Please don't kill me for this very short chapter. This is supposed to be longer but, it will take a lot of time to finish. I don't want to not update for a long period of time- though I do that a lot- because I know it sucks to wait. :)
Anyways, I wanna Thank you guys for reviewing last chapter- your reviews are rather helpful and they always make my day.
Also, thank you for the favorites and follows. :D
Lucy's whole body freezes as she sees Benjamin coming out from behind the counter. She immediately tears her eyes away from the scene and presses her back against the wall. Bringing a shaking hand to her chest- feeling her own heart beating fast- she clutches the front of her dress, so tight that her knuckle is turning white.
There are so many emotions running inside her right now, that she does not know how she will react. Her face is showing flickers of these emotions that she is feeling- though she remains passive. She wants to break down and cry- and at the same time, she wants to yell in fury and in rage- it is so conflicting.
She does not know what to think, considering the fact that she did not really see them doing something. Though Mrs. Lovett's look is a giveaway- her hair disheveled; she is covered with flour and her dress looked like it was put on hastily- and also wrinkled. But it is Mrs. Lovett, and she has always been like that.
Maybe she's just over thinking and assuming things. Besides, is Benjamin really capable of having an affair with another woman? No! She knows him too well- he will never do that to her. Their love for each other is so strong that she is sure he will not do anything to hurt her- even if she doesn't know about it.
Or perhaps, this is his way of getting back to her- for not telling him about working for Judge Turpin. Oh, this is all her fault! Yes, she is quite sure now that this is his revenge- sleeping with another woman. If she didn't leave last night and waited to talk to him then, maybe this would not have happened. She does not have the right to be angry with him because this is all her doings. This is what she gets for not telling the truth and at the same time, for being mad because she was caught lying.
But, this is too much. This is all wrong- he is wrong. How can he do this to her? She knows she committed a mistake, but it is not a good enough reason- and there never will be- for him to cheat on her. It feels like her heart has been ripped away from her chest and shattered it into million pieces. It hurts her so much that she just wants to crumple on the floor and cry until no more tears flow in her eyes- though she cannot do that yet, maybe later.
For now, she has to deal with her husband and his mistress. Speaking of, shouldn't she be angrier with Mrs. Lovett? Because she knows that Benjamin already has a wife, and yet she allowed him to have his way with her. Albert must be rolling in his grave right now, seeing what his wife is doing- and it's only been a month since his death. It's a shame, really, she even considered the baker to be her friend.
With a determined look on her face, she composes herself and prepares to confront the two people inside the bakeshop. She brushes off imaginary dusts from her dress and straightens it. Squaring her shoulders and holding her head up high- with a look on her eyes that says murder- she walks towards the door of the shop.
She falters, her hand hovering over the door knob. She does not know what to say- what to do. She is afraid that she might not be able to control herself and do things she will regret later. What if she is wrong? She does not have enough proof that her husband is really doing what she thinks he's doing. Well, that's why she will go inside and know the truth.
Taking a deep breath, she finally opens the door and walks in. The sight that welcomes her makes her wants to tackle the baker to the ground and beat her; she also wants to shake her husband forcefully, hoping that he will come to his senses. They don't even notice her, for they are too busy dusting flour off of each other.
She ambles towards them, stopping a feet away from the counter. Unaware of her presence, they just continue on with what they are doing- she watches them. Looking closely, she sees that Ben's shirt is open in the middle and that the buttons are torn away- some dangling loosely. She does not want to think bad about it but, what else could have possibly cause that? Well, obviously not by making pies.
Unable to restrain herself no more, she clears her throat to get their attention. Simultaneously, they both look at her. Their eyes widening; the color on their faces drains, turning white; and their mouth opening and closing- resembling a fish- as if to speak, but no sounds are coming out. Their hands are still hovering around each other's body from their earlier activity of brushing the flour off of each other.
"Mrs. Lovett..." Lucy takes a step forward, looking at the stunned baker- smiling. "I see you've found my husband."
"Mrs. Barker, I-" Mrs. Lovett tries to explain but Lucy already tears her gaze away from her, seeming not interested on what she is going to say- instead, she turns to look at her husband.
With so much calmness- considering the situation- Lucy strolls towards Ben, stopping just behind him. She wraps her arms around him- he stiffens under her touch- caressing his strong muscular chest- making the baker look away from them. She stands on her tiptoes and asks him in an airy and seductive tone of voice.
"Did she take care of you while I was gone, Benny?" She is looking straight at Mrs. Lovett, with a small smirk dancing on her lips, while she sends kisses on Benjamin's neck. The three of them know that she is not only talking about last night, but also that one week that she was gone.
Benjamin grabs- rather forcefully- his wife's hands and detangles it away from his body. He turns around looking at her, with a stern expression planted on his face. "Stop."
Lucy pouts and bats her eyelashes "But why? I was just asking you." She yanks her hands away from Ben and strides towards Mrs. Lovett, who is shamefully looking at the ground. "Well, seeing that you won't answer me, I think I'll just ask dear Mrs. Lovett."
Before she can fully approach the baker, her husband stops her- pulling her back by grabbing her by the crook of her elbow. Yet, she continues speaking. "Now, Mrs. Lovett, did you take care of my husband while I was gone? Did you enjoy making pies with him?"
Every word she says is laced with venom that if she were a snake, the baker would have died the first time she utters a word.
"Lucy, stop this now." Ben says in a commanding tone. He tries to drag her away outside but, she would not budge.
"No!" she says indignantly and firmly plants her feet on the ground- pulling out of his husband's hold on her. "I am not yet done talking with this whore." She says, pointing a finger to the baker.
Mrs. Lovett gasps and suddenly whips her face up, looking at Lucy sharply. Her whole demeanor changes- she now stands with both hands on her hips, all the while grinning, making Mrs. Barker's eyes widen for a bit- in shock.
The baker lazily leans on the counter, cocking her head to the side while she twirls a lock of her hair. "To answer your questions, Mrs. Barker- yes, I took care of your husband while you were gone. And yes, I did quite have some fun making pies with him- and I think he liked it too. His pies were rather… delicious. In fact, I just tasted him- sorry, I meant his pies just a while ago. Oh and, he got to taste mine too." She finishes her answer by winking at Ben who refuses to look at her.
Lucy's eyes darken. Her patience is wearing thin and, in a minute now, she knows she'll explode. To walk away is her only solution to prevent herself from doing something stupid but, she just cannot do that. She cannot let that little bitch talk to her like that. So with a great deal of effort, she forces herself to calm down.
"Oh, I'm sure everyone in London gets to taste your meat pies. Seeing they are very easy to acquire. How much did my husband pay you… pay you for the pies, I mean?" Lucy smiles as she sees the baker is barely managing to control her anger. She is clearly affected by her vulgar words and that is good- that will put her to her place.
"I'm sure just as much money the judge paid you while you were with him for the last whole week." The baker replies, wriggling her eyebrows up and down suggestively while smirking.
That does it. Blinded by rage, Lucy launches herself to attack Mrs. Lovett, ready to claw her face off. Luckily for the baker, Benjamin is behind her raging wife and is able to stop her by encircling his hands around her waist- holding her firmly. So instead, the angry Mrs. Barker resolves to shouting, all the while thrashing to free herself from her husband's hold.
"You stinking whore! You traitorous bitch- how dare you! You will pay for this you little slut-" Lucy continues on with shouting until she is exhausted. Her body hanging limp around Benjamin's; her fists are clenched tight in anger and she is breathing heavily.
"Come on. Let's go home." Ben says softly to his wife, not letting go of her- just in case she will try to assault the baker again.
Suddenly, without expecting it, Lucy breaks down and cries. She lands on the floor, bringing Ben with her. He is kneeling behind her, with her arms still firmly wrapped around her- while she is hiding her face at the crook of his neck, crying uncontrollably.
"Shh… I'm sorry. I'm sorry- shh… it's alright. Stop now, my love. Come on. I'm really sorry. I love you. I love you so so much" Benjamin caresses Lucy's back, trying to calm her down. He knows how he messed up big time and, he's really sorry for it. He also knows that- unfortunately- sorry is not enough to fix this mess. It pains him to see his wife hurting but, what's more painful is that he is the one causing it.
After a while, Lucy stops crying. She slowly raises her head to look at her husband, who is also looking at her.
"I hate you." She mutters softly. She does not know if she means it- maybe she does, or maybe not.
Benjamin's initial response is to wrap his wife into a tight embrace and not let go of her. "I Love you. I'm sorry- please. Please forgive me, please. It was just a mistake- a stupid mistake. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was angry and- Oh my love, I love you very much."
He is now the one crying. He does not how can he be so stupid and easily give into temptations. He really is remorseful for what he did, if only he can turn back time- but he can't. Now his wife hates him- and it just breaks his heart.
Lucy manages to free her hands from the hug. She takes her husband's face, wiping his tears with her thumbs as he looks at her- dumbfounded. She smiles at him and, closing her eyes, she leans in to kiss his him. At first he is unresponsive but, after a few seconds he begins to kiss her back. They seem to have forgotten of where they are.
It is a very slow kiss full of love and sorrow. They are both very gentle with each other- it's as if it is their first. They do not know what is happening; but for Lucy, the kiss is her assurance- to feel if the love is truly there. And for Benjamin, it is to make her feel how much he loves her and how he deeply regrets what he has done.
After a while, they break apart- looking into each other's eyes. Benjamin is the first one to break the silence. "Will you forgive me?"
Lucy looks away from her husband, biting her lip. Can she forgive him? It's not an easy thing to do but she will try. He has broken her trust and she will find it hard to repair it- it will always have cracks on it.
She pecks him on the lips and wraps her arms around his neck. "I will try."
What also took me ages to update again is Lucy- I do not know how will I deal with her emotions.
After so much rewriting, I settled with this. I hope I got her right. :)
Reviews are LOVE :)