A Broken World

A BROKEN WORLD

Daphne saw the stormy eyes of her husband. His face expressionless as he limped out of the lift; his cane supporting his leg. Daphne started drawing back, but her feet began to tremble and her knees began to grow weak. She crashed to the floor, her eyes on the verge of flowing again.

“I am sorry”, she said in a coarse voice.

He looked at her; his eyes unfazed, his features unreadable.

“I am sorry”, she repeated.

He moved closer to her, his eyes studying her as if looking at her very soul. He held out his hand. “You are Daphne Taylor for god sake. You are not allowed to act this way."

She took his hand and slowly gathered her footing. He opened the door of the apartment and turned on the lights. The floor was covered with whisky, tears and pieces of a broken bottle, the air smelt of tobacco and booze.

“Wow”, he said amusedly. “You really let yourself go tonight Mrs. Taylor.”

Daphne had never felt so ashamed, she wanted to say something but she stood there in silence.

Nate limped towards the cupboard and took out a bottle of brandy. He poured the brandy in a glass; he turned towards Daphne offering a glass to which she declined. Taking the glass in his hand, he moved towards the sofa. He seated himself, resting the cane on the side of a table.

“So did you finally tell that stupid man why you left him?”

Every time she came back after meeting Mark, Nate always asked her the same question. She usually brushed aside his query as a crude joke only he would enjoy, but tonight she felt angry. A deep vexation started brewing in the core of her being.

“The great Daphne Taylor nee Morgan,” he said laughing. “The Ice Queen lying broken. Maybe I should take a picture; some people would pay money for it.”

Daphne felt the anger she had been controlling suddenly escape from its confines. Everything happened so quickly that she did not realize what she was doing, until she felt her palm crash on his face.

Shocked by her actions, Daphne quickly drew back; covering her mouth with her hands.

Nate touched the spot where Daphne had slapped him, he looked at her and smiled. “Now this is the Daphne I know. The cold, vicious; queen of my heart.”

Daphne looked at her husband, his smiling face bringing her back from the shock of her actions. “Why do you do this to me?”she asked.

“Because of love my dear,” he said it as if it was a universal truth.

Daphne seated herself on a chair which was opposite to him. She let out a deep sigh. She should have expected how Nate would respond, she knew how he did things. He loved playing with human emotions, he loved watching people squirm when overtaken by their emotions. Maybe he was a monster devoid of all feelings.

“Why did you marry me Nate?” she asked suddenly.

“Obviously because of love my dear.”

“Don’t give me that crap. I know perfectly well that Nathaniel Taylor does not do anything unless there is a gain,” she said angrily.

Nate laughed. His laugh dry and humorless. “That is very true. I will admit that I had my own selfish little agenda. Unrelated with desires or emotions; it was something deeper and it excited me.”

Daphne gave her husband a confused look. “What do you mean by something deeper?”

His fingers idly drummed the outer surface of the glass. “One day when I was a child, I broke a vase. I started crying realizing what I had done.  On hearing my cries my sister came to console me. She tried many things but I did not quiet down, so she finally gathered the broken pieces and assembled them in the shape of a cat’s head. ‘See the pieces are together again,’ she said. Unimpressed by what she had done, I said that it looked nothing like before. She kissed my cheek and said, ‘When old things break, their pieces join together to create new things.’ I had never been happier.” He smiled happily as he finished the story.

Daphne knew her husband was a bit enigmatic. His different approach towards things equally confused and intrigued her. If it had been any other time she would have thought deeply about what Nate had said, and try to understand his hidden meaning; but not tonight. She was tired; her emotions were in a turmoil, she had no time for his childish games.

“I do not understand what you are trying to say. I do not wish to. And if your story time is over I think I will go to bed.” She got up from her chair and started walking towards the bedroom, which was across the room. As she was passing him, his hand firmly grabbed her wrist.

A bolt of anger surged through her veins as she turned to face him. Her anger immediately vanished as she saw the look in his eyes; she felt that she was about to be judged by a god.

“Let me go.” Her voice sounding weaker than she had imagined.

He did not pay attention to her words. He stood up from the sofa and pushed her on top of it. He released her from his grip and limped towards the main door of the apartment and opened it.

Daphne’s heart was beating at an abnormal rate. She had never witnessed this side of Nate. She was scared; she wanted to run, but her body did not seem to respond to her.

His grey eyes fell on her. She began to tremble under his gaze. “I knew this day would come, so I was prepared,” he said slowly. “I could have offered you mansions, bungalows, houses much better than this apartment. But I did not. Do you know why?”

Daphne did not reply.

“Because this apartment is Daphne Morgan’s broken world,” he said simply. 

“This apartment is the world created by your suffering. This apartment is the reality beneath the mask of the cold, hard and ruthless Daphne. This apartment is proof that you are broken just like me.”

Daphne wanted to retort but it felt like something was stuck in her throat. Her vision was growing darker; it was like what had happened before. She was screaming but no one heard her. The darkness was engulfing her; she was fading away.

“Daphne.”

She heard someone call her name.

“Daphne.”

She awoke, as if from a dream. The first thing she saw were stormy grey eyes looking back at her.

He limped towards the sofa and sat on its edge. He gently ran his fingers across her cheek. He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. “Outside that door lies your past. The man you love, the feelings you left behind. A happy, pleasant world made of deception. Inside this room lies your suffering and pain that you chose to bear. A man who loves the viciousness created by your suffering. This world is cold and brutal but there are no masks here.” He gave her soft kiss on her forehead and stood up. “Don’t pity me, I am already broken. If you leave me today it will not break me.”

Nate’s words resonated within her. She realized something, something which she had refused to acknowledge. She had developed her mask in order to hide from it. Her mask had helped her deal with the outside world, but the conflict within her had never ceased.

She stood up from the sofa and started walking towards the door in quick steps. She grabbed the handle of the door and closed it. She turned back to her husband and saw a hint of surprise on his otherwise, expressionless face. “I do not understand your love and I could never return it. I married you to escape my past, instead I brought it with me. Yet you accepted me. After all you have done, it may be selfish of me but I ask you to do one more thing.” She put her hands around his neck and stared into his eyes. “I do not know whether I am broken.” She brought his lips close to her's and gently touched them . “Break me.”

 

 

Author's Note

Review and also point out if I have made any errors. Constructive criticism appreciated.

Reviews

[AUU]

1. "he limped out of the lift.." "Lift" is creating a bunch of combatting imagery for me. At first I was thinking skiing, then I was thinking of metal monster, like a elevator.

2."...why you left him?" I would like to comment how this was very well done. The rude husband with the cane, how she is apologizing to him, mentions of her past as being an "Ice Queen." It's material that makes me want to read more.

3."Because Of love my dear." Not sure if "my dear" needs to be set apart with a comma.

4.The vase story....This guy is bonkers. Cool.

I honestly don't have much to say about this chapter. It was great. Very perplexing, but in a good way. It raises a lot of questions about this Nate, and why exactly Daphne is living away from him in her own apartment. I can piece it together, but I'm not entirely sure.

I was a bit confused why Daphne kind of fainted on the couch when everything when her "vision was growing darker."

I'm kind of a fantasy guy, so my first thought is something supernatural is happening, but I don't think that's it.

This is good material.

[Ardra]

With every chapter the suspense grows... very beautifully done...love the way you tell the story

[Nwang]

Thank you @Ria your reviews mean a lot.

[Ardra]

keep writing :) its always a pleasure to read your creations

[Ardra]

Where's the next chapter? Waiting for your updates :) happy New year

[Anindita Janhabee]

With each chapter, you bring something new... something unexpected...
and this is one of a kind...
i could never have written such a great piece............
I'm so glad reading this...
I'm so satisfied that I didn't point any error.. sorry...
my second way of reading..... with emotions.....haha...
waiting for the next......
gd luck!!!!

[Nwang]

Thank you for reading and reviewing @Anindita

[Anindita Janhabee]

my pleasure reading your stuff...

[horizon]

Oh..! It would have been very difficult for her to do so...it would be like walking on the ashes...really...you are going great I'll wait for next chapter soon...Daphne is going through a very crucial time....

[Nwang]

Thank you for your review :)

[horizon]

Believe me the pleasure is all mine reading it...