Part 1- Rising From The AshesA Chapter by Aphy! A story about an abused woman trying to rise above all her problems in order to give her children a better life and also find love and happiness along the way. “Chloe’s the name, Chloe
Mathers. I am in a relationship with my husband Marshall Mathers. We have 3
beautiful little girls and we live in Toronto Canada. Now, all this might sound
amazing and I might seem happy but I’m not. I am here to guide you through a
few series of events that led to me being divorced, unhappy and….well, I don’t
wanna spoil it. You’ll just have to carry on reading to find out.”
Newlyweds Chloe and Marshall
enjoy the sun in their backyard with their 3 kids Sade, Beyonce and Nichole.
Just 2 months after their wedding day, December 9th. Everything
seemed amazing, them moving in to a nice and cosy house in Chloe’s hometown
Toronto. All was well in this family...well, so it seemed. Just after their
wedding, literally 4 hours after their wedding night Chloe found a lot of
things that gave her an idea that Marshall was seeing another woman behind her
back.
“I don’t know if I should
believe all this Betty” Chloe sobbed on her friend’s shoulder the first night
she noticed the cheating. “I’m sure it’s nothing babe. He can’t cheat on you so
soon. He can’t do that at all!” Betty said trying to make Chloe feel better but
it only made her cry even more. That night Marshall was “at work” and the girls
were with their aunt Shawna, which left Chloe home alone to do a little more
snooping. She found some very disturbing things in Marshall's personal cupboard
(Which he agreed to get rid of a few months ago) Chloe found a crumpled up
piece of paper with a number on it. The piece of paper smelt like roses and
butterflies...a girly scent was left on it which meant it was left by a woman
(Unless Marshall was gay, but that wasn’t it!). The perfume on the paper wasn’t
Chloe’s, which made her very suspicious. She got up and looked in another
cupboard for Marshall’s personal phone which he left in case of emergencies.
Chloe looked for the number
in the phones contact list and found a “Denis”
under it. She looked at the number then at the phone, back at the number
then back at the phone. This could mean a lot of things. Either it was a dude
named Denis or a lady named Denis (pronounced in a different way) the only way
of finding out who the number belonged to was to call it. Chloe suddenly had a
big knot in her stomach. If she calls and finds a woman, that’d mean Marshall
was cheating but if it were to be a man then it’ll prove that Chloe couldn’t
trust Marshall and that “Denis”
person would tell on her. So she finally decided to suck it up and call the
number, whatever happened afterwards would be a problem of the future (And most
probably affect her marriage):
Denis- Hello? (Woman’s voice) Chloe- Hi, is this Denis? Denis- May I ask to whom I am speaking to? Chloe- I’m Chloe, Marshalls…uhm... SISTER. Yes, I
am his sister Chloe! Denis- Oh, it is so good to finally hear from you.
Marshall has told me so much about you! Chloe- Oh really, his never mentioned your name.
How do you know my Hus...BROTHER, Marshall! Denis- (giggles) Marshall and I have been together
for 2 months now. I’m his girl- Chloe- GIRLFRIEND! Wow (Holding back tears) 2
months now. That’s great! Denis- Yeah, sorry your brothers at the door. Speak
of the devil right? Chloe- Yeah, speak of the f*****g devil (anger) Denis- I’ll tell him you called. He usually
doesn’t want me talking to you. Makes up excuses! Chloe- NO! He also doesn’t want me talking to his
girlfriends a lot so I prefer we... Together- Keep this to ourselves! Denis- Okay, well it was nice talking to you Chloe.
Take care. Bye. Chloe hung up and felt very sad and depressed. She didn’t
know whether to cry or not. Her heart told her to forgive Marshall and forget
about the whole mess but something else told her to kick his a*s to the curb
and leave him with his girlfriend. Somehow she managed to
convince herself that it was nothing, that Denis wasn’t the one with the ring
and the children. She didn’t have a family with Marshall and she was going to
spend her life being someone else’s side dish. So Chloe laughed it off and
moved on.
As time went by she soon
forgot all about Denis and their little conversation. Marshall was “working”
even more; he had different excuses every time and was less connected to his
family. He was like a random neighbour who’d just come and go as he pleased.
Never kissing his daughter’s goodbye or goodnight. Not attending their school
functions or even talking to them. Chloe was functioning well, she thought it
was nothing and didn’t mind him not being around, that gave her a lot of time
with her girls (At home and in the club (Her friends)). Every time Sade (13/oldest)
asked where Marshall was, Chloe would always go “His working very hard baby. Do
you think we live this lavish life because money just comes in...?No! Your
daddy is busy working his behind off to support us. When the time comes, he’ll
be around again”
A year and 2 months went by
and still no sign of Marshall. Chloe was worried that he might miss his girls growing
up, Sade was 14 now, Beyonce was 9 and Nichole was 5. Other than that, he was
away on “Business trips” often and he’d be out of town for a month, a whole
year even. All he’d do was video chat with Chloe and it was to ask if she got
money for the girls only. He’d never ask about life or how the girls were doing
without him.
Before a “business trip” to
LA, Marshall arrived home late the night before. He was drunk and smelt like a
bar and a barn had a fight. Chloe was furious; she asked “It’s 2 am in the
morning, where have you been?” Marshall turned around drunkenly and said
“Celebrating with the guys. I nailed a big contract in LA and I’m leaving tomorrow”
He didn’t seem to care about the fact he could’ve woken the kids up had Chloe
not have told him they were upstairs sleeping.
Marshall wobbled his way to
the bedroom when Chloe stopped him and whispered angrily “So you think you can
be incognito for almost 2 years and expect to just come in drunk and sleep in
the same bed as me!” “I don’t expect you to sleep with me in MY bed which I
paid for with MY money which I work for ALONE. Don’t come tell me s**t here
Chloe” Marshall said making his way up the steps. With that first step Chloe
said “Do you still love me? It sure doesn’t feel like it” “Why the f**k do you
think I spent 7 million dollars on a ring, 150 million for a wedding reception
that I didn’t even enjoy. Get real Chloe, this new attitude of yours isn’t
gonna help you at all and it isn’t a good look for you. If I knew you were the
sceptical and nagging type I would’ve never married you.” Marshall then went upstairs
locked the doors and went to bed. 1am in the morning and Chloe was still on the
couch crying her eyes out. Marshall didn’t answer her question; he just used
his money and got away with it again. Chloe was in a bad space and didn’t sleep
the night before because she was thinking of ways to make sense of what just
happened. She stayed up till it was time for the girls to wake up for school.
She got the girls ready for
school and had them on the bus before Marshall woke up because she didn’t want
her kids to see the man they used to call daddy in the state that he was in the
night before. Chloe took a shower and made breakfast; Marshall ran downstairs
whistling his favourite tune. He seemed to be in a better mood. While he was in
the kitchen it was really awkward. Marshall didn’t even apologize for the
things he said the night before and Chloe was pissed because of that. She soon
broke the silence when she said “Do you have anyone who’ll take you to the
airport?” Marshall turned and said “If you’re offering than I can’t. My friend
Denis is driving me there.” That name hit Chloe like a ton of bricks. She
remembered Denis, how could Marshall treat her like a maid that takes care of
his kids? Why would he ask Denis to drive him instead of his wife... that’s if
she was still his wife?
Right after he left Chloe
did some more snooping in Marshall personal stuff. She found a picture in his
high school year book of Denis. She was a very beautiful red-head with green
eyes and a perfect body, she was every man’s dream and every wife’s nightmare
(Including Chloe) Chloe could see why he preferred her.
Next she found women’s
things, a bra in Marshalls brief case, lipstick and mascara and also a hair piece
which was red (Chloe’s hair was blond)
Chloe gathered all her
discoveries and called her best friend Betty to give her the final analysis. “I
came as soon as I could babe what’s the matter?” she asked very concerned.
Chloe told her everything from the phone call to the make-up and everything
else she found. Betty was speechless but she managed to say “Girl, I’m so sorry
this is happening. What are you going to
do about it?” she asked leaning over to give Chloe a big hug. “I’m getting out
of this. It’s been going on for long enough now” said Chloe with a little
determination and courage in her voice.
The night Marshall came back
he saw a bunch of suitcases by the door then saw Chloe and the kids in the living
room. He looked at her and signalled she should go to another room so they
could talk. Marshall was furious! “What the hell is going!!?” He said angrily.
Chloe tried explaining but what happened next was traumatic. Chloe opened her
mouth to speak but Marshall grabbed her neck and started strangling her. He
tossed her on the floor and kicked her 17 times. Then grabbed her hair and
banged her head on the kitchen counters. While she was on the floor he knelt
down and said “Do you really think you can get out that easily? I paid a lot of
money on that ring and you think you can just walk out with MY kids. You are
wearing MY money b***h. None of the stuff you wanted to leave with belongs to
you. If you walk out that door then you’ll have to leave EVERY SINGLE THING
that belongs to ME!! Now do you wanna stay…or are you still begging for more?” Chloe
lay on the floor breathless, face bruised lips and cheeks swollen and she was
bleeding heavily.
Marshall walked out of the
kitchen and she could hear him talking to the kids. Explaining to them how he
was busy working and that he was saving up for a big Disney Land trip for them.
The girls were overjoyed. Chloe lay on the floor crying silently. Trying to
figure out how her knight in shining armour turned out to be the devil himself.
Her head was filled with confusion, anger and weakness.
The next morning was their
family Disney Trip and she was supposed to act happy around the kids. Like
everything was fine and normal.
During that the girls were
having an amazing time. Their happiness was most important to her than her own
life. Marshall kept pretending like nothing happened he’d crack a joke with
Chloe and expect her to laugh. He never apologised for last night (He never
apologized for anything at all), he just carried on like nothing had happened.
Afterwards back at home,
Chloe decided she needed some space so she packed an over-night bag and called
her mom to tell her she was coming. Marshall had different ideas. He didn’t
want Chloe to leave and he meant it. “I just need to clear my head. I’ll be
back tomorrow morning before the girls wake up. My mom’s been asking when I’d-”
before Chloe could finish her sentence, Marshall slapped her and she landed on
her knees on the floor. The room went silent. He put his hands up, laughed a
little then said “You don’t get it do you? You stay here and take care of my
babies. You don’t leave unless I tell you to okay.” He brushed her cheek gently
then whispered in her ear “I own you now!” then walked out. Chloe was left
alone yet again to pick up after herself and pretend like nothing happened. Her
grandfather had told her to never give up and never give in when she was
younger. That she might find true love someday but that very moment Chloe doubted
those words. The thought of what Marshall said still stung in her ear and in
her head. His horrible breath that wreaked of weed and alcohol echoed in her
ear “I own you” he whispered. Over
and over it played in Chloe’s head.
The abuse carried on for
another 2 years. It came down to Chloe not going anywhere because of the state
her face and her whole body was in. she didn’t see her friends, family or even
the sun because of Marshall. All her calls were monitored; Facebook statuses
were looked over to see if there weren’t any hidden messages she was hiding. Chloe
was just a prisoner; all that kept her going were her growing girls. Sade was
going to High school to a boarding school overseas and she had to stay there
because it was too far from home. Marshall didn’t want them spending money on
weekend trips so he promised her that she’s only visit on school holidays. This
really broke Chloe because she was very fond of Sade, not to be mean but she
was her favourite out of the other 2 girls but she loved them all (They were
her children at the end of the day)
Beyonce had a swimming
scholarship at a nearby school so she stayed at home. Nichole had singing and
dancing trophies from all over the state from the UK to the USA and even
Australia. Chloe was very proud of her girls, growing up in front of her eyes.
Being raised by that monster!
2 months went by and it was summer
vacation which meant Sade could come back home. “Mommy!!” she shouted as she
ran upstairs to the spare room/ her mom’s room. Sade launched herself on to the
bed and said “I missed you” she kissed her mom on the cheek but Chloe backed
away in pain. Sade looked worriedly at her and said “I know what he’s doing to your
mom. I’m not stupid” Chloe denied it a couple of times but then she gave in and
said “I can’t talk to you about adult things. Just, whatever you do, don’t let
him know that you know. Okay?” said Chloe. Sade promised not to tell anyone.
She knew if she told anyone then it would be the end of her mother. And she
knew that Marshall would make her pay if she ever stuck her nose in his
business.
2 days went; the whole
family was sitting around the dinner table eating a nice home cooked meal(By
“Home cooked it meant that Chloe slaved to make it perfect and she earned a
couple more bruises while making it). After dinner Beyonce and Nichole went to
bed early but Sade stayed up in her room. In the other room, Marshall was
threatening Chloe and he wanted her to have sex with him but she said no. Sade
could hear everything. It was very painful for her to hear the man she called
dad threaten her mom and treat her like that, it made Sade cry each time she
heard him say horrible things to her mom. She sat in her room for the next 4
days recording Marshall with her grandpa’s tape recorder every time he’d
threaten, beat Chloe up or even force himself on to her. Sade got all her
information (A few pictures and some of Marshall’s broken belts) and planned to
use it against her father. She even had a few videos to back her up.
One day Marshall came home
from a golf match with his buddies and saw a strange woman sitting in the
living room with Chloe and the girls. He greeted her nervously and was asked to
sit down. “Hi Mr Mathers, I’m Natalie. I was contacted by your lovely daughter
Sade yesterday and she told me some very disturbing news about you and your
wife. Care to tell me what’s going on?” the lady said opening up a huge
briefcase filled with papers, tape recordings and a few of the pictures Sade
took.
Marshall swallowed hard and
said aggressively “I think you have this all wrong Natalie. You can’t come into
my house and accuse me of abusing my wife!” “Oh, I never said anything about
you hitting or even abusing anybody Mr Mathers but since you’re talking about
this now maybe you’d like to get rid of the youngins before they hear what type
of monster is lurking in their own home!” Natalie cleared her throat and
Marshall did exactly that.
Natalie tried getting
through to Marshall but he denied everything. He claimed Chloe hit her head on
a shelf while at her moms house but when asked if she could call and confirm
that, he insisted they didn’t.
Chloe sat and listened to
what Natalie had to say then it was her turn to speak. She cleared her throat
and said “I found a lot of things that confirmed that Marshall was cheating on
me after our wedding day. I called his “friend” Denis. I found clip on extensions
that were red. Clearly they weren’t mine because I have blond hair. I tried
explaining to him but he got physical. Threatened to kill me and my kids. I’m
actually embarrassed that my daughter had to call you. I feel ashamed that it
had to come to this. I was really hoping we could sort things out Marshall but
the way you treated me is unforgivable.” Chloe felt a sudden relief that she
got that out of her chest. Natalie told her she would keep in touch and
recommended that Chloe go to her parent’s house for a while to clear her head
and get her kids away from Marshall before he did something to harm them as
well.
Before she left, Chloe
wanted to talk to Marshall. “I’ll see you in court. Enjoy your time with my
kids because it might be your last” he said then closed the door in her face.
That night Chloe went to her parent’s house and told them everything. They let
her stay until she got back on her feet. “Mommy, why did daddy hit you?”
Nichole asked Chloe when they were all dressed and ready for bed. What do you
tell your child after they ask that? How would you put it in a way where a
child would understand, not making their father seem like a bad person. Instead
of answering her, Chloe just held her tight in her arms and fell asleep.
A month went by and no sign of Marshall anywhere. Chloe got to spend time with her kids without Marshall breathing down her shoulders. She got a job as a librarian and was in the process of moving out of her parent’s house so it was safe to say that Chloe was moving up in her life and she even went to therapy and helped her sister with babysitting. One afternoon she got something in the mail with red writing that said Confidential. She opened it and fell to her knees, there were divorce papers. She read through them and felt like crying. She had to give her kids up because she was declared an “unfit mother”. Chloe looked up and saw a shadow behind her, she turned around and it was Marshall. “I told you I’d get my girls back. It says
there you have to pay every single cent you owe me and also give those precious
little girls to me”
Chloe looked at his cold eyes and couldn’t
find the man she fell in love with, instead she saw a deadly monster that she
didn’t know. “I need a year to get your money back Marshall. I don’t have that
kinda money at the moment” she pleaded hoping Marshall would understand but he
didn’t “No that’s cool, you have a year but during that year you have to pay it
off by doing something for me in return…oh and by the way, starting on Monday
my kids will be living with me so you better say your goodbyes because
it…is…Sunday today and you have (Looks at watch) exactly 10 more hours”
Marshall then kisses Chloe on the cheek and walks out whistling. Just as he
left, her parents and the girls came back from the mall. She looked like she’d
been struck in the stomach when truth is; she’d gotten a dagger in the heart by
someone she thought loved her. “Mommy we bought you sweets” said Beyonce. Chloe
faked a smile and tried enjoying her kids company…it was her last chance anyway.
That evening Chloe put the
kids to bed and sat down with her parents to tell them the news. “Oh honey, he
can’t do this. If anyone’s unfit to be a parent here it’s him” said Chloe’s mom
comforting her while she wept in her shoulders. Her dad just wanted to kill
Marshall and was prepared to beat him up that very moment.
“Its fine dad, I’ve lived through a few
bruises but I don’t know if I’ll ever survive without my kids” said Chloe in
between tears. On the staircase, Sade was eavesdropping and listening in on
their conversation. She felt like crying and running to her mom to tell her
everything would be okay but she knew it wasn’t her place so she just went back
to bed and cried herself to sleep.
The following morning Chloe
got a call from her lawyer/friend Jade who told her she had nothing else to do.
Marshall’s lawyers were very powerful and it had looked like he bribed the
judge because most of the charges he had against Chloe weren’t true.
They were made up, to be quite
honest. Chloe hung up and decided to spend her last day with her daughters
before “The Monster” took them away.
She had a great day planned out for them. They were going to go shopping, do
their hair and nails, get massages and took their first family picture without
Marshall. He was due to take them at 7 and Chloe came back at 6 to pack and say
goodbye to her children.
“Now, promise me that you’ll
never forget me. I have to send you to your dads because I have to sort a few
things out okay. Mommy and daddy just have some issues to sort out and I
promise I’ll be back before you guys know it” Chloe told her girls as they sat
in the living room waiting for Marshall. Sade was more emotional than Beyonce
and Nichole because she had built a strong bond with her mom. She’d helped her
overcome her dad and it just seemed like all her hard work was for nothing now.
She also felt helpless to the fact that she couldn’t be there for her mom as
she was trying to overcome this major hurdle in her life. Sade was sad that she
couldn’t comfort her mom or just be there for her…all this because of the man
she thought was her father. The man that was supposed to protect their family
instead of harming them, the man she once called dad! He was behind all this
heartache and distress. All the crying and trauma was because of him and him
alone!!
At 7 Marshal arrived with a
big grin on his face. “Ready to go kids, I have loads of things planned for you
guys. We have to be on a flight to Germany at 8 so we can meet up with Aunt
Denis for a quick dinner before we go” he said trying to hold Sade but she just
stormed out in tears. Beyonce and Nichole hung on to Chloe’s legs. Marshall was
getting angry and he shouted “Chloe, I want my f*****g kids! You can’t keep
them from me!” “It’s not my fault, I told them they had to leave with you but
clearly they know now that you’re a monster. Bee, Nikki. Call you sister and
tell her your ride to hell is here. I need to talk to Marshall” Chloe
confidently said and Beyonce and Nichole did exactly that. Marshall sat down and
said “Oh, so now you decide to grow balls hey, you think you’re though now hey.
Well you’re no-” Chloe
interrupted and said “I am, I’ve always been the tough guy and I always had the
balls to tell you how I felt…you just never got to meet this side of me because
you always pushed it down. You can keep your kids its fine…but I’m not the one
telling them to stay, they chose the better parent and clearly you’re not it”
Marshall stood up aggressively and shouted “F**K Chloe, I’m sick of your games.
Tell the kids to meet me in the car in 5 minutes or-” “NO!” shouted Chloe. She
stepped closer to Marshall’s face and said “I won’t do as you please; you said
you wanted the kids and I gave them to you. It’s up to them if they wanna go
with you” she then went to the kitchen to join her parents, who were watching
and listening to the argument.
“That moment I felt alive,
telling Marshall to stop treating me like an idiot. I was not gonna let him
walk in to my parents house and start shouting and screaming at me, I stood up
to the monster and I’m glad my kids did that too!”
Chloe then went outside and told Sade to go with Marshall before he got violent. Eventually the girls left with him and Denis. “Honey, I’m so sorry. I really think they should’ve stayed with you instead of Marshall” said Chloe’s mom the following morning. Chloe didn’t feel bad at all for what she’d done. In fact, she felt rejuvenated. That her life was finally back on track. She felt a sense of relief. Like a burden she’d been carrying for years has finally been lifted off her shoulders. Now all that was left was for her to fight for her kids! “Its fine mom, I just need to gather my
thoughts and prepare for the biggest fight of my life” said Chloe feeling very
confident. Her mom was very proud of her that moment. She could see it in her
eyes that Chloe was determined to fight Marshall right down to the bone.
3 Months After The Court Case Against Marshall!
“I organised a truthful judge who couldn’t be bought or
bribed (My Step-brother Tommy). In court Marshall got the shock of his life. HE
was declared the unfit parent and was sentenced to 3 years for abuse and
another 5 for sexually abusing an under aged child (SadeL). It was no wonder she was
trying so hard to get him arrested, I didn’t know what she was going through.
As her mother I should’ve sensed something was wrong. So in the end he got what
he deserved and I got full custody for my babies. The judge said I could keep
the money left after our divorce because that idiot Marshall gave Sade and me
his money and forgot to change that in his will. We decided to build a hospital
for sexually abused women and girls. We sold all Marshalls cars, estate around
the world, shops he owned and got more money. I managed to pay my mom and dad
the money they used to take care of me while I was living with them. Sade got a
Scholarship to study in EGYPT for a year!! And Beyonce and Nikki are living
with my mom in our new house in New Zealand. By the time Marshall finds us,
we’ll be long gone. If he tries putting up a fight then I’ll be ready. This
time I’ll prepared and ready for him!”
The End!
© 2015 Aphy!Author's Note
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4 Reviews  Last Updated on October 29, 2015 Author
Aphy!Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South AfricaAboutI'm Aphiwe Bhengu from South Africa. I really enjoy writing and reading. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Anime and Manga! I'm a very optimistic person and I believe in individuality because the worlds too crazy alr.. more..Writing
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