The father saw a bruise beneath his daughters eye and made a callhis son-in-laws life was about to unravel.
Emily stood in the doorway, greeting her parents with her usual cheerful smile. Only the dark, shimmering black eye betrayed the subject she refused to discuss.
“Dont worry, Mum, its nothing,” she said quickly, catching her mothers sharp gaze.
Margaret sighed. “Its your life, love. You have to live it…”
Her father didnt even acknowledge his son-in-law. He drifted to the window, staring blankly as if deaf to his daughters murmured excuses about cupboards and darkness.
“I just… tripped last night. Honestly, Mum, everythings finebetween me and James!”
Fine? Emily remembered perfectly what had happened. James, always simmering with rage, hadnt just shouted. When shed dared to say she was tired of it all, hed grabbed her dressing gown collar so hard it tore at the neck.
“What, you stupid cow, dont you remember who kept you alive when you were nothing?!” hed snarled, shaking her. “Forgotten how I dragged you back from those pubs when you ran off to that Daniel? Forgotten who loved you, you ungrateful little slag? I carried you in my arms!”
Then the blowhard, deliberate. Stars burst behind her eyes before the pain swallowed her whole. And James, still screaming obscenities.
“Yes, love. Cupboard… darkness,” Margaret muttered, though she knew exactly what had happened.
And she felt guilty. She was the one whod pushed Emily into marrying James! She was the one whod driven Daniel away, convinced he was a bad influence.
“Your wardrobe, darling, seems to have fists,” Margaret said pointedly, eyeing her son-in-law.
William never turned from the window. He stepped onto the balcony for a smoke. Unlike his wife, hed never approved of James. The man was hollowa selfish, charmless brute. Yes, he came from moneyflat in Kensington, flash car, connections. But he was rotten inside.
And now the rot had surfaceda bruise beneath his daughters eye.
William couldve grabbed James by the lapels and knocked him senseless. But that wouldve just caused a scene. And he didnt want to. He barely held back… So he stepped outside.
He knew hed fix this another way. And he already knew how.
Hed been on the phone a long time out there…
Meanwhile, Emily bought her mother a coffee, and they chatted about nothing. Half an hour later, her parents left.
James, whod braced for shouting and drama, finally relaxed. He slumped back on the sofa, cracked open a lager, and even smirked. In his mind, their silence meant approval. Family sticks together. Bruises happen. No one crosses the line. Right?
“See, Em? Told you itd blow over!” he drawled, smug. “Your parents are decent. Not like you… Yesterday, you started on me! So what if I went out, had a few?”
He took a swig and reached for crisps.
His relief didnt last.
Not even half an hour later, someone knockedfirm, deliberate. Not the doorbell. A knock that made James freeze mid-sip.
He peered through the peephole… and paled.
Daniel stood there. His rival. Emilys ex. The one whod almost married her before stepping aside. Handsome, tall, assured. Dressed in a sharp overcoat, with that grin that made women weak and men want to punch him.
“What dyou want?” James growled, opening the door just enough to glare.
“Step aside,” Daniel said calmly, and simply shouldered past him.
James stumbled back like a ragdoll.
Emily stood, wide-eyed.
“Daniel”
“Pack a bag,” he cut in. “Well go to mine. Or your parents. But you dont need this washed-up waste of space.”
“Who you calling washed up, you prick?” James spat, but stayed rooted in the corner.
He had reasons to fear Daniel.
“I called you, Jimmy boy,” Daniel smiled. “Didnt want to interfere. But when Emilys dada proper bloke, by the wayrang me saying youd hit her? Well. I took over.”
“What… what are you on about?!” James croaked.
“Didnt take it literally, of course,” Daniel chuckled. “But the lease for your club? Belongs to a mate of mine. A very good mate. Youll be getting noticecontracts not renewing. Understand? Its already on your desk.”
James sat down hard, as if shoved.
“Plus, I tallied up six months back rent. Remember when they said fees might rise if the club turned profit? Well, they did. Six months ago. The notice was on your deskyou just never read it. Me and Mike kept quiet, let the debt pile up. Penalties, interest… Get it? Now you owe. A lot. Shall I name the figure?”
Daniel leaned in.
“And we both know youre skint. Shouldve spent less time down the pub with your bitches.”
James sagged like a deflated balloon.
“This… this is a setup!” he wheezed. “You… you planted those papers!”
“Think what you like,” Daniel shrugged. “You could sue. But your solicitoroh, right, he resigned. Or did you sack him? Wholl back you now? Your bartender with the nose ring?”
James gaped, wordless.
“Emily, lets go. Dont bother with your things. Ill buy you whatever you need. The rubbish here isnt worth keeping.”
“Daniel, wait,” Emily faltered. “This is all so… sudden. I dont understand”
“Sudden is taking a punch and making excuses for the man who threw it. Everything else is too slow.”
Daniel held out his hand. She took it.
“Youve all lost it!” James roared. “This is my house! My wife!”
“Wife?” Daniel tilted his head. “Youre the husband who hits her, then hides behind a six-pack and the telly? Youre not a man, James. Youre a joke. Loud, bitter… nothing. Cant even swing at me properly.”
“But I… I…” James stammered.
“Or what? Take me to court? Explain that shiner as a cupboard accident? Or how your club folded because you drank instead of working, coasting on Daddys contacts?”
Emily followed Daniel without a backward glance. Only at the door did she pause:
“Sorry, James. Goodbye.”
“Piss off, then!” he snarled. “Yeah… whatever…”
And they left.
Two days later, James sat in an empty flat. The club was shut. Papers littered the tablelease refusal, debt notices.
Daniel wasnt just an ex. He was an ex with a spine and a plan. Hed waited. And when he struck, it was flawlessbrutal, final.
Meanwhile, back at Emilys parents, all was quiet. Her mother cooked; her father read the paper.
Then Emily walked in.
“Hi,” she said.
“Whereve you been, love? James looking for you?” her father asked sternly.
“I was… with Daniel.”
“So you left James?”
“Yeah. Im done.”
Her mother clasped her hands. Her father just nodded.
“Good. Thats my girl. And remember,” he added, grinning, “if that idiot ever comes near you again, Ill rearrange his face.”
“Dad… did you call Daniel?” Emily asked.
“Course I did. Who else?” he winked. “Hes a good lad. Proper businessmanunlike that waste of air.”
“Thank God youre rid of him!” her mother chimed in. “Sorry, love, I nearly ruined your life. At least theres no kids with James…”
“Oi, listen to her!” her father laughed. “But the main thing is you see sense now.”
Outside, Daniel leaned against his black Range Rover, smirking. He knew. No one would ever lay a hand on Emily again.
Well, maybe with love. Maybe with surprises. But thats another story.
