"Now brake…brake. Not the gas, hit the brake!" They all lurched forward as she slammed her foot upon the brake pedal, stopping the car in its tracks. The older children giggled from the back seat as the youngest two giggled from their place between her and Georg…who certainly was not giggling. She looked his way and gave him a pained smile, knowing he was trying to keep his temper in line while the children were around. He took a deep breath, smiling tightly.

"Shall I try again?" He nodded, eyebrows raised in annoyance as she quickly tried to remember all of the things he had been teaching her for the past half hour. She didn't mean to be such an awful student, she simply had never once in her life thought she cared much about driving a car. She honestly never imagined she would be able to afford the luxury of having a car, so it would have been silly to think on it too much, she decided. In any case, when Georg found out she had never driven a car, he insisted she learn immediately. It seemed he wasn't a fan of her taking his children, or herself for that matter, on the bus to get where they needed to be. And he knew she was not inclined to ask Franz to drive them anywhere.

They had been driving up and down the country roads around the villa, thankfully being the only car on the roads, as she was certain she was not ready for additional drivers to be involved. She turned down the road that led them past the horse stables, thankful that the turn was quite smooth, but she didn't risk a glance at Georg to know how he felt about it. She learned once already that taking her eyes from the road only caused him frustration, so she resisted the temptation. The children chattered a bit, obviously not realizing the danger they were in with her behind the wheel, which made her feel she needed to be extra cautious.

"Brake! God damnit, Maria, you have got to pay attention!" The children gasped, and she braked harder than she had before as her eyes met his like daggers.

"I'm paying plenty of attention. Do not swear at me."

"Your head is in the clouds. You nearly took out that fence."

"I didn't!"

"You absolutely did!"

"Fine then, you drive." She angrily put the car in park, opening her door and getting out as she waited for him to switch seats with her. He walked past her as they made their way to opposite sides of the car, and she gave him the dirtiest look he had ever seen from her, which let him know he would certainly hear about it later.

They weren't far from the villa, but the drive back was substantially uncomfortable. The children were silent, not sure what to make of their father's mood, but more uncertain about her own. She supposed they had likely never seen her lose her cool in that way, but she couldn't have helped it if she tried. He was the one who had insisted on teaching her to drive, after all, so she wasn't sure why he couldn't have been a little more patient with her. She rolled her eyes, knowing him well enough to know that he was not a patient man, and he likely never would be. She supposed she could blame his own upbringing for that.

"I'm sorry." The entire car was completely silent, and his words hung in the air as they all questioned if they had really heard him or not. She knew how difficult it was for him to admit he was wrong, so the apology, as simple as it was, meant a great deal to her.

"Thank you." She was annoyed by how easy it was to forgive him, but she found he was forgiven before he'd even apologized anyway.

The chatter began to pick up just a bit as they turned into their driveway, and he pulled the car up to the front door. She quickly opened her own door, not waiting for him to do it for her, and let everyone else out. The children ran ahead to clean up for lunch as he took her hand and stopped her from following. She met his eyes, and he looked a bit embarrassed as he attempted to speak.

"I really am sorry, darling. I'm the one who insisted to teach you, after all." She smiled, constantly surprised by how genuine and kind he was with her when they were alone. While his presence was astounding and overwhelming in front of others, she knew nobody would have ever guessed how gentle he was in every single way as her lover.

"You're forgiven, you know that." He chuckled, shaking his head.

"I don't want to take advantage of your weakness for me." She laughed, giving him a shove before he smiled brightly and pulled her closer to him. Their eyes met, and any remaining tension dissipated as she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

They finally joined the children for lunch after just a moment longer together, and they all began to eat as a family. She had to admit, she loved the times of day when they were all together, it didn't matter what they were doing. The chatting and sharing of opinions sang throughout the room as they ate, everyone else enjoying their time as well, it seemed. Georg had told her how much happier they all seemed with her staying there, and she couldn't stop beaming at the thought. She shared with him her concerns about setting a bad example for them, but he assured her they were unfazed as long as they had her in their lives. Their happiness meant the world to her, and he was able to put her at ease with his reassurance. She couldn't deny her own happiness in that very moment.

She noticed Franz enter the dining room and lean down to whisper in Georg's ear. She didn't think much of it, assuming he had a telephone call or perhaps the butler was asking if he was finished with the car for the day. However, she knew the moment Georg's eyes met hers that something was wrong. He looked apologetic, yet angry, all at the same time. And then she saw him…

Her body involuntarily shuddered as she met the eyes of her husband as he entered the dining room, glaring at her quite intently. The children stopped speaking, Liesl's eyes nervously darting to her in question. Georg immediately stood from his chair, standing tall and intimidating. And just like that, her fantasy world caught fire and came crashing down all around her.

"You appear lost. May I help you?" Georg's words were a threat, anyone could see that, and her heart sank as the men sized each other up.

"I've come to collect my wife. It seems she's the one who has lost her way." His eyes never left hers, and she felt herself shrinking before his gaze. As difficult as it was for her to face him, as afraid as she was to be near him, she knew they needed to get him away from the children. She felt frozen, desperately wishing she had just a bit more strength to stand. "I see you have no trouble sitting at the head of his table."

"She will not be leaving with you. Franz will see you out." Otto finally met his eyes, and Maria felt her body relax as his gaze left her. She felt in a trance, shaking her head and standing.

"She is finished playing the part of your whore, Captain." Georg moved forward faster than she had ever seen him move, and she rushed to their sides in fear.

"We need to take this into the other room, please." Her words sounded quite authoritative and confident, and she had to admit she surprised herself. Thankfully, the men listened, and she gave the children an apologetic look as she followed them into the sitting room.

The children shared looks, all quite unsure what to make of everything as they were left alone to finish their lunches. Kurt shrugged and continued eating, never being one to lose his appetite, of course. The others tried to listen to the conversation taking place in the next room, Louisa and Brigitta rushing to stand next to the doorway to hear the best they could.

"What is a whore?" The older children's gazes snapped to Gretl, who was surprised to find them all so aghast.

"Gretl, you shouldn't say that word." Friedrich did his best impression of their father, but he didn't scare her in the least. It wasn't nearly the same.

"Well, what does it mean?"

"It means…um…" He stumbled over his words, all eyes upon him as he grasped to explain. He certainly did like to know everything for his siblings. "Well, I'm not sure either. Liesl?"

"Oh, um…" All eyes turned toward her, and she shrugged. She knew it was vulgar and had something to do with taking to someone's bed, but she certainly had no idea what happened there or why. "It's a very nasty insult. You should never call someone that."

"Why did he call her that, then?" Gretl's words always sounded so soft and innocent, and Liesl met Friedrich's eyes. She wondered if Maria would be upset with her if she filled him in just a bit, just enough to understand why a woman wouldn't want to be with her husband. She had to admit, being able to talk to someone closer to her age about the whole ordeal would have been relieving too.

"He is not a very nice man."

"And Father is, that's why she came to live with us." Liesl smiled and nodded her head as Gretl went back to eating her lunch. She heard Louisa and Brigitta share a gasp as they heard something unsavory.

Maria felt herself sweating beneath his gaze, heavy and angry with her. Of course he was angry, she didn't expect to find him any other way, given the circumstances. They weren't far enough away from the children, she wished they had even gone far enough to go outside. The yelling that she simply knew would ensue would be unbearable. He would likely swear and call her all kinds of disparaging names. She didn't want them to hear any of it, to think of her in that way.

"You have nothing to say to me?" Otto's words were bitten sharply to her, and she jumped involuntarily. She hadn't expected herself to be fearful of him, for her body to shudder at the sight of him, but she felt quite afraid. Georg's presence by her side was an immense comfort.

"What would you like me to say?"

"An apology would be a preferable place to start." She gave a short laugh, not meeting Georg's eyes, but knowing he was feeling the same emotions as she. He remained quiet, well aware that it was not his conversation to be a part of, but he was simply not allowing the man to be alone with her ever again, if he could help it.

"Yes, alright, go ahead." She crossed her arms, waiting for him to speak.

"Me? Maria, what kind of reaction do you expect a man to have when he finds his wife is having an affair?"

"I would expect an argument, or crying, or some kind of threat of leaving…not what you did." He scoffed, hands upon his hips.

"What I did…"

"I never said what I did was right, but…"

"You are the only one wrong, in my eyes. Hearing what I heard on the phone…I've never heard you you sound so filthy. You needed to be reprimanded." She shook her head, holding herself back from a response, which she knew would only lead to petty arguing. It would do no good, and she refused to be pulled into his trap. Living with him made her unable to see when he was baiting her at times, but she had a full awareness of him after having been separated for a bit.

"You received the papers, then?"

"I will not be signing them, if that's your next question." She sighed, doing her best to keep a level head with him.

"Otto…"

"No! You belong to me for life, that was the deal."

"The deal? You mean our marriage vows? Love, honor, cherish…"

"Obey?"

"You knew I would never."

"Fine then, let's talk about love…"

"You've done none of the things you vowed to do either."

"So, you'll finally admit you've never loved me." It wasn't a question, but it didn't have to be. She nodded in agreement.

"Let's just end it now and go on with our lives." He laughed, looking between her and Georg, who had remained silent, but was clearly fuming. She could feel the tension pouring off him.

"You're leaving me so you can marry this old man?"

"Don't make this about him." She quickly stopped the redirection of his anger. She had no doubt Georg could, and would, beat him senseless if given the opportunity. As much anger and resentment as she held for the man, she certainly didn't want to see that happen.

"Had I known you were here playing house…"

"Where else did you think I was?"

"I assumed Salzburg, but not living here, not just having it off with him in plain sight. I thought if I let you blow off some steam, let this run its course a bit, then you'd come home." She scoffed, rolling her eyes at how he still pushed the idea of Vienna meaning something to her.

"This is my home."

"Like hell it is."

"We're getting divorced."

"You can't be serious."

"Did you not read the papers? I'm quite serious, I want out of our marriage. This is not the first time I've told you the same."

"You are not getting your hands on my money." She scoffed, rolling her eyes at how ignorant he was to who she was inside.

"I couldn't care less about your money. You know it isn't about that." He fumed, his eyes nearly burning into her own, but she refused to break eye contact and appear weak. He stepped closer, but she held her head high. Georg felt his fingers twitching with the need to simply lay the man flat, but he knew she didn't want that at all.

"You know, Maria, for a woman who was orphaned, abandoned, and beaten as a child, it's amazing how you still don't know your place." She hadn't expected him to prey on the secrets she had once shared with him, on the weakness found in her past trauma, and she felt taken aback by it. She supposed he was grasping at anything he could to hurt her, to shake her in that moment where he had no control.

"It's time for you to go now. I suppose I'll see you in court." Her voice was even as she fought her own heart from allowing his words to hurt.

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Yes, you are."

"You don't seem to understand that you belong to me, you stupid bitch…" Georg moved forward, but she anticipated his movement and stepped in front of him quickly to stop him. He pressed his hand to the small of her back, reassuring her the best he could. She wasn't sure if she could handle any more violence. "Oh, he doesn't like me talking to his whore like that? She's still my wife. I would be well within my rights if I bent her over right here and…"

"Damnit, Otto, go!" He laughed a bit as she raised her voice, still unwilling to leave. She wondered briefly if he wanted to start a fight, perhaps to have some reason to walk around Vienna as a victim for a while longer. "You don't seem to understand. I only broke your nose, imagine what he could do."

"I should've broken your nose. I should have snapped your neck in my hands and let that prissy little girl watch while I…" She stepped away immediately at the mention of Liesl, knowing she wouldn't have been able to stop Georg from rushing forward and hitting Otto directly in the face. He fell to the floor, hard and fast, and Georg stood tall as he looked down upon him, towering over him.

"I believe she said it's time for you to go." His words were incredibly stern, seething and dripping with every bit of anger he was holding back. Otto stumbled to his feet, clearly dizzy and disoriented from the hit. She stood behind Georg, a bit fearful about any desperate attempt he could have tried to make in that moment.

"You're hiding behind him now?" He laughed a bit, but Georg took him by the lapels of his jacket and began pushing him out of the room. Otto stumbled over his own feet as Georg pushed him through the foyer and nearly dragged him up the stairs to the front door. Maria quickly followed, nerves coursing through her body at how uncomfortable she was with any sort of physicality like that. "I have one last thing to say to my wife!"

"You've said all you need to say." Georg shoved him toward the door, his body slamming against it as Maria remained at the top step, nervous to approach closer.

"Maria…I hope you realize you will burn in Hell for the sin you're living." Georg stopped his speech by opening the front door and shoving him out of the house, closing and locking it before quickly turning to Maria. He frowned at the weakened woman he saw before him, her eyes hollow and blank. She was trying so hard not to be completely shaken to the core by Otto's appearance at the villa.

"Darling, come here." He opened his arms and pulled her close. She held him tightly, burying her face into his shoulder as she tried not to simply burst into tears.

"His words aren't supposed to hurt me anymore." She sniffled, and he held her close, running a hand over the back of her hair and placing a kiss upon her head. She quickly pulled away, ignoring the tears falling from her eyes. "How is your hand?"

"Oh, fine. Don't worry about it." She reached for his hand, finding it red and already beginning to swell.

"You need to put ice on it." She wiped her cheeks and began to walk away, presumably to fetch him some ice, but he grabbed her hand and stopped her from walking away.

"Maria, it can wait." She met his eyes, wishing she could compose herself better. She shook her head in defeat, feeling more vulnerable than she had ever expected to feel that day.

"He's never going to let me go." Her words came in a whisper, and he felt himself tearing up at the anguish in her voice. He rushed to bring her to him once more.

"There's always a way, my love. We must stay strong." He pulled back enough to press a kiss to her lips. He had no idea how, but he somehow knew that things would work out the way they were supposed to. He wasn't sure when he became the one thinking that way, but he believed it with his entire heart.