A/N: Story contains multiple themes of adult natures throughout, and may cause some triggers. Individual chapters will be labelled.
Emma groaned as she hit the floor, her cheek grazing against the cold, damp concrete floor of the squat she was residing in as a shadow came over her. Shuddering from the chill she lay perfectly as her heart beat rapidly in anticipation of what might happen next. She dared not breathe, nor make a break for escape for fear of him hurting her. Joe was a strong man, a gentleman when she had first met him but once he had hooked and reeled her in, Emma had soon realised life with him was not as rosy for her at least, as he had promised. He reached down taking a large clump of her blonde hair in his fist and yanked her up from the floor suddenly. She gasped as she felt the pain of each strand practically being ripped from her head and hissed through gritted teeth as he dragged her to the front door. He opened it abruptly and the cold night hit her as she was shoved with force through it. Before she could even protest at the action he was yelling at her.
"Don't ever come back 'ere you dirty little bitch!"
She turned to him to plead again, something that she had been doing all day but he gave her no chance to explain herself. He snarled and just as she stepped forward to reach out to him, the door slammed firmly in her face.
It was late evening, dark and freezing cold outside and Emma was not suitably dressed. She hugged herself and stepped out from the porch way and onto the sidewalk, where she glanced up and down the street. It was deserted and she glanced back at the squat seeing the warmth of a fire from one of the upstairs rooms. She longed to feel the gentle heat it provided but knew she was never going to get back in. She blamed herself, after all she was the one who had gotten into the situation that had messed everything up. She didn't exactly have it all staying there with Joe, but she had more than she had ever had in the numerous children's homes, foster homes, and street dwellings that she had known in her eighteen years. Looking at her goose pimpled skin and quickly tightened her arms around her in an attempt to recoup the heat her body was losing. With a small sniffle she finally started to make her way down the street slowly, heading towards the city.
She had been walking for what felt like hours before she finally reached the edges of the city centre. They were quite bleak and unpleasant and a stone's throw away from the business district. Emma hurried her pace as she went passed a few abandoned older buildings and dark alleys. They were nothing she wasn't used to but she knew the area from an unpleasant stay she had at age fifteen after running out one night from one of her foster home. She knew what she was looking for though and so quickly darted into an alley just a few streets up that was a little less run down. If she could just find a cardboard box and maybe an old blanket, she could spend the night and then move on first thing when it was light and she could find somewhere more permanent to settle. The alley was pitch black and she could barely see. She squinted as she looked and saw a heap of bins by a wall with a dripping waste pipe from the floor above. The smell was unbearable and she hurled as she reached towards the bins. All was quiet apart from the gentle hum from the city traffic in the distance but suddenly out of nowhere she heard a gunshot. She gasped and dropped the little she was holding to run.
Out of breath Emma finally found herself coming to a halt as she reached the heart of the business district and stopped to catch her breath outside of a glass clad office building. Once she felt better she looked up and around to get her bearings. The building she was leaning on was only three stories high and looked very sleek and modern. She glanced across the street and noticed a café opposite. It wasn't a busy area and the clock just outside the café informed her that it was almost ten. She took a deep breath and glanced around again, this time looking for any evidence of security and people who might try to move her on. Seeing no one she finally decided to settle in a small alcove between two mirrored emergency exits on the side of the building. She snuggled and settled herself in a corner, assessing what warmth she would get from being there and if it provided appropriate shelter. When she was satisfied she settled down and tried to make herself as small and inconspicuous as possible, so as not to stand out or draw attention to herself.
It was a short while later, after she had watched what she presumed was the manager of the café close up and leave when a flashlight suddenly blinded her as it was shone directly into her eyes. She quickly looked away, facing the glass of the building and had begun to shiver even though the beam provided heat upon her which she did welcome. She didn't say anything or engage with whoever it was and kept her head down as she waited. Silence lingered and she could hear breathing as the light lingered upon her. It was a long while before she heard movement, the sound of feet walking and assumed they were making their way away from her as the light moved off of her suddenly. She made the mistake of turning to look, only to be blinded by the light shining upon her once more.
"Sorry Miss, you can't stay here" the male informed.
Emma peered up at him as he respectfully moved his flashlight to one side to get a better look at her, and for her to see him properly also. She made no attempt to speak or move and just stared up at him. He repeated himself to her and insisted that she move on of her own accord or he would have to call the cops. Still she remained huddled up in the corner on the sidewalk. He shook his head and reached for her, he would have to move her himself if she refused to listen to him and as his hand extended to grab at her arm she retreated back as far as she could and cried out in protest.
"Ok, Ok I get it I'll go!"
She tried to scramble up from the ground but found it awkward and used the building to half push herself up. Eventually Emma managed to hall herself to her feet where the guard finally got a chance to eye her up and down. For a girl on the streets she certainly wasn't dressed like the average homeless person he usually encountered but he seemed transfixed upon her and her eyes followed to where his had stopped somewhere around her middle. It was then that she realised he was looking at the state of her clothing, how little it left to the imagination and what it revealed about her situation. She swallowed hard and quickly wrapped her arms back around herself protectively.
"You're pregnant" he muttered.
Emma scowled a little and nodded as he gawped at her awkwardly. He sighed and shook his head, looking away from her for a moment and sucked in a deep breath, as he gritted his teeth and looked back at her. He knew the owners of the company hated anyone hanging around outside and making the place look bad, but the young girl was in a compromising situation and he didn't want to move her on unnecessarily. He sighed heavily once more before speaking.
"Look, I shouldn't do this but you can stay. Problem is I haven't seen the owners leave, and if they catch you out here its more than both our lives are worth" he explained.
"So you are going to make me go anyway?" Emma quizzed with a raised eyebrow.
He shook his head and explained that he could help, but until they were gone she was going to have to wait outside the café across the road. Digging in his pocket he pulled out a few crumpled up bills and some change and handed it to her with a sorrowful look. Emma frowned, she was seeing a plus side to the inconvenience of being pregnant but she still wasn't in the best of positions but she took the few dollars and accepted that it was better than nothing before thanking the man for his kindness. With that he started to make his way away from her and Emma took a moment to gaze over to the other side of the street. It was such a shame the café was closed, she could finally afford a hot drink but there was nowhere to purchase one from.
On the top floor of the glass office block, Regina was deep in argument with her husband. Across the length of the boardroom table they had been battling it out for the past hour since their colleagues on the board had left the meeting. Her husband Leopold was a much older man than she was and their marriage had been one of convenience skilfully planned by her mother Cora. Their marriage was very much on the rocks and had been pretty much since their wedding day. She yelled at him from the one side of the dark, oak boardroom table that ran the length of the room, and from the other side he was booming back to her aggressively.
"I want a divorce Leopold!" she screamed as he started to storm towards her.
She hated him, she always had done. When they had been married she had only been eighteen years old, and yet here she was still married to him twenty odd years later. He was such a selfish man, only concerned with himself and finding a wife that he could take advantage of and have on his arm for all of his swanky business events. To Leopold she was like a trophy, just not one that he loved and cherished. Instead he saved all of that for his wonderful, sickly sweat, self-righteous princess of a daughter who was ironically and affectionately named Snow White. Regina hated her too, the little brat had destroyed her one chance at getting away from the man who she was betrothed to and for that she would never forgive her. The ability to keep a secret was something that Regina very much admired, but Snow failed to process that quality. Luckily for her though, Regina tongue had not been as loose over all the years that she had been her step mother.
"You won't get a divorce from me. You think what that would do to my reputation" Leopold contested.
"I don't care about your reputation Leopold" she yelled again as she threw the wad of paperwork down in front of him on the table, which landed with a loud clap which echoed around the room.
"Speak to me like that again my dear and you will regret it!" he hissed at her as he made a move to grab at her wrist.
Regina quickly snatched back her wrist and hurried passed him to the door. Her pace quickened as she unlocked the room and practically raced down the corridor to her own private office. She was a rush with adrenaline, yet shaking like a leaf knowing that he wouldn't be far behind her. Dashing into her own office she quickly shut and locked herself in, where she let out a deep calming breath and hurried over to her chair to wait for the aftermath to occur. She knew Leopold; and she knew he would come racing to her office, bang on the door demanding she apologise to him for her childish behaviour and outburst. She sat back against the cool leather of the chair and slowly counted to three. Sure as anything on the three a loud hammering upon the glass of her office door had her jumping forward in her seat and swallowing hard. His voice boomed out, calling her name aggressively and making the demands she expected of him.
"REGINA!" came a final cursing boom before the silence, and his shadow finally disappeared from her door.
Finally the brunette could relax. She leant back in her chair and closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself down, after all she knew her evening was going to be anything other than peaceful when she finally left her office and went home with him. She kicked of her shoes and muttered in Spanish to her daddy.
"I wish you were here daddy. I miss you. You would know what to do" she sighed out heavily.
Her father, Henry Mills had passed away just a week before her wedding. Of course she blamed her mother, the woman had been cruel and demanding, putting pressure upon him to do what she thought had been best for them all. They weren't a poor family and never had been, but her mother had come from the working classes and despite marrying money of her own, it had never been enough for her. She had been trying to impress her husband's boss for years, and especially when she had learned that his wife had passed after an unexpected illness. She had made every effort to attend the work soirees and host parties of her own that she could invite the man to. Regina was convinced that she had been planning what she had then forced on her eighteenth birthday, since her first meeting with Leopold at their home when she was fifteen. She remembered being all dressed up by her mother that evening, and presented to the older man, who was not much younger than her own father, rather promptly within minutes of his arrival. He had been kind and polite but each meeting she had with him after that had been much different. He had been over attentive to her needs, sitting beside her at each meal, always asking for a dance and even once offering to help her clear the plates.
At her eighteenth birthday, the night she had learned of her fate with the man, his eyes had glistened at seeing her presented before him in a white gown. She could picture it to this day, the moment he had waltzed up to her, bent down on one knee and presented her with a ring. Everyone around had seemed to think it was all ordinary behaviour except for Regina. She had looked to her mother, horrified by the proposal, and then to her father who had bowed his head in sorrow. She had wanted so much to refuse him, but her mother had accepted on her behalf before she could protest and then just like that she was betrothed.
Her daddy had definitely died of a broken heart, of that Regina was sure. He knew his daughter was full of the joys of life, a happy girl with a good heart and ambitions, a girl who wanted to fall in and find true love and she had. Her daddy had seen how unhappy she was on the day of her eighteenth birthday, with the proposal that was publically made at her birthday celebrations and having known the sadness and pain it had caused her, and that he hadn't been able to stop his wife in making sure the arrangements happened without interruption, and that had caused him to become ill and suffer the heart attack that had left her so bereaved.
She sighed again before sitting forward and finally grabbing her handbag. One glance at her desk phone told her it was getting too late to remain at the office, and she knew that if she didn't get a move on soon, Leopold would be completely unbearable for the remainder of the evening. She quickly packed in her cell phone and some paperwork, and slipped her shoes back on and coat before heading to the door. She gingerly unlocked the door and peeked out to see the corridor clear. Composing herself she stepped out and quickly headed towards the elevators, wondering if she was going to be able to escape the office alone without Leopold, but she wasn't in luck. As she turned the corner he was waiting by the two elevators and glared as she made her approach. He was clearly waiting for an apology but she wasn't about to give him one. She walked up and stood beside him in silence.
"We are going home and you will apologise to me" he hissed in a low voice as he stepped forward and pushed the call button.
The elevator was conveniently already waiting on their floor and so the doors pinged straight open. Regina kept her composure as she responded in a low voice and stepped forward into the small steel box ready to make her descent.
"I will not apologise to you for wanting to a divorce Leopold"
His anger was apparent as he marched in after her and grabbed her wrist to be sure she couldn't make any mad dash to escape. They both faced forward as the doors closed and the elevator sprang into motion. He tightened his grip with every floor that passed, and dug his fat fingers into her delicate wrist as they finally reached the lobby. She knew she had pushed him a bit too far, and he also knew that she knew that and what it meant; yet still Regina remained cool under the pressure. She went with him as he thrust her out of the lift and then pulled her along behind him as she marched out into the street. Usually they would head to the underground garage and get their car to drive to their large house in the suburbs, but when it was a late evening working they would hop across a few streets to their elaborate penthouse in a very high market apartment building further into the heart of the city. Pulling his wife out of the from door, he quickly moved his hand from her wrist to her hand, which he squeezed so tightly it hurt as he made his way up the sidewalk at the side of the office.
From across the street Emma watched. Two people seemed to leave the building and she was sure they looked like the type of stuck up rich people who would own a company like that. She watched them walking up the street opposite and didn't take her eyes off of them as they started to cross to where she was. She stepped forward, glancing towards the office block and wondering if she could sneak back across without being spotted, but whilst she was distracted she failed to notice the couple walking right towards her.
"Oi watch it!" she cried as she was suddenly shoved aside and fell down onto the sidewalk.
"Dirty street rat!" Leopold snarled as she glared down at the blonde glaring up at him from the gutter.
Emma scowled as she scrambled up onto her feet and looked at him from the gutter. He had stopped and was towering above her even though she was tall herself. He had insulted her and she didn't care how rich he was, and how powerful he might be, she wasn't going to take any of his crap.
"What's your problem?" she demanded as brushed herself down.
Leopold's lip curled and he leaned in close to her yanking Regina in closer with him at his side. The blonde gave him a steely stare as she waited for a response and she also glanced at the extremely beautiful brunette at his side. Her eyes met with Regina's and they lingered longer than they should have. She was then finding it difficult to return her attention to the beast of a man at the pretty lady's side who had caused her offence. Suddenly Leopold grabbed her with his other hand and held her close to him keeping his voice low.
"Remember your place you dirty whore" he snarled as he glanced down at her rounded belly, before shoving her away and causing her to fall again back into the road.
"Leopold!" Regina cried, noting the state of the young woman but she was quickly yanked away with force and once again marched down the street by him.
"Bastard!" Emma screamed to him from the street, but he was gone and out of sight a second later.
The security guard from earlier had just caught the last of the altercation from his little hut just down at the entrance to the parking garage. He hurried across to the aide of the young woman and as she struggled up from the pavement he supported her, despite being able to tell she wasn't proud of having to accept his charity. Having gotten back on her feet she thanked him but kept him at bay from fussing over her any further.
"You should get checked out" he told her.
"I'm fine. Seriously. I just need a place to stay tonight and then I am leaving" she confirmed.
The security guard nodded and escorted her back across the street to the office building. She nodded respectfully as she slid back down onto the alcove corner she had previously been in and she cuddled up as tight as she could. He stood over her again causing her concern and she frowned gently at him wondering why he hadn't left her alone yet.
"Here" he stated as he handed her a small foil package and a bottle of water.
"Thanks" she replied as she placed the bottle down at her side and unfolded the foil blanket he had stolen from the first aid kit for her.
"They'll be back at six. Just be gone before they arrive. The diner over there, it opens at half five." He informed her.
Emma thanked him once more and offered a kind smile to him. He smiled and went to return to his station but stopped and turned back to her.
"My names Graham. I'll be right down there if you need me" he kindly offered and pointed in the direction of his little booth.
"Thanks. I'm Emma" she muttered.
He nodded and smiled, confirming it was a pleasure to meet her and then finally left her in peace.
Regina and Leopold arrived at their apartment only a few minutes after the altercation in the street. Regina was mortified, horrified and livid with him for what he had done. The girl could only have been about eighteen at most and he had been down right rude to her, especially since he had carelessly walked into her mid stride. She had been frowning the whole way home and the second he had let go of her when they had walked into the apartment she decided she had to say something.
"You were completely out of order Leopold. How could you do that to that poor girl?!" she yelled.
Leopold stared at her and glared at her for her outburst. How dare she speak to him like that! His nostrils flared as he lost his temper and flew towards her. He grabbed her and pinned her up against the wall behind her.
"How dare you speak to me like that! You forget your place Regina. You are my wife and I will not tolerate it!" he boomed up close in her face.
Regina could tell from his stale breath that he had been drinking whiskey in his office. Clearly to calm himself after their argument earlier but she had seemed to have started another now. She swallowed hard as he kept her there, his hot breath beating against her cheek as she turned her head and attention away from him. Her palms were sweating and the air surrounding them was thick, warm and heavy, filled with tension as Regina waited for the full effects of Leopold's temper to kick in. She sucked in a deep breath as she felt his hands all over her body and his lips brush her cheek. He dared to place an affectionate, wet kiss upon her cheek before finally digging his hands into her sides painfully before releasing her again. Regina let out a deep breath in relief of being released from him but he still stood before her. His eyes met with hers in a glare and she swallowed hard before making a sudden dash in an attempt to get away from him. For a moment she had succeeded but he quickly followed after her into the bedroom and grabbed her again.
"Leopold!" she screamed as he grabbed her hair and tugged her back up against him
"No" she warned as she felt him drag her along towards the bed.
Kicking and struggling she lost both of her shoes, ripped her tights and slit a seam on the side of her skirt, but he wasn't interested in her cries. He was sick of her adolescent outbursts and attitude towards him. She was his wife, to honour and obey, to love and cherish, and she had promised that before god in a vow. He threw her down onto the bed and she made a desperate attempt to scramble away but still he grabbed at her. Retaliating, Regina just kicked and hit out until her energy and his were drained. She was panting as was the older man as he released her and lay upon the bed, splayed out on his side. Regina panted on her side for a moment, as she stilled and tried to catch her breath and slow her rapidly beating heart.
"Darling" Leopold gently spoke this time as he reached across with his hand to find hers and took it.
Regina suddenly had the urge to cry. She lay still and didn't acknowledge his endearment as she cursed herself for not getting away from him to the guest room when she had had the chance. She was trapped with him now and knew what was to come. The tears built in her eyes and then one single tear slipped down her cheek as she felt him move in close and pull her into him. Within moments he had her in a tight embrace, placing kisses down her neck, shoulder and back as he pinned her back against his rotund physique and slowly started to undress her with his free hand. Regina let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, screwing them up tight and tried to remove herself from the situation and go to a happy place; a trick that she had now perfected after years of abuse from her husband.