The Truth Hurts

[Adrianne Finch]

Bleak Street, a place best known for the rising number of deaths, was coated in a blanket of darkness, the small, silvery orb of a moon, hanging low in the sky. At this hour, most homes had their lights off, the occupants in a deep slumber. However, one small and broken down home at the end of one alleyway, had it's lights on, beaming away. Adrianne Sedgwick, a small child cuddled to her shoulder, paced back and forth before the window, curtains only slightly ajar. Where was he? Where was her husband? Lorin gave a slight gurgle and Adrianne began the short walk upstairs, placing him in the oversized crib which she had bought for a bargain price.

Adrianne so wished that she could afford to raise her child like others had but she hadn't the money or the time: She worked all week on the residential ward at St. Mungo's and in her spare time, Adrianne attempted to do up the house little by little. She didn't get to see Ioan or Lorin much. It was only one more year before she would be old enough to receive the mark, that honor so great. Just one more year. As she wandered back down the stairs, perching on one, waiting for her husband to return home, she thought to the reason behind this meeting and her hand fell to the small bulge of her stomach.

 

[Ioan Finch]

Apparating with a crack down the street from his home, Ioan put a hand to his head to still the spinning. "I've gotta stop drinking and apparating" he moaned to himself. As he put his hand down, the whiff of a female's perfume wafted into his nose and a smirk crossed his face. He'd had a lot of fun with that one tonight. Since his engagement, Ioan had been on his best behavior, not drinking much and definitely not cheating on his then fiance and now-wife Adrianne. Tonight, though was a different story. After making a quick delivery in Australia, Ioan had gone into a bar for a quick drink, happy to be bringing home a large amount of galleons. One thing had led to another and Ioan had found himself in the home of a young shopkeeper. He'd awakened to discover the time and had quickly dressed, apparating away with not a word to the young woman.

Pulling his ring out of his jeans pocket as he reached the steps of his house, Ioan was surprised to see that the lights were all on. He cursed silently to himself, wondering what Adrianne was still doing up. She pulled long hours at the hospital and surely she should have been asleep by now. He had been counting on it in fact. As he undid the magical locks on their home, Ioan noticed a faint glow coming from his wedding ring, but figured that his drunkenness was causing him to see things. To be safe, he pulled the ring off and returned it to his pocket.

Stepping in as silently as possible, Ioan shut the door quietly and tried to tiptoe towards the staircase, hoping to get upstairs without running into Adrianne. It was hard for him to be silent though both because he was over six feet tall and had trouble being silent anywhere and also because he was drunk. Coming up to the staircase, Ioan closed his eyes as he realized that Adrianne was sitting right on the steps, obviously there to intercept him. F***, he cursed silently and then opened his eyes and gave her the most devilish grin he could muster. "Adrianne...honey! What a surprise...what are you doing up?" he slurred slightly as he spoke.

 

[Adrianne Finch]

Adrianne had known something wasn't right with Ioan being out late but it didn't more than one glance at that face, one note of that voice, to know exactly what Ioan had been up to. Adrianne folded her arms, the worried look vanishing from her face, replaced by one of great anger. "Is there a reason why you're completely hammered?" she spoke coldly, a slight twitch in her eye. A twitch which soon led her to a much greater issue, one which would cause her to temporarily forget her reason for staying up. "You can't deep doing, Ioan, you can't keep..." Her voice became weak as she subconsciously acknowledged a strange scent; unfamiliar to her but recognizable for what it was.

Adrianne felt her stomach turn and she stood up, shaking her head, clutching onto a bannister for mental strength. Her eyes looked to his hand; if it was true, if he had been unfaithful again, then the ring would show it. But, to her horror, no such ring rested upon Ioan's finger. "Where.. is it?" Adrianne said, teeth clenching, blood red eyes shooting to Ioan's, fixing on them. "Where is your wedding ring?" She felt sick. So very sick. Her head began to spin. And here she had sat, worrying about her husband's well-being, thinking that something terrible had happened to him..

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan stood at the foot of the steps in silence, figuring that it was likely better for him to remain quiet and simply allow Adrianne to vent instead of saying anything that could lead into an argument. All he really wanted was to go to bed right now, but it seemed that that was unlikely to happen until she got out whatever she meant to. It was obvious to him that she must have a lot on her mind since she was up and had waited for him.

"You can't deep doing, Ioan, you can't keep..."

As he heard those words, Ioan couldn't keep looking at Adrianne. Instead, he directed his eyes to the ground, to the wall, to the steps before him. Anything but Adrianne who sounded...hurt almost. He'd never heard her sound that way and it wasn't something he was sure he knew how to deal with. When she stood up, Ioan peeked at her and saw that she wasn't looking at his face. Instead, she was looking at his hand. Ioan's heart dropped down into his stomach somewhere as he realized that she was looking for the ring that he was no longer wearing. He could feel the small circle in the pocket of his jeans, where it seemed to grow warmer as he thought about it.

He cleared his throat heavily as she asked him where his ring was. "I..." he began and then cleared his throat again. "I...uh took it off and put it in my pocket for safekeeping because I didn't want it getting messed up when I went to make the delivery." Ioan couldn't believe that he was being forced to explain his actions. If she'd only been asleep like she should have been, there would be no reason for this conversation to take place.

"You should be happy...that delivery made us a ton of galleons" he said as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of galleons. Without realizing it, Ioan had also pulled out his ring. As he held his palm open, Ioan dropped his eyes quickly to the bunch of galleons gathered there and then quickly turned them on Adrianne again as he felt a sense of pride fill him. He was hopeful that the amount of money in his palm now would deflect any further questions from his wife. What he didn't realize was just beneath several of the galleons lay his ring, glowing bright red. "See?" he questioned with a slight annoyance to his voice as if daring her to challenge the story.

 

[Adrianne Finch]

As much as Adrianne wanted to believe his explanation, she couldn't. There was a faint gurgle noise from upstairs where Lorin slept. She was wondering whether or not to leave this scene and Ioan to go and check on her son.. But she then saw something truly horrifying, something that she hoped never to see; as Ioan dished out a load of galleons onto his palm, Adrianne noticed the something red she had expected but not hoped to see. It was laying beneath the galleons but it was certainly not difficult to see.

Adrianne had to make a few choices right here, right now: Should she confront Ioan, telling him that she knew what he had been up? Should she file for a divorce or something? And, the question now nagging desperately at the back of her head- should she tell him about the small life, forming inside of her, or should she hold her tongue, say nothing until she had decided everything else? Adrianne knew the answer. She knew what she would do. "Do you remember our wedding day?" She said, her voice cracking, "do you remember the ring I gave you? Well, it's enchanted, you see." She paused for a moment to let this sink in. "To glow red when the wearer has been unfaithful." Saying the words felt like she was driving a dagger into her own heart. Her eyes fell to the ring which she plucked from amongst the galleons. Adrianne held the ring up so there was no missing it. "I wonder," she said, tone changing from hurt to angry. Fiercely angry. "Do you remember what I said on our wedding day?" her eyes were matching the ring, both equally burning bright.

Adrianne pulled her wand from her pocket, aiming it at her husband. She muttered something and, a moment later, something else dangerous was in her hand. A razor sharp, solid steel cleaver. "I think two children is enough, don't you?" She had said this without thinking but as soon as the words had left her mouth, she turned even more pale, falling back down onto the stairs, the cleaver - which had flown from the squalid little kitchen, fell to the ground with a slight 'thud', embedding itself partially in the floor. Her eyes were filled with sadness, mingled with hurt. Adiranne's free hand dropped to her stomach, rubbing it. She looked up at Ioan. No, she did not forgive him yet for this latest crime but neither did she wish to harm him, to send him on his way. This was their baby and they would raise it together. And, for Lorin's sake, as well as her own, Adrianne needed Ioan to stick around. After all, though she was furious and hurt by him now, she couldn't stop loving him.

 

[Ioan Finch]

When Adrianne simply stared at his palm, Ioan began to realize that something was wrong. He had expected her to say something about the galleons. As she finally opened her mouth, his heart leaped and the smirk slid off his face, as his body realized something was wrong before he did. His eyebrow lifted as she mentioned their wedding day and exchanging rings, and as she continued and mentioned that the ring was enchanted, he licked his lips nervously. What the hell? he thought to himself as he considered her words, an angry expression crossing his face. How dare she? he wondered to himself, but didn't voice any of this, knowing that it was far better to hear Adrianne out than say anything at the moment.

"To glow red when the wearer has been unfaithful."

His eyes widened as he recalled what the ring had looked like when he'd been at the door. As she reached for his palm and removed something from it, Ioan simply closed his eyes, knowing exactly what it was she held in her hand. "Adri...shh you'll wake up Lorin" he began, using his nickname for her and their son's name in the hopes that it would do something for him. Her question made Ioan completely sober up. Surely, she wasn't...serious about that, right? he asked himself and then saw for himself that she was.

Backing up with his hands up to show that he was unarmed, Ioan allowed the galleons to fall from his hand and braced himself, hoping that the insanity that had just seemed to cross his wife would leave just as quickly. His mind was running through plans of how quickly he could reach for his wand and cast a protego spell. Ioan's defensive spells were nowhere near as good as his offensive ones and he wasn't sure he'd be able to pull one off before she sunk that knife in him. He shook his head vigorously as she mentioned that the pair didn't need anymore than two children, freezing when he realized what she'd just said. They only had one child-Lorin- surely that was something Adrianne knew. When the butcher knife fell from her hand and she dropped back down on the steps, Ioan stared at Adrianne as she looked up at him sadly. He looked away, unable to stop the guilty feelings that were entering him every second he looked at her. I hate when she looks like that he sighed to himself, knowing where this would lead.

Approaching her hesitantly, in case this was some sort of ploy to catch him off guard, Ioan reached the foot of the steps and looked down at the worn carpet that covered the step. "I wasn't thinking Adrianne...and she meant nothing. I don't know what came over me. I'm....sorry." he said, the words coming slowly as he was still not used to saying them. He was still learning this whole marriage business, which seemed to require him apologizing often. "Were you serious about that? Are you really pregnant again?" he asked, his hand gripping the bannister as he looked up at her looking very much like a hopeful little boy.

 

[Adrianne Finch]

Adrianne, if she had not been the mentally strong woman she was, may have been lost for words or broken down. But she was strong and brave, ready to take on all new challenges. Of course it hurt to have her husband cheating on her but she would not allow her hurt or anger to be shown any longer.. Besides other things, it probably wasn't good to allow such a chemical reaction around her baby. This baby, like Lorin, was keeping Adrianne and Ioan on the same level. If she hadn't been pregnant then, perhaps, she would have kicked Ioan out. But she was. She nodded in reply to Ioan's question. "Yes." She whispered softly, looking to his eyes, her own red ones ticking between his.

She almost hated herself for forgiving him, for not going through with.. with using the cleaver on him. But she took a moment to breath, to think to herself; one day she would. One day, if he dared cheat again or if she just decided that she wanted no more children, she would go through with her promise. "Just because I've forgiven you," she said, a slightly pained expression on her face, "for now, doesn't mean that in the future a part of you wont end up in my trophy cabinet." Yes, she was serious. She had never been more serious but a small smile slowly etched onto her face. She tapped her wand against the glowing red ring, reseting it.

There was a moments silence before she stood up, a truly beautiful woman even with her very slight baby bump. "You have been an unfaithful husband.. I believe that leaves me a point ahead of you in the game of marriage." She paused, a crooked and dark smile frozen onto her face. Of course she wouldn't let him get off scott-free. "Now, you will remain living with me and the children and you will help me raise them and do a good job of it. As for cheating on me," she folded her arms, surprised by how fast she had forgiven him.. But she loved him and she knew that without him, she was nothing. "If you ever spent a night with another woman then I will crucio you so hard that even the dark lord him self will be terrified."

Lorin gave a small cry from upstairs. Adrianne turned on her heel. She had the urge to do as a donkey would and kick backwards out at Ioan.. But she didn't. Instead, she started walking up the stairs. "How about you put those galleons to something useful?" Adrianne called back down the stairs, "As opposed to wasting it on drink.."

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan never thought this marriage business would be this much work. His face turned serious as he listened to Adrianne speak and his jaw tightened as she told him that she hadn't forgotten and likely wouldn't forget about her earlier threats. She had forgiven him though which was something to be pleased about. Ioan watched as she reset the ring, wishing that she hadn't used a non-verbal spell because knowing the counter to this particular spell would have been useful.

Resigned to the fact that Adrianne would be keeping him in the dog house for a while, Ioan instead chose to focus on her small 'yes.' It meant that pretty soon he would be a father of two and he found that the idea wasn't as unbearable as it had been when he'd first found out she was pregnant with Lorin. He didn't get to spend too much time thinking about that as Adrianne began speaking again. He kept his expression even as she declared herself one point ahead of him. I'll have to find a way to even that out he thought to himself, determined to not give Adrianne any more things to hold over his head. Listening as she set ground rules that he was planning on sticking with anyway, Ioan gave her a curt nod and froze as she threatened him once again. He'd felt the wrath of her crucio spell the first time he'd cheated on her and knew that she had a particularly nasty one. It wasn't something he'd like to feel again.

As Lorin made a noise and Adrianne headed up after him, Ioan turned to use his wand to gather the galleons that had dropped. With a swish of his wand, he sent them towards a jar he kept in their bedroom as he listened to her final words. It was a low blow, but he remained silent for a moment. "What do you think I'm trying to do?" he mumbled as he slowly began to head up the stairs himself, careful to leave enough space so that if she turned around to curse him, he would hopefully have enough time to counter. He glanced around at the worn staircase and carpets as he reached the second floor and headed toward the 'master' bedroom, realizing that this wasn't good enough for his family. The galleons he had in the bank and lying around the house weren't nearly enough for him to purchase them a newer house, but he was determined to do that for his family. Perhaps then, he and Adrianne would be even again.

Pausing at the doorway to Lorin's room, Ioan looked at his wife with their son. Even now after Adrianne's threats, this was one of his favorite images. He didn't know how long it'd be before the next baby came, but it didn't matter. "Adri...before that baby comes, you'll see how useful I make my galleons."