Thank you to everyone who expressed their concerns about my well being. I was lucky. I did travel on the tube that morning but it was a different line and I was off a full fifteen minutes before the first explosion. We were trapped first in the building where I was temping and then in just in the city. Scarily I was on the first working bus and managed to get a landline train home. We were all scared shitless.

Thank you for reviewing.

Note: this is from the fathers POV. I'm sorry if it is a little disjointed. Just take it as his state of mind and not my reaction to an annoying heat wave.

Chapter 18 Too Much Love Will Kill You

I loved my wife. I know it may not seem like it but I really did. When we first met I was besotted.

Later I realised that there are different types of love and that not all of them can stand the test of time. Maybe if she had spent less time caring about having more children…

At first I was worried about how she would take it…is there any good way to say 'I'm sorry honey but I guess I don't love you any more' probably not. But the bitchier she acted the less I cared; until in the end I was quite happy to flaunt it.

She grew angrier every day and I didn't care because I had a new love. One that should have lasted forever.

Then he stopped letting me touch him. I understood that he didn't love me; I had to pay just like everybody else after all. But how could he just take all of that away? No addict should have to go cold turkey like that. No whore should be able to pick and choose. And he was a whore; just because I loved him didn't mean I was oblivious.

So I came and I took it. I took what I needed from him because what is one more fuck to a whore and because my body loved him just as much as my heart. I may have been rough but it was always about love. ALWAYS.

When I was done it was like I had claimed him; he was covered in so many marks all from me; all of them parts of my signature; a testament of my love and ownership. An open declaration of my refusal to give him up.

And how could he complain? I still paid him after all.

He didn't say much to me as I took him. But afterwards he said just enough. He told me who had broken us apart and forced me into my brief but painful celibacy. It had been HER. My bitch of a wife had the gall to ask this boon of him.

I was disgusted; of him; of her. How could she ruin the one piece of happiness I'd had in years? God knows the frigid bitch had given me none recently. And how could he listen to her? Why would he listen to her?

Then it dawned on me. It was so obvious. He'd told me so that I could something about it; so that I could do something about her. And when I did we could be together again.

I sat in my room and planned and dreamed and waited. I was seething when they called in that pervert Dr Green. I knew that he could tell in a minute what had happened and if he so chose he could call the police. A basic semen sample could prove who did it.

I worried and waited. But the doctor left and the police never came.

Kai was downstairs with her all night. I was tempted to run down there and get rid of her; Kai and I could make love in the puddle of her blood…

I waited all night. I heard Tala wake up and go downstairs. I wondered what had happened to his face. I heard them eating and finally I heard the sounds of chairs scraping as Tala and Kai, at my wife's insistence, began to come back upstairs.

I made my move. I needed to see my wife alone and get answers.

I made sure to rub my body against Kai's as we passed on the stairs.

She was standing at the oven dressed almost like a fifties housewife. I had always been annoyed by how homely she had become after Tala was born. Sex with her had become luke warm; nothing like the cold flame of passion that was sex with Kai.

"Do you want breakfast?" she asked making me absurdly think that she had poisoned the food.

"No. I'll just have coffee." I said taking out a cup and a small jar.

"Your loss."

She was stood before a large pot with steam rising from it; there was a large wooden spoon in her hand.

"Did you hear what happened last night?" she asked neutrally.

"No." I lied looking up from my cup to see her stirring the liquid. "I was busy."

"Oh I didn't realise that there were other little boys in the house for you to rape." she quipped in that same conversational tone.

"Well you always wanted a large family." I answered back clenching my fist ready.

"Oh honey. Are you really that desperate?" her tone had turned mocking.

I turned around and hit her from behind the coffee cup still in my hand. It shattered over her shoulder and her let out a grunt in surprise turning to face my with an angry pained expression.

"Going to smack me over the back of the head and rape me as well are you?" she questioned some blood seeping through the back of her top where the mug had ripped the material and skin.

"I would never rape you. You repulse me."

She slapped me hard, her palm open and her fake nails dragging against the skin of my cheek.

"You'll never touch Kai again!" she ordered, he her reaching to nurse he hurt shoulder.

"Bitch!" I shouted punching her to the ground. How dare she think she can tell me what to do! How dare she think she can keep me away from Kai. I kicked her, "Bitch! You can't keep us apart!"

She coughed, blood smeared at the corner of her mouth like lipstick. I kicked her again and again until I felt her grab my foot and roll knocking me backwards and slamming my head into the kitchen tiles.

I reached backwards to feel my head but she was on my slapping and scratching before I had the chance. My ears were ringing; I could barely make out a thing that she said.

After a while she backed off and stood up. Watching me warily as I did the same.

"Why are you trying to keep me from him?" I breathed out. "It would be easier for everybody involved if you just let me have him."

"Fuck you."

I lunged forward at her. I wanted to kill her. I wanted to rip her apart limb from limb.

She stopped me with a boot to the groin and a burning sensation. I tried to cover my face but it was too late.