The Breaking Point

FLASHBACK;

Rose's POV

I felt it. The sting was immediate, blinding and absolute.

I had just been hit by my husband again. This was not the first time. Nor the second. I honestly can't count how many times I had been hit in my own father's mansion.

You know, it wasn't just the physician pain of Richard's open palm colliding with my cheek. It was the utter humiliation of it. I stumbled backward, my shoulder hitting the door frame of the guest bedroom. I didn't fall, but I felt the world tilt violently on its axis.

"How dare you question me?" Richard's voice was a low growl, vibrating with an intoxicating mix of rage. He stood over me, his chest heaving, his face flushed not with guilt, but with the indignation of a man who believed he was invisible.

I held my cheek, my eyes stinging with hot tears that were a mix of pain and sadness. Moments ago, I had walked into our room looking for my husband. Instead, I found him on top my best friend in our own matrimonial bed. My next move was the same as every angry woman would do. I yelled at my friend but instead of an apology I was hit with a slap.

"I didn't think she would be...in here and..," I whispered, my voice trembling, not from fear, but from the effort of holding back from screaming.

"That's why you yelled at her," Richard sneered, stepping closer, violating my personal space. "You just frightened your own friend, Rose. You are so selfish. What if Katherine had a heart attack from all your yelling and dies? huh?"

From behind him, Katherine emerged, smoothing down her tight, red dress with a sickeningly casual air. She didn't look ashamed. She looked bored.

"Rose, darling," Katherine cooed, stepping beside Richard and wrapping a hand around his arm possessively. "Honestly, you are so dramatic. You always knew me and your husband were an item, now you are acting all shocked and surprised. Oh please.."

I stared at her, horrified. The sheer audacity of her was breathtaking.

"Shouldn't you apologize to me?" I echoed, my voice gaining a silver of strength. "This is my home! My matrimonial bed!"

"Oh, stop it, you greedy bitch!" Richard roared. He grabbed my upper arm, his fingers digging into my skin like talons. "You have everything, Rose! The mansion, the cars, the fat bank accounts that you didn't work a single day to earn. And yet, you can't even let your friend have a little taste of your husband. Are you really going to be this selfish?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was justifying his infidelity by calling me greedy and selfish. Katherine was right, I had always suspected them both. But never in my wildest dream would I have thought they had gone this far in my own bed.

"I am carrying your baby, Richard," I whispered, a desperate plea to whatever humanity might still be left in him. "You are sleeping with my friend while I am carrying your own child."

Richard laughed. It was was a cold, harsh sound that echoed in the luxurious room.

"Pregnant, yes. That's why you are behaving like a lunatic. You need to go to your somewhere, lie down and stop making a scene."

He shoved me away, turning back to Katherine as if I was already invisible.

I felt the last bit of strength I had evaporate. I turned and fled the room, slamming the door shut behind me. I walked down the hallway, hot tears streaming down my eyes on its own accord. Is everybody else's life like this? Or mine was just different, I thought silently. I was still grieving my father and now, Richard. I have no one. No father. No mother. No relative. Maybe I was just being dramatic? I wiped my tears from my cheeks with my palm and walked into the guest room to rest a little.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand. I didn't know why I did it, but perhaps for some comfort. The internet had a nice way to brighten my spirit. I clicked on the first news article on my feed.

It was a video of a press conference held that afternoon. Richard was standing at a podium, surrounded by cameras. He looked commanding, powerful.

"As the only child of the late Mr.Hawthorne," Richard was saying to the reporters, "I take it upon myself to continue his legacy. The Hawthorne empire is in safe hands."

I dropped my phone as if it were a burning coal. My father never wanted my husband to handle the family business, but what could I do? Besides I was way too weak and constantly on drugs. Richard was also famous in my dad's company, he was the right man to handle things. I assured myself.

Knock! Knock!

I heard a knock on the door. It was heavy.

Before I could answer, the door swung open. Richard stood there, but he wasn't alone. Behind him were two hefty guards in black suits and a nurse in a white uniform, her expression was terrifyingly blank.

"What's.... going on?" I asked, rising slowly from the bed, a cold running down my spine.

"You have been having violent episodes lately, Rose," Richard said, his voice smooth but his eyes were hard as flint.

"Violent? Episodes? What do you mean, I don't understand anything!"

Richard didn't reply me. They moved fast. Before I could even scream, one guard grabbed my left arm, the other my right, pinning me against the wall like a fugitive who was just caught.

"Let go of me!" I shrieked, struggling with all my might. I kicked, but the guards were immovable.

The nurse moved forward with practiced efficiency, holding a syringe filled with a blue like liquid.

"No! Richard, please stop this!' I begged, tears streaming down my face. I felt a sharp prick in my shoulder, followed by a cold liquid spreading through my veins.