“Okay look” , opening my eyes I saw the beautiful diamond necklace my husband had got me for my birthday, “baby I love it” Pulling my hair up he placed the beautiful and expensive necklace on me. I loved how it shined in the light, “nothing is too good for my princess” after giving me a kiss he headed for the shower. Matt had been pulling so many late nights, he always had a reason why his location and or phone was off. I thought he was cheating again, but after receiving my present I knew he was doing it for me. After 5 years of marriage you always think they’ll find something better, being the CEO of a major electronics company gave him a lot of leeway. Such as always getting vip service, never having to wait in line and hundreds of beautiful women begging for a chance. But he always picked me, well at least he always came home to me. I knew what was going on the first time it happened.
Subtle things at first, a perfume that wasn’t mine, lipstick marks on him, never letting me see his phone, sneaking out when he thought I was asleep. Every time I brought it up, he gave me a lesson. I loved him, I truly did. He was always so sweet, and he truly didn’t hurt me. He broke my arm one time, but he cared for me and once I was better he bought me a new beach house. With Matt I didn’t have to work, it gave me time to ensure all of the chores were done. But things began to change after I found out I was pregnant 6 months ago, he was a whole new man. I noticed he was home more, he even took the lock off his phone. He catered to me and hired a maid ensuring I could rest and paint. It felt as if we had just entered the honeymoon phase again.
I loved painting, but lately I had less and less time to do any. The baby was taking up a lot of my time, and I couldn’t be happier. Being a mom was always a dream of mine. I couldn’t wait to hold our baby. Ever since I found out I was pregnant Matt began doing more oversea trips, he didn’t want me flying while pregnant. But each time he would bring back a beautiful piece of jewelry, even with the ability to buy anything I wanted, getting presents from Matt were way more special. I was on facetime with my sister Maddy, my attention was more on the show I was watching, until she said something that brought my attention back to the screen.
“Lauren, are you bleeding?” “What, where?” “On your neck I saw it when your necklace shifted” “mm let me go look in the mirror” after placing my phone on the counter I looked into the bathroom mirror, there was a smear of blood. After grabbing a paper towel and wiping the area, I saw there was no cut or any spot where it could have come from. “I think the necklace might have just nicked me” “well those are real diamonds, so they might be sharp. But anyways Lauren, do you think that..” I don’t know why but I felt eyes on me, looking around the bathroom I was alone. After moving back to my spot on the couch I continued my conversation with Maddy before falling asleep. I woke up to something shaking me, opening my eyes I saw a woman. She was pale and looked as if her skin had melted off. She had black holes for eyes, and a broken jaw that hung showing exposed bones. Her stomach was cut open and she held her intestines. It seemed as if she was trying to speak but I was terrified. Screaming I jumped up. “Lauren what is it?!” Matt asked after rushing to my side, “there was a woman..she was just..what..” “come here baby it was just a dream” he pulled me to his chest and after some calm breaths I felt better.
After a delicious dinner from our new in-home chef I felt like I wanted to paint. As I started to create a colorful background I saw movement in the corner of my eye, turning my head I realized it was my reflection in the window but something about it looked off. I looked at the window for a few seconds before turning back to my painting, but what I saw on my canvas caused me to drop my paints. In the canvas somehow ‘help me’ was written in the paint, the only problem is it was written with a finger not a paintbrush. I felt my stomach do a flip and knew what was coming, running to the bathroom I threw up the meal I had only eaten hours ago. “She’s giving you trouble tonight isn’t she?” I looked up to see Matt in the doorway holding my nausea medication and a sprite, “thank you, let me wash my mouth out and I’ll be ready for my medicine.”
As I stood in the mirror swishing the mouth wash I realized the skin around my neck was red. Had the diamonds given me a rash? “Lauren hurry up, our show is about to come on” I quickly washed my mouth out before heading into the living room. It felt nice cuddling with Matt on the couch, I’m not sure when but I fell asleep waking up to a sweet smell. Opening my eyes I realized I was in bed, looking to my left I saw Matt holding a breakfast spread with various fresh fruits. “I have to leave for a few days on a work trip, will you be okay?” “I think so but I’ll ask Maddy to stay over with me, that way you don’t have to worry.” “That’s a good idea, I’ll see you in 4 days.” he gave me a passionate kiss, which turned into us taking some quality time in bed together. Once we were done he gave me a goofy grin, “why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m just happy you’re mine” after moving to the edge of the bed he began to get dressed, “now I really have to go” kissing my head he began to pack. After loading everything into the car, he turned to hug me. “Let me finish making breakfast, I want you full before your trip.” “I have to go” he said while grabbing a banana from the fruit basket, “I love you” he said while heading out the door. “Love you too” I said while the door slammed shut. After I had finished breakfast I called Maddy, “hey want to come stay for a few days?” “This is sudden, are you okay?” “I am, Matt is going on a business trip and I don’t want to be alone.” “I’ll be there around 5, I have to get back to work. Love you” “Love you too” and once again I was alone with my thoughts.
After spending a few hours watching t.v. I decided to get out for some fresh air, choosing to visit my favorite coffee shop a few blocks away. After getting dressed I realized Matt had packed my backpack in the closet, being 5’4 meant I would have to get something to stand on in order to reach the shelf. After pulling a step ladder out of the hallway closet I was able to climb up, I saw my backpack hidden under some other items and pulled it out. Why is this heavy? Looking into the bag I saw a pair of heels. Pulling them out I realized they were the Prada shoes I had been hinting at for weeks, I pulled them out and was mesmerized. Wait 8 ½? I wear a size 7, and they look as if they had already been worn, the bottoms had mud on them. Is that blood? This didn’t make sense, Matt was doing better. Falling to the ground in tears, I knew he was cheating on me again.
“Lauren, you need to leave him.” Maddy had just arrived and found me on the couch, still a mess. “But the baby, she needs her father” “You have an amazing support system, even without a father she will be a great kid. Just like her mother was” “I have no income, no house, and no car. Everything I have now is in Matt’s name. He won’t let me go.” “Don’t you see Lauren, that’s what he wanted, he has full control over you. You’re his 5th wife.” “He just has a hard time finding someone that isn’t with him for his money” “you can’t keep defending him, don’t you think it’s odd what happened to his other wives?” Thinking about them now gave me chills, “let’s see before you there was Hailey, which might I remind you she’s still missing. And then there was Becca. She just turned 18 when they got married, but I know he was seeing her before that. And how old is Matt? Oh yeah he’s turning 40 this year, and they got married when he was 31. They never did find her torso.”
“Maddy stop, I don’t want to hear about that.” “Lauren, this is important, I want to make sure you’re safe.” “I love Matt, we have had rough patches but every couple does.” “Every couple doesn’t have problems resulting in broken bones and bruises. When he threw you down the stairs I had to physically restrain dad. He wanted to give him the same treatment. I miss him”
Two days after my release from the hospital our father was killed in an accident. The police told us he must have been tired and fell asleep causing his car to go off into the ditch. By the time they got him out he was unrecognizable, the burns covered 99% of his body. He was barely alive and by the time we got to the hospital we knew he wasn’t going to make it through the night, but I did find it odd that Matt had basically forced me to get my dad’s car the night before the accident. He said he wanted to test out the car for safety ensuring our baby won’t get hurt in the backseat if there was a wreck. “Let’s talk about something else, how about we decide what to order for dinner?” “That sounds great, I’m going to take a shower.” As I headed for the bathroom I couldn’t help but think about his other two wives, Ariel and Reine. Ariel had been his first wife.
Just like the mermaid she had vibrant red hair, she was a model and loved the attention. Matt told me they got divorced because she had been sleeping around and ran off with a guy, but she hadn’t been active on any social media since before the divorce. And Reine the French actress. She was easily the prettiest of his wives, she had the sweetest smile. I think he still sees her, I saw her name pop up on his phone before he could grab it, when I asked him about it he turned it on me and stormed out. He came back a few days later smelling of alcohol and proudly showing off the hickeys that covered his body.
Has my love blinded me? Maddy had me thinking, but I can’t leave him. Not now, once the baby is here I can try to find a way out. But he makes me happy, I was so lost in my thoughts I almost missed it. My necklace had shifted slightly and I noticed my skin had turned a grayish color, it looked as if the skin was dead and beginning to decay. I tried to take the necklace off but it seemed as if it was broken or stuck, panicking I rushed out of the bathroom, “oh hey dinner should be here in 30.” She paused taking in my worried expression, “Lauren what’s wrong are you okay?” “Look at my skin!” She got up and after inspecting my neck I could tell she was worried too, “come on, we’re going to the ER” after throwing on a jacket, and getting my shoes we were out the door and on the way to the hospital.
The next few hours flew by, the doctor had to cut the necklace off. I am deathly allergic to cubic zirconia, and it was killing me from the inside out. That’s how I found out the diamonds weren’t real. If I had kept it on he said I would have eventually been weakened to a near death state. Because of the baby they decided to keep me overnight, but it wasn’t until the news came on that I felt what true fear was. Matt never let us get cable, and because I didn’t want to be stressed I refrained from reading, or watching any type of news. This was more a suggestion from Matt and not my own choice, but the hospital only had a few basic channels. I was on my phone reading while Maddy got us dinner and the news came on, feeling a headache coming on. I put my phone down and watched the t.v. but the headline was what caught my attention. ‘Monster on the loose in Parkdale’ I felt chills whenever it’s where you live, things are much scarier. I grabbed the remote, turning up the volume just as the anchor began to talk.
“Tonight I stand in front of Richardson Park, it has only been an hour since a call was made to the police. A young couple had gone out for a hike, but after both of their phones died they got lost. Venturing into a part that is far off the usual hiking trail they made a grisly discovery. There they stumbled onto the shallow grave of a missing New York woman.” New York? That’s quite a ways away, what is a New York woman doing in Texas. “Here is a picture of the young woman, her name is Marcy Bitters and she was last seen going home with a well dressed man.” Frozen in shock I couldn’t believe my eyes, there on the screen was my necklace. On the neck of a now dead woman sat the diamonds that were gifted to me. But the realization that it was the woman who I had been seeing broke me.
So many thoughts crossed my mind, and I decided I would post this here. He doesn’t know that I told anyone, I’m fearful of what he’ll do. But my phone just dinged, and it was a text from Matt. ‘Hey honey, just checking in, I had a great idea. Why don’t we take a long weekend and go camp at Richardson Park? I would love some alone time with you ;)’
Matt, what did you do?