Chaste
When Andre laid his eyes on her, he knew he would want what he could not have. One-sided Andre/Michelle
Andre is used to being different.
Growing up in a musically talented household, it's safe to say he's the black sheep. Or, the white sheep, as Luscious spat out when he learned Andre would marry Rhonda. Andre grew up in the hood, went to college, married a white woman and is the brains and the business of all that is Empire. His father's company has been built from the fruits of his labor and smarts; it's safe to say he's entitled to a few things.
But when he heard the word no, it destroyed him on the inside out.
When he broke down and had his episode, he was thrown away and forgotten by the very man he tried to please. Because of who he married, because of what he's good at, because of his sickness, he will never make his father proud.
It was a colossal slap in the face.
As he sits at the piano, his fingers itch to play the keys but he doesn't know how to make the notes. His wife, his loyal, dutiful wife, tries to placate his frustration with her body but it only irritates him. Some days he hates her; hates how easy she makes it for him. All he had to do was whisper in her ear and she'll do whatever he asks of her, no matter how degrading. A ten-dollar whore in a ten-thousand dollar dress, he hears Luscious hiss in his ear, disgusting.
He laughs to himself.
The things you do for love, or the mutual love of money.
Frustrated and fearful, Rhonda scurries away after her husband demanded she leave, leaving Andre to his thoughts. He thinks back to Michelle, and can't contain the warmth bubbling in his chest.
Michelle is something Andre has never experienced: smart, patient, gentle, kind…
Pure.
Uncorrupted by this filthy world of greed and sin.
Chaste.
With a voice made for an angel with a face to match.
Something Andre can not have.
Michelle taught him about God, gave him a reason to find his faith and stay close to it. He will sit through every sermon, read very scripture, drink every drop of holy water for her. If it meant he'll earn her smile or her hugs it'll be worth it. With her he imagines going to church with her every Sunday, holding her hand as God forgives him of his sins. He imagines sweet kisses, long walks in the park, staring into her eyes as they share ice cream on a hot summer afternoon. He imagines waking up to her instead of Rhonda every day, seeing her lips pull into the smile he's been longing for.
She's his pillar of virtue, his saint.
He will worship her dutifully.
All was well until Luscious stepped into the picture.
One little thing that fascinates and irks Andre about Michelle is her ignorance. She has no clue that the Devil himself has placed a price on her soul. Her innocence and genuine joy makes Andre cringe. His father is a liar, cheater, murderer, and a cold-hearted man with no soul. He wants to scream the truth about Luscious Lyon, confess in the house of God his sins and his own.
But he does nothing; he watches in disgust as Lucifer touches his saint, taint her pure body with the blood of his sins.
He has marked her.
His sweet fantasies are now riddled with rage, of hate-filled lust as he defiles her in every way imaginable as punishment. She's a whore now, another disappointment in Andre's list of heartaches.
He has turned his back on the Lord and He has punished him; his uncle Vernon is dead and his family is torn apart by their own indiscretions. And he's now a father to a woman he's slowly starting to detest.
He sits in the front row and watches her perform.
Michelle, in her modest white dress and gentle smile, makes his throat catch. The white lights make her glow like she's from Heaven, a true angel amongst mortals.
Andre glows in the red light, irony making him chuckle.
He is no different than a demon that fell for an angel.
He is just as evil as his father; he is born of sin and he will die of sin. He will never have an angel like Michelle because he will corrupt and destroy her, like his father did his mother, and what he's now doing to Rhonda. He doesn't deserve her beauty, her innocence, her light.
So he watches with pain as she performs, oblivious to the aching in his chest. He feels tears fall down his cheeks and hastily brushes them away.
Saving her from him and his ways will be the biggest sacrifice he's ever made.
She looks over at him, smiles her brightest smile, and finishes her performance.
It's worth it.
He can always enjoy her beauty in his dreams.
~Fin~