This chapter has been edited quite a lot from it's original publishing, so please take the time to reread it. You will miss important key details if you do not. Let me know how you like or dislike the changes.

- xoxo, Crys (08.14.16)

"Picture Perfect"

Chapter 3

"Okay, well, to put it simply, Darien has been a complete asshole ever since our miscarriage last year. He took it even worse than I did, and I'm sure you remember, I was completely devastated. We both wanted another baby, and we had been looking forward it so badly once we had found out that I was pregnant again."

Raye frowned, remembering Serena's hysterical crying over the phone at 3am when she had gotten the news of her miscarriage last year. Out of the other girls, Raye was the first one she called. She was 5 months pregnant, and she and Darien were about to find out the sex of their baby. It was truly heartbreaking. "Do you think he blames you or something, Serena? The doctor said it wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could have done differently - you had no control over the situation."

Serena shook her head, she really had no idea what had caused the sudden change in Darien's demeanor. Did he blame her? She didn't know. She couldn't read him anymore, it was like he was a completely different person.

Raye stayed silent for a moment, before posing her next question. "Can you explain to me some of the ways that his character has changed? He seemed just fine to me earlier, but I'll take your word for it that he was putting on an act in my presence."

"For starters, Raye, he's not a nice person anymore. Not in the slightest. He's vindictive, sometimes downright ruthless." Serena paused, making sure she had Raye's complete attention before continuing. "We fight like you have no idea, Raye. I mean all the time. Today wasn't too bad before you got here, but he actually got in my face Raye. It was scary; he's never done that before. You know Darien, he was never one to disrespect a woman. I don't know what the hell his problem was, but he just flipped out. It wasn't like he had a reason to, either. I wanted to know where the hell he was last night, because fyi he didn't come home, so I asked; but no, can you just ask Darien that? Hell no, he'll look you dead in your face and say that just because you're his wife doesn't mean you're entitled to know where he is every minute of the day. I mean god forbid I want to know where my husband is, right? I mean please, kill me for caring!"

"Serena, are you leaving something out? I don't really think he would get in your face just for asking." Raye urged, having a hunch that she was indeed leaving pieces out. She knew from being a therapist, that when people had problems, they had the tendency to leave a few important details out, intentionally or not.

Serena shot her a look, but answered nonetheless. Damn her and her profession. "Okay, fine. So I started screaming at him before he said a word. So I wouldn't let him in our house. So what? He hadn't come home, I deserved an answer. That doesn't justify his actions, Raye. I had to lie to our daughter when she asked where her daddy was when he wasn't home to tuck her in. I had a right to approach him the way that I did."

The raven-haired woman looked at her friend with incredulous eyes. "Really Serena? You really think so? So what you're saying is," she began, "He was just supposed to sit there and take it? What did you honestly think he was going to do, turn around and go find another house to stay in?"

Serena shook her head. "No, but I didn't expect him to flip out, Raye."

Raye raised an eyebrow at her unbelievably. She started it, but didn't think he would react the way he did? My god this woman was in denial. Don't ever poke the bear if you can't handle the outcome of such an action. "Serena, are you on crack?" it was a rhetorical question, she was slipping into friend mode, and momentarily leaving her therapeutic post.

Serena was baffled, sitting there with her mouth wide open, flapping her lips like a fish. Crack? Serena didn't even leave the damn house. How the hell would she get crack? It's not even like she knew anyone who could bring it to her house. And why the hell would she even think about doing crack anyway? "No, Raye!" she bit back after regaining her composure. "I am not on crack! God, whose side are you on?!" she demanded, the fact that it was a joke and a rhetorical one at that, clearly going over her head.

"Yours Serena, but come on. You're not thinking about your actions and the domino affect they have. Cause and effect, Serena. Every action has a reaction."

Serena glared daggers at Raye, not willing to admit it may have slightly been her fault. "My actions are justified."

Raye fought off the urge to laugh. "How so?"

"Shut up, Raye." She wasn't going to argue with her. She wasn't her, so she would never understand her relationship with Darien recently, without experiencing it for herself, or at least witnessing it. Neither of which she had.

Frowning, Raye moved on to another question. "Has Annabelle witnessed any of these fights?"

Serena shook her head. "No, thank god, she hasn't. Darien's the perfect father around her. We can be fighting one minute, then when he sees her the next minute, his mood completely changes. I don't get it, Raye."

Serena look defeated. The man she had married didn't exist anymore. In his place, was a hateful, loathing, angry man.

Raye felt bad for Serena. She knew Darien was her whole world, and she had never expected Serena to come to her about something like this. Those two seemed to have the perfect life together. "Can you tell me about another fight you've had with him recently? I want to compare the happenings."

Serena pondered the subject for a minute. "Well, a week or two ago, I wanted to get away for awhile, so I told him I was going to take Annabelle and go on vacation for a few days. But he hadn't liked the idea and he started yelling about how I didn't care about her school career or anything that was important to him or her. Where he got that idea, I don't know. But he got angry and said some really idiotic things about our past when we were in school. Some shit about how my grades dropped like bricks if I ever missed school, and he didn't want that for Annabelle. He said we could wait until her break which was like four months away. I got mad, yelled, you know, the usual."

Raye coughed. "Serena, have you ever considered that you're part of the problem? I mean you fight back just like he does. What do you expect?"

"I get that, Raye. I do. And I really don't care about that. I want to know why he turned cold all of a sudden. I mean you remember, we were inseparable when we were younger. We couldn't get enough of each other. And now all of the sudden we can't stand each other? Why is that, Raye? I just don't get it. Has he fallen out of love with me? Because it certainly seems that way. And if that's the case, I'd like to know."

"Well," Raye said, titling her head to the side in deep thought. She wanted to give Serena a comforting answer, but the truth was, she didn't know. "I can't answer that. People drift apart-"

"But they don't loath each other with everything they have; not after being hopelessly in love with each other for so many years."

Raye shot Serena look, she had a point, but Raye wasn't finished with hers yet. The look she shot her meant big trouble if she interrupted her again. "As I was saying - people drift apart all the time. Okay, sure, they don't hate each other; I'll give you that one. But you forget, you don't know how he feels. From what you've told me, you two haven't really sat down to talk about things. So there is a possibility you are just drifting apart from one another. It could be something more, but I honestly can't say. I don't know how he feels Serena, but I'm sure he doesn't hate you."

There was silence. Serena knew she had a point. But her gut feeling that he hated her got the best of her, and she broke down. She was supposed to be strong; to not cry and work this through. But it was difficult, and it was about time she gave out while she had someone there to help her.

Why did she still love him? After all of this, she should hate him. Shouldn't she? So why does she still get that heart-fluttering feeling when she sees him playing with Annabelle, or when she sees his face light up at the sight of his princess? Motherly love for Annabelle? No… it's more than that, and she knows it. It's him. Everything that is him - or was, him. She loved that man beyond measure.

"Is it wrong Raye… to love him after all of this?"

Raye thought about it. "No, Serena. Of course not." she said softly. "It's not wrong. If you love someone, you can't control that. It's not wrong to love him. That's all you've ever done, and that feeling won't just go away over night."

Serena's tears managed to subside momentarily. Darien had been her everything for as long as she could remember, she couldn't see herself loving any other man, nor could she see Annabelle having a step-father. "Thanks, Raye. I really appreciate what you're doing. I don't think I could have survived one more day without talking to someone about this."

Raye smiled and gave her a hug. "I'll always be here for you, Serena. Next time, please don't wait so long to reach out to me. I love you, you're practically family and you know that. I will always been here to help you, no matter what." Truth was, she hadn't spoken to Serena much since her miscarriage. She figured she and Darien wanted time to grieve together, so she didn't think anything of it. Knowing what she knew now, she wished she had put in more effort to see her best friend.

Serena managed to catch a faint knocking sound at their front door, interrupting her now heart-to-heart with her best friend. 'Darien will get it.' she mused.

Knocking.

More constant knocking.

"Uh… Serena, are you going to get that?" Raye asked, feeling awkward that the person outside was evidently being ignored by the two owners of the house.

"God damn it, Darien." Serena scowled, as she got out of the hot tub and quickly dried herself off. "I'll be right back, Raye." She said leaving for the door.

Upon entering the house, Serena saw Darien just now exiting his office, busy straightening his black tie against his white shirt. "Incapable of getting the door, Darien?" she questioned irritably, as she opened it herself.

"How may I help y-" stopping mid-sentence, after realizing who it was, Serena gasped. "Andrew!" she squealed, jumping into his arms and embracing the sandy-haired man.

Andrew smiled. 'Same old Serena.'

"Nice seeing you too, Serena." he laughed, returning her embrace while giving her one good spin. She loved it. He knew it reminded her of their younger years when she would jump into his arms after a few days of not being able to see him. He was like a big brother to her.

Andrew put Serena down and she was still beaming, full of joy. "It's so good to see you again, Andrew. God it seems like it's been years-"

"Serena, could you leave us?" Darien interrupted, coming up behind her. "Andrew has something important he wanted to tell me."

Serena frowned. She hadn't seen Andrew in so long. "But Darien I haven't se-"

"Serena." he said sternly, cutting her off. He needed to know what it was that Andrew was keeping from him until they were face to face.

Serena nodded sadly, and gave Andrew an apologetic look. "Uhm… well it was nice seeing you again, Andrew." She said, giving him another quick hug and turning to leave.

"Oh by the way," she said, stopping shortly. "Raye's here."

Andrew nodded. Another friend he hadn't seen in forever. "I'll come out before I leave."

Serena smiled and made her way back outside to the hot tub.

"What was that about?" Andrew asked, peering around the corner to make sure she was out of ears shot.

Darien frowned. "You know we haven't been getting along, Andrew."

Andrew smirked. He was well aware of the matter. "Almost forgot."

"Shut up and come on." Darien said, leading him upstairs to his office.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" he asked sitting in the chair behind his desk.

Andrew took a seat on the couch directly in front of Darien's desk before asking, "You know that Christina chick, your secretary?"

Darien's face was expressionless. "I do."

Andrew smirked. "Well, that whore has been going on and on about how she got you to sleep with her last night. She's spreading it all around the hospital, Darien."

Darien said nothing.

"What if Serena finds out, Darien?"

"She won't." he said flatly, overly confident in his answer.

"Darien how can you be so sure-"

"Andrew," Darien interrupted, "Serena never leaves the house. There's no way she'd ever find out."

"Alright man… if you say so." Andrew murmured, leaning back into the couch. "So when's the last time you and Serena… you know?"

Darien shot Andrew a look. "Now why in the hell would I tell you that?" He had never been one to really go into detail about his sex life with his wife.

"Well, you really must have been desperate to screw that bimbo. I mean come on, she's a total slut, Darien. So I figured Serena stopped giving you any."

"Nice way to put it, smartass. And what my wife and I do is none of your business."

Andrew couldn't help it, he laughed out loud. "Yeah, but what you and Christina do is everybody's business, correct?"

Darien scowled and threw a pen at him. "Shut up, asshole. She's a whore and it was a one time thing."

Andrew grinned. "Whatever you say, Dar."

"Andrews here," Serena said excitedly, as she got back into the hot tub with Raye and sat down.

"Really?" Raye asked, a small smile plastered on her lips. "Is he going to come out for a bit?"

Serena nodded. "He said he'd stop by before he left."

It was quiet for a moment. "Hey Serena," Raye asked, "Do you still have that high school crush on him?" she asked, trying her best to choke down the laugh that threatened to escape.

"What?!" Serena exclaimed in embarrassment, "I'm married! Plus that crush only lasted like a year!"

Raye couldn't hold it in any longer, she immediately started laughing uncontrollably at Serena's reddened face.

"Whore." Serena mumbled.

"Hey! I heard that!" Raye exclaimed slightly offended.

Serena smiled innocently. "Raye honey, I think you're hearing what you want to hear."

Raye made a 'humph' sound before biting back. "You think I want to hear someone call me a whore?"

"Kinky." Was all Serena said in return.

Raye chuckled. She and Jadeite had been nothing short of kinky when they were together. Raye liked the unusual. And Serena knew that. "So, I was thinking about Darien and what you said,"

At the mention of Darien, Serena gave Raye her undivided attention. She needed the advice. Badly.

Raye shifted in her watery seat. "Well," she began, "I think that you should just go with the flow. Try not to piss him off, we all know you can have a serious attitude problem sometimes - show him that you still love him, Serena. Maybe he'll get it through his head and realize that he still loves you, and that every couple has their hard times."

"And if he doesn't?" asked Serena.

Raye paused. "Leave him, if that's what you feel you need to do, if that's what will make you happy again. All you can do is try, Serena."

Serena looked toward her husbands office window, weighing her options. She could do this, couldn't she? She could show him. No problem. Darien had fallen in love with Serena for many reasons, not just one. Maybe he just needed a little reminding of what those reasons were.

At least, that's what she hoped.

End Chapter 3

How was it? Be sure to leave a review. Chapter 4 is being edited and will be republished most likely later today. Thanks for reading!

- xoxo, Crys (08.14.16)