Chapter 7 He Chose Me

• “Don’t be scared. Everything will be okay. You were so brace. So strong. They will never break you.”
• The hand which was not cuffed fluttered, searching. “Theo…”
• He met her fingers with his own, weaved and intertwined them. Her wedding band scraped his knuckle but her breathing evened out. Her features relaxed and the medicine took effect. Nadia’s nightmare… at least for the moment, was over. He tightened his hold on her hand.
• “They will never break you.”
• - - - - -
• Theodore opened his father’s office door and his vision turned left. He wasn’t sure how he reached the man, but Theo held Nadia’s bastard of a husband by the collar and up against the wall. His head hit the space between Teddy’s medical degrees. One shook, fell, and shattered.
• Somewhere in the room, Sandra screamed.
• “You nasty bastard. You have been in the hospital all along but you haven’t even checked on your wife?”
• “She is insane,” Quinn retorted. “You see the scratches and bruises on me? And your damn nose?”
• “She had nothing to do with my nose,” Theodore said through his clenched teeth.
• Quinn snorted. “You want to tell the cops that. That is your business, but I am a witness, dude.”
• He grunted as all the air left his body.
• “Theodore, stop!” Sandra shrieked.
• “Son, please…”
• When Theodore finally managed to speak. His eyes seeped through gritted teeth. His eyes were tunneled in on the beady expression on Quinn’s face. “I am going to tell you this only once. If you ever mention my nose and Nadia in the same sentence, I will beat you to a bloody pulp. Do you understand?”
• “Theodore, stop!”
• “Your sister doesn’t need to see this in her condition,” Teddy sighed.
• Theodore almost thought he had heard wrong. But it was his father who was blind when it came to Sandra. Shoving Quinn one last time before shoving him aside, Theo scowled at the bastard husband. “You are not even worth it.”
• He turned to the other two people and scoffed in disgust. “Even after the shit your daughter pulled and the things she said to the woman who is married to his dick. Even though the woman is sedated and handcuffed to the bed… you are worried about her seeing her baby daddy bruised?”
• “Fuck you, Theodore!” Sandra shouted. “Why are you defending her? Why are you always against me?”
• “Because you are a nightmare that keeps giving for decades. And everything you have done in the last twenty five years pales in comparison to what you did today.”
• “Stop speaking to your sister like that,” Teddy said.
• “You know what, Mr. Warren? To hell with you, too. I am done with both of you.”
• His father sighed as he rushed to the door. “Your mother will be here soon.”
• His footsteps stopped. When he turned again, he saw Sandra glowering. He couldn’t help the laughter that burst through his lips.
• “Do you see what just happened?” he asked calmly once his laughter stopped. “Try using your head for one second rather than making cunning plots—”
• “Fuck off.”
• “Careful there. You don’t want to go there,” Theodore warned. He no longer wanted to make peace with his sister. “Think back to the lobby this afternoon. Through all the yelling and screaming that just happened between us, did that fucker open his mouth to defend you once?” he pointed the same finger at the bastard who was curled into the corner.
• Sandra’s chest heaved.
• “Never mind defend you. Did he choose you?”
• “He chose me!”
• “When, Sandra?” Theo asked coldly. “Think carefully. You were quick to speak up and choose for him. But he said nothing.”
• Sandra shifted her attention to Quinn. “Quinn?” He held her gaze, saying nothing. “You chose me, right?”
• Quinn rubbed the back of his neck. Teddy sighed.
• “Quinn, tell him. Tell him, Quinn!”
• Again, Theodore snorted. “You see what he did to his wife? Little sister, one day soon, he will be doing the same thing to you.”
• “That will never happen to me!”
• “Mark my words. You know why? Because you are a malignant tumor just like your mother—your real mother, not mine. Not the one who you have always gone around pretending to be related to and treated like shit. You know what? I am done feeling sorry for you and taking care of your messed.”
• “Thank God!” Sandra retorted. “You have finally realized that I don’t need your help. Do you think I wanted you to care about me? Maybe if you had kept out of my business, that delusional woman wouldn’t have been going to jail!”
• Theodore didn’t give in to her accusations. “The delusional woman who truly thought you were capable of being a decent human. You, my dear, are just like your mother… ruining everything that is good.”
• “GET OUT OF HERE!” Sandra shrieked.
• Theodore shook his head. “She called your wife delusional and you just stand there doing nothing,” he echoed in disgust and then glared at the bastard, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He glared at Theodore but said nothing.
• “Do you even speak?”
• “Listen, dude,” Quinn began.
• “You want to do one decent thing as a favor to the wife who spent years on you… Convince this mistress of yours to show some decency and shame for what the two of you have done. Drop the damn charges against Nadia.”
• He turned to his sister, whose chest heaved in fury.
• “One decent thing, Sandra. You are bringing a child into the world. Don’t make the world a worse place for it.” He turned back toward the door. “Now, I am done with all of you. I wish I never meet you again.”
• He pushed down the hallway and made his way out. As for his mother, he would explain and ask for her help.
• [Clean yourself up and do what you have to do, son. I will speak to Sandra and do whatever it takes to ensure that woman doesn’t go to jail. Trust your mother.]
• And Theo did.