The Monster Within

Chapter 47

Arthur pulls out the casual navy-blue suit he'd rented from a local tailor shop, which was not cheap to rent. He showers and touches up with his hair dye. He pops in his contact lenses and combs his hair until it is a desirable style. He then pulls on the suit and tries to tie his tie accordingly. He wasn't used to doing such things because Gwen often did it for him and even then, the two of them didn't go out for very fancy dinners.

He pauses for a moment and swallows a lump in his through when he thinks of Gwen, Megan, and Ben. They felt like a distant memory now, more than half a year had passed since he saw them last. He wonders what they are doing now. No doubt they went to live with her parents and are under Protective Custody because according to the news, he's a "danger to society" which might be true to some degree. The thing was, he would never ever hurt his children, nor his former wife... to a certain extent. He still loved them deep down and he wanted to do all this to complete their family, but of course, he was labelled as a "rapist" and a "threat to all women and children." This again was only partially true, he was a threat, but not to his family.

He struggles and eventually makes it look at least presentable. He adds some cologne which he had shoplifted from a local mall. He then stares at himself in the cracked mirror. He did not look like Arthur King, but Jacob Hart, a local to the Boston area. He smiles at himself and then grabs the "gifts" he was giving to Zelena Mills. He managed to buy two red roses, as that was the cheapest he could get them for and a small box of cream-filled chocolates. He sighs before exiting and locking his apartment door.

Everything that had happened in the past week had been a struggle for him, he could not buy booze or cigarettes in order to save for this date, which was killing him on the inside, but he kept telling himself that it would all be worth it in the end. Tonight, was more than a date, it was the first step in his plan.

He takes his truck, which he had cleaned out to the best of his abilities and made it at least presentable for this very vapid and likely spoiled woman. He grins to himself as he drives to the nicer part of town, knowing that this lawyer was loaded beyond his wildest imagination. She was going to be especially useful eventually.

He goes to the address she had given him and parks. He then gets out with his gifts and walks to the door of the apartment building. He buzzes her apartment.

"Yes?" her voice says over the speaker.

"A Mr. Hart to pick up a Miss Mills."

"I'll be right down," she says in an almost seductive voice.

Arthur smirks to himself, eager to get this relationship going. He knew this was going to be very important overall, and besides, he hadn't dated in a long time. There were even some butterflies in his stomach, unusual for the smug bastard that he was.

He can hear the sharp heels echoing through the main lobby as the vision of beauty approaches him.

Zelena was dressed in her very best. A silky green dress that wrapped around her shoulders, revealed some cleavage down the front and a slit up the leg. She wore a dark green velvet shawl, draped over her shoulders and at least 3-inch black high heels. She wore an emerald green necklace with matching earrings and had her fiery red hair curled into strong-holding ringlets. Her face was covered in bold makeup to show her dominance and her lips were as red as the roses her date was holding. She looked ever so powerful and unwavering as she approached her date. Her heart fluttered slightly, he cleaned up well, his blonde hair shone ever so slightly in the light of the front building. He wore a very smug grin, that matched hers to a certain degree.

She stopped once to check herself in the reflection of the window and it should have been her cue to turn around and abandon this date completely because of the part she would play in the bizarre scheme being set in motion the moment she stepped out of the building. There was nothing protecting her from this monstrous man once she was outside, who stood there with tempting gifts in his arms. She could have listened to her gut, telling her this man was dangerous and kept the door locked, rejecting him, and throwing a wrench into his carefully laid plans, but Zelena Mills played with fire, and this time she would be burned.