Hey guys! How have you been? :)
I wanted to say thank you to those who reviewed last chapter. Yaaay for all of you. :P
Anyway, this chapter is quite... dramatic. To those who hate Lucy, you will only hate her more. :)
Lastly, do forgive me for my mistakes in this chapter. I feel too lazy to check for any mistakes. Just point it out to me if ever you guys found one. :)))
Midway through her journey to work, Lucy realizes that The Judge will not be present today. He has told her of some business trip that he is going to attend to, and says that it will take him the whole day. Though he wants for her to go with him, the client has asked for The Judge to go alone. So, he has allowed her to take the time off and enjoy the rest of her day.
With a big smile on her face, she happily walks back home. Today, she will invite her husband to go to the park with her. Though she knows that while she doesn't have work, her husband does. But, she will ask him to close his shop today; he will never say no to her. Besides, he's always the one who wants her to stop working for them to spend more time together; this will be the perfect opportunity.
Arriving in Fleet Street, she excitedly makes her way upstairs in her and her husband's room. When she reaches the landing of the stairs, she takes a peek first on the entrance door. She has to make sure that there are no customers present, as not to disturb. She immediately sees someone inside-a man- besides Ben. The two appears to be serious, and talking of something really important.
She squint her eyes to get a better look inside; upon having a closer look at the man, she notices that his face is quite familiar. She tries to remember from where she has seen him. She is very sure that they have already met. Maybe they met at the ball that The Judge held? No, she doesn't think so. But, where did she meet him?
She turns around, leaning on the banister of the stairs. Since the man got her so curious, she tries to recall of when and where she has seen him. She racks her brain, hating the feeling of not being to remember. Getting frustrated and annoyed, she throws her hands in the air, giving up. She is about to barge inside the house, not caring about bothering the two- she has to know who that man is; when suddenly, it clicks on her. He's the one who was with the slut!
She remembers now! Back when she was attacking the slut, that man was the one who was preventing her. What is he doing in her house, now? It doesn't seem like he is getting a shave. What are he and Benjamin talking about? Does this man reports to her husband about the slut whenever she's away? Well, she will have to find out for herself.
Creeping back towards the door, she presses her right ear on it. She is expecting to find it hard to listen to what's being said between two, but she is wrong. She can hear the man shouting, and she does not like what she is hearing.
"Yes! She loves you, very much! And you are too blind to see it!"
She does not need to guess who that man is talking about. There is only one woman who keeps on pushing herself to her husband, and that is the slut- Mrs. Lovett. She cannot understand how this woman cannot get the fact that Ben does not want her. There may be something that happened between her and her husband, but that's all in the past. Ben has reassured many times that it was all a mistake, and she believes him. And considering the slut's desperate actions for Ben to like her, she thinks Mrs. Lovett seduced her husband, that's why he did it.
She does not wait for Benjamin's reply regarding on what the man has said. She will deal with the matter herself, and the only way to do it is to talk to the woman directly. She cannot have the slut ruining her marriage again. She has done it once, and she will not allow her to do it again. If the slut wants war, then she will give her war.
She angrily descends down the stairs, though still careful not to make any noises. It's better if Ben doesn't know that she will talk to Mrs. Lovett, or else he will just prevent her. Once outside the famous bakeshop, she thinks of ways on how she will approach the baker. She really does not want to be violent again. In fact, she still feels guilty for attacking the woman; she just got carried away by her anger. But now, maybe she will try and really talk to her. She will try to understand whatever she will say.
Entering the bakeshop, she is immediately greeted with silence; the only sound she can hear is the clinging of the bells on top of the door. Frowning, she closes the door behind her quietly, and then starts wandering around the shop, looking for its owner.
"Hello!" she calls out, hoping that the baker will come out soon.
She is now in Mrs. Lovett's parlour, feeling uneasy for intruding in someone else's house. She sees a hallway leading to a couple of rooms, and guesses that the woman is in one of them. So, she calls out again, this time louder.
"Mrs. Lovett?"
This time, she receives an answer.
"Who's that?" the voice shouts back.
She does not know what to say. If she tells the baker her name, then she doubts that she will not face her. Instead, she just makes up a reason on why she is in Mrs. Lovett's house, instead of really answering her. "I need to talk to you; this is urgent."
She can hear rustling from one of the rooms; after a minute, the woman comes out. The surprised look on her face tells Lucy that she is not expecting her to be in her house. But the shocked face instantly turns into one of distrust. "What are you doing here?"
"As I told you, I need to talk to you." Lucy replies; she is trying her best to be calm, but really, the face of the woman in front of her sends her blood boiling in rage.
Mrs. Lovett walks towards her, eyeing her suspiciously. Now it's her turn to be surprised. Once the woman emerges from the dark hallway, she is able to see her completely. The slut is pregnant! She is sure the father is one of the many men she has flirted with. Well, it serves her right. By being pregnant, she will not be able to seduce men. No one wants a pregnant woman without a husband. A child is a liability, and men tend to avoid that.
"What about?" Mrs. Lovett asks, looking skeptic.
Lucy scoffs; she crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. "Oh, I think you already know, Mrs. Lovett."
The woman takes a seat on the sofa and motions for her to do the same; she obliges, taking a seat across her. "If this is about Ben, then I don't want to waste my time explaining to you. You would only believe your husband, not me."
"Of course, he's my husband. But I want to hear what you will say, too." Lucy replies. She really means what she just said. She wants to understand Mrs. Lovett. She knows that it will be hard, because her judgments will be biased, but she still needs to hear from her.
Mrs. Lovett takes a deep breath; she places her hands protectively around her now very big belly. Lucy feels a pang of envy. She has wanted a child for so long, but there are a lot of things preventing her to be a mother. She stares longingly at the woman's stomach, imagining herself to be the one who's pregnant.
Her musings stopped when she hears of the baker's reply. "What do you want to know?"
What does she want to know? Well, there are a lot of things she wants to know. If she will ask them all to her, then they will take until tomorrow. Right now, maybe what's bugging her is why the baker keeps on bothering her husband.
"Why is that you continue to pester my husband? Can't you see that he does not want you? Also, do you really have to send that man in our house to confess for you- on what you feel towards my husband?"
The baker is staring at her; her eyes are open wide, and she looks mortified. Lucy is happy with herself. Seeing the woman's reaction, it seems like she is not expecting that she will know of her plans. Well, she really wouldn't have known; it's just that the woman's timing is very wrong, and she is thankful for that.
"Wha- what are you talking about? I did not send someone." The woman looks like she is going to cry now. "Oh gods, David!"
"Don't pretend now. I heard- is that David? I heard him telling my husband of your love for him. Didn't think I'd know, Mrs. Lovett?" She is openly smirking now. The slut takes her for a fool; if she thinks that she is going to fall for her charade, then she is mistaken. She doesn't need to act like she doesn't know of what the David man has done.
"Believe me, I didn't… I- I don't know anything about this." The woman's pleading voice almost makes her believe for a second that she is telling the truth, but she is having none of it.
"If you want me to believe you, then give me a good reason on why David is upstairs, talking to my husband about how much you love him."
Mrs. Lovett grabs the edge of the couch and leans forward. Her face is now a mixture of anger and annoyance. "I told you, I haven't got a clue on why he's there. He should be the one you are asking, not me. I wasn't the one who's talking to your husband right now."
Well, the woman has a point. Figuring that her question will be left unanswered, Lucy has no choice but to concede. "Fine!"
She remains silent for a while, not really sure what to say. There are a lot of things in her mind right now that needs to be cleared, but she knows that Mrs. Lovett will not willingly give her the enlightenment that she needs. Besides, she doesn't really trust the woman. In fact, she doesn't know why she' still in her house.
After a while of contemplating on what to say, she asks the baker. "But, is it true… do you love him?"
Mrs. Lovett looks conflicted on whether she will answer her or not. But she later responds after a long pause, which for a while fills the room with an awkward silence. "My feelings for anyone are none of your concern."
Although the Mrs. Lovett does not answer her question directly, Lucy is quite sure now what the woman feels for Ben. It's funny, really. She is not sure if women, like the baker, are capable of feeling any love at all. If they cannot feel just a tiny but of conscience in conniving with someone's husband, then how much more, love?
"How can you sleep at night knowing that you are ruining-ruined- someone's marriage? Is it that easy for you?"
Mrs. Lovett is pointing her finger at her now, almost standing from her seat. "You do not know what you are talking about! Don't you know how hard it is for me? You go here in my house and accuse me of things you don't have knowledge about."
"Ben and I are nothing but friends! Just like you and The Judge; you two are just friends, right? You were also at the ball together with him." the baker yells; it seems like she is slowly losing her temper.
With that she is rendered speechless. She is not able to say anything other than, "Yes, but…"
The woman is smirking, with her arms crossed in front of her, looking smug. She wishes she can wipe that smile off the slut's face. "But what? What's the difference between you and me, Lucy? "
But now, it's her turn to gloat. She puts on a saccharine smile, cocking her head to the side. "Want to know what? That's easy, I don't fuck my friends!"
Mrs. Lovett bolts up right, pointing to the exit of her house. "Alright, I need you to get out now."
Lucy laughs, and slowly approaches the baker. "What's wrong Mrs. Lovett? Am I mistaken?"
"Stop. Just get out of my house." the baker bows her head, shaking it.
If this is any other person, Lucy will back down immediately. But this is the slut who ruined her perfect relationship with her husband. It's fun to watch her looking so pathetic in front of her. She looks like an angel that cannot do anything wrong, but she's the contrary.
She reaches out to tuck a stray curl behind Mrs. Lovett's ear, giving a short laugh as she feels her flinch from her touch. "Come now, Mrs. Lovett; isn't you pregnancy enough proof of that? I'm guessing it's that David who got you knocked up, or maybe one of your many other friends?"
The baker murmurs something which she is not able to understand. Scowling, she leans forward. "What's that?"
Mrs. Lovett whips her head up; tears are now freely flowing on her face, which Lucy hasn't noticed before. Caught off guard, she takes a step back. She is not expecting for the baker to show such weakness. "It's not David's! The child inside me is your husband's, Benjamin!"
She feels like cold water has been splattered all over her. Shivers run down her spine, and she can feel the blood quickly draining from her face. She cannot do anything but stupidly stand there. There are no words that can describe what she is feeling right now. She does not know if she should believe what the woman has said. She wants to cry and at the same time, yell.
Once she is able to somehow come out of her shock, her initial response is to grab the slut in the hair and drag her into her shop. "You liar! I don't believe you!"
"Stop! Stop! I'm not lying!" Mrs. Lovett is yelling, but she is not hearing any of it. She is too angry to think rationally. She has said that she will not be violent again, but there's no stopping her, especially not now. This woman is taking everything she wants from her. First, her husband, and now her child! She is the one who's supposed to be pregnant! Is this the reason why Ben is opposed to her getting pregnant?
At this point, she is now slapping Mrs. Lovett over and over across her face. The baker cannot do anything but try and block her attacks, while also trying to protect her swollen belly. Lucy, still not yet satisfied with the damage that she is creating to the baker, pushes her hard.
Mrs. Lovett hits the counter first, and then stumbles to the ground. Her skirt hitches up, revealing her stockings stained with blood that is flowing down between her legs. And it is only when she sees the bleeding baker does Lucy stop.
The baker, with a look of panic and fear, touches the blood. Upon realizing what this could possibly mean, she breaks down, hysterically crying and screaming for her lost child. She holds up her bloody hands, staring accusingly at Lucy, who has now only realized the extent of what she has done.
Instead of helping Mrs. Lovett, Lucy runs out of the shop in a hurry. Never once does she ever look back at the baker, who is crumpled to the ground, losing her child.
Sooo... what do you think? I hope you didn't have any trouble understanding this. I hope I made it clear on who's the 'she' that i'm talking about. :))
Reviews are L.O.V.E. :))))