To say that the meeting with Mel had not gone well was a vast understatement. To say that it was horrible didn't even begin to describe it accurately. In fact, it was the worst forty five minutes of his life.
He should have seen it coming when she opened the door.
She was on her cell phone telling the unknown caller on the other end of the line all about her trip to Atlanta. It took several moments before she finally seemed to notice his presence, which resulted in her obvious reluctance to end her phone call. And then the war began.
Almost immediately after she opened the door and ordered him to come inside she began to berate him. She accused him of arriving later than they had agreed upon. Of course, explaining the reasons for his late arrival (which in fact, were caused solely by the few moments that he sat in the car thinking of Daphne and his life in general) was pointless. Justifying his reasons for being late by saying that he had been at the cabin for a few days (and she knew all too well that the drive back to Seattle from the cabin took a while) was pointless and the moment the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. As expected, she immediately shot him down, lecturing him on the fact that her time was valuable, implying in no uncertain terms, that his time was not.
The battle grew.
Apologies, explanations and the like were shot down as well, replaced with angry, stinging, hurtful words, most of which made him flinch. When at last she calmed down enough to allow him to speak, he found that there was nothing left to say. He removed the small velvet box from his pocket containing her wedding band and gave it to her.
"I believe this is yours." He said hoarsely.
Her eyes flared. "Niles Crane if you expect me to pay for this-."
"Take them. They're yours. I don't want your money, Mel. In fact I don't want anything from you. And you've made it abundantly clear that you don't want me. I-."
To his horror, she began to cry. He hated it when she cried. It softened her; made her seem almost human. And for a split second he considered comforting her; reaching for her hand, telling her that he was sorry. But then he heard-
"GET OUT, NILES!" she screamed, ugly tears making their way down her cheeks.
"Mel, I-."
"GET OUT! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN, EVER!"
He gasped when he saw her lift something (he couldn't be sure what it was) from the table and raise her arm. Dear God, the woman had gone completely mad. She was planning on throwing something at him! She was completely out of control and the sight terrified him.
"Mel, please! I-."
"GET OUT!" she screamed again.
Shaken, he turned and walked out of the apartment, flinching when she slammed the door so hard that he heard the wall rattle. Without looking back, he made his way to the elevator and through the lobby. He kept moving until he reached his car and climbed inside.
His anger was surfacing, almost as an afterthought and he chided himself for the things he didn't say; the things he wanted to say; should have said, but did not.
After all that he'd done for her, after all of the hell that she'd put him through, and after the love he had shown her, how dare she!
The car backed out of the driveway with a screech and he slammed on the breaks when he reached the entrance to the street, jerking himself foreword. With a squeal, the car turned onto the road and he drove much faster than the law allowed.
Damn her.
Damn her for everything. The hurtful stinging words she'd spewed at him resonated in his mind. He felt like a child who had been scolded; like a soldier reprimanded by his drill sergeant. Mel's latest tyrant was much, much worse than anything Maris had ever displayed.
His chest hurt, as though it had been bruised. And, theoretically, it had. He felt as though she had punched him. And he shuddered to think that she had actually considered throwing an object at him. He should call the police; or better yet, tell his father that he'd been threatened. But he knew that it wouldn't do any good, even though his father had strong ties to the Seattle Police Department. Getting Mel involved with a legal battle would only cause him more headaches than he could stand. At least she was out of his life forever; or so he prayed. And he thanked God that they hadn't gotten married.
Damn her.
He felt his eyes well with tears but he made no effort to brush them away. What was the point? At least he hadn't given her the satisfaction of seeing him broken. And he would never give her that satisfaction. Never.
Before he realized it, the Elliott Bay Towers came into view. It was a welcome sight. His visits to his brother's home were, at times enjoyable (especially if Daphne was there) and the truth was that he sometimes felt more at home at Frasier's than he ever felt at the mansion when he was married to Maris.
At his brother's he would find solace (or so he hoped) and that solace would be enough to get him through the hours until he could return to Daphne.
God, how he missed her. And now, after the traumatic meeting with Mel, he missed Daphne more than he thought possible. He needed her, as soon as possible. And frankly, as soon as possible couldn't come soon enough.