When Bruce returned home that afternoon he brought flowers back for Angeline. He had plans to have a quiet, romantic dinner with her alone that night. What she needed was to get her mind off of things…off of him. Ever since he broke in the night of their engagement party, she had not been acting the same. He could tell something was off.
Walking into the penthouse, Bruce wasn't greeted by Angeline, but by Alfred instead. "Miss Angeline has gone out, I'm afraid. Would you like me to put these in a vase?"
Bruce raised an eyebrow at Alfred. "Where did she go?"
Alfred took the flowers from Bruce's hands and walked towards the kitchen to grab a vase with Bruce in tow. "Said she was going out with friends and that she'd be home later."
"Did she say who she was going out with?"
Alfred cut the stems of the flowers with a pair of scissors and looked up into Bruce's face. "No, but it was a rather peculiar thing considering she had just had a phone call before she left from an old friend named Jack."
Bruce froze in place. He knew the name. How could he not? The night that he had shown up at the warehouse to save her life, as she lay bleeding in that madman's arms, she had whispered the name to him and he had responded to her. The Joker was obviously trying to get back what he thought was his. Why? So he could beat her some more? So he could kill her? No. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let her go back to him and risk her life.
"Sir?"
Bruce shook himself from his thoughts and looked at Alfred. "I think it's him, Alfred. I think she went to him."
Alfred placed the flowers in the vase, nodding. "I had the same thought."
Bruce shot him a look of shock and anger. "Then why'd you let her go?"
Alfred sighed. "Would she have listened to me? Would I have been able to keep her here forever; would you have?" He locked eyes with Bruce. "She's a very determined young woman and when she sets her mind on things you know there's really no changing her mind."
"He can hurt her; he has hurt her."
Alfred crumpled up the paper the flowers had come wrapped it and glanced up at Bruce. "That's true, Master Bruce, he did. Still, I question why he didn't hurt her when he was here if he truly wanted to? Perhaps when you saved her, when you saw things going on between them, you didn't truly understand. I wonder if you came between something you knew nothing about. Then I might question, what harm have you done, Master Wayne?"
Bruce didn't reply. He watched as Alfred took the vase and walked out of the room. He had always trusted Alfred's advice throughout his life, but this time he had a hard time stomaching the advice. Alfred hadn't seen what he had seen the night he saved Angeline. He didn't see her battered, bruised, and bloody. He didn't see her clinging to the very man who had done such horrible things to her like she never wanted to let him go. He didn't see the look on The Joker's face as he slid down the wall, holding her dying, bleeding body to him; that desperate, horrified look. No. It wasn't possible. That man wasn't capable of feeling remorse let alone anything remotely resembling love.
When Bruce had watched The Joker walk out of that warehouse, he had swooped back in and grabbed Angeline; exiting the area safely before the building had went up in flames. He remembered looking down, holding Angeline's limp body in his arms, to see The Joker laughing hysterically to himself. That wasn't normal. No man who ever cared for a woman could ever walk away from her death laughing.
He had gotten her to the hospital as quick as he could; praying they could save her. When he had ran into her after she had finally recovered at the bar she was working at, he began to fall for the woman he had saved. They connected somehow that night. He vowed the night they had "met" at the bar that he would protect her from that monster. He wouldn't let her wind up like… like Rachel. No, The Joker had taken more than enough from him.
He sat on the couch, debating whether he should put the suit on and go looking for her or not. He turned to glance at the flowers he had bought sitting in the vase when he heard the elevator doors to the penthouse open. She came back to him.
He quickly stood from the couch and took the sight of her standing there in. The moonlight and lights from the city pouring in from the windows were enough for him to see the worry on her face. Her black hair was wet and clung to her face and shoulders. Her eyes locked with his as he walked quickly to her, wrapping her cold, wet body into his warm arms.
"Oh my god. Where were you? I was so worried."
Angeline took a deep breath, moving out of his arms. "Bruce… we need to talk…"
He nodded, preparing himself for what was to come. He placed his hand on her back and guided her to the couch. He sat down next to her and grabbed her hand, taking pleasure in seeing that her engagement ring was still placed on her finger. "Sure, anything. What's wrong?"
Angeline looked down at her hand in Bruce's. "Bruce… You lied to me."
He watched and she pulled her hand away from him and wrapped her arms around herself. "What? What are you talking about?"
Angeline shook her head, laughing lightly. "Don't even, Bruce. Don't pretend you don't know what this is about. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."
Bruce reached his hand out and cupped it against her cheek. Her eyes closed briefly when his hand first pressed against her skin, but as he gently turned her face to his, her eyes opened and locked with his. He could see the tears forming in her eyes. His voice was low and gentle. "What's wrong, Angeline? Tell me what's hurting you."
A tear dropped from the corner of her eye, running slowly down her cheek. Her voice was a soft whisper. "You, Bruce. All along it's been you."
He dropped his hand from her cheek, his eyes narrowing on her. "I've never hurt you, Angeline…"
"Stop. Bruce, I… I remember what happened."
Bruce's eyes lingered on hers for a moment before he turned to look out the window, watching the rain make patterns on the glass. "I see… What exactly do you remember then?"
"I remember that he didn't do this to me, Bruce… you did."
Bruce turned to look at her again. "You're saying you think I was the one responsible for all those scars on your face?"
"No, but it was your scallop blade that you launched from your gauntlet that almost killed me. After all this time that I've been trying to remember… when my memories were so jumbled… you had me fooled into believing that he did it. You had me believing that he wanted me dead. When all along… it was you that did this. You knew and you didn't tell me the truth."
Bruce stood from the couch, facing her. His voice was raised. "It was an accident, Angeline! I never meant to harm you. But he did. He hurt you. I saw it. When I got to you that bastard had you battered and bleeding and you jumped in front of a projectile blade for him. I was only trying to protect you; to keep you safe from him."
"Tell me," her eyes bore into his. "Why did you fire the scallop blade off in the first place? You know what I did. I jumped in front of it to save his life. What makes you think you knew anything about what went on between he and I? You don't know anything. I told you when you showed up that you had no idea what you were getting yourself into. I was right, Bruce. You made assumptions that weren't yours to make. You made a decision to take me away from the man I loved and make sure that I didn't remember him. You decided to take his place."
"Angeline, please. What was I supposed to think? You know what he's done. You know what he's capable of. And you were hurt. What would you have had me do, then? Leave you there to die like he did?"
She shook her head slowly, more tears falling from her eyes. "No, I… Bruce, I've thanked you so many times for saving my life. I'm still grateful for that, and I always will be. But you know I don't belong here. I don't belong in your fancy, lavish world. I don't belong with you, Bruce. I never have and I never will."
He grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his, she didn't fight it. "You do belong here. Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth when you wanted to remember, but you have to understand I have only ever wanted to protect you."
Angeline turned to look at him. She knew he was telling the truth now. It was easy to understand why he felt the need to protect. The Joker had hurt her. She wasn't denying that. But the scars weren't the only mark he had left on her. Bruce had just taken what he saw at face value. All he knew was The Joker was not the kind of man to have any sort of human emotions like the ability to care. She knew this because she thought the same. She knew different though. The Joker was a complicated man; there was always more to him than what you saw. Bruce hadn't done anything wrong by judging him the way he did. He simply saw someone that needed help. He had done what he thought needed to be done; he protected her. But she didn't need protecting; not then and not now.
"I know, but I didn't need protection. Bruce," she placed her other hand on top of his. "I can't stay here. I can't stay with you."
He looked at, his eyes wide. "What are you talking about?"
"Not only do I not belong here, but… if I stay he's going to come for me, Bruce. You have to realize that. He will find me and he will kill you. I just… I couldn't live with myself if he hurt you."
He smirked at her. "Is that really all you're worried about? He won't touch me."
Angeline smiled grimly. "Then you don't know him like I do. You have to trust me on this. I can safely say I know him better than anyone else. He will find me and he will kill you before you even have a chance to realize he's here."
"I can handle him, Ange."
It killed her to look into his eyes and see the pain and confusion she was causing him. She hated to hurt him; hated to have to leave him like this. But she had to. This was what had to be done. "You won't have to, Bruce. I'm leaving before anything can happen."
Bruce stared at her for a few moments, the silence almost deafening. "What?"
It took everything she had in her to keep herself from sobbing. "I can't stay here with you. This isn't me. This fairy tale isn't mine to live. It never was. Even if I wanted to stay, I couldn't live with myself if I did."
"Of course this is you. You're free to live whatever life you want. He doesn't control you."
Angeline bit her lip. "I know he doesn't. This is my choice, Bruce."
Bruce stared at her, still in shock. "Why? Why would you go back to him? He hurt you, Angeline. He's dangerous."
Angeline avoided his gaze and turned her head to stare out the window. "It's where I belong, Bruce. I belong with him. I can't explain to you why I love him, or what we have because I don't think you'll ever understand. I'm sorry."
Bruce placed his hand on her cheek, pulling her face gently back to him. He placed his other hand against her other cheek and locked eyes with her, pleading. "You don't know what you're saying. I love you, Angeline. Don't give up on our life. Not now. Not for him."
Angeline started to sob. It broke her heart to have to leave Bruce like this; to say goodbye to him and their life together. But she was right. She didn't belong here. She never had and she never would. She belonged with Jack. "I'm so sorry, Bruce."
Bruce dropped his hands from her cheeks, defeated. Alfred had been right. The damage was done and her mind was made up. There was no convincing her otherwise. Angeline was going to do what she wanted to do and he couldn't stop her. He had failed.
"Me too."
Angeline wiped the tears from her face and got up to walk towards the bedroom they had shared. She entered and turned the light on. It was just as she had left it earlier today and yet it seemed so foreign to her. She went into the closet to dig out a small bag so that she could pack some clothes and necessities. She didn't even know where she was going to stay when she left here.
As she was zipping up her bag she heard someone enter the room. She turned to see Bruce standing in the doorway, his eyes on her. She could see the pain on his face. That only made it that much harder to be in this room with him at the moment. She felt like she was going to suffocate.
"Just tell me one thing and I won't stand in your way."
She nodded. "Ok."
"Tell me that this all meant something to you; that I meant something to you."
Angeline choked back the lump that had risen in her throat. Damnit. "Of course it meant something to me. I will always be grateful to you despite everything and… I'll always love you."
Bruce walked towards her and grabbed her arm. "So stay. This doesn't have to be the end."
"Yes it does. I'm sorry, Bruce. It doesn't change anything. I have to go."
Bruce moved to the side for her as she grabbed her bag and walked out of the room past him, tears running down her cheeks. He followed her as she walked to the elevator doors to the penthouse. She was going to go, he knew that. Nothing he could say or do would change her mind now.
Before she left, Angeline set down her bag and walked close to Bruce. She reached one hand up and placed it on his cheek, bringing his face down to hers. As she placed her lips gently on his, kissing Bruce and their life together goodbye, she placed something in one of his hands and closed his fingers around it.
As the doors opened, she turned to pick her bag up, tears still falling down her cheeks. She walked into the elevator and faced Bruce Wayne one last time. He stood with his jaw clenched and his hand in a fist around the object she had placed in his palm. Her voice broke into a choked whisper, "Goodbye."
The elevator doors closed and she was gone. Angeline had walked out of his life. He slowly opened up his hand, fearing what it held. He glanced down to find her engagement ring. No. This wasn't happening.
He curled his fingers back around the ring, holding it tightly in the palm of his hand. He turned away from the doors and the first thing his eyes fell on were the flowers he had bought for her displayed in the crystal vase Alfred had put them in. Before he knew what he was doing, he had grabbed the vase and threw it against the elevator doors. The crystal shattered in pieces onto the floor, echoing around the room. Red roses were strewn about, petals falling here and there. He'd made quite the mess. He'd made a mess out of everything. Defeated, he walked away from the mess and sat back on the couch still clutching the ring in his hand.
AUTHOR"S NOTE - Another big huge thank you to all of you. You all know who you are. Thank you to all of my regulars for continuing to read and support me by reviewing and talking with me. You guys are the best.
Thank you as well to any new readers. I appreciate all of you just for reading. Thank you to all who have added this to alerts and favorites as well. Really brightens my day to see that.
Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Things are still kind of bad right now in my life and it was hard to concentrate on this chapter. I managed though and here I am at 4:15am posting this. I do hope you enjoy it. There are a few things I was iffy about in this chapter so let me know what you think. I know it's lacking in The Joker department, but he'll be back next chapter. This chapter here just sort of had to happen and I had a few different ways I thought about doing it and I wound up going with what you see here, so hopefully you all enjoy it. Let me know.
Again I want to thank you all for your support not just with this story, but with me as I go through a bit of a difficult time. So many of you have become not only my readers, but my friends as well. You guys are the best.
Enjoy the chapter and I hope to have another one up as soon as I can. Happy reading and take care!
Yours Truly,
foxotr
