Chapter 3: 'When the world has dealt its cards to tear us part'
November, 2016
"How are you feeling now, Elena?" Dr. Meredith asked her.
She was looking down at her hand in her lap. Gripping her knees with her hands and closing her eyes tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks, she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
"I'm fine." She choked.
"She is still in shock." She heard Jenna say to Meredith.
"Yes, I noticed " Meredith said sympathetically. "People have been saying really horrible things about her on almost every news channel." She whispered so Elena wouldn't hear but she heard every word.
It wasn't new. Ever since the news that she cheated on her husband broke out, she heard awful things about her. Just yesterday, she had read an article in which they called her a gold-digger and corporate spy. It wasn't just that. A news channel had run a two hour program on how to save yourself from women that are clearly after money. The host took a dig at her every other minute. Her image was tarnished and her reputation was ruined. She had become a social joke.
"Please, don't talk about it here." Alaric requested.
Meredith nodded understandingly and patted Elena's shoulder. "Look Elena, I know whatever happened was horrible. But you're not supposed to stress a lot because if you do, you can miscarry and I know you would never want that."
Hearing Meredith's words snapped her out of her trance, and she pulled her eyes from her lap to the doctor, horrified by the very thought. "No. No, I don't want to lose my baby." She said as she hugged her flat stomach.
"Then you'll have to take care of yourself. You have to stop thinking about," Meredith hesitated for a moment, "about him and everything else. Focus on your child and your health." She advised. "I'm going to write you some prenatal vitamins. Be sure to take them on time and eat healthy. I want you to visit me next week for an ultrasound." She added.
Elena nodded understandingly. So what if she had lost her will to live? She had to stay alive for the sake of her baby.
He had thrown himself to work to distract himself. He didn't want to think about Elena even for a second. But her name, her face and her eyes crossed his mind every time he breathed and whenever that happened he felt his heart breaking into a million little pieces again. 'How could she?', he wondered.
He shook his head to clear away her haunting eyes that kept distracting him, and then once again tried to direct his attention to work. He looked from one file to another and then back to the first file and realized it no longer made any sense to him.
Pushing the files in frustration, he rested his elbows on the table and hid his face in his hands. Didn't she know how much he loved her? He could have done anything for her. He remembered how she promised him forever. She had told him that there was no one in her life but him. Whenever he told her about his insecurities, about the fear of losing her and how much that would destroy him, she had always laughed it off and assured him that the only thing that could separate them would be death.
"You are literally the best person I've ever known. You are the best influence on me. I need you. You are the good... And I need a little good in my life. Because without it, there's an awful lot of darkness." He confessed, cupping her face.
"I love you." He remembered her exact words. "I am going to love you and only you for the rest of our lives. And if there is a life after this life I would still love you." She replied, gazing into his eyes.
That was the promise she made to him on their wedding night. But she broke all the vows they made to each other.
"It's true that we had been seeing each other for the past six months. We are in love and we want to be together." Mason's cruel declaration kept torturing him.
The muscles under his biceps tightened as his hands balled into fists. His jaw clenched, his eyes darkened with red anger.
A knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. He paused, took a deep breath, and gave himself time to compose before he allowed the person to enter. As expected it was his best friend, Katherine. She always had his back. She had been his best friend ever since they were six. He trusted her a lot.
"I saw the press conference. I wanted to make sure if you're okay." she said as she sat in front of him.
When he didn't reply, she continued. "How are you, Damon?"
"Peachy!" he replied sarcastically. "I have been on top of the world ever since I found out that the girl that I loved—still love, my wife, had been cheating on me for the past six months, basically half of the time we've been married. I couldn't be happier, Kat." He hissed.
"I know you're hurting," She said sympathetically as she rose up. "But at least now you saw her true face."
His face was void of emotions. There was a long pause. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. A part of him wanted to bring his wife back. If money was what kept her with him, he wouldn't hesitate offering his everything to her. But her love would be a lie. He was willing to live that lie with her, but at the same time he felt disgusted by the idea.
"Damon?" Katherine's voice interrupted him. "Your phone." She signaled to the beeping phone.
He answered his phone. "Sir, Mrs. Salvatore has been calling you for the last hour and half. She says it's very important. Should I put her on?"
"My mother?"
"No, Sir. Your wife Mrs. Elena…" His secretary replied, hesitantly. "She says it's urg—"
"How many times do I have to repeat myself? I don't want to talk to her." He shouted. "Never forward her calls or even tell me she's calling. Am I making myself clear?" He waited for the response.
"Yes, Sir."
He slammed the phone, breathing harshly. Even her name triggered the excruciating pain he had felt the time he saw her in Mason's house.
"Hey, Damon!" Katherine was on his side in instant, offering him a glass of water. "Was it her? Did she call again?"
He nodded as he gulped down the water. "She probably wants to talk about alimony, greedy bitch." Katherine said. He heard her mumble something about 'milking it till the last drop.'
"I talked to our lawyers, Damon." She said as she went back to her former seat and picked up her bag. "We have already prepared the documents. If you want we could drag her to court and wreck her completely but the company is going do that anyway, so why bother?" She said casually as she took out an envelope from her bag.
"What's this?" He asked, frowning.
"Divorce papers"
June, 2014
He didn't know why he felt so attracted to her. She was very beautiful, he would give her that. But it wasn't her beauty that attracted him, it was the way she laughed, the way she talked so much, the way she made his mother laugh. His mother claimed she was her new best friend. Elena had a lot of stories to tell. He knew half the time she was making things up. But he liked her lies.
She was very messy, clumsy but she still loved to help around with house work. She worked and stayed at his house all week except Friday. That's what bothered him. Every Friday, she would dress up. A guy on a motorcycle would come to pick her from the driveway and then she would return the next morning with another guy.
He didn't know why it bothered him so much. They barely talked. So what if she went out on dates and spent nights with them? She was no different than other college girls. To him, girls her age had no moral values at all. They didn't want commitment, they wanted money, sex and no responsibilities. Who was he kidding girls her age didn't know a thing about responsibility. However his mentality changed after he met Elena.
Before Elena, he had a peculiar view about women. But she changed everything. She changed him. However, even she wasn't spared from his judgmental views in the beginning.
It wasn't a surprise to him; he already knew it by the way she dressed. She would wear the shortest shorts and casual shirt that revealed more body than it hid. Women like her didn't want love. They wanted attention. They wanted to be desired by everyone. Women like her attracted men to them for their own personal entertainment and destroyed families. Much like his father's mistress.
He was immersed in his bitter musings about her as he jumped out of his bed. He went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. He didn't bother to cover himself with a towel as he walked out of the room to make himself breakfast. It was Sunday. All the employees of house staff took an off today except her. He smirked. A woman like her was probably used to seeing men naked. It wasn't a rare sight for her.
He took some grapefruits from the fruit basket, juiced them, and put them into a nearby blender. He turned around to find some fresh oranges when he heard her voice. "Mr. Salvatore, your mother says that…" The rest of the words were left unsaid as she gasped, baffled. "Mr. Salvatore!" She screamed, covering her eyes as if she had seen something vile.
"You knew I was in the house." She said, turning around.
"Pssht. Stop acting so crude." He replied unashamedly. "It's not like you don't see naked men often" He mumbled under his breath.
"What do you mean by that?" she hissed, angrily. "And please cover yourself up." She said as she picked up a towel placed on the chair nearby and threw at him without looking around. "You can't just parade around naked."
"This is my house. I can do whatever the hell I want." He replied rudely.
"Well, not when I'm here." She said turning around, her hands still covering her eyes. She peeked through her fingers to make sure he was decent before she dropped her hands on her side. "I'll not tolerate this kind of behavior, Mr. Salvatore. I'm your employee not your slave, do you hear me? Are these the manners you were taught? Is this a way to treat a woman?" She said, chiding him as if he were a child.
"You're over reacting." He didn't expect such a strong reaction.
"No, Mr. Salvatore. I will not tolerate such nonsense. I can't do this." Her lip curled furiously. She looked like an angry kitten. Since he wasn't an idiot, he kept that observation to himself. "And if you ever do that again, I'll resign."
With that she turned around and left. That was the day he found out that a lot of his assumptions about her had been wrong. She wasn't any typical girl. She was very sensitive but she didn't take shit from anyone. She fought furiously until she proved a point. She had a very strong character and she stuck to her resolve. She knew her values and she didn't let any temptation sway her from that.
After that day, she refused to even look at him. Whenever he tried to talk to her she would cut him off and leave.
But she was very forgiving and compassionate, as he found out one night, when after working all day he came home with a splitting headache. He threw his bag to the side and fell on the couch. He brought his hands up and pressed his fingers against his temples to try to ease the pain, with his eyes squeezed shut.
"Mr. Salvatore," he heard her soft voice. "Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
"Just a headache, Miss Gilbert." he replied nonchalantly. He hated pain. Pain brought vulnerability and he hated being vulnerable. He hated having to rely on others to do the tasks he normally took for granted.
"Did you drink again?" she said in somewhat upset tone, as if that bothered her.
"No!" he replied.
"Then it's probably because of the work stress." She replied, shaking her head. "I will get you medicine for the headache." She said as she rushed back to her room.
After a minute she reappeared with a glass of water and a tablet. "You should probably eat something." At her words, Damon realized how drained he felt.
"Go freshen up. I'll get something for you to eat." She said after a minute.
"There is no need for that, Miss Gilbert. Don't bother yourself." He said hesitantly. He still felt ashamed for the stunt he pulled. She shouldn't be kind to him. She should ignore him and hate him. "This doesn't include in your job description."
"My job description doesn't influence my role as a nurse. I do this because I love working and taking care of the patients. And I feel like it's my duty as a responsible human being, who happens to care about you, to help you get rid of the pain." She said with a smile as she picked up the glass.
"You care about me?" he was startled by the revelation.
She shrugged as if it was a normal thing. She cared about everyone. Why was it such a surprise that she cared about him too?
When he came back after freshening up, the food was already heated and placed on the table. She was talking with the cook in the kitchen.
As he ate, he wondered about how she could care about him when she barely knew him. What did she want from him? Promotion? Pay raise? Or maybe she didn't want any favors. She was kind to him because she was 'that' type of person. How can someone be so thoughtful, so compassionate? Was this really her?
When he was done, she came out of the kitchen holding a mug of tea… a different type of tea.
"How are you feeling now?"
"Not good enough to drink that." His face scrunched up in disgust.
"Oh! Come on! It's not that bad. Peppermint tea works like magic. It relaxes the nerves and muscle spasms. Your body needs it, and will thank you for it! Science says that…"
"If I drink it, will you stop talking?" he interrupted. God! Did she always talk so much? How did his mother stand her all day?
"It's a deal!" she replied.
He rolled his eyes and took the mug from her. "It's hot, Damon—I mean Mr. Salvatore, so drink it slowly, ok?"
His heart skipped a beat, hearing the way she said his name. 'Get a grip!', he muttered to himself as he took a sip. "Is Mama sleeping?"
"Yes," Elena nodded. "But Lily was asking for you and Caroline. You know you should spend more time with your mother. She misses you a lot."
"We all are busy." He replied. "We don't have much time."
"It's all about priorities, Mr. Salvatore. If she is important to you, you should take out time for her from your busy schedule."
"She is important." Damon replied, frowning. "She is one of my top priorities."
"Sadly, she doesn't think so." Elena replied with a sad smile. "It's like a great man once said, actions express priorities." She tried to hint him subtly. He was about to argue but then he shut his mouth. In a way, she was right. He didn't remember the last time he had spent quality time with his mother.
She rose up from her chair gracefully. He noticed she was wearing a knee length Sunday dress. Keeping her eyes low, she flung the curtain of her waist-length chocolate brown hair as she picked up the empty mug. She turned around and was about to leave when he held her wrist. She looked back, surprised. He let go of her hand immediately. "I wanted to… I wanted to apologize for that day."
She nodded, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Sometimes… I do things I shouldn't do"
A frown formed on her face. "That's not an apology."
"That's the best I can do." He replied in a void tone.
"You're impossible" She said shaking her head in disappointment. He saw it in her eyes. She would start ignoring him again and he didn't know why that thought bothered him.
"Okay,okay. Wait!"
"I am sorry, Miss Gilbert!" he managed to say after much stammering. Why was it so hard to apologize?
"I don't know how to act around you. You're really different than what I thought you were and usually my judgment is correct."
"Really? Like how?" she replied stepping closer while he took a step back. "What did you think about me?" she asked. He almost felt intimidated by her. It was a first. No one could intimidate him. Especially not some 21 year old girl.
"They are not very pleasant thoughts." He replied, truthfully.
"I know what you think of me." she replied. "You're not a saint yourself Mr. Salvatore. You shouldn't judge people." She added.
"Well, whatever I thought about you, I was wrong. You're okay." He replied.
"Glad I got your approval." She replied sarcastically as she turned around and left.
November, 2016
"Who are you calling?" Jenna demanded when she saw Elena pacing around the room restlessly.
When Elena didn't respond, Jenna took the phone from her. As expected she was calling her husband again. "Elena, he will never answer your calls. You know that. So why do you torture yourself?" Jenna said, irritated.
"I have to try." Elena replied. "He has to give me a chance to explain myself. I can't give up like that." She added anxiously as she took the phone back from Jenna. She redialed his office number.
"Good Evening, This is Salvatore Builders, my name is Ella. How may I help you?"
"Hey, Ella! This is Elena again. Can I please talk to Damon? This is important." She replied, desperation seeping in her tone.
"Ma'am, He isn't at the office. He is at the site right now." It was clear that Ella was lying.
"And when will he be back?"
"Can't say for sure… why don't you call on his cell phone?" Ella replied, hesitantly.
"Hmm… Okay, Thank you Ella." Elena said as she hung up.
"I told you he wouldn't answer." Jenna replied, frowning. "Elena… Can I ask you something? I know I shouldn't but… Did you—"
"Cheat on him?" Elena completed, a sad smile playing on her lips. Even her own aunt didn't trust her anymore. "You know that I didn't. I told you they set me up. I love him more than anything in the world."
"Of course," Jenna looked embarrassed. "I just… I trust you, Lena. I have even sent Rick to talk to Mason about the fake statement. I just wanted to confirm that-" she trailed off feeling uncomfortable.
"It's okay." Elena replied as she put on her jacket.
"Where are you going?" Jenna asked.
"I need to go buy my medicines." Elena replied.
"Are you sure? The media is still lurking around outside." Jenna said worriedly.
"I will cover myself up and take the back door." Elena replied taking a cap and sunglasses. "I need to go take a walk, I feel like I'm suffocating." She said as she inhaled a mouthful of air as if she couldn't breathe enough.
"Divorce papers?" Damon said as if he couldn't believe. "How dare you, Kat? Did I ask you for divorce papers? Stop taking decisions on my behalf." He shouted.
"Damon, the sooner you sign these papers the better for you." Katherine replied.
"No!" he growled. "I love her and I'm not going to divorce her. I can't live without her." He gritted through his teeth. The consideration of such a thing was impossible for him. He couldn't imagine a life without Elena.
"I talked to Elena." Katherine lied expertly. "She wants this too." She knew he would believe her. Damon trusted her explicitly.
He felt like he'd been kicked in the gut and was having trouble breathing. She wanted to leave him. He felt grief to an extent he had never felt-grief that was felt when a loved one passed away— along with red anger, hurt, so much jealousy, and betrayal.
He snatched the papers from her, ripped it into pieces and scattered them. "I don't care what she wants anymore." He muttered before he left in haste. There was no way he would give her a divorce.
When he arrived at the bar, he had planned to drink himself into oblivion. Memories after memories of Elena flashed before his eyes one after another. 'Get out of my head' he muttered as he slammed the glass on the table.
"Are you okay?" A blonde attractive girl asked.
"On top of the world!" he replied bitterly.
"Okay." She said. "Can I sit here?"
"It's a free country." he replied.
"Hi! I am Jessica." she said with a smile. He didn't bother to reply. She didn't take the hint and continued talking. He wasn't listening to anything she was saying. All he could think about was his wife leaving him. She wanted to build a life with Mason now, didn't she? The fires of jealousy burned him. He wanted to hurt her too.
"You want to get out of here?" he asked the unknown girl.
"Sure…" The girl… Jenna…Jessica whatever her name was, replied.
"Good." He said as he rose up. "Let's go!"
From a distance Jeremy Gilbert witnessed everything.
"That would be $300." The cashier informed Elena.
She took out her purse and cringed at its emptiness. She was almost out of cash. She hadn't worked from after two months after her marriage. She still had credit cards and she was sure he hadn't blocked them yet but she didn't feel she had the right to use them anymore.
"Here you go!" she said as she paid by cash.
"Hey? Aren't you that woman? Salvatore's wife, the one who cheated on her husband?" The old woman next to her asked.
"Yes, she is." Another man behind her answered.
The old woman looked at her bag and smirked when she saw Pre-natal vitamins. "Women like you should be ashamed of yourselves."
Elena ignored her and walked past her. "Gold digger!" she heard another man say.
"Slut!" She heard someone whisper.
"I just can't stand cheaters." She heard a teenage girl say as she walked past. "They don't deserve any kind of respect."
"Slutty characterless woman!"
"Cheap"
She couldn't hear it anymore, she rushed outside of the store.
"I'm sorry." Damon said to the girl as he stopped in front of her house.
"I understand." Jessica said. "You love her and you can't do this. She is very stupid to leave a man like you." She added. "Thank you for the ride home!" she said as she jumped out of the car.
He nodded and drove off. Today, he almost cheated on his wife. He had fully intended to do that. But as soon as he took her to the hotel room, he backed off. He couldn't cheat on Elena. He couldn't just cheat. He despised cheaters and he had vowed he will never cheat anyone ever in his life.
He told Jessica that he couldn't do it. He was a married man, desperately in love with his wife who left him for some other guy. He told her he only wanted his wife. He had only ever loved one woman and that was Elena. That was always going to be Elena.
She understood his pain; she had been cheated on too. She told him to drop her at her house.
After he dropped her off, he aimlessly drove around the city, visiting the places he had made memories with her.
"That's the thing, Jenna" Alaric said. "All of Mason's house staff has been dismissed on that very day. He had changed each and every one of the staff members. Even the watchman of the house!"
"Ric, we have to find them. This is our clue. They must know something." Jenna said, smiling for the first time in weeks.
"Exactly!" Ric replied. "As much as I know Miss Pierce she doesn't leave loose ends. She made Mason fire them because she was afraid any of them could fess up. If even one of them tells the truth about that day, we can save Elena's marriage."
"I will kill him." They could hear Jeremy shout as he slammed the main door shut. "Can't call my sister but fucks other women…" he muttered angrily.
"Jer?"
"It's no use now, Jen" Jeremy said, enraged. "I saw that dick leaving the bar with a slut. Tell Elena to stop crying her eyes out for that bastard." He added.
Jenna cupped her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes. "This is going to kill her." She said turning around to face Alaric.
"We still have to prove Elena's innocence." Alaric said after a pause. "We found something, Jer." He was about to continue when Elena came through the door, sobbing as she ran toward Alaric. He immediately hugged her, pulling her close. "What happened? Lena" Alaric said concerned as he let his fingers slide down her hair until he could tug on the end of it. "Did someone say something to you?" he added, looking at Jenna worriedly.
"Called me names… said I'm a slut. Gold digger…" she choked through painful sobs.
"There is a lot more where that came from, Elena." Katherine's cold voice snapped their attention from Elena to the unwelcome guest on their doorstep.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Jeremy snarled at her. "Get out of my house."
"Calm down, Jer. Your sister's soon to be ex-husband sent me." Katherine said as she stepped toward them.
Elena untangled her hands from around Alaric and turned towards her, glaring. "I know that Damon didn't send you, Katherine. What the hell are you here for? You have already destroyed me. What more do you possibly want from me?"
"Ouch!" she said dramatically. She had to play her cards right. Damon didn't know anything about this. He would be furious if he found out. Katherine had limited time. She had to take advantage of their separation as much as she could. She had to split them up permanently before Damon decided to forgive her. He was whipped for her like that.
"She isn't lying, Elena." Stefan's cold voice interrupted as he stepped inside the house. "Damon did send her." He added.
"Stefan?" Elena choked.
"As for your answer, you don't have anything that interests me anymore." She said. "Except a signature." She added as she threw an envelope on the table. "Damon wants divorce. If you sign without creating any issue, the company might consider about dropping the fraud case against you in the court. Also, he wants you to get rid of the baby. We don't care if it's Mason's. You have ruined our reputation already. Please spare us from more humiliation. His exact words, not mine." She quipped.
"No. No." Elena shook her head. "He can't say that."
"Elena, he hates you now and he wants you to stop contacting him." Stefan said, irritated. "Please, just sign the papers and do what we tell you or there will be dangerous consequences." He warned.
"What consequences?" Jenna asked, furious. How dare they threaten her niece in her own house?
"This!" Katherine said as she threw another envelope. "The company is charging you for fraud and tempering with company data. We will drag you to the court and destroy you and your family. We will make sure this affects your brother's career too. We will wreck you until you can't stand on your own two feet"
"Now the choice is yours, Elena. Either you sign peacefully, we give you a good share of Damon's property and send you a hefty check every month for getting out of our lives for good, or we drag you to the court and ruin whatever is left of you and your reputation." Stefan said as he offered her a pen.
A/N:
Popular Question
How many chapters?
18-20
This is close to the end of Elena's sobbing days, she will emerge as a strong woman after all the pain she suffered. Damon's thinking about Elena in the past timeline is very different but that will change. You will see why he thinks like that and how Elena changes it.
I'm sorry for the late update, I had been busy with some family issues and then my sweetest beta got sick yet she managed to do this for me. Love you Manali (AllthingsDelena)!
Thank you all for the support! I promise to be regular now.
I'm really eager to read your views about this chapter, this is the only way I'll know you're liking it. Please Review!
