Aftermaths
~*~
Michael arrived near his house about thirty minutes after 5 p.m. While he was a few meters from his home, the young man was relieved not to see Natacha's car parked nearby. Indeed, because it had been a very special day for her, he had decided to prepare her a delicious dinner to celebrate the promotion he knew she had obtained. Hence, he had to do his part and give his best to satisfy her stomach. Orzak therefore hastened to return home and put his backpack in a corner of the living room. He then headed to the kitchen where he grabbed everything he needed to prepare her feast.
Forty-five minutes later, as their apartment was increasingly filled with the delicious smell of what he was cooking, Michael couldn't help but feel extremely proud of himself. He had probably managed to produce something that his fiancée would definitely enjoy. She deserved it very much. However, despite his enthusiasm at the moment, something was bothering Orzak slightly. In fact, he had been in the kitchen for almost an hour and Natacha had not yet appeared, which was absolutely not normal. He then said to himself that her lateness perhaps had something to do with her request for promotion, that she was probably still in the middle of negotiations with her boss. So, he decided to wait for news.
However, when the clock showed 7 p.m, Michael could wait no longer. Therefore, he decided to call her to find out where she was and if everything was okay. But when he dialed her number, Natacha did not answer. Her phone just kept ringing numerous times without her picking up once.
“Where are you, Natacha?” he asked himself after making yet another call.
-----*-----
While her cell phone was sitting on her desk and ringing again and again because of Michael's calls, Natacha was in the toilet. The young woman was regurgitating all the contents of her stomach in addition to shedding all the tears in her body. She was traumatized by what had just happened in her boss's office. Barnes found it hard to believe that these events had really happened, that Mr. Invictus had threatened her and everyone close to her, and that he had forced her to perform oral sex on him. It was something she found very difficult to believe, but which unfortunately had happened.
As the young woman poured the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl once again, Barnes couldn't help but wonder what she had done to end up in such a state. What could she have done wrong to find herself in such a degrading and humiliating situation? All she wanted was to be promoted and have her efforts recognized. She never would have thought that this simple request would take such a turn. Now, Natacha felt trapped and totally helpless. She saw no way to escape Herman Invictus. As he said so well, there was practically no area that escaped his influence. So, there was nothing she could do.
A few minutes later, Natacha finally stood up and walked towards the mirror only to realize that her eyes were slightly red and her makeup had been completely ruined. The young woman told herself that she couldn't leave the building in this state and even less return home like this, people might ask her questions, Michael might ask her questions and she certainly wouldn't have the courage to tell him lies. Therefore, she had to improve herself, become more presentable. Barnes headed to her office where she collected all her things. However, on the way back to the ladies' room, her cell phone suddenly started ringing. As her eyes were now glued to the screen, she realized it was a call from her fiancé, Michael.
Even though this call took Natacha by surprise, she picked up anyway, trying to appear as normal as possible.
“Natacha, where are you? I've been trying to contact you for a while now. Is everything alright?”
“Sorry, baby. The discussion with Mr. Invictus took longer than expected. I'm getting ready to leave the office now.”
“I see. So, did everything go well?”
The young woman remained silent for a few moments, wondering if she should tell him the truth. However, her boss's words immediately came to mind, preventing her from revealing everything.
“We’ll talk about it when I'm at home,” she finally answered.
Without giving Orzak time to say a single word, Barnes suddenly ended their call. At the same time, she noticed that she had received more than a dozen missed calls, all from her fiancé. She felt pathetic and cowardly, unable to tell the truth to the man she loved. However, she was also aware of the repercussions that could have resulted if she had done so. Michael would obviously have sought confrontation while her boss would have carried out his threats. These were scenarios that absolutely should not happen and she would do her best to prevent them.
After this brief call with her fiancé, Natacha returned to the ladies' room where she fixed her makeup. She then went to her vehicle and left Black Crown Tower shortly after.
*
While she was on the way home, Natacha's face was completely blank. It was as if she was there without actually being present, which was completely normal after what she had just suffered. All her joy for life had been absorbed by her boss and all that was left was an empty shell. Moreover, the young woman couldn't help holding back her tears as the recent events came back to her mind. Barnes still had difficulty accepting reality, accepting the fact that Herman Invictus had abused her. However, her whole being made her understand that she was not in a nightmare and that everything she had experienced had indeed happened.
Unable to properly drive in such an emotional state, Natacha stopped momentarily in the parking lot of a convenience store where she allowed herself to cry her eyes out. At that precise moment, all her thoughts were directed towards Herman Invictus, this man she now hated. However, hatred wasn't the only thing Barnes was feeling at that moment. Indeed, she was also feeling a certain disgust towards herself, a disgust for having given in so easily. But what else could she have done? Her boss had power, immense power that he could use at any time to harm everyone she loved. There was nothing she could have done in this situation except obey him. She was just a simple employee, a weak woman in front of him.
While still in the parking lot of the convenience store, Natacha's cries attracted the attention of a group of passers-by who wondered what was wrong with her. One of them then approached her vehicle and knocked on her window, which startled her.
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“Miss, is everything okay?” he retorted.
Not really in the mood to speak with a complete stranger, the young woman started her vehicle and left the parking lot, leaving this person completely lost regarding what had just happened.
About ten minutes later, Natacha finally arrived in front of her house. However, the young woman did not immediately go inside her home. She couldn't. First, she had to fix her face, her makeup having turn bad because of her tears. So, she used all her equipment to hide this. However, a major problem was still present. Indeed, Barnes' eyes had taken on a reddish tint, something she couldn't immediately fix. She had to wait for them to return to their normal color. Unfortunately for her, this was not going to be possible, Michael having appeared at one of their windows and waving at her.
Having been noticed, Natacha had no other choice but go inside. Hence, she got out of her car and walked towards the front door. As she was climbing the stairs, Barnes' heart was pounding harder and harder. She had no idea what she was going to say to Michael if he asked her about her eyes. However, she wanted to prevent him from learning the truth, as this was likely to cause conflict between her fiancé and her boss.
“Baby, I'm home!”
Natacha had barely stepped through the door when her nose was assaulted by a delicious smell coming from the dining room. Her fiancé had obviously been in the kitchen.
“It took you a while to get home today.”
“Yes. Like I told you, the discussion with Mr. Invictus took a lot of time,” she replied, avoiding eye contact with him.
“So, how was it? Did you show up in your boss's office with great fanfare and demand that promotion while looking him straight in the eye like I suggested? Or did you use a much more aggressive method?” he asked, jokingly.
Michael's enthusiasm was immediately stopped by Natacha's response, who told him that she would tell him everything afterwards before adding that she needed to go take a shower. Without wasting a single second, the young woman headed towards their bathroom. Obviously, Orzak found his fiancée's behavior very strange and followed her a few moments later.
However, when he in turn wanted to enter their bathroom, Michael had the astonishing surprise of realizing that Natacha had locked the door behind her, something that had never been done since they had gotten together.
“Natacha, is everything okay? Why did you close the door?” he questioned as he was trying to open it.
The young man received no response from his fiancée, which pushed him to insist further. It was only after doing this that Natacha finally told him that she needed to be alone.
“Babe…”
“Michael, please. I'll tell you everything later.”
Barnes' tone of voice was different than usual, which made Michael realize that something had happened at her job, something she wasn't yet ready to share with him.
“OK. I'll be in the dining room if you need me.”
Michael returned to their living room, stopping momentarily to take one last look at their bathroom door. Little did he know that behind that door was his fiancée sitting on the floor with completely teary eyes. Now that Orzak had left the room, Natacha allowed herself to cry her eyes out. She was ashamed of herself, ashamed of what she had done, ashamed of not having been able to face the man she loved. The young woman just didn't want him to get involved in this matter, but she wanted to tell him the whole truth. He was the only person she could rely on. However, she was aware of the realities, aware that Michael could do nothing for her, aware that she had to keep this heavy and horrible secret. Never in her entire life had Barnes felt so isolated yet so close to someone.
A few minutes later, Natacha finally got up and started to take off her clothes. She absolutely had to take a shower, not only because she was already in their bathroom, but also to cleanse her body of the stain left by Herman Invictus.
*
While Natacha was in the shower, Michael who was sitting in the dining room couldn't help but think about what had just happened with her. It was clear to him that her promotion request had not gone as he had hoped. If that had been the case, she would never have behaved like that and would have immediately jumped into his arms to tell him the news. Orzak felt a little guilty about the situation. He had no idea what happened, but he thought it was his fault. He figured she must have taken his advice and acted inappropriately with her boss.
“What possessed me to advise her that?” he asked himself.
Because of his feelings of guilt, Orzak told himself that he had to find a way to fix the situation. He couldn't let Natacha suffer the consequences of his bad advice. But for that, he had to discuss it with her first, so wait for her to come out of their bathroom.
While he was waiting for his fiancée to return, the young man's gaze was fixed on the food on the table. He had cooked all of this to celebrate Natacha's promotion, but now there was nothing more to celebrate. He still hoped that it would cheer her up a little.
About twenty minutes later, Barnes finally showed up in the dining room. She had swapped her work outfit for something much more relaxed and suited to her home, namely a very loose t-shirt and a tight short. As she took her place at the table, a certain silence reigned between Natacha and her man. Finally, Michael decided to take the lead few minutes later and broke this silent barrier that separated them.
“Babe…”
“I didn't get the promotion,” she retorted abruptly, cutting him off.
“I...I'm sorry. If only you hadn’t listened to my advice, you…Natacha!”
At this very moment, the young woman began to cry once again, which greatly disturbed Michael who immediately got up from his seat and went to his beloved. She then hugged him before apologizing.
“You don't have to apologize, babe. Your boss is the one who should do it. He has no idea what mistake he made.”
“He…he…wants to give me a series of tests.”
“A series of tests?”
“He…he wants…”
Once again, Natacha was at that moment tempted to tell him the whole truth, but her boss's words immediately came to her mind.
“He wants to test me first,” she finally said.
Michael immediately understood why his fiancée was in this state. For someone like her who had worked for this company for many years and always gave her best, it was a hard blow.
“I understand that you might not like this, Tasha, but you have to look at the positive side of things. You will now have his full attention, and therefore the opportunity to prove to him what you are really capable of.”
Despite the comfort he was trying to give her, Natacha continued to cry profusely. Orzak was then unaware of the harmful impact that his own words had just had on her.
“Don't worry, babe. I'm sure you'll get this promotion. You're the best.”
About ten minutes later, Barnes finally stopped crying. However, she remained entwined in her man's arms, not wanting him to leave. It was so comforting for her to be in this position that she felt like nothing could happen to her. She was safe with him and knew that nothing could happen to her as long as she was with him. Natacha could have stayed like this for many hours, but her body quickly reminded her that her stomach was empty.
“At least I wouldn't have cooked all this for nothing,” Michael retorted after hearing Natacha's stomach rumble. “You need to eat, babe.”
Even though she wasn't really in the mood to eat, Natacha didn't really have a choice. Not only was her body crying out for food, but Michael had also put in the effort to prepare everything in sight. The young woman therefore left her man's arms and began to help herself to food. Orzak sat down right next to her and did the same as well.
The hour Michael had been waiting for had finally come, the fruit of his labor. He was only waiting for one thing and that was for his fiancée to taste what he had passionately cooked for her, which she did a few seconds later.
“So, how do you like it?” he asked after her first bite.
“It’s okay,” she replied with her mouth full.
“Just okay?”
“It's very good. It is delicious.”
“I'm teasing you, babe. I know you really like what I did.”
Orzak was indeed happy, happy to see that she still had a certain appetite, even if things had not gone in the best way at her job. Natacha was very strong and he knew that she would get the promotion she so desired. There was no doubt about it.
To be continued...