One Wild Night

Chapter 852 First Of Many

The screech of tires against gravel announced Henry's arrival before Tom even reached the front door. He threw it open just as Henry emerged from a sleek black car, his face an unreadable mask under the harsh porch light.

"Mr. Rosewood," Tom greeted, his voice neutral. "Come in."

Henry strode past him, a whirlwind of expensive cologne and an air of barely contained menace. Tom shut the door with a soft click, the sound swallowed by the heavy silence that settled in the wake of Henry's entrance.

"Where is she?" Henry demanded, not bothering with pleasantries. His eyes darted around the living room, searching for any sign of Mia.

"She is in her room sleeping," Tom said, "I didn't inform her of your coming," Tom said, as they had agreed he would.

Henry smiled with approval, "That is smart of you. Show me to her room," he ordered.

"I prepared a room for you. You might want to get some sleep and see her in the morning…"

A scoff escaped Henry's lips. "Don't play games with me, Mr Hank. I came here to see my wife, not sleep. You wouldn't dare keep my wife from me a moment longer," he warned.

"Your wife?" Tom echoed, a dangerous edge creeping into his voice. "She hasn't been your wife for a long time, Mr. Rosewood..."

"That doesn't change the fact that she is my wife. I'm sure if you were in my shoes, sleep would be the last thing on your mind when you've been away from your wife for three years because you thought she is dead," Henry said, and Tom pretended to think about it for a moment.

"You're very correct. I'm sorry for not thinking about it," Tom said, and Henry shrugged.

"It's fine. People rarely think about anything these days," he said, his tone condescending, "Will you show me to her bedroom now?" Henry asked, trying his best to stay calm.

"Why don't I go get her…"

"No. That won't be necessary. Show me to her bedroom and I will wake her up myself," Henry insisted and Tom nodded.

"Come with me then," Tom said, and Henry followed as Tom led him to the guestroom.

The doorknob rattled, a jarring sound in the quiet tension of the room. Mia held her breath, feigning sleep, the covers pulled up to her chin.

The door opened, and a sliver of light sliced across the room, followed by the unmistakable silhouette of Henry. A wave of nausea washed over her, but she pushed it down, and forced her eyes to stay shut, focusing on the steady rise and fall of her chest, mimicking sleep.

The moment Henry turned on the light in the bedroom and shut the door behind him, goosebumps erupted on Mia's skin, a primal reaction to his nearness.

As he approached the scent of his cologne, a sharp, musky blend, filled the air. It was a smell that instantly transported her back to a time she desperately wanted to forget, triggering a deep sense of fear,

He stood beside the bed for a moment looking down at her, the silence thick enough to suffocate. Mia could practically feel his predatory gaze scanning her, searching for any sign of awareness.

Finally, she felt his weight press down on the mattress as he sat beside her. Mia didn't flinch. She knew any reaction, any sign of consciousness, would only embolden him. Silence, she decided, was her best weapon.

"Well, well," he drawled. "Look who we have here," His voice was low, laced with amusement that sent shivers down her spine.

Her skin crawled when his fingertips brushed her cheek, sending a jolt of revulsion through her.

Mia remained still, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs as she waited patiently for the perfect moment to begin her performance.

"Don't make me wake you up, darling wife," Henry purred, a cruel edge creeping into his voice as he grabbed a fistful of her hair.

Mia's eyes flew open, and she gasped dramatically when she looked into his face, "Henry," she breathed fearfully, and his lips curved in a satisfied smile, pleased with the fear he could hear in her voice.

"How did you find me?"

"Come on, wife, did you really think you could hide from me forever?" He asked with a smirk.

"How did you get in here? What are you doing here?" She asked, trying to look as shocked and scared as possible.

"Mr Hank! Somebody help!" Mia yelled, sounding desperate.

"That is no way to welcome your beloved husband whom you haven't seen in what? Three years?" he said sweetly as he let go of her hair.

"What do you want, Henry?" she asked in a shaky voice as she scrambled out of the bed, putting some distance between them.

A smirk played on his lips. "Oh, how dramatic," he said, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Don't you play the innocent with me. You know exactly what I want. You and I are going home," he said as he rose from the bed.

"Home?" Mia shook her head. "That house has never been my home. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Henry's face hardened and he raised his hand to hit her, a reflex Mia knew all too well and as if struggling for control, he shut his eyes and dropped his hand. "Don't be difficult, Nessa. This will be easier on everyone if you just cooperate."

"Cooperate?" Mia repeated, her voice rising slightly. "You mean let you control my life again? Let you isolate me from everything and everyone I care about? Never. I would never have faked my death to be rid of you in the first place if I was going to come back to you."

Henry's face contorted in rage and he took a menacing step closer. "Don't test me, Nessa," he warned, his voice dropping to a low growl. "You know what I'm capable of."

"I also know what you are afraid of," Mia countered, meeting his gaze head-on. "You are afraid of the truth coming out. You're afraid of everyone finding out the kind of monster you truly are. The kind of man who whips his wife and beats her up leaving all sort of scars on her back. Sign the divorce papers, Henry, and no one will ever have to know the truth about you," Mia said and Henry laughed. A deep rich laugh that bubbled from inside him.

"Afraid? I fear nothing, Vanessa. Do you think any sane person would believe the words of a crazy woman? Even your own father confirmed it that you are insane…"

"You made him do it! I know you made him say that," Mia said and Henry scoffed.

"What difference does it make whether I made him do it or not? No one knows that. No one cares. As far as the world is concerned, you are a mad woman, and no one would take your ramblings over what I say," Henry said smugly.

"Why are you doing this to me, Henry? Why?" Mia cried and the humor disappeared from his eyes.

"Why? I haven't done anything yet. But I can promise you, Vanessa, that I'm going to make you pay for daring to make a fool of me. You will pay for running away from me. If you thought your life was a living hell before now and something worth running from, I'm going to make it even worse now," he promised in a voice that sent shivers down her spine.

"Please, Henry. Please forgive me for whatever I've done and leave me alone," Mia pleaded.

"Save your tears. Right now, you are going to follow me out of here without any of this drama. You can either follow me quietly or I will take you out forcefully and then your punishment will be increased. Because of the love I have for you, I advise you to go with me quietly. I would hate to have to treat you like a real crazy woman," he advised.

"What does that mean?" She asked fearfully.

"You will find out if you don't do as I have said and come with me quietly," he promised.

Taking a deep breath, Mia met his gaze, "Why are you doing this to me? You don't even love me. Why not just move…"

"Shut up and come with me! I won't ask nicely again," He growled ferociously and Mia swallowed and nodded.

"Alright. Let's go," she said and he gave her a warning look.

"No drama, Nessa. When we get out there, put up your best smile and say goodbye to Mr Hank. Do not give him any reason to ask me any silly questions else I'm going to make you regret it," he warned, and she nodded.

"I will get my stuf…"

"Don't. You won't be taking anything from here with you. Your little show here is over," Henry said and tears gathered in Mia's eyes.

"You should at least let me take my phone. I should say goodbye to my friends…"

"You never said goodbye to me when you left, so why should be worry about saying goodbye to a couple of nobodies? We've wasted enough time. Let's go," he ordered.

"Can I at least change out of my sleeping clothes into something more decent?" She asked, drawing his attention to her sleeping robe.

"No. You look perfect in that. When we get to the plane, you can change into the clothes I got you," he said and Mia nodded dutifully as she headed for the door.

As they stepped into the living room, they found Tom seated there, waiting for them, and when he heard their footsteps, he rose.

"Mia…"

"Mrs Rosewood," Henry corrected and Tom gave him a polite nod.

"Mrs Rosewood, I had no idea you were married…"

"Well, now you know. We will be on our way now. You will be rewarded for the role you played in our reunion," Henry said, and with his hand on Mia's lower back, he urged her to move.

"Mr Hank…"

"My wife would love to thank you," Henry said without letting Mia finish, and he applied pressure on her lower back, warning her not to say anything silly.

"Let Bryan and Sonia know that I've left, and I'm sorry I couldn't see them," Mia said and Tom gave her a nod and followed as Henry led her outside.

Tom watched as the driver jumped out and held our the door for them, and he watched as they got in and the car drove off.

Once the car disappeared from view, Jeff, Bryan, Sonia, and Lucy, who had been listening in on the conversation going on in the bedroom while waiting in the Den all trooped out.

"He is a mean bastard," Bryan said, his face contorted in anger. He really wished they didn't have to let Mia leave with a man like that.

"Why can't we just use the recording we got? Isn't that enough to expose him? She made him say a lot of things. Those should be considered as evidence, right?" Lucy asked with a concerned frown.

"It won't be enough. If we want to put an end to him, we need more. This is only the first of many," Tom said and Jeff scowled.

"This plan better works, else I might kill him myself if he does anything to her," Jeff said in a very cold voice before walking away from the others to the guest room which Mia had just vacated.

"I hope Mia will be fine," Sonia said as she brushed away the tears on her cheeks.

"We will make sure of it. We already put things in motion," Tom assured them and placed an arm around Lucy who was hugging herself.

"Let's go back to bed," Tom said, and Lucy shook her head.

"I don't think I can go back to sleep now," she said, and Sonia nodded.

"Me too," Sonia said, and Bryan sighed as they all returned into the Den to find a movie to keep them occupied while they waited for morning to come.

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