Disclaimer: The usual- anything you don't recognize I own.
Summary: The murder of a well-known citizen of Port Charles causes major changes in the lives of those around him. Begins from the moment Carly runs from the house after catching Sonny with Reese.
Author's notes:
The inspiration for this comes directly from General Hospital. I just don't like the storyline revolving around a certain mobster, so have decided to just write my own.
Imagine the role of Carly being still being played by Tamara Braun
C.O.S Change of scenery
"" Dialogue, '' Thoughts
Italics means a letter/email
Untitled… Chapter #1
Immediately upon hearing the mistress's voice, Carly ran back downstairs and out the door. She only wanted to give Sonny his birthday card from his sons. She allowed the numb feeling to wash over her as she rode the elevator to the street level. After the last mistress, she moved out, she had decided she couldn't take it anymore, this feeling of always being second best, never first in her husband's life- a position a wife should never occupy. She had found her own apartment, with plenty of room for both Morgan and Michael to play that was close to both Michael's school and her new club. She had also began a friendship with Lorenzo. For a while things were great, she had her club which she enjoyed running, Michael and Morgan adjusted well to their new home. Then Sonny began spending a lot of time with the kids and her. They were at last merely friends, working together on raising their sons, and yet a part of her still hoped, prayed that there might be some chance at reconciliation. But tonight killed any chance, at that. Carly managed to gulp back the tears as she hailed a taxi and made her way home, glad that Michael wasn't due home from school for another hour or so. She made it into her building and into her apartment, and collapsed on her couch, all the tears that she had been holding back streaming down her face. She didn't move until she heard a key turning in the lock. She looked up as Michael preceded his grandmother through the door. Bobbie noticing the red tear tracks, sent Michael to his room. She sat down on the couch beside her daughter and Carly put her head on her shoulder. Bobbie made soothing shooshing noises as the tears at last subsided.
"Only Sonny could make you cry like this." Bobbie commented. Carly sighed.
"Oh momma, I thought things were better between us. We were getting along; he's been so good to Michael and Morgan. I went over there tonight to give him a birthday card, and found him in bed with his latest fling." Carly said. Bobbie turned so she could give her daughter a hug.
"You were still holding out to get back together weren't you?" Bobbie asked.
"It's just, we were getting along so well. And the spark was back when he looked at me." Carly replied.
"I know but this is the second time he's done this Carly." Bobbie softly commented.
"I know Momma, but I still want to give him a chance to explain himself…"
Bobbie reached out and took her daughter's chin in her hands:
"I know you still love him, and want to give him the benefit of the doubt. But it's time you faced facts: He's humiliated you by sleeping with two women, getting them pregnant, then moving one across the hall from you. He's thrown you out countless times, and then invited you back insisting that he'll change and then he won't. Do you really want to put yourself through that again? Do you really want to give this to your boys as a role model on how to treat women?"
Carly was silent, because all of what Bobbie said she had thought of a million times. She heaved a sigh:
"You're right, and I do want what's best for my boys. The time has come to ask for a divorce."
"Mommy," Michael called, as he returned into the living room. Bobbie smiled:
"I have to go, just think about what I said okay. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Bye momma." Carly said. Bobbie turned to Michael:
"Be good for your momma okay."
"Okay." Michael replied. Bobbie left. Carly for her part did not get a chance to think much until she put the boys to bed later that night.
'He talks about betrayal, honesty, trust. He never forgives somebody that betrays him, but expects to be forgiven when he does it. After he betrays you, he begs you to come back, insists that he'll change, and he does, if only for a while- until the next pretty girl looks his way and the whole thing starts again. My children deserve a better role model than him. I want a divorce.' Carly thought then drifted off to sleep, her resolve firm.
The Next Morning…
Carly got the boys ready, and having dropped Morgan off at Nursery School, and Michael at school headed to see Alexis. She swallowed, as she knocked on the door:
"Come in." Alexis called, sitting at her desk. Carly opened the door and stepped into the office, and stood there expectantly.
"Carly you're making me late for my 11 am appointment just standing there." Alexis said, just wishing she would go away.
"I am your 11 o'clock appointment." Carly replied. There was an awkward silence in the room. Alexis cleared her throat:
"Would you like to sit down?" Carly sat down in an office chair as Alexis rummaged awkwardly looking for a legal pad and a pen.
"Now, what seems to be the problem today?" Alexis asked. Carly took a deep breath to steady her tone:
"I want a divorce from Sonny. We've been separated for a while now, at first I thought there may have been a chance at reconciliation with him, but as time has past I realize that for the good of my children and myself I have to cut ties with him permanently."
"This had better not be some whim of yours Carly. Because if it is… Alexis left the rest of the sentence hanging.
"It's not. To be honest with you Alexis, I have been second place in my marriage for a long time now. At first it was to his business- that I could understand. And then came the parade of women, including yourself- each treated as if they were his ultimate prized treasure. And after every woman, he would realize that I was the only one for him. He would invite me back, he would swear he'd change, and he would for a while at least. Then it would start again. Alexis: I refuse to be put into second place again. I have realized that the only way to do this, to get out of this marriage is to divorce him."
"Alright I'll help you. Now what do you want the grounds for this divorce to be?" Alexis said, allowing a tinge of guilt to colour her tone.
"Adultery, or irreconciblie differences." Carly answered.
"You have a better chance at the irreconcilable differences, with Adultery you'd have to prove something. Do you want custody?"
"Yes, I do. I want sole custody of both children." Carly answered, with sadness in her tone. They were silent as Alexis made notes on her pad. Alexis sighed heavily, before speaking, her tone gentle, yet still business-like:
"I wouldn't be doing my job as your attorney if I didn't go over the dangers of this request, including that you might very well lose. And that's the least of them. Both of us being mothers of Sonny's children understand how Sonny feels about them and the lengths to which he would go to, for their protection. Carly, I want to make sure you are aware that this won't be easy. He will try to damage your reputation by dragging up your past deeds in an attempt to prove you are an unfit mother. He will use every dirty trick he knows."
"I know. This is going to be hard for Michael; he looks up to Sonny so much. But I can't have them looking at him and the way he treats women and seeing that as normal. It's not normal for a wife to be second place in her husband's life. It's not normal for him to treat all the women in his life as property, discarding them like a child discards a toy he's tired of. I want better for my sons Alexis. I'm prepared for whatever he may do." Carly replied.
"I'll have the papers drawn up then." Alexis said. Carly reached out and grasped her hand thanked her and left.
She made walked through the front door of her club and made her way to her office at the back, where she sunk down into the patent leather chair. The club she had decided to expand and have a portion of it as a restaurant. She opened the drawer and retrieved the paint chips, and began matching them to the walls. She noted the colours on the blueprints in pencil and wrote them in her daybook. She then made her way back out to the where the crew was working away and received a status report on the renovations.
Jax was expected for a meeting, came in just as she was kneeling behind the bar getting the statement for that month's take. He waited quietly while she finished and stood up, taking his presence.
"You're early aren't you, I wasn't expecting you for another hour or so." She looked at the clock on the back wall, and took in the time:
"I'm the one that's late. I do apologize Jax, my mind's been other places today." She said, leading him back to her office.
"No problem, it happens." Jax smiled.
He had been approached by Carly to be the financial backer for her new club a few months ago, and had been impressed with the amount of work she had put into the pitch. She had passion and hunger- the two things Jax knows full well you need to succeed in business, so they entered into their business relationship. And he had been well rewarded. Carly rewarded his trust by being a hard-worker. Jax realized that this was her dream, and she possessed the determination to see it achieved. He had also come to know her better, admire how much she loved her kids, and even understand her loyalty to Sonny. He also came to recognize when she wasn't exactly at her best, like now. It wasn't like her to be late, and unprepared for a meeting.
He watched as she unrolled the blueprints- the third copy he had seen of them in the last month. Carly pointed and indicated the section of blueprint:
"You'd enter the section from here, the wall I'm planning on doing black, and sit at tables positioned here, here, and here." She indicated the tables, which had enough room between them to make them private. The booths are located in the corners, and right along the back wall there- to be painted a deep wine colour chip she had stuck on the blueprints. She proceeded to do this with all of the walls.
"Carly, you know what you pick for the décor is fine, you have amazing taste." Jax assured her once she was finished. Carly smiled in response to the compliment.
"I noticed in the statement that our take is down for the third month in a row. I can only assume that's because of the renovations being done, and it will be up after they're done." Jax began the discussion. He was greeted by an ever-lengthening silence.
"Carly?" Carly, you hoo, earth to Carly. What's wrong with you today, your mind seems to be some place else?" Jax asked, concern lacing his tone.
"It's Sonny. I've asked for a divorce, and sole custody of Morgan and Michael. I'm worried about how he'll take it. You know how he can get… overprotective." She said worriedly, she sighed heavily. Jax looked at her understandingly:
"Would you like me to come over and sleep at your apartment tonight?"
"You sure you don't have anything better to do tonight than play 'knight in shining armor?" Carly attempted to make light of her situation.
"Not really. Besides, it'll give me a chance to see Michael and Morgan. I hear they've grown, as kids have a bad habit of doing." Jax answered.
"Now back to business. You're probably right, my forecast is that our profits will increase by 25 once the work is completed, which, should be about another month or so." Carly commented.
"And we'll break even on the restaurant when?" Jax asked.
"That same forecast says it will happen in about 6-8 months. Long-term, we should break even the first couple years, followed by a steady increase in profits." Carly answered.
"Excellent that matches my predictions as well. What about a grand-opening?" Jax continued. Carly twirled her wedding ring thoughtfully: she wanted it to be low-key and make a splash at the same time. The opening she felt sure had to reflect the restaurant: it had to be elegant, fun, slightly edgy.
"What about a Masque. Everyone could dress up in costumes; we could have prizes for best costume, silliest costume that type of thing. We could build in a charity element to it, what do you think?" Carly started.
"We could close the club, and have it as a dance floor with a cash bar- it wouldn't be that much of a loss." Jax instantly took into account the business implications.
"Proceeds could go to Courtney's charity. There'd be some great press in it for her." Carly added.
"How about some live music? We could ask Ned if there's any hot young talent he'd like to bring to it." Carly continued. Jax glanced at the clock:
"I should go. I'll be at your place around what? 6 or so?"
Carly nodded.
"I'll see you then. In the meantime, contact Ned and ask about the music." Jax said, as he left her office, then the club.
Carly made a note of it in her daybook. The rest of the day went by routinely, Alexis called to tell her that Sonny would receive the divorce papers that afternoon. So she picked up the kids from daycare around 4 pm and went home. She had changed her clothes when there came a knock at the door. Instinctively she peered through the keyhole, and saw who it was. She let Sonny in, and took one whiff of his breath: It reeked of alcohol. It put Carly into protective mother mode.
Sonny thrust the divorce papers into her face:
"What is this a joke?" He asked her disgustedly.
"No, it's serious Sonny, and it's about time you treated it as serious." Carly answered.
"What have I done to deserve this?" He asked, this time in a desperate tone.
"You've treated me as second best. In the beginning it was the business, which, I understood. Then the successive mistresses, each one you loved more than me, treated like a piece of property, then discarded. After each one you begged me to come back, and I did. I was a fool. Well I've played the fool for the last time Corinthos- I want out."
"Why sole custody?" Sonny asked, his voice rising in volume.
"Because you harm my kids Sonny. Every time they're with you, you're with a different woman, and they look up to you Sonny, Michael wants to be exactly like you. I want them to know that it is not okay to treat women like that, that women are people too and they deserve to be treated like equals." Carly replied, keeping her voice low on purpose. Anger smoldered in Sonny's eyes, as he gulped:
"Alright, have it your way. I'll fight this in court." He said in a loud voice. He paused, and continued in a dangerous tone:
"When I met you, you were nothing but a common whore. I made you, and I'll break you if it's the last thing I do."
Carly walked up and slapped him across the face, then opened the door and said:
"Get out Corinthos, the next time I see you, it will be in a court of law." Sonny left, holding his left cheek, and went off down the hall. A few seconds later, Jax came, and pushed past her.
"How are you?" He asked her, with concern in his tone. He'd just seen Sonny leave.
"I'm okay," Carly replied, then smiled and continued: "I did something that I should have done a long time ago."
And that my friends is it for this chapter…
What do you think?
Is it worth continuing?
Read and review.
I don't quite know what to call this one at the moment, so suggestions for a title would be welcome.
-A.B.