Divorced! Now what?
Chapter 113

Bethany POV

Today, I decided to stay home, sorting out my things and generally cleaning up the penthouse. We were going to go next door for dinner, and I thought about making a sweet to take with me. Theo said it was unnecessary, but it is what I like to do, and he was wise enough not to argue with me. The place did not need much cleaning. We both seem to clean up after ourselves, leaving just the floors and washing to be done. The sliding door to the balcony was wide open, allowing a fresh breeze to blow through the place. It was nice to be able to open the place up and let nature clear the air inside, not that it was bad or anything; it was a nice refreshing feeling it gave me when I felt the wind in my face. We can often get a strong breeze up here, and having the door open was not good. Today is a good day.

I had the television on, listening to the sports commentary about this weekend's games, and there was nothing of great interest yet. The television was more background noise. I had just finished washing the kitchen floors when my phone rang. Grabbing my phone, I saw it was Dad.

'Hi Dad, How are you doing? I did not expect to hear from you today! I greeted him cheerily.

'You have time to chat?' He asked softly; something was wrong.

'I am at home today!'

'Good. I will be over in five! He hung up. That was strange; something was going on.

I popped the kettle on and set out some scones, and while waiting for Dad, I decided to start making the sweets for tonight. I was going to make a cheesecake. I had all the ingredients, which would have been the easiest thing to make. Dad knocked and walked in without waiting for me to answer the knock. He had full clearance to come up the private elevator, and I still had not gotten used to locking my door, only at night now, as that is what Scott insisted we do, and Theo agreed with him, so I was outvoted. 'Dad,' I greeted him and pushed a plate of scones and coffee at him. He smiled at me, took a seat, grabbed a scone, and started eating it, not yet saying a word. I knew this kind of action from Dad; he had some heavy stuff to lay on me, and I most likely was not going to like it. After eating the whole scone, he took a deep breath and explained why he was there.

He explained where Mum and Cynthia were, and I giggled at the thought of them in one of those places. Not their style at all. They would be out of sight for a long while, the court case for the k********g would be in a few days, and I did not need to be there in court. Visit Jo bnib.com to read the complete sentences for free.If you are not reading this novel on Jo b nib.com, some paragraphs are incomplete. The judge agreed that it could be too traumatic for me to hear and see that time all over again. I appreciated that I did not have to sit through that. I dreaded the thought of being in front of those men again and hearing about it from a different perspective.

'Is that an engagement ring on your finger, lass?' He asked, surprised.

'Not yet, Dad; Theo called it a promise ring! 'What does that mean?'

'Theo said that it was a promise that when I am ready and the court cases are over, he would like to change it to an engagement ring. This way, he is not pressuring me into making a commitment I might not be ready for or making a choice when under so much emotional pressure already!

'That is one smart guy; hang onto him, Dear!'

'Think I will when I am ready. Dad.'

'I have contacted your brother, and his wife is too far along to travel. I would like to know if you would like to go see him. It is only a few hours' drive from here. We could go on Saturday and spend the day and night with him and return in time for the game at the den.'

'That would be great, Dad. I have been wanting to catch up with him. I was unsure how much he knew about Mum and what was happening! I had been worried that he would see something on the news and freak out.

'He had not been kept in the loop. Wendy was unhappy that Thomas had a wife and a husband/wife. Wendy is a big hypocrite, as I know she has been in a triple, so she is the last to judge Thomas like that. Dad's face scrunched up in disgust, not because of the triple idea but because of Mum's double standards and how harsh she had been to both the children he had fathered.

'We can fill him in. Hopefully, the court case won't be on the news. Knowing a few high-profile names are involved.

'I did not think of the press. I will call him and warn him about it but will keep the full details till we get to talk face to face. Dad said thoughtfully, I think he has had a long day already, and it is only lunchtime. We talked for a bit longer. I broached the subject of Pam, and he said they were keeping a low profile at the moment until after the case is done, but after the case is closed, she would be moving in with him, and he is pleased with her company. I was over the moon; he deserved a good woman, and if she makes him happy, that is all I care about.

Dad left in a happier mood than when he arrived. Talking about Wendy took its toll on him. He might not have had a happy marriage, but learning this had deeply hurt him. It hit him harder than he would admit, and maybe Pam would help keep him from getting depressed over it all. Wendy POV

'Get these off of me now!' I screamed; some stupid inmate, patients, whatever they want to call these stupid cows we share a room with. This one came at me while I was asleep and started hitting me, but it was me! They have tied me down to the bed, and now I cannot defend myself when that stupid cow comes at me again. Cynthia is as helpful as a flea to a dog. She cries nearly all the time and has been in more fights. I am not sure if you can call it a fight. They hit her, and she cries, not even defending herself. It is stupid to watch; she looks at me pleadingly as if I can do anything about it while I am trying not to get hit myself, and now they have bound me to bed, and they are coming at me again. The staff were laughing and walking away. They stopped tying up Cynthia after seeing how easy it was for them to hit her and make her cry, but with me defending myself, it is as if they are deliberately making it harder for me, like I am meant to be beaten up.

The staff member just laughed at me and, before leaving the room, looked over at the other woman in the room, then joined a group of staff members who were in the room behind glass, watching what was unfolding.

Is this part of the assessment?

To see how much I can take?

I will not cave in; I will fight each time I can and accept the beating I am about to get. I watched the cows walk slowly towards me. Cynthia whimpered, and they stopped to look at her. They then sneered and continued towards me, the first few blows I could handle. But then my nose started to bleed, and I felt my lips bust. They got bolder and punched me in my stomach; all I could do was lie there and take it. Being bound by hand and foot gave me little choice. But I will get them all back when I am unbound and I get the chance. Maybe I will wait a day or two, but I will fight them. I am not going to accept that this is my life. I am better than all of them in this room, and I will never forget, and when I am out of here, every one of those guards will pay for this. Cynthia POV

Never have I had to fight for what I want like I have here, and I have never been beaten like this. It hurts, and I have no idea how to fight back. Yeah, I hit Bethany, but she was out cold at the time, so that was no issue, but to defend against eight-woman coming at you, I have no idea where to start. I wish I had taken up judo or something when it was offered to me.

Mother is suddenly useless to me, and now she is tied up and getting a beating, too. I am too scared to go near her until they have had enough of hitting her. I am going to have to work out how to improve my situation. Mum might not live through a beating like this; being unable to fight back is hard to watch.

There are no male guards for me to seduce, so I can't use my body, and I doubt any of the women are likely to be interested in me that way. They seem to be getting their jolly by watching us get hit. My face is so sore from the beatings I have already had that I am not sure if the swelling will ever go down. Every time I feel like I am getting better, they hit me; even when I am asleep, I need to keep one eye open, but sleep eventually takes over. I hate it here. I have never been mistreated ever.