When Worlds Collide

Her smirk told me she thought she’d won. Heaven knows my mother has always gotten her way in the past. But that was before I gave a damn. “Your mother will never stand for having a classless slut for a daughter in law.

“I’ll thank you not to call my future wife such vile names. She’s an innocent young girl who I happen to be in love with. None of this is her fault. If you want to blame anyone then blame me, but leave her out of it, she’s off fucking limits.” Her body stiffened but she held her tongue. It was the first time she’d ever seen my displeasure aimed at her.

“As for my mother, she’ll accept my decision or not that’s up to her. But either way it will change nothing. I am going to marry her.”

“She’ll never be accepted, never be one of us. You’ve really scraped the bottom of the barrel there.” I have to say her attitude towards Lucia was making this a whole lot easier. I no longer felt that discomfort in the pit of my gut.

I didn’t expect her to readily accept the woman that would in essence be taking her place, but she had no right to speak about her like that.

The truth is that my ‘intended’ as well as some of the ‘us’ she mentioned, weren’t as innocent as they’d have everyone else believe. Something else I hadn’t cared enough about in the past. But if she or anyone else were going to throw stones, I’d just have to remind them of a few things.

“Those are the very reasons I love her. The fact that she’s not ‘one of us’. She’s sweet and smart with a heart as big as the ocean. She’s not cold and distant, with no more compassion than it takes to write a check. For her, charity is actually getting out there and doing something, and not for the cameras.”

That last one was a low blow but she was grating on my nerves with her assessment of someone she knew nothing about. The girl whose character she was so blatantly disparaging had more honor and decency in her little finger than many of my acquaintances.

“As I said, I never meant to hurt you, but you and I both know that I owe you nothing. I can tell the others if you’d like, or we can just let things die. There was never a formal engagement, no plans have been made. So it should be easy enough to move on from this. If you need to give an excuse, feel free to tell anyone who’d ask that the fault is mine.”

“You mean I should sit back and say nothing as the whole world watches you shame me by marrying that… that.... She’s the maid’s daughter. Do you realize how that will make me look? That you’d prefer her to me? Is she to be the lady of your house? And what about her parents, will you be moving them from the caretaker’s cottage into the mansion?”

I’m sure she thought her insults would somehow get me to see the error of my ways, but little does she know that I care nothing about any of that. All I care about is Lucia and how soon I can get her into my damn bed.

“What I do has nothing to do with you. I’m only here as a courtesy but I see I’m wasting my time. Remember, save your venom for me, because if you do anything to hurt her I will forget our past friendship.” I’m sure she understood the threat as I got to my feet and left.

That had not gone at all as I’d expected but at least it was done. I actually felt better now that that was over, and with very little drama or hysterics. I’d expected tears and accusations and was very pleased that they’d been absent, but I have to say I was more than a little bit surprised at her nastiness. I never knew she had it in her.

I didn’t even know she knew Lucia existed since she never mentioned her. I’d heard plenty about her from Lucia though, who always seemed to notice every time Helen was a guest for dinner or whatever purpose she had for visiting.

I’m glad that I had seen this side of her now rather than later. There would be no need for us to continue in friendship now, something I was sure my little hellcat would’ve been against anyway. I’m also glad my little princess had saved me from myself, from going through with a loveless marriage that would’ve been worse than doing a stint in hell.

Having seen this side of Helen, I know now that I would’ve never been able to find an ounce of happiness with her. It would’ve been like marrying my mother. Both women had the same inbred prejudices and hang-ups that I could no longer stomach. And I’d had enough of that cold detachment from my mother to last me a lifetime.