Truth Hurts
by: Amisha N. Smith
I'm gonna take a short break from writing my other fanfic to write this one. First, lemme ask: How many of you are a Passions fan? Yeah, stupid question, eh? If you weren't a Passions fan, you wouldn't be on this section of Well, I too am a Passions fan. And here are two of the reasons why: 1. I love Gwen Hotchkiss and 2. I hate Theresa Fitzgerald. And to show you the extent of my feelings for these characters, I have decided to write a little fanfic. Now I'm warning you: If you are a Theresa fan, you may not like it. This fanfic contains graphic language and Theresa getting a huge healthy dose of what she needs to hear so badly: Truth and reality. However, if you are a Gwen fan, I guarantee you will either bob your head in agreement with the words of this story or jump up and yell "Yeah! That's right! You tell her, Gwen!" Either way, I will not tolerate any bashing, flaming, or other such stupid shit like that in the review section. (Although healthy criticism is welcome. And I'm sure I'll be getting a lot of that, since there are quite a few Theresa fans out there.) And if you ignore my warnings, prepare yourself to be ridiculed and possibly reported. Thank you. Now, on with…
Truth Hurts
Gwen sighed wearily as she walked down the baby food isle of the grocery store. Her eyes were bloodshot and had bags under them the size of the grand canyon. Lately, her employer Collier has been giving her more and more work to do. Now he wants five business estimate reports researched, typed up, and finished by next morning. Gwen couldn't believe her ears when she heard Collier's latest assignment. Five business estimate reports? That's completely insane! And yet, Gwen had no choice but to buck up and get busy. Thanks to her mortal enemy Theresa, the psychotic bitch that's done everything not short of selling her own soul to Satan to try to take her place at her husband's side and ruin her life, Gwen's life is harder than it's ever been. Theresa has sunk to a new low, marrying Alistair Crane, the richest man in Harmony and the evilest man in the world. Theresa figured that she could use some of Alistair's power to make Gwen's life a living hell, hoping that she would break under the pressure and she and her husband Ethan would finally split, thus giving Theresa a clear shot at making her slutty way into Ethan's pants. Well, Theresa's calculations were only half on the money, as indeed she was making Gwen's life a living hell. Theresa had illegally frozen Gwen's bank accounts and had blackballed Ethan in Harmony from being able to take another job, thus putting her and her family at Theresa's mercy. Well, that is, until she lucked up on a new job, thanks to Collier. And even though the work is crazy hard, she's still hanging in there, making money to support herself and her family. And still she manages to make time to be a good mother to her baby Jane and a good wife to her husband Ethan. Gwen smiled at that thought, extremely proud of herself. No matter how many curves Theresa threw at her, she still manages to hold her head above water. Between managing work, taking care of her family, and fending off her sick rival, she was almost completely tapped out of energy. Life is hard, but she is strong. She can make it. She always has, and she always will.
Gwen reached over on the baby food isle and picked up the Gerber apple sauce. She grinned as she put it in her cart. Her daughter loved that stuff. And she couldn't blame her. Gwen had stolen a taste of it once, and it was good. She looked down and crossed "baby dessert" off of the grocery list. Her shopping was almost finished. Which was good, because she had to get home and get started on her work right away. Especially if she was planning on having some time left over to read a story to Jane and cuddle with her husband. That thought reminded her that she needed to get some champagne for later tonight. Gwen grinned and began to blush. She walked over to the champagne isle and picked up a fancy-looking bottle. "Yep. Good stuff", she said to herself as she put it in her cart. Suddenly, as she was getting ready to cross it off her grocery list, she heard a very familiar voice come from behind her…
'Well, well. Little Gwennie. Nice to see you. Taking time out from being a delusional bitch to do some grocery shopping?"
Gwen sighed in frustration and weariness. Oh no. Not here. Not now. She turned around to face her rival Theresa, standing there with her hands on her hips and a smug look on her face. She was wearing a tacky-looking gray business suit and her hair was pulled back into a pony tail. She looked for all the world like a little schoolgirl trying to look all grown up.
"Theresa, the day you can actually call me or anyone else a delusional bitch without being the biggest hypocrite in the universe is the day the sky turns pink and falls into the ocean. Just what the hell are you doing here anyway? I must say I'm surprised to see you here bothering me. Usually it's my husband you're stalking."
Theresa merely shrugged. "Aw, don't be such a grump, Gwennie. I'm just here to do some shopping, just like you." She looked over at Gwen's grocery list. "I don't suppose a 'new man' is on that list of yours, hmm? Because you really do need to get one, seeing as how the one you have isn't working out for you. You know, him being in love with me, and all."
Gwen yawned wearily. She then smirked at Theresa. "Don't you already have a husband?", she asked smugly. "Why can't you just be satisfied with what you've got? Hey, speaking of Alistair, isn't it time you rushed home to give him his daily sponge bath and blowjob?" Gwen was pleased to see Theresa's nostrils flaring and her face turning red.
"Watch it, bitch", Theresa growled angrily.
"Ooooh, I'm so scared", Gwen merrily mocked her enemy. "What are you gonna do? Sick your husband on me? Maybe throw his comatose body at me?" Gwen threw her head back and laughed out loud. She always enjoyed pissing Theresa off.
"I don't need Alistair to deal with you, Gwen", Theresa said. "I'm gonna take you down. And when I do, I'm gonna do it all by myself. I can deal with you."
"Yeah. All by yourself, eh?", Gwen said as she raised one of her eyebrows and folded her arms. "Boy, you must have gotten so used to being a delusional bitch that you actually believe your own lies. Or maybe you just have a short memory and can't seem to recall that you married Alistair because you needed his help in 'dealing' with me?" She then shook her head in pity. "Poor, poor Theresa. All the crazy schemes in the world, and yet not one of them has worked for you, has it? Face it Theresa. You can dream up as many schemes as you like, but in the end it's not going to make a lick of difference. You will never have Ethan. Never. He's in love with me, not you. And the real sad thing is, you're just too stupid to realize that."
"No, you're the stupid one, Gwen", Theresa said in a cool voice. "You're the one who doesn't get it. Ethan doesn't love you, Gwen. He's only with you out of obligation. I'm the woman in his heart. And I just wish you had a big enough brain to understand that and let Ethan go so he can be with the woman he truly loves: Me".
Gwen yawned. "Yeah right, Theresa. Just keep dreaming your little pipe dreams about Ethan loving you. But the sad truth is, Ethan doesn't give a damn about you. If he did, he would be with you by now. Especially since I've given him every opportunity to leave and be with you. For some reason, he just keeps choosing me. There's a clue in that fact for you somewhere, Theresa. But, alas, you're an idiot and won't ever figure it out."
"Aurgh! What are you, deaf and dumb?", Theresa said in frustration. "Look, I've already told you that the only reason Ethan is with you is out of obligation. You play the role of the poor maltreated barren wife and use it to guilt trip Ethan into being with you. But it's not going to work for long. Because when Ethan finds out that you outed him as a Bennet to the tabloids, he's gonna drop you and come running to me so fast it'll make your clueless head spin."
Gwen looked at Theresa for a moment, wondering if she should just go ahead and put Theresa in her place once and for all. She almost decided to just walk away and leave Theresa to her sick fantasies, but then Theresa had to open her big mouth and continue to berate her.
"Whoa, Gwennie. Have you been getting enough sleep?", Theresa said mockingly. "You've got almost as many bags under your eyes as your old whore of a mother."
That was it. The last straw. It was time for Gwen to preach some painful truth to this bitch once and for all. She walked up to Theresa and stood nose to nose with her. "You're banking a lot on the hope that this little paternity scam will finally get you what you want, aren't you?", she said in a smooth voice. "Well, you know what? You go ahead and scheme and dream all you want. But all your fantasies won't save you from the truth. You see, I have no doubt whatsoever that the truth about who turned Ethan's paternity info in to the tabloids will come out. But it's really not going to make a difference, Theresa. Because not even that will break me and Ethan up. And honestly, I really can't wait for the day when Ethan finds out the truth myself. Because when he does, he will get angry and may even leave me for a little while. But after the smoke clears and everything's all said and done, he will be back with me, the woman he truly loves. And when that happens, it's going to destroy you, Theresa. And I'm going to enjoy it. Thoroughly."
"Heh, and you have the nerve to tell me that I'm fantasizing?", Theresa said as she raised an eyebrow at Gwen. "Okay, if you're so sure, then tell me Gwen; Why haven't you told Ethan the truth yet? If you're so sure he'll forgive you, then why haven't you told him about what you and Rebecca have done?"
"Because I've been testing him, Theresa", Gwen replied. "I've given him every chance in the world to walk away from me. On some notes I've even encouraged it, telling him that if he chose you I would let him go without harboring any ill will or making a scene. And each time, he's chosen me. Knowing that he could be with you and I wouldn't hold it against him at all, he has chosen to stay at my side. That's how I know that the tabloid thing won't make a difference, really. Because he loves me. And not you. That's truth. Deal with it."
"Oh please, Gwen! You wouldn't know truth if it came up and bit you on the ass!", Theresa said with exasperation in her voice.
"Right back at you, Theresa", Gwen replied. "Tell me something. If it's merely 'obligation' that keeps Ethan with me and not with you, then why does he treat us the way he does?"
"What the hell do you mean by that?", Theresa asked.
Gwen cocked her head to the side. "Boy, you are slow, aren't you?", she said in a calm and semi-polite voice. "I mean, why does he treat you like dirt and me like the queen of the world? If Ethan was truly unhappy with me, then why is it that whenever he's making love to me, he's doing it with a big fat smile on his face? When Ethan and I are doing the 'vertical polka', he always has an expression on his face of pure happiness. And furthermore, he is always the one who initiates the love making. I don't have to do a damn thing to get Ethan into the mood, because he always seems ready to just jump on me. And yet, you he wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Why is that?"
"Because when he's making love to you, he's thinking of me", Theresa said with a wicked smile. "That's what puts him in the mood, Gwen. Whenever he's making out with you, I'm the one on his mind. And believe you me, Ethan would have no problem with making love to me if you didn't constantly get in the way. Just like that day in the garage, when you butted in on me and Ethan."
"Oh, you're talking about that day when you walked into the garage where Ethan was working wearing nothing but a trench coat and a smile, expecting to use all the research you learned from studying Alistair's secret porn collection, to get some from my husband", Gwen said with a laugh. "You know what I've noticed about you? You always have an excuse for why Ethan chooses me over you. Oh, he's just being noble. Oh, he just wants to honor his marriage vows. Oh, he just feels sorry for you. It's all a crock of bull, Theresa. And if you believe it, you must be more in denial than I thought. Look, if I'm the one getting in the way of you and Ethan 'getting it on', then why didn't he accept the proposal you made to him in your office a little while ago?"
"What proposal?", Theresa asked in an irritated voice.
"Why, the proposal to be his mistress, of course", Gwen replied. She then laughed at Theresa's look of surprise. "Oh, you didn't think I knew about that?", she asked. "Oh Theresa, don't you know? Ethan tells me about all of your pathetic little attempts to be his sex toy. I guess you decided that day if you couldn't take my place at his side, you'd be content simply being his whore." Gwen then threw her head back and laughed merrily as Theresa's face turned purple with rage. "And the sad thing is, he shot you down even then. No strings attached, he didn't have to show you any respect or be obligated to you at all, all he had to do was pork you on a regular basis. I didn't even have to know about it. And he still said no. Oh boy, I just know that must be a big bee in your little bonnet. Knowing that I get sex from Ethan effortlessly, yet you try everything in the world to get some and still get turned down. Really, the only thing more pathetic than a willing whore is a willing whore who keeps getting rejected. But really, who can blame Ethan? What man would want to screw a woman who sold herself to Alistair Crane as his personal prostitute? Ew."
Theresa grit her teeth. "You are the biggest bitch", she growled, seething.
"Sticks and stones, Theresa", Gwen replied with a cocky smirk. "But seriously, you wanna know what a real bitch is? Someone who spends every waking moment of their life trying to get into a married man's pants, yet won't spend five minutes with their own child. Now that's a bitch. I'm sorry Theresa, I can be quite nasty sometimes, but when it comes to being a bitch, you broke the mold."
"I would be with Jane if you hadn't stolen her from me", Theresa snapped.
"Correction: You would be with Jane if a judge didn't look at you and see a psychotic freak that wasn't fit to be a mother to a chia pet", Gwen shot back. "But anyway, enough about Jane. Let's talk about your child."
"Jane is my child", Theresa snarled.
"No, Jane is my child", Gwen said in a condescending voice. "Always has been, and always will be."
"I gave birth to her!", Theresa yelled, getting extremely angry.
"So what?", Gwen said, shrugging her shoulders. "You think blood ties are all that's necessary to make someone a mother? Puh-leeease. It's no wonder you stink so badly at this parenting stuff. You wanna know the painful truth, Theresa? Your role as mother to your children ended the moment you squeezed them out from between your legs. Seriously, one moment you were in labor, and the next moment you were holding a baby and asking where Ethan was. You don't give a damn about Little Ethan or Jane. Never have, never will. The only thing on your mind is your obsession with Ethan."
"I love my children", Theresa yelled, getting angrier by the minute.
"Yeah right, Theresa", Gwen said, rolling her eyes. "You don't know what love is. You know what obsession is. Look, if I'm so wrong, then tell me: Why did Little Ethan call me and Ethan the other day telling us how lonely he was and how much he missed the days he was living with us?"
"You're a liar", Theresa growled.
"No, I'm not", Gwen replied. "But hey, I wouldn't expect you to know anything about it, seeing as how you don't give Little Ethan the time of day. You value your sick obsession over Ethan more than you do your own children. And I'm just glad I was able to save Jane from having a terrible mother like you. I just feel so sorry for Little Ethan, because he's stuck with having a negligent bitch for a mother. Poor kid." Theresa, deciding she had heard enough, swung her fist in an attempt to slug Gwen across her face. But Gwen saw it coming. She caught Theresa's arm in mid-swing and then brought her knee up, catching Theresa right below her ribs. Theresa dropped breathless to the floor, clutching her abdomen.
"What's the matter, Theresa? Am I saying something you don't want to hear?", Gwen asked Theresa mockingly. Theresa straightened herself up and glared at Gwen with pure hatred.
'What the hell would you know about being a good mother, anyway?", she asked, still trying to catch her breath. "I mean, what example do you have to follow? Your mother is Rebecca, the biggest whore on this side of mortality. So how would you possibly know how to be a good mother?"
Gwen chuckled at Theresa's statement. She then cleared her throat, ready to tear down another one of Theresa's insults. "You know what? My mother may be promiscuous. She may have the morals of a female jackal in heat. But when it's all said and done, when it comes down to it, my mother was an excellent mother to me. Sure, she's made her share of mistakes, but guess what? Firstly, I was never neglected. I never felt alone because she was always there. Secondly, my mother always put me first in her life. Sure, she's had men in her life, but never ever did she put any of them before me. I was always number one on my mother's priority list. You know, it's just too bad Little Ethan can't say the same thing. Sure, my mother was no angel. But she was a mother. Which is more than I can say about you." She then folded her arms and looked at Theresa with an air of superiority, readying to wrap this up. "But you know, you can't always judge whether or not a person will make a good mother by whether or not someone had a good mother of their own growing up. I mean, look at Pilar. Your mother always put her children first. No man could ever come before her and you or any of her other babies. She has morals, style, and grace. She has kindness and a sense of God. She busted her ass taking care of a busload of children all by herself after your dear old daddy ditched her for Katherine Crane and left, always putting each and every one of you first before her own needs. And you, my dear Theresa, don't seem to take after her at all in any of those respects. In fact, I'd say you were more like your 'other' parent. I mean, didn't your daddy abandon his own children to pursue a life with a married woman? Hmm… sounds familiar to me."
"Damn you, Gwen", Theresa growled, angrier at her enemy than she'd ever been before.
"Oh come now, Theresa. Don't hate the messenger", Gwen said with a coy smile. "In fact, don't hate the message either. Learn from it. Maybe it will save you from the inevitable future I see in store for you and Little Ethan. The one in which Little Ethan is paying some mind doctor five hundred dollars a week to describe to them all of the things his sociopath of a mother did to him and everyone else while laying on a small couch. Of course, I doubt you'll actually open your tiny mind to the things I'm telling you. Because you don't care about anyone. You don't care about little Ethan, you don't care about Jane, you don't care about Ethan. Hell you don't really give a damn about even yourself. The only thing you care about is feeding your obsession. So by all means, go ahead. Keep it up. Let your relationship with your son go the way of Ivy and Fox. And be content in the knowledge that at least Jane won't be as screwed up as Little Ethan will be." Suddenly Gwen's cell phone began to vibrate. She took it out of her jacket pocket and looked at it. She smiled as she saw the text message Ethan had just left for her. She then tossed her blonde hair and held the phone up for Theresa to see.
"Well, Theresa. It's been fun, but I gotta go. Booty call", she said smugly. "Tell Little Ethan I said hi. If you ever decide to check up on him, that is. Later!" She then walked away down the aisle to finish her grocery shopping. As she walked, she could feel her foe's gaze of hatred burning a hole through her skull. She smiled in triumph. Yes indeed, truth hurts. And Theresa just got force-fed a huge heaping helping of it. Lemme know if you ever get hungry again, Theresa, Gwen thought to herself. Because there's more truth where that came from.
FIN