he have been sitting looking at these wishing he could use them with me? Does he have a favourite like Jackson? Getting to the bottom, there is not much in here, just his own toys, whips and things. Putting it back, I donโt even know what we would do with these. Opening another trunk, there is an envelope on top. Opening it, I start to read it. Marcus is divorced. He told us they were going through it but never mentioned it being made official. Putting it to the side, I find more letters, nothing important. Then I see a solicitor one, with the word โWillโ on it. I wonโt open this. I canโt. Placing it to the side, I leave it for Jackson. Another envelope, this one with my name on. It isnโt small; it is b
Jackson is standing with a woman, one of Marcusโs submissives. She looks upset and hurt, not like Maria. Standing, I watch. They stand talking, her eyes filled with tears. It just shows how amazing Marcus was and how loveable. The rest of the day goes ahead slowly. Sure enough, Maria left after Troy told her she had no right to be there. Jackson spent most of his time by my side. The team were amazing and constantly checking on me. Getting home, the girls are already in bed. Helen hugs us before saying bye and leaving with Liam and Georgina. I donโt feel like I have said goodbye. With everyone there, I couldnโt say what I wanted without some asking questions. It still feels weird here without Marcus around us. Sitting at the table, I now understand what he meant. I did the same thing the past week: me pretending my life didnโt exist. Jackson sits opposite me and his hands grasp mine. โYou are the only person he told that to, you know? I checked. None of us knew why he stared i
Walking downstairs, everyone is here: the whole team, Marcusโs other friends, and a few women. I donโt know who they are yet I feel I want to know. Walking to Jacksonโs side, he wraps his arm around me. โWe should walk around and say hi. I will introduce you to people he knew that you have not met.โ Nodding, I agree. I should know who these people are. โHow will you introduce me? What will you introduce me as in regard to Marcus and exactly how much do the team know?โ Jackson turns, looking at me in surprise. Whether that is at my questions or the fact that is the most I have spoken in days, I donโt even know. โWell, I will introduce you as my wife and the closest person to Marcus before he passed. The team know everything. I had to tell them about it all. Explaining why you are this broken by him dying would not work by lying, Alena.โ The closet person to Marcusโฆhe used to be the closet person to Marcus. Had that changed? We start walking around the room, Jackson introducing
Jackson walks back through towards me. Turning on the kettle, he grabs two cups. โShe doesnโt want to do anything. She said it is up to the team to plan his funeral.โ As I thought, she does not care about him at all, not even now in his death. โI want to help with the funeral.โ Maybe helping will help me. I donโt even know if it will but surely it is worth a try? Jackson hands me the cup of tea. Walking to the sofa, we sit, his arm around me. โI donโt want you to be strong for me, Alena. Yes, I am hurting, a lot, but seeing you broken is what is keeping me going. I canโt be weak when you need me.โ I donโt even know what to say anymore. I just want to hide away. โWhatever you want, Alena. Whatever you need to get you through this, I will do.โ I donโt even know what I want or need right now. โMarcus mentioned a plan for that night, something for me. What exactly was it?โ Maybe knowing this will help. Maybe it wonโt but I wonโt know until I ask. โWell, I heard you talking to hi
He walks back in. Sitting next to me, his hand grips mine. โAlena, you didnโt let him down and you certainly did not kill him. Remember his last words: that he was happy because of you and no one else. You made him happy. That should be enough for you to realise.โ Nodding, I agree. He did say that. โIt wonโt help bring him back, though, and he still died because of me. Everyone will hate me. I saw the way Troy looked at me. He tried smiling and couldnโt. Even he blames me.โ What a year this has started out to be: New Yearโs Day and we already have a death. โStay here.โ Jackson walks out. I see him talking to the team. They all look towards me and then back to Jackson. Walking back to me, Jackson is followed by them all. Walking into the room, I prepare myself for their abuse and the blame. โAlena, we donโt blame you at all. I tried smiling. The only reason I couldnโt is because you look more hurt and broken by this than any of
Everyone walks in. The police come, asking me questions. I can see their lips moving but there is no sound, no sound just silence and Marcusโs last words on replay. I watch as Troy, Alexander and the other lads come in, all staring at me, unsure what to say. Jackson gives me space. My heart breaks seeing every one of their faces, the pain of the loss. Hours pass by, everyone walking around and talking but I take none of it in. โAlena, go get a shower. Please, do something.โ Jackson kneels in front of me, but I canโt move. I canโt go away. I canโt do it. โI donโt know how to help her.โ Jacksonโs words are quiet. No one can help. Marcus has gone. I watched it myself. He isnโt coming back. This isnโt like Jackson, where there is nobody, no proof. I saw the body, felt it drain of blood and turn cold in my hands. โMarcus would be the one to tell me what to do.โ Jacksonโs head lowers. Marcus was more than his friend, and his brot