Haley Slater had dated Prince Victor for six months.
Months where she had spent countless hours, second guessing herself. Wondering what it was that was so wrong with her. Thinking about what she needed to fix to make Victor a little less angry at her. To make him go back to showering her with compliments instead of looking at her and seeing all the things that were wrong with her, things that needed adjusting, that needed fixing.
It had taken a lot for her to realize that it was not her who was the problem but rather it was Victor. The Prince had a very high opinion of himself but he thought very little of everybody else.
Over the years she had come to the realization that Victor had chosen her in order to play a sick and twisted game with her. He had actually wanted to destroy her, not because it had been 'love at first sight' as he had loved repeating. Instead he just wanted a toy to play with and break.
In leaving him she had robbed him of that chance and it seemed that Victor still wanted to break her.
She would not allow that but seeing him in the house that she had grown up in, Haley suddenly found that all of her strength had deserted her.
From time to time she had thought of Victor over the years. Wondering what she would do if she ever saw him again. She had always believed that should such a thing happen. She would take the opportunity to hurl obscenities at him, to let him know that though he had tried to break her, he had not succeeded. That she was still standing strong.
The Haley in her imagination had been a strong, fierce woman, but the reality was quite different.
Now that she was faced with Victor, Haley found that she could not move, and also could not speak.
Unluckily for her, the man was suffering from no such problems.
"Haley, as beautiful as always, even after all this time, it is lovely to see you my dear," The words alone made Haley feel like bugs were crawling all over her skin.
"I ran into Victor while I was travelling abroad a few weeks ago and invited him over. Isn't it lovely?" Her grandfather, completely unaware of the panic in Haley's heart was smiling at the man, and as her eyes darted about, she spotted her sisters blushing as Victor used his snake oil charm on them.
'Stop it, kick him out, he is not a good guy!' She wanted to scream but her throat would not work. When Victor began moving towards her. Haley cast her eyes around looking for anything to defend herself with, but unluckily for her, all that she had was the bowl of popcorn on her lap.
"Aren't you going to get up and greet me? Perhaps a hug for old time's sake?" Victor said as he got closer and Haley could have cried in relief when she finally felt her body regain its ability to move, her voice also coming back.
"What do you want?" She did not bother trying to hide the hate in her voice, and that earned her an instant reprimand from her grandfather,
"Haley, Prince Victor is an honored guest, behave yourself,"
An honored guest! Rage swiftly replaced the fear that had been pooling in Haley's veins and she clung to it tightly as she stood. Her bowl of popcorn still held in her hands.
When she had broken up with Victor, she had told her family that the two of them just were not well suited for one another, and she had not explained any further. She had been too ashamed to let them know that she had actually had feelings for somebody as revolting as Prince Victor had turned out to be.
Now Haley greatly regretted that decision. For as she looked at her grandfather, she realized that most likely that window of opportunity had passed. Even if she were to try and tell them what a snake Victor was beneath all of the warm smiles and caring facade.
Most likely she would not be believed. The only thing she could do was to make sure that at least prince Victor himself understood that she would not be getting back together with him. That she would not be pressured into a relationship with him.
Besides, she was a married woman. It would not have been proper. Even though none of the occupants of the room could know that, Haley clung to it for comfort and strength.
When she looked over at her ex, she suddenly pictured her husband right next to her. What would Deacon Roth do. The answer to that was very simple. Where Haley would be throwing tantrums and acting out, Roth would be calm and collected through it all. And so, employing a tactic that was not at all like her.
Haley faced down her ex.
"Prince Victor, my grandfather has just recently informed me that you still hold a flame for me," At her words Victor's face let up.
"Ah, so you know that you are still the only rose in my heart " His tone was so saccharine sweet, that Haley wanted to throw up.
Still channelling her in a Roth, she let her expression cool, relishing the moment when a bit of sourness crept into Victor's face.
"I hold no flame for you Victor. My grandfather was mistaken. What I feel for you is nothing but contempt. I would say that it has been a pleasure seeing you after all these years, but it has not. Now turn around, walk out the door and head back to your little backwater country where you suppress the locals for fun,"
"Haley Slater!" Her grandfather sounded scandalized, but Haley did not care.
"I am so sorry to hear that you feel that way Haley. Perhaps we can try to fix things and I can mend whatever pieces of your heart, I seem to have accidentally torn out,"
Oh, the man was good. It was clear only to Haley that he was seething after being addressed in the way in which she had just spoken to him, but he was hiding it well.
He had always been very good at hiding the ugliness that lay beneath his good looks, for a time even she had been enthralled, but not anymore.
Deciding that trying to channel Roth's chilly dislike was not working, Haley decided to go her own route.
"Go away Victor and don't come back. Next time I see you, I might be tempted to do worse than this,"
"Worse than what?" The man asked. And before he could move, Haley was moving instead. She toppled the entire bowl of popcorn right on top of his head.
She heard her sisters gasp in shock and her grandfather gave an indignant cry. But all that mattered to her was the split second, where Victor's charming mask cracked, revealing what lay beneath. And there was the look of evil that had scared Haley away the first time.
She had not imagined things and she would never be returning to the horrid man standing before her. Not bothering to say goodbye, she walked out and made her way outside.
The drive home was a quiet one, with Haley opting to not even have music playing. She continued on in silence, even after she arrived at her little apartment. It was only once she was in bed that she finally broke the silence by speaking to herself.
'What am I going to do?' As expected, she had no answers, but what Haley did have was an inkling of how things were going to go from then onwards. Her grandfather had invited Victor in, and that was akin to letting a vampire into your house. No doubt the man would keep coming back.
And since he had the backing of her grandfather, he would use that to his advantage to try and wear her down to make her doubt herself again. To make her forget how horrible it had been being the girlfriend of Prince Victor. Just the thought of it had her gripping the sheets so tight that she was scared they would rip.
The only thing that allowed her to finally let go was reminding herself once again that she was not some helpless little girl. Nor was she a single woman that could just be easily plucked. It might have been in name only, but she was a married woman.
On Wednesday, when she and Deacon Roth signed the papers, that would no longer be true.
But no matter what, she was not going back to Victor.
Kicking at the covers until her legs were free, Haley let out a breath. She was one tough cookie, that much she knew, but family had always been her weakness. Now Victor had her family in his corner.
He would most definitely be doing everything in his power to wear her down using them.
What was she going to do?