“Why closure? Why can’t you be with her? Just because you went through an ordeal doesn’t mean you have to stop loving her. She was marriage material. You and she both had something great, and I knew she’d be the perfect wife. Her social standing matches yours, and together, you can really be a power couple. She’d be good for your reputation and career. She’s worthy of the Davenport name.”
“We were not going to get married, Mother. Not even close. I was so far from thinking about marriage—”
“And yet you marry her!” my mother cuts in.
“I told you. I didn’t have a choice. I had to do what I had to do and say what I had to say to survive. I had to plan my escape and outsmart Richard. I told you all this.”
“And yet, you are still with her. You don’t have to be.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes. “She’s my wife. I’ve chosen to stay with her. I want this. I want to be married to her. I know it’s hard for you to understand—”
“It’s insanity! I don’t think you’re thinking clearly.”
I put down the glass of wine I consider downing in one gulp before I reach for the bottle and finish it off in seconds, but I don’t. “That’s just it. I’m finally thinking clearly for the first time in a very, very long time. Before I was kidnapped, a single day didn’t go by that I didn’t drink or pop pills. My camera bag was a traveling pharmacy. I was under one form of influence or another since I can remember.”
Her lips twitch, but her eyes remain steadfast on me. She’s prepared for battle, and nothing I say is going to rattle her, but I’m going to be brutally honest.
“I know you think that me being chained in a cellar was my darkest moment in life. In all actuality, the life I was living before it was far darker. In many ways, Ember saved me. She didn’t just help me escape Richard, but she helped me escape the spiral of booze and pills I was in.”
“You weren’t that bad,” she counters.
“You saw what you wanted to see.” I push the wine away just to prove to myself that I can. “I’m a different man now. And yes, I know I’m fucked up from everything that happened and have a lot to deal with in regards to that. But there is a bright light that came from it all, and it’s Ember. It’s also that I walked away with a new outlook on life. I want to be a better man. I want to provide and protect that woman upstairs. I want to take care of her and put her needs before my own. Which frankly, Mother, makes me a new man. The old Christopher only thought of himself and no one else. I came first. Me and only me.”
“She’s trapped you,” my mother says simply as she takes a sip of her wine, leans back in her chair, and crosses her legs. She is still poised for the battle to continue. “Richard did it first, and she followed. She’s no better than him.”
“No,” I say softly as I shake my head. “She’s given me hope. I’m looking forward to our future. And if you want to know the painful truth, it’s that I’m finally happy. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt that. Yes, my life is in chaos, but she’s my lifeboat. I need you to try to understand that. I need you to give that woman upstairs some understanding. I get it. I know she doesn’t have the social graces and status you’re used to me bringing home—”
“You’ve brought home a mangey mutt!”
I scoot my chair back and glare at her as I do. “I’m not going to sit here any longer and allow you to attack my wife. My wife!”
She swallows hard to simmer the rage she just released. “I’m trying to make you see reason, Christopher. You have a woman who, though is very sweet and innocent, is also sick. She needs mental help that we are unable to give. I have a list of some very well-respected hospitals that are willing to accept her. Of course they will give her her own room, and I’ll make all the arrangements. We can keep this extremely discreet.”
“Are you kidding me?” I hiss. “Are you suggesting we commit Ember to a mental institute? Please tell me you aren’t saying this.”
“I’ve heard her crying out at night with the bad dreams. I see the way she stares off and is lost in thought. With what she’s been through, this could be very good for her. She needs to be in a safe environment where she can learn how to survive in the real world. She has demons and ghosts haunting her, and she always will. You’re strong, Christopher, but not strong enough to handle this. To handle her. You would be doing her a favor.”