Mother's Ruin

"When you came home early with Angel that day; he had decided to push the blackmail on one step further. He wanted sex with me. I refused of course, but he said that he would tell you about it. I felt I had to stop him. He relented and said that he would settle for a blowjob. On reflection, I doubt that he would ever have settled for just that and he would have been back for more. As it was, we had hardly started when you came in."

It looked as though John's mind was in turmoil. The fact that he hadn't exploded with rage, or simply walked out of the house was -- possibly - a good sign.

Natalie took another deep breath and went on, "Now I come to the part where I'm truly ashamed. I'm afraid that someone else began to blackmail me and I was forced into degrading acts. I finally came to my senses and realised that this all had to stop. That was when I decided to call you and ask you to come over today."

Now John's visage showed anger. He was very much prepared to forgive his wife -- she had shown compassion for his feelings towards his brother, when she had been the victim. Maurice would get his punishment in due course; he could arrange for his dismissal from the centre for financial irregularities (not faked as it happened -- he was currently under investigation and John had contacts). But somebody else was going to feel his wrath.

"Who was it?" he asked coldly.

His wife looked down at her hands, before looking at Angelina, whose world really had just fallen apart. She knew she had no choice, "It was me Daddy. I didn't know all this and I was trying to get back at mummy for you and her breaking up."

"You said something about degrading acts? Who with?" he asked Natalie.

"Jack - Angel's boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend anymore," she said sullenly.

"Too right, he's due to finish at college soon, but his results aren't likely to be good. I think my contacts can get him blacklisted in this area so he will never get a job - ever."

What he didn't tell them was that he would trap Jack into drink driving three months later. Nobody told the young man to accept the strong beers from the pretty woman and nobody told him to sit in his car and put the keys in the ignition. What he was told, was to get out of the car by a uniformed police officer.

*****

Epilogue

Angelina's punishment was slightly more immediate; her father made her give all of her nice clothes to the local charity shop -- all she was allowed to wear were dowdy trousers and tops, not even jeans. She was also grounded while at home from college. She accepted this with grace, as it was the price for having her parents back together again as a couple.

John and Natalie changed. Perhaps their marriage became stronger because of their adversities. Or, perhaps it was because she had introduced some of those 'degrading acts' into their sex life -- along with a few of her own invention!