“Uh… no, you misheard,” Ava stammered.
“Mom, we all heard it. Who’s getting married?” Morticia asked, intrigued.
When Ava didn’t respond, Klaus stood and dialed a number.
“Klaus,” Ava tried to stop him, but he dashed out. Luckily, the person on the other end picked up just in time.
“Hello, son.”
“Dad,” Klaus kept his voice steady. “Mom told me about the wedding. How’s it going?”
“She did?” His father’s tone was surprised, and Klaus frowned. “I’m sorry, son. I needed a woman in my life, and your mother isn’t…”
“Fuck! You’re getting married?!” Klaus yelled, his fury igniting.
“What? We are divorced, Klaus.”
“Divorce? Are you fucking kidding me?! After all the shit you put her through, you’re going to marry another woman? Are you insane?!”
“Klaus, you should talk to your mother before lashing out at me like this. This isn’t my-”
“Fuck you!” He spat, ending the call.
“Klaus!” Morticia called, worried, as she watched him turn away. Ava was panicking, Jamie looked confused, and Morticia felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach.
He stormed to his car and drove off. Ava pulled out her phone. “Gawd, I have to call Josephine. How the hell did I screw this up?” But the call didn’t go through.
“I’m following Klaus,” Morticia announced.
“Let me come with you,” Jamie offered.
“No, it’ll be faster if I go alone,” she insisted, getting into Ava’s car to chase him down.
Klaus headed straight to his mother’s apartment. He pressed the doorbell twice, and when there was no reply, he punched in the code-it was his birthday.
Josephine, who had been sipping juice, stepped out and looked surprised to see Klaus.
“Baby?” she murmured, the nickname she used for him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Klaus demanded.
“Tell you what?”
“That Dad is getting married!” he snapped.
Josephine didn’t seem surprised he found out; instead, she dropped her cup and approached him.
“You should let go, Klaus.”
“Let go? He treated you like shit! He yelled and cursed at you even after you struggled to build that company with him. He cheated on you multiple times, even with your sister. He pushed you away… Why the hell does he get to have a happy life while you suffer?”
“Klaus, just let go. I’m tired of holding onto that pain. Let it be.”
“Since when did you divorce him?” he asked, his voice rising.
“Before you went on that trip with him.”
Klaus shook his head in disbelief.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but you’re not always around.”
“It’s because I remind you of him,” Klaus said, pain evident in his voice.
“No, you don’t. I was wrong for saying that.”
“What else are you keeping from me?” he pressed, noticing her hesitation. “Say it, Mom!”
“I… I…” she stuttered, shaking her head. “I can’t tell you, Klaus. I can’t.”
“I gotta go,” Klaus sighed, turning to leave.
Morticia arrived just as he was exiting the apartment. She followed him back to his place.
Just before she could knock, she heard a loud crash, followed by another.
She rushed inside to find him throwing everything in his path. The room was a mess, and blood trickled from his wrist; he must have punched the wall.
“Klaus, stop!” she yelled.
“Go away, Bunnie!” he shouted back, heading to the fridge for a drink. He finished one bottle in one gulp before grabbing another.
Morticia marched toward him. “Stop… you should stop drinking.”
“Then leave if you’re not okay with it. Why are you here anyway?!” he snapped.
“You’ll hurt yourself if you keep this up.”
“Why do you care? I fucking hurt you and say cruel things, so why are you here… to get more of it?!” He yelled at her and though his words hurts, she stood her ground.
“No, I can’t leave you like this. You’re not yourself. You need to calm down, Klaus…”
His boice dripped with pain and he snapped. “Calm down?! She acts like she’s happy, living with a fucked-up family and a fucked-up son like me. I…” He paused, his chest heaving. “I can still see it in my head, Bunnie. What he did to her, to me… and now he thinks he’s making it right, but it’s only getting worse.”
A tear fell from his eye. He had never cried in front of her, and it broke her heart in a way she never expected.
“I’m sorry, Bunnie,” he continued, his voice trembling. “I really am.”
“For what?” she whispered.
“For being an asshole and yelling at you,” he admitted, their gazes locking as he swept his hair backwards.
“It’s fine; you’ve done it many times.” She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Klaus was apologizing. He rarely did.
He stepped closer, reaching to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She flinched at his touch.
“You said you wanted to ruin me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her words, more like a question.
“Yeah,” he confirmed without hesitation, and her heart raced. His bloodshot eyes locked with hers. “Did I scare you when I said that?”
Did it? Morticia asked herself.
No, it didn’t scare her. Instead, it stirred something deep within her.
“No,” she replied firmly.
For a fleeting moment, a small smile flickered across Klaus’s lips before he looked away.
“I wanted to ruin you for anyone else. Possess you, make you think of only me. But I’m afraid to explore that feeling; it might break you, and I won’t lie.”
Valerie was right about the meaning after all.
“And what makes you think it’ll break me?” she asked, her voice a whisper.
Where was this boldness coming from?
She should be running away from him, just like how they warned her…
Yet she stood her ground.
He caressed her chin, then asked in a deep hoarse voice.
“Would you like to explore it, Bunnie?… Because I badly want to….”