Hello, everyone! My gosh, I really let time get away from me in 2018. I'm so very sorry for the delay on this story, the last half of 2018 was so hectic for me. Good news is, I graduated from college with my A.A. in Psychology. With straight A's, might I add. I'm very proud of myself, as I had been SO nervous to return back to college after 5 years away. I'm now studying for my B.S. in Clinical Psychology. I also found a new, better job. Not to mention an amazing boyfriend! You could say my life has really been looking up. I wish nothing but the best for all of you in 2019, and I promise to not go MIA again.
As always, read & review! I love getting your individual input on this story.

- xoxo, Crys (01.05.2019)

"Picture Perfect"

Chapter 12

It was half passed one o'clock in the morning when Darien decided to finally go to sleep. It had been a long, hard day for him. He had been originally fully intent on sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms, as to avoid his wife and the events that had taken place throughout the day, but the more he thought about how she had blatantly locked him out of their bedroom, the more it annoyed him.

Earlier, he had wanted to give Serena her space, and to do so he knew he needed to sleep in one of the spare rooms. However, fast forward a few hours, and a few unintended glasses of whiskey later, and he now had the desire to sleep in his own bed. He was a smart man, and he knew that the chances of his current actions causing even further drama were high, but with cloudy judgment, he didn't care. All he wanted was sleep.

Carefully inserting their spare key into the door knob, Darien quietly unlocked the door and slipped into his shared bedroom with his wife. Serena was sound asleep, as he did his best to saunter quietly over to their bed, as to avoid waking her. It was dark, but he couldn't help but notice the now almost dried tear stains on one of their pillows; he knew his wife had more than likely cried herself to sleep because of him.

If he was honest with himself, he truly hadn't meant to ever put his hands on her. It was against his morals and everything that he believed in. He firmly believed that any man who ever had the audacity to hit a woman was weak. Men were ten times stronger than women and had no reason to ever use such force against them; he knew that. But he also knew cheating was distasteful and wrong, and that evidently hadn't stopped him.

With his gut now clenching from what was probably disgust for himself, or perhaps remorse, Darien carefully slipped into bed next to his wife's sleeping form, ignoring the nauseating sensation in his stomach. Part of him had felt so broken after he had learned the fact that he had almost had a son, had it not been for their miscarriage. It was easy for Darien to block out and repress memories of a baby he didn't really know and couldn't put a face to, but now he couldn't do that. He couldn't do that anymore, and it hurt.

Deep down, he knew that Serena probably hadn't meant to upset him in revealing such knowledge, but it still angered him. They had made a promise to one another to never want to know the sex of their miscarried baby – it would be, and was, easier to deal with their loss that way. Now knowing that it was a boy, his thoughts raced with images of what could have, should have been – all of the things he never got to experience with his son, what his name would have been, what he would have grown up to be, everything hit home all at once, and the ebony-haired man couldn't take it.

Laying next to his sleeping wife, for the first time in a very long time, he allowed himself to shed a single, solitary tear. His heart had re-broken that night, and because of the whiskey, Darien was unable to push the emotional turmoil he was currently experiencing aside. Careful not to disturb his wife, he shifted his position in bed so that he had his back to her, before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Tomorrow was another day.

Six-thirty had rolled around faster than anticipated, as Serena sleepily opened her eyes, realizing she had forgotten to set her alarm the night before. 'Not that I really needed to.' she mused to herself. It was more of a precaution than anything – Serena's biological clock usually woke her up five to ten minutes prior to whatever time her alarm was set to go off at, anyway.

Feeling a bit of a draft, and not liking the cold sensation first thing in the morning, she pulled at her comforter, becoming surprised at the weight she felt against her efforts as she tugged against the blanket to gather more warmth. Rolling over to her left side, she was shocked to see her husbands sleeping form next to her. She was certain she had locked Darien out of their bedroom for the night after what he had done to her. His back was to her, but she could tell he was in a deep sleep due to his slow, deep breathing. He reeked of whiskey even more so than he did before.

The blonde couldn't help but take in the sight; he looked so peaceful while he slept there next to her. No agitated expressions, no anger in his eyes, no slick comments from his mouth – it was a pleasant sight, however temporary it may be. She knew he would wake up in a shitty mood – the lingering smell of liquor being an indicator for the worst. Her husband had tried to drink his problems away, and he was about to eventually wake up to the reality of the fact that liquor doesn't solve your problems for you.

Rolling her eyes, Serena quickly and carefully crawled out of bed, very aware of Darien's sleeping presence, trying her best not to wake him. Who knows when exactly he had snaked his way into their bedroom and their bed last night – she would just leave him be to sleep. If she was honest with herself, she wasn't ready for a round two with her husband, and she knew the grouch he could be if disturbed while sleeping.

Why he ended up in their bedroom, in their bed, sleeping next to her after what he had done, she had no idea, and quite frankly she didn't care to find out. She knew he was probably trying to get under her skin by doing so – he knew waking up next to him would more than likely irritate her, but she wasn't going to let him get to her.

Brushing her thoughts aside, she quietly exited their bedroom and traveled downstairs to their kitchen where she could already smell the aroma of her favorite coffee brewing. Timed coffee makers were a true blessing; every morning Serena was able to wake up to a warm cup of coffee without having to do the work of brewing it herself. It made her mornings so much easier.

Looking around her kitchen, she could tell it hadn't been used last night, which meant dinner wasn't made by Darien for Annabelle. To make up for that, she knew she had to start their days off with a big breakfast, and so she immediately got to cooking.

After thirty minutes flat, pancakes, French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns littered their breakfast table. The blonde-haired woman knew how to feed her family – Annabelle took after her mother when it came to her appetite - the girl could eat.

Having set the table for three out of habit, Serena wondered if she should remove Darien's place setting. With the way he had been acting toward her lately, she wasn't sure if he would even eat anything that she cooked anymore. However, she knew better. Annabelle would be upset if her father didn't join them for breakfast, and she knew that. The last thing she wanted to do was upset their little girl, so she left the table set as it was, with a place setting for each of them.

Figuring she should probably wake Annabelle first, she made her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her daughter's bedroom.

"Annabelle," she called softly, as she quietly opened her bedroom door, stepping inside. "Time to wake up, honey. Breakfast is ready."

The faint sound of a long stretch and yawn after a good night's rest could be heard escaping her daughter's mouth. "I'm awake mommy, good morning!" Annabelle chimed as she wiped the sleep away from her dark midnight blue eyes. Carefully slipping out of her bed, she quickly ran over to her mother to embrace her in a morning hug.

Serena kneeled to greet her daughter, returning her loving embrace. "Good morning, muffin!" she replied, hugging her daughter close. "Did you sleep well?" she asked, kissing her forehead.

"Uh huh!" Annabelle managed, unwrapping her arms from around her mother. "I have to tinkle first mommy, and then I'll be down for breakfast." Before leaving her mothers sight to fulfill her bathroom needs, the raven-haired little girl paused just before her bathroom, turning to ask her mother a quick question. "Is daddy still home, momma?"

Smiling at how adorable her daughters love for her father was, Serena nodded her head. "Yes, baby, daddy is home. I'm just about to go wake him so that he can join us for a yummy breakfast. Now hurry, go potty, while I go wake your daddy."

Taking a deep breath, Serena made her way down the hall to their bedroom, dreading waking up her sleeping husband. Recalling last nights events, she wasn't comfortable being near him again so soon. If it were up to her, she wouldn't wake him up at all, she would just leave him alone, ignoring his presence for the entire day. He didn't deserve her acknowledgement after what he did to her.

Lightly brushing two fingers over her cheek, she could feel that it was sore from last nights abuse. 'You can't tell anyone.' she heard Darien's cold words echo through her mind. 'God forbid anyone knew of the monster he's become.' She thought bitterly.

No longer caring to be quiet, Serena closed the bedroom door behind her rather loudly. She was hoping to startle Darien with the noise, but he didn't even flinch. "Darien," she called out, moving closer to their bed. "Darien get up." She continued, louder this time.

Nothing.

"Darien," she pestered, taking a hold of one of his arms to shake him. "Get up, Darien."

"Serena," the ebony-haired man mumbled. "Leave me alone. Go away."

"I'll go away when you get your ass out of bed," she explained, dragging the comforter from off of his body. "Now get up."

Surprised by the chill of their bedroom, no longer covered by a blanket, Darien was pissed. "Are you fucking kidding me, Serena? Give me the goddamn blanket and get out! I'm sleeping, or can't you see that?!"

Unphased by his burst of anger, Serena refused, tossing their blanket on the floor, even further away from him. "Breakfast is ready, and our daughter is expecting you at the table this morning. For Christ Sake, get out of bed and join your daughter for breakfast. She hasn't seen much of you lately."

At the mention of their daughter, Darien let out a loud, tired, frustrated sigh, knowing she had just won and that he had to get out of bed. The headache he had from drinking the night before and only coming to bed a few hours prior had him on edge. It was turning into a migraine. Not only was he aggravated that he had been woken up, but he was pissed off at the manner in which Serena chose to wake him.

"If you ever wake me up like that again, Serena, I swear to god you will regret it." He scowled, throwing the only remaining sheet of off his legs.

"Regret it how?" she scuffed, turning to face him. "What, are you going to hit me again, Darien?"

By the look on his face, she could tell he wasn't happy with what she had just said. She got a glimpse of something flash over his eyes, but he seemed to quickly mask it. Was he ashamed? Or embarrassed? Was it possible that he had just forgotten last nights events and she had just reminded him? She wasn't sure.

Serena had a right to still be angry with him. She didn't know who this man was anymore – the man she married would've never put his hands on her in anger. He was a much better man than that. The two had their issues, as every couple does, but there were certain lines you just didn't cross when it came to the people you love, and Darien had managed to cross them all lately.

At this point in time, Serena wasn't so sure she even wanted to talk things out with her husband anymore. A part of her had died last night after her husband – who was supposed to be the love of her life - had hit her. An important part of her heart had chipped away, and she wasn't sure if she could ever get it back.

Avoiding Serena's penetrating gaze, Darien abruptly shuffled out of their bed, brushing past her on his way to their bathroom. Though he was angry with what she had just said, a lump had managed to form in his throat. He had escaped reality momentarily during his alcohol-induced slumber, but that was over now, and he was entirely coherent. It was time to face the truth – the reality of what he had done.

Coping with his infidelity was easy. Christina truly meant less than nothing to the man. But acknowledging the fact that he had snapped and used force against a 25-year-old woman? That was a hard pill for him to swallow. Pinning her against their refrigerator earlier that evening had been wrong, and he knew that, but smacking her with enough strength to nearly knock her down? The worst part about it; he had too much pride to admit to his wife that what he had done was wrong and out of line. He would rather act as if it had never happened.

Darien sat behind his desk, visibly agitated. It was a quarter to 9 o'clock in the morning, and his secretary, the wretched Christina, was 45 minutes late for work. Because of this, he was forced to answer his own phone calls, and make his own coffee. It wasn't enough that he had to endure one of the most awkward breakfasts this morning with his wife after the horrid night they had – he had to start his day at work off shitty as well.

Feeling his cell phone buzz in his pocket, he pulled it out to glance at the caller ID – it was Andrew calling. "What's up, Drew?" he called into the receiver, placing his cell phone on the desk, his best friend on speaker phone.

"Nothing much, Darien. Just wanted to give you a call before things got busy at the hospital." His male counterpart continued, "What's the word with that crazy – what the hell was her name, Christina?"

Not missing the chuckle that escaped his friends' lips, Darien rolled his eyes, sighing loudly. "I wouldn't know, Drew. The bitch is late for work – I haven't heard from her since I approached her in the parking garage."

"Maybe she quit?" the blonde-haired man mused. Darien was a pretty intimidating man, and he wasn't exactly gentle with the woman during their last encounter. "I mean, is she usually late?"

Darien laughed a little. "Yeah, that will be the day!" Christina quitting and leaving him in peace to live his life – ha! Yeah, right. "She's usually always on time, if not early – she's probably purposely late today because she knows it will piss me off. Do you know just how many phone calls I've had to answer?" the annoyance was evident in his voice, "Phone calls of people I've purposely been avoiding. Good god, I even accidentally answered a phone call from my cousin. You know he never shuts up."

The raven-haired man paused his ramblings, slightly furrowing his brow. A thought had come to him. "I bet you anything," Darien exclaimed, "Anything, that she's going to try to make my work life harder, since I've made it clear she can't fuck with my home life."

"Hmm…" Andrew couldn't deny that the woman didn't seem like the type to just move on with her life. She reeked of the type of woman to seek an unspeakable amount of revenge on her enemies. But was it that serious? He wasn't so sure. "Honestly, we'll just have to wait and see. Jumping to conclusions won't do you any good, the woman could seriously just be stuck in traffic, dude."

Just then, Dr. Shields' intercom beeped – it was coming from his assistant's desk, which only meant one thing. "Well, well, well… speak of the devil and he shall appear." Running a quick hand through his ebony locks, he turned his attention back to his best friend, "I've got to go, Drew. It seems like someone has decided to plague me with their presence today after all."

Andrew hadn't the need to hide his laughter this time. "All right, man. Good luck today. And stay cool; remember what's at stake."

"Oh, I know. Trust me, I know." He explained, before ending the call. His personal life was at stake, he knew that. "I'll talk to you later today. Bye, Andrew."

Reaching for his intercom, he buzzed his secretary back. "Christina," he said into the speaker, completely indifferent, "Will you bring me my itinerary for the day, please?"

"Getting it ready right now, doctor." Was her curt, nonchalant response.

Odd. He expected at least some push-back from the woman.

Who knew what today held in store for Darien?

End Chapter 12

I'm going to do my best to try and make each chapter longer from here on out. I didn't realize how short they were until I just recently reviewed this story. I'm sorry! As a reader and not just a writer, I know how annoying short chapters can be, and how draining long chapters can be. I'm going to try and meet you all in the middle. Possibly combined previous chapters? Somewhere around 5,000 words a chapter? I think that's a good number.

Anyway, review, review, review!

- xoxo, Crys (01.05.19)