Forced Marriage: Escaping Her Monster

After a while, he looked up and she smiled. With his eyes half-closed, he climbed up and pressed his cheek on her chest as his hands wrapped around her waist. Jerlina hugged him around his neck.

She find this act of his very cute. There were a lot of times when he offered her his chest to lean on and for her to do the same for him – it made her happy.

She wouldn't lie. She was a little pissed that he acted mad at her when she did nothing.

"Is he dead?" she asked and she couldn't help but take a sniff at his hair. It smelled like him.

And it was a little wet where the hair was long. It made her think that he might have snapped and killed Viper..

"Will you hate me if that is the case?" he asked and it made her heart skip a beat.

"Did you?" she asked again. "Kill him?"

She didn't know what she would feel if he had killed Viper.

Viper is the lowliest scum on earth who deserves death. But she didn't want Joel to be the one to kill him; although, Joel would be justified if he did that.

Did he though?

She already told him that he cannot die easily. And there were talks to hire someone to do the killing in a more torturous way. Knowing all that, if he lost his temper, can it be acceptable?

But then again, the reason she originally kept her calm still remains.

The enmity between Viper and Joel lasts for years and anything might have happened between them. And it is very much possible that Viper tried to hurt Joel and it might have been self-defence.

There are a lot of possibilities and she didn't want to judge him prematurely.

And even if Joel killed Viper out of rage… She didn't think that she'd be that devastated. She might probably worry a little for Joel though.

Jeremy buried his face in her chest. This is another one of the advantages of her having a flat chest. He won't suffocate by her boobs.

No, he didn't kill Viper although every fiber of his being wanted to snap that Viper's neck and burn him to ashes. But he broke every bone in his hands and legs and left him in agonizing pain.

Jeremy knew it. That darkness in his heart was rising. The darkness that he kept at bay for the past decade started to rear its ugly head.

He didn't want to leave him there even if he was half-dead. He stopped only when the other guys stopped him reminding him that Viper will die if he hurt him even once more.

It was only when he reached the surface and when he looked at his wife, he started to feel guilty for the darkness in his heart. He asked her to leave and he even was sure that he is doing it for her.

When Viper started talking bad about Jerlina, he could keep his calm remembering the silly face his wife donned some time before. He was angry Viper tried to hurt her, but her smiling face made him keep his composure, reminding him that she asked for Viper to suffer.

And when Viper changed his tactics as he broke his wrists, by bringing up Dave, he snapped.

That guy must have known that name would provoke him and said that name purposefully.

He too knew he was provoking him probably to avoid getting handed over to "The Doctor". And yet, he couldn't stop.

Once he saw the little blood seeping out from the hand that was snapped, he couldn't stop. All he imagined was the sufferings endured by Dave during his last moments. Back then he vowed to take revenge on his behalf.

It was always in the back of his mind. It was why he tried to start a gang war in the past. But when she came, he changed his tactics. And as Viper started speaking of how he tortured Dave and started lying that Dave begged to let him live, he couldn't hold back.

Even now… in her embrace, as he remembers Dave… he wants to return to Viper and kill him.

But…ah… she has such a soothing fragrance.

"Did you change your perfume?" he asked looking at her.

Jerlina who was in deep thoughts and anticipating his answer, looked at him weirdly.

Is he trying to deflect?

But she still decided to entertain him.

"I did," she kissed his hair. She was filled with complex emotions but she didn't even have an ounce of anger or hate on him by now.

"Can you smell the honeysuckle," she smiled.

Scarlett told her that Emma had started to wear the same perfume as her. She was weirded out by that and she decided to buy a new fragrance for herself.

"Honeysuckle?" he was resting his chin on her abdomen and he looked at her with a playful look. "I heard cats like it…"

"You think I am a cat?" she giggled.

She didn't even know why they are discussing something so irrelevant.

He didn't answer her and there was silence in the room for some time. Jerlina didn't want to urge him more right this instant although she was curious.

She had a feeling that he will open up to her if she is patient. Although he is not an open book, he'd speak about his past at times. But only if he felt like it. And so she didn't want to force anything out of him.

He can have his secrets if he wants.

"Do you remember Dave?" he asked. "The old friend you saw in the photographs in my shed…" he added.

"I do," Jerlina kissed his hair while caressing it with her fingers.

His gentle and contemplative tone made her realize that he is going to open up. She loved it when he talked about his not so flowery past.

At times she would wonder if she is getting blinded by her love for him and losing her morals.

She grew up mostly influenced by her grandfather who had a very high sense of morality. And she never was introduced to violence since she grew up in mostly safe neighborhoods until she came to Peyton during high school.

And even until some months ago, she was scared of him thinking that he will hurt her. And for her to not mind any of his wrongdoings of which many are crimes… it made her wonder.

Ah… it's the past… THE PAST!

"Viper killed Dave just weeks before we met at the pub," Jeremy started to speak and Jerlina listened.

At first, he talked about the friendship they shared. Jerlina already had an idea as she had seen the pictures they had. But she let him speak.

She always wondered this. Jeremy had and has a lot of friends. As she observed him more and more she realized he is working hard to garner that respect, love, and loyalty.

I have a lot to learn!