James pulled Zelda from the taxi towards his car, without saying a word. The minute he put her inside, he noticed that she was not wearing her necklace.
"Where is it?" he asked, his tone firm.
"What?" she replied, pretending she didn't know what he meant.
"Where is the necklace? Where is your necklace?" James asked, getting more worked up
"I threw it away," Zelda said, her voice steady.
"You threw it away!? Why?" James asked, clearly caught off guard by the answer.
He knew how much Zelda loved that necklace. He had never seen her without it, ever since he put it on her neck himself
"I want a divorce," she said simply.
James's expression shifted from confusion to anger and disbelief.
"What are you talking about? What divorce? You're the one who wanted to marry me," he said, disbelief filling his voice. "You drugged me and climbed into my bed, making sure that everyone knew that we were together, tying me to you, forcing me to marry you, and now you want a divorce?" he laughed mockingly.
Zelda felt a familiar ache in her chest as memories of the past washed over her. It was clear that James didn't trust or believe her, and he never would. He would never believe a word she said again because of what happened four years ago.
Zelda didn't drug him, she hadn't planned for them to be found together or to force him to marry her. She had nothing but love and respect for him. She would never want to gain his love or attention that way.
This realization only further solidified her decision to divorce him.
Since he didn't understand or believe her anyway, she decided to remain silent, giving him the cold shoulder. She didn't respond when he asked about the necklace again or when he pressed her with other questions.
"Zelda, answer me, where is it? Where is the necklace?"
Quiet.
"Zelda, you're going to force me to do something that both of us are going to regret. Where did you put the necklace?"
Still, she remained silent.
"Why did you take it off in the first place?"
Quiet.
"Okay, do you want to go home or do you want to go back to the hospital?"
Nothing.
James grew furious. In his frustration, he pulled her onto his lap. She struggled against him, but he didn't let her go. He gave her two hard slaps on her bottom.
Whenever he used this method, she would give in, or beg for forgiveness. But this time, it didn't work for her.
He demanded, "Where is the necklace?'
' Where did you take it?'
' I saw it on you just a few minutes ago. Where is it?"
Nothing.
"Don't make me angry."
Still, nothing.
He continued with his punishment, delivering harder, heavier slaps. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but her mouth remained closed, biting on her bottom lip to keep from crying out.
James's anger shifted when he saw it wasn't having the desired effect. Suddenly, it dawned on him what Zelda truly wanted.
He lifted her off his lap and positioned her on top of him, her legs straddling his thighs.
"Fine," he said, his voice low and determined. "I'm going to give you what you want."
Tears streamed down Zelda's cheeks as she wiped them away, confusion clouding her eyes. What the hell did he mean?
James, however, interpreted her recent behaviour as a reaction to his refusal to have a baby. That evening, when she had tried to set him up to have a baby and he had denied her, he believed it had triggered this new behaviour in her. From the beginning of their marriage, he had been clear that he would never allow her to carry his child. But after finding the torn condoms that morning, he assumed she was upset because he had refused her desire to have his baby.
So, in a moment fueled by frustration and misguided intention, he began unbuckling his trousers and pulling on her dress. That's when Zelda realized what he was about to do.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice sharp and trembling.
"I'm giving you what you want. You want a baby, don't you? You want a baby so much that you would use divorce to threaten me? That you tore the condom in the bedroom? Okay, I'm giving you that baby right now, right here."
Zelda's heart raced, panicking.
"Please don't do this to me. What are you doing? We're in the middle of the road! Anyone could pass here and see us! There are cars here. If I'm found like this, where would I put my face? This would be the embarrassment of the century. I will be humiliated! I will.."
At first, James didn't listen to her. He tore at her dress, kissing her neck and getting to her breasts. He didn't care about her please, but only about fulfilling his mission.
But then, the desperation in Zelda's voice seemed to pierce through his anger.
"Please, James, I'm begging you not to do this. Please, do not act like my father."
Her words struck a nerve. Suddenly, he relented, letting her go abruptly. The last thing he wanted was to be compared to Zelda's biological violent father.
Feeling bad for what he almost did, he shoved her aside and buckled his belt. In a daze, he moved to the front seat and started driving the car, leaving Zelda alone in the back.
The drive home was silent, filled with tension and unspoken words. Both of them were left to deal with the emotions that had erupted between them, the distance growing ever wider between them.
When they arrived home, Zelda quickly tried to get out of the car, but James was quicker. He jumped out and stopped her, his expression hardening as he took in her dishevelled appearance. Even though nobody was supposed to be home, there were still security personnel around, and he didn't want anyone to see her that way. Her dress was torn into shreds, clinging to her as she held on to the pieces.
Without a word, he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. As he did, his eyes caught the sight of her hand. It was bleeding. Concern flashed across his face as he took her hand to inspect it. He noticed a bandage that had been there was now gone, likely torn off during their struggle in the car, and the wound was fresh and angry.
"What happened?" he asked, genuine concern lacing his voice. "How did you hurt your hand?"
Zelda merely shook her head, refusing to answer. It wasn't like he truly cared about her well-being, so she kept her mouth shut.
James silently picked her up and carried her inside. He took her straight into their bathroom and placed her on the counter. He opened the medicine cabinet and took the first aid kit, the sterile smell of antiseptic filling the air as he began to clean her wounds.
As he applied the antiseptic to her wound, Zelda felt a wave of nausea wash over her. She pushed him aside and dashed to the kitchen sink, where she doubled over and started vomiting. James rushed to her side, holding her hair back slowly as she heaved.
Once she was done, he turned to her, searching her eyes.
"Are you pregnant?" he asked,
