Don

     I waited. My heart growing in doubt for a moment. If there was no reaction from him then I was in trouble because the vase was bound to hit him square in the face. I had the perfect aim.

     It was the split of a second as my heart jumped that he flipped and kicked the vase. His eyes sparkling with a lot of violence before he realized where he was and put his calm exterior back on. He was hiding something.

     “Seems like my calm assistant has a past of his own that he is trying to hide” I said, unable to hide the sneer from my voice.

     He said nothing which infuriated me even more. “There’s one thing you should know about me Car if you’re going to keep working here” I said, walking straight to him and keeping eye contact.

     “I hate fucking puzzles, there’s nothing I can’t figure out” I stood in front of him now, only noticing then how much shorter he was, his head only coming up to my chest but in spite of his small exterior there was something burning inside him that could consume thousands if he let it.

     “I’m going to find out what you’re hiding” I grabbed his collar and saw the fear flash in his expression “And you better pray it’s not something that shouldn’t be because not even heaven would save you” I said into his ear before releasing him.

     He stumbled a few steps back as he coughed, he looked up at me with large round eyes, as if I was the villain in that moment. All I knew was he had something that he wasn’t letting on and I was going to find it. Like I said, I hate puzzles.

     Sparing him one last class I left the office, it was beginning to suffocate me. Lord knows I hate this office, the building, the entire company, and I was going to fucking bring it all down starting from that damn assistant of mine.

     I lit a cigar as I got into the elevator, I was going to need lots of it as I headed home. That was another place I never want to be. everybody pretending they were something they were not. It was sickening. I loosened my tie and got into the car.

     “Take the longer route” I told my driver who just hummed. That was what I liked about him, he knew never to speak to me.

     I watched him go down the opposite road to my house, this was going to give me more time to clear my head before I had to deal with Daisy.

     I puffed out another smoke as we went down the road, the car going at the perfect pace for me, it wasn’t slow but it wasn’t fast enough to get me home earlier than I wanted.

     My mind wandered back to my assistant and remembered how his demeanor had been rather curious when we had gone to deliver a package and how he had seemed familiar with the surrounding.

     I put a call through to HR and asked for all the document he had submitted during his interview and employment, the files would all be on my desk by the time I got into work the next day.

     The long path had only bought me a few minutes but when the car rolled into my house, I felt my heart sink.

      The car door was opened, and I stepped out, throwing the cigar between my fingers on the ground and crushing it with the end of my shoe.

     I walked slowly, carefully putting each leg before the other. When I got closer to my front door, I saw her there waiting.

     It was laughable really, Daisy trying to act like the perfect wife, like we were the perfect happy family.

     “Welcome home darling” she said, her red colored lips turning up at the sides in a smile that I knew was fake. She walked towards me, her arms widening for a hug.

     I stepped to the side and brushed past her, I wasn’t in the mood to pretend that everything was lovely between us. I heard her come in shortly after me softly closing the door.

      “Where is Jen?” I asked her, looking around for any sign of my daughter. She was the only light in my life that made coming home worth it.

     “She is already in  bed, she was exhausted from playing too much so I tucked her in early” came her voice that I had grown to hate so much.

     I turned swiftly to her “You know our rule, she doesn’t go to bed until I’m home!” I screamed, I was sure she did it on purpose, knowing that I could only see Jenny when I got back from work because I left early in the morning before she woke up.

     “She was yawning and so sleepy, I didn’t want to keep her from sleeping when she could always see you tomorrow” she tried to reason.

     I felt my heart thud in my ears, the fury ripping me in half  “are you trying to keep my daughter away from me now?” I asked her slowly.

    She backed a few steps away from me, fear tainting her perfectly made-up face “Of course not, I would never do that, I don’t know why you always think the worst of me”.

     At that I walked closer to her, taking my time so that some of my anger could simmer down because if I gave it a free reign, there was no telling what I would do.

     I only stopped walking when her back hit the wall with a soft thud and there was nowhere else for her to go.

     She stared back at me as I eyed her, knowing just what would happen if she said the wrong words.

     “You have never given me good things to think about you Daisy so whose fault is that?” I asked her, my hot breath brushing against her ear.

     She was about to talk when I pushed myself to full length and took one last long look at her before going up the stairs.

     I was almost at the top when she yelled “Don!” I turned slightly to look at her. “Dinner is waiting” she finished.

          I had no intention of replying her so I turned back. I went straight to Jenny’s room which was on the ground floor, she hated all the room upstairs for some reason best known to her. I carefully opened the door, making sure not to make a sound so she wouldn’t wake up.

     Her sleeping form lay on the bed, her duvet tucked all the way up to her neck just the way she liked it. She claimed it helped her sleep better, but it didn’t matter because the duvet would be on the floor by the time she woke up in the morning.

     I sat quietly on her bed, the side dipping to accommodate my weight. My fingers touched her hair on their own accord, gently sweeping through which made her sigh softy.

     “I’ll be back early tomorrow I promise” I said as I buried my nose in her hair, letting it pick up the strawberry scent of her hair.

     Spending the rest of my days with Jenny would be a dream come true, I would love it more than anything, but I just couldn’t. I have dedicated the rest of my time to bring my family’s company down which was why I endured working at the office.

     It was only a little time before all that would be over. I just needed to get my hands on a few other files and all this charade would soon be over, including Daisy and I could just live happy after. Just me and Jenny, that was all I needed.

     “Goodnight muffin, I’ll see you later” I nuzzled my nose in her hair and kissed her cheek before getting up from the bed. I was leaving the room when my feet hit something making me freeze as Jenny stirred.

     When she didn’t wake up, I relaxed, then calmly left the room closing her door gently behind me. It was time to face the devil that was waiting for me downstairs.

      She was done setting the table by the time I came down. I pulled out the chair at the head of the table and sat down. The table was filled with so much food that would make one wonder if this was a feast or dinner for just two people.

     “You didn’t have to prepare all this” I told her as she sat down. She smiled sweetly at me before sitting down.

     “I couldn’t help it” she answered before picking up my plate and piling food on the top. First there was the chicken breast, then salad and some other thing I didn’t know the name.

     She placed the food in front of me “Eat generously, I spent a lot of time making it” she said, picking up her own plate.

      I said nothing, choosing to keep down the words I knew would make us feel worse than we already were.

     “Jenny is doing really well in her swimming classes, but I want her to get dance lessons” she said. The words flowing so smoothly from her mouth like they didn’t know what consequence they would bring to her.

     My hand froze midair as I was about to pick up my fork “And why is that?” I asked picking up the cutlery.

     “I think she’ll do better dancing. I mean I’ve always wanted to be a dancer but never got the opportunity to, it’s way more elegant and daring than those boring swimming classes that I have to sit through all day” she rambled on, making a gesture in the air with her fork.

     If only I could take that fork from her hand and bury it right into her neck. I shook my head trying to get rid of the violent thoughts in my head.

     “She enjoys swimming so just let her be. If you like dancing so much you can sign up for a class and leave Jenny out of it” I said with as much control as I could.

     I watched her hand tighten around her fork but thankfully she didn’t say anything else as my control was already snapping. I took a few deep breaths before taking up my fork again.

      There was no other exchange between us but when I took a bite of the turkey I almost choked and cussed out at her.

     “Care to explain why this food is salty?” I glared at her.

     “I have no idea what you’re accusing me of, the food is perfectly fine. Here, have a taste” she stretched her hand toward me. I glared at her before pushing out my seat and getting up.

     I don’t know what I was doing sitting at the table, I should have expected this from her. I bound up the stairs in anger and entered the room we shared.

     It had been father’s orders. Sleeping in the same room, he said it made marriages last longer and Lord knows I was always tempted to remind him that I and Daisy were barely married, not that it would make any difference to him.

     The room was painted a dark grey color and I always made sure the windows were drawn to keep the light out. That was the only way I could ensure my sanity in this prison called home that my father had confined me in.

     I let the shower wash away the worries from today, assuring myself that I needed to endure for just a little longer. I stayed under the water longer than I should have because the water was cold by the time I finally dried off.

     The lights were on when I padded back into the room on barefoot. I pulled on sweatpants and climbed into my own side of the bed.

     Just as I was about to drip off to sleep, I heard Daisy walk in and switch off the light. I felt her presence before I saw her. She knelt on the floor by my side.

     “I’m sorry Don” she whispered. I felt her fingers on my cheek in the dark as she rubbed my stubble.

     “I shouldn’t have done that, I was just so angry at you” she said, her fingers reaching into my hair, but I told her nothing. She finally got the memo and climbed into the bed and moved to my side.

    It was a few minutes in silence before she put her arms around me and I finally relaxed in her embrace. This was the only time that we did something that benefitted both of us. For Lord knows her arms were the only way to escape the nightmare that would haunt me all night long.