Mate Bond....From Hell

Broken Families

~Natasha~

I wasn’t planning to see Malik so early today. Even after everything last night, I was going to wait to see him when I got home. That was until I got the call that I did, which was followed by the visit I never wanted. I just had to see him and figure out how to fix this.

I know I seem like a shrew….I get that. I would agree if I were looking at someone else and they behaved like I have. I swear I have a good reason for it, and it’s more than wanting to be a parent. I do truly want to be a parent, but I think I could be okay with just having Malik in my life. I would even be okay with adopting. None of those things are an option for me now, though.

Malik and I only have each other; our parents aren’t really around. Well, I should say that his mom is kind of around while my parents are not interested. It’s a bit of a story, but I will keep it as short as possible.

Malik and I met in high school, and we were automatically smitten with each other. I had to date Malik secretly because my parents refused to allow me to even socialize romantically with the opposite s*x. They had a tradition of marrying off their children and making deals that would benefit all involved. I’m the youngest of five, and my ‘husband’ was chosen when I was little. My parents wanted to merge the businesses so they could capitalize. My meeting Malik messed things up.

I’ve always been a free spirit, not waiting to conform when I can be an individual. My parents hated that, and we had many arguments about it. I snuck around and hung out with Malik in high school, but his situation wasn’t much better.

Malik comes from money, like a lot of old money. There’s a family business that usually changes hands in the family. Malik always wanted to be a lawyer so he could help people. He wanted to be a public defender because he believed everyone should have access to GOOD legal representation no matter their financial status.

I’m sure the confusion has set in because Malik does not represent people, and I get it. The issue was that I was pregnant, and he needed to make money to provide for us. He studied different aspects of law in school, so he was able to step out of the criminal realm and focus on business law. Why did he need money if he’s from money? His mom cut him off for marrying me. Yeah, our families suck.

Malik refused to back out of our engagement, and that pissed his mom off even more than him just being with me. They didn’t speak for years, and we had to figure out how to survive. One day, I contacted her because I couldn’t take the pain that Malik was in. That and we were really struggling financially and had nowhere else to go. He was trying to keep us afloat while paying off his loans.

I showed up at her house and humbled myself to ask her for money. She agreed only if I produced an heir for the family. We were close to being out in the streets, so I had to agree. Now, she uses that against me. If Malik ever found out that I got that money from his mom….well, I don’t want to think about how that will go. Every time I lose a child, she threatens to tell Malik about our deal. The bad part is that I had to sign a contract of sorts, and she recorded our meeting.

I work from home, and Malik’s mom called, fussing about my predicament. What I didn’t know was that she was calling from the street. When I opened the door, things got worse. I had to endure her berating me for not being able to have a child. Once she left, I felt so down that I just had to see him.

His mom is why I’m always down on myself. Every time I don’t get pregnant or lose a baby, I just relieve the harsh things she says all over again. It makes me think about the horrible things my parents have always said to me. I’m plunged into the dark depths of that pain. I take it out on Malik and always hate myself for it. I can’t tell him what’s really going on, so we just continue in a vicious cycle of my own doing.

~Malik~

Natasha showing up for lunch was a wonderful surprise. She will usually schedule meals ahead of time with me just in case I have meetings or something. I’m not mad that she showed up, though; I wish she would do that more often.

Truth be told, I was getting really uncomfortable with Ms. Evans anyway. I would never say anything because she’s the boss’s daughter; hell, she’s my boss as well. I don’t want to make things awkward or insult her in any way. There’s something about her that’s drawing me in, and I don’t like it or understand it. Natasha showing up saved me from being so close to a woman who’s not my wife.

I watch Ms. Evans leave my office, and I get a pang of loneliness. I’d think I didn’t want her to go if I didn’t know any better. I shake that thought off and wrap my arms around my wife, giving her another long kiss. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Are you sure? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your meeting.” I take Natasha’s hand and pull her with me to the sofa. I sit her down and grab my food off the table.

“You are always a priority. If the meeting were that important, I would have let Betsy know not to let anyone in.” She nods, and I give her a bite of my pasta. I get lost watching her mouth move as she chews. Damn, I love this woman!

Natasha wipes her mouth with a napkin and turns to me, her smile faltering. “I…I just wanted to say….about last night…..” I internally sigh. This was a great gesture that I don’t want ruined. I put the food down on the table.

“Let’s not. I really don’t want to get into anything right now. I just want to-,” Natasha’s hand on my face stops me mid-sentence.

“I don’t want us to fight or anything. I just wanted to apologize. I know I can make things very difficult, and I need to work on not doing that to you. You don’t deserve any of the mess I bring to the table sometimes.” Natasha’s hand strokes my face, and my heartbeat picks up. “I love you so much. I’m so grateful for you because you could have had anyone, but you wanted me.”

“That’s not true.” Natasha looks confused. I place my hands on both sides of her face, using my thumb to stroke her cheek. “The minute we met, I was lost. I couldn’t have had anyone else because they weren’t you.” I lean in, and our lips touch. I press my lips to hers tighter and use my tongue to outline her bottom lip. I nip at that lip before using my tongue to push into her mouth. Just as Natasha opens her mouth for me, my door opens.

“Uh, sorry Mr. Grant. You have an urgent call.” I press my forehead to Natasha’s and give her a small smile. “Thanks, Betsy.”

“You just wait right here. As soon as I’m done, we can finish lunch.” I kiss her forehead again and let her face go, making my way to my desk.