Fatal Temptation (9 page)

It’s another night spent at the auditorium for Sadie and Chris, only this time, it’s under much different circumstances. While they are both there to support and admire their daughter’s talents again showcased on the big stage, having to sit next to each other and to pretend to be happy is killing both of them.

Sadie clenches her teeth with every motion Chris makes in the seat next to her and can feel herself growing more animosity for him with every breath he takes. It is taking every muscle in her body right now to refrain from losing control, but she does it for her daughter.

“When is she going on?” Chris leans into Sadie. She can swear she can still smell the disgust on his breath.

She ignores him, continuing to keep her eyes fixated on nothing other than the stage. It took everything in her to muster the courage to go tonight and took even more to wear something other than sweatpants.

Chris laughs at her no response. “So we are still playing the silent game? Good to know.”

“I don’t want you to come home tonight,” Sadie finally replies to him, having to spit the words out from the slender spaces between her teeth.

“Right. You said that earlier and look at where we are now.”

Chris’ behavior is baffling and incredibly upsetting. Even though he is completely in the wron
g, he acts like nothing is his fault and that it is Sadie who is the villain.

Thankfully, the showcase begins and t
he audience applauds the maestro’s entrance, who arrives on the stage. He grabs the microphone and thanks his orchestra before turning to welcome the audience.

“Hello, and thank you all for coming to the Downtown Opera House this evening. Just a quick change in our list of performer’s, Mrs. Chastity Jones will be replaced by newcomer, Ling Coop
er, who might I add, is only five and a half years old.”

The
audience all gasps at the knowledge, followed by a rousing round of applause. It helps to put Sadie at ease knowing that the auditorium welcomes their daughter, but it also adds a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the little one.

The maestro begins the evening with the first piece, a classical arrangement without any vocalists and the lights dim down, showcasing the musicians on the stage. Sadie sits quietly in her seat, next to Chris, who looks like he couldn’t care less that he is there. His behavior is damaging Sadie internally and she can feel her blood pressure start to rise with every flick of his finger on his Smartphone
touch screen.

“Will you put that away, please?” She nudges her arm into him, leaning into him and ensuring that he obeys her command. “It’s very rude.”

Everyone around the couple are all whispering, making snide remarks towards Chris and his lack of theater etiquette.

Chris shrugs his shoulders,
unfazed by her request. “I can do whatever I want.”

“You certainly proved that last night,” she is quick to counter him, feeling her heart throbbing in her chest with anger.

Chris stops playing on his phone and stares directly into her eyes with a lethal stare right before the music starts up. A sly smirk forms on his lips and it’s enough to make Sadie’s blood run cold.

“And I should say the same to you.”

Confused, Sadie is about to question him but her attention shifts instantly to the stage, the moment the strings section begins to play. It takes every ounce of restraint in her body not to speak over the music to her husband and instead, swallows her words, anxiously awaiting a break in the performances.

It arrives moments later and as the audience
begins to clap, awarding the musicians on stage, Sadie turns to Chris to grab his attention.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Chris busies himself on his phone again, taking eons to even acknowledge her. “You know how they say women have eyes on the back of their heads? Well, don’t cut men out of the equation quite yet,” he snarls without looking at her.

Again, just as Sadie is about to learn mo
re, the performance begins, this time a solo cellist on the stage illuminating by one single ray of light. Sadie finds herself in a constant battle between enjoying the euphoria of the music on stage and the melancholy air between her and her husband.

The piece in which the cellist performs is longer than Sadie anticipated, causing her leg to bounce up and down uncontrollably. Chris notices it in the corner of his eye and laughs at her anxiety, as if it pleases him.

What are his intentions? What did he mean by the words he said?

Delightedly, the musician stops again and Sadie grabs Chris by the arm, forcing his attention to be put on her. They square off visually, neither one of them moving any other muscle.

“What are you talking about Chris?”

Chris swallows hard, his expression changing drastically. Now, instead of appearing full of malice and ill intentions, he looks broken and utterly defeated. The shift in demeanor surprises Sadie and she presses on.

“What? What is it?”

After retrieving his fallen gaze, he looks up at Sadie and says only two words:

“Asher Banks.”

Sadie’s heart sinks to her feet and the once peach color falls from her face and is replaced with a ghost white. Her mouth moves to form the words, but unfortunately, nothing is able to come out.

With a lack of a response from his wife, Chris focuses on the stage ahead of him, sucking in a trembling breath and letting it get caught in his throat as he chokes back the tears.

“I didn’t do anything,” Sadie begins, perilously trying to plead her case and salvage everything. “Nothing happened.”

Chris turns to look at her with his eyes, but can’t bring himself to face her completely. Just as he is about to speak, a text message comes through on his cell phone. The bright light catches Sadie’s eye and she reads the number, although it is unfamiliar to her.

The moment Chris reads it and allows it to sink in, he
hides it away from Sadie’s view and then he gets up from his seat. “I got to go.”

“What? Where are you going? Ling is about to sing! I’m sorry! Just sit down!” Sadie snaps
at him with a yelling whisper, trying to compose her flooding emotions.

“I got to
go,” Chris says again as he leaves the auditorium. Sadie sits in her lonesome, tears beginning to flood her eyes. Part of her wants to chase after Chris to try to explain to him what has been going on but the other part of her, remains in her seat. It’s a tough choice between her husband and her daughter but in this moment and maybe forever, Ling reigns the victor. Sadie can’t help but feel like nothing else in the world is more important than this. Nothing is more important than her daughter.

The maestro introduces Ling one more time and the crowd howls with excitement the moment the little girl graces the stage.
Sadie looks back to see if she can scan the crowd for Chris, to see if he would stay, even for his little girl but there is no sight of him.

There is a moment of a hesitated pause before the music begins and a
s soon as Ling opens her mouth to sing after getting her bearings, everyone in the room’s jaw drops and Sadie couldn’t be more proud.

If she has one love in her life, it is Ling and no one else matters
. The love and admiration she has for that young girl is beyond anything else. After failed pregnancy after failed pregnancy, Sadie didn’t ever think she was going to have the pleasure of being a mother but she was wrong. She is so blessed to have this young girl in her life. ‘

Ling’s voice fills the entire auditorium and Sadie can feel the tears finally release from her eyes, this time, crying tears of joy instead of tears for her marriage. With every swell of volume in Ling’s chest, Sadie feels like she is right up there with her, letting Ling take her on an emotional journey that she will never forget, all with the instrument that is her voice.

As the performance peaks, Sadie can’t help but be reminded of another show that she is supposed to attend this evening and that belongs to Asher. He begged for her to come to this set for him to explain everything to her, and so she could have some method to the madness between them. Now that Chris has bailed on her, what has she got to lose?

The song comes to a close and the entire audience is on their feet for Ling, giving her the biggest standing ovation of her career, but certainly not the last.
Sadie stands up on her feet too, the biggest smile beaming on her face and finally, for the most moment in a long time, feeling free.

She claps as hard and as fast as her hands will allow and the
intercom system comes on, letting the guests know that there will be a short intermission. Sadie waits for a break in the droves of crowd traffic before reaching the stage. The stage manager stops her, extending his right hand out to stop her. “Sorry, ma’am. No patrons allowed backstage without permission.”

“I’m her mother,” Sadie begins, her thoughts all jumbled. She collects herself, speaking again. “I’m Ling Cooper’s mother.”

The stage manager’s character changes strikingly, all of a sudden expressing warmth and gratitude. His hand falls to his side and he gives Sadie access. “Oh please! After you, Mrs. Cooper.”

Sadie smiles and heads backstage, her heart fluttering in her chest as she scans through the performers to try to find her daughter. She walks down the right wing of the stage, past people who silently question who she is but she ignores them. A mother on a mission has her sights on one thing and one thing only – her offspring.

There, in a crowd of people all chanting her name and clapping for her is Ling. Among the crowd is William, the theater director, with the largest smile on his face. He is the first to turn to Sadie, his arms open wide for an embrace.

“Your daughter! My heavens
your daughter! What a gift from God!”

Sadie wipes away some of the tears from her eyes, opening her arms up wide for him. “
You’re telling me.”

The two embrace before Ling discovers that her mother is backstage
, hearing her voice amidst the compliments from the group that engulfs her. She immediately looks for her and spots her, running over as fast as she can. “Mom!”

Sadie can recognize that voice a mile away and turns her attention from William to her little bundle of joy, sitting down on one knee to greet her. Ling collides with her body, nearly toppling Sadie over.

“How did I do mom? How did I do?”

“You were breathtaking as always, honey, but we have to go.”

Ling breaks away from the embrace, a questioning look on her face. “How come?”

William eavesdrops the conversation, standing at a distance, far enough to not be a direct part of the exchange but close enough to hear every word.

Ling looks around, picking up on the tension brewing inside of her mother. “Wait. Where is dad?”

Sadie swallows her words, unable to tell her daughter the truth. “That’s why we need to go, okay? Mom and dad need to have a talk.”

William walks over in this moment, nonchalantly inserting himself into the conversation. “Do you need to take Ling, Mrs. Cooper?”

Sadie stands to her feet, keeping her attention on Ling. “I do, unfortunately. Is that okay?”

He nods and opens his arms again as a signal for them to leave. “Of course, but Ling will miss the final bow for the evening where we welcome all of the previous performers to the stage.”

“They will stand again? For me?”

Sadie can feel her heart break simultaneously as Ling’s does. She knows that her daughter hasn’t even experienced the fullest of what her talent is going to bring to her, but still, robbing her of one experience feels like she is tainting them all.

William interjects again, placing his hand on Ling’s shoulder. “This is just the beginning, Ling. You’ll have standing ovation after ovation for the rest of your life. Family comes first.”

Sadie appreciates his gesture, knowing that the words coming from this man mean more to Ling than their weight in gold. She allows the words to sink in, her tiny eyes darting back and forth between William and her mother.

Seconds later, she makes up her mind. “O
kay,” Ling replies. “We can go.”

Relieved, Sadie helps Ling grab the rest of her belongings, stashing them away in her pink duffel bag before
holding her hand, leading her way to the parking lot.

As they walk together, Sadie assumes Chris will be at home but knows that she cannot bear to have an argument with him in front of their fragile daughter. She picks up her cell phone with her
free hand and dials the number of someone she could trust with her life.

“Hello?” Valerie says on the other line.

“Hey Val, it’s Sadie, how are you?”

“Hey Sade, I’m fine and you?”

“Good, listen, can I bring Ling by for a moment? Chris and I need to have a talk.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, things are fine. We are just getting into something right now and I don’t want Ling apart of it. It’ll only be for a short while.”