Innocent enough

[Aleczander Hart]

Aleczander Hart is a man of duty and respect. He gets things done and as far as he's concerned; had raised fine children, a beautiful if chilly wife and has a home that would be the envy of most anyone that liked such things as lavish homes.
It seemed like perhaps the world raised him to this point only to laugh at his expense. Sitting amongst innocent enough papers and letters was an envelope with a seemingly ordinary photograph or his wife...if ordinary meant that she acting like a Jezebel in another man's lap, and going so far as to wink when he realized what was happening in the photograph.
"SHAWNA!" was the roar that erupted from his chest and echoed in the expanse of his fine and empty home. the sonarous charm in his voice rattled windows and fluttered papers, there wasn't an excuse of 'I didn't hear you call' this time.

[Shawna Michelle Hart]

Shawna was a different woman when her husband was home. When he was away, which was most of the time, she usually had an endless parade of men traipsing in and out. She would laugh and drink and dance and...well, other things that were usually done between a man and a woman when they are alone. She would wear lacy, revealing clothing (or none at all) and smoke cigarettes. Even the presence of her grown children, one of whom still lived at home, did not seem to affect her scandalous behavior.

But when Aleczander was home, she became demure and cold, pretending to care about such mundane things as gardening and reading and dinner menus. In reality, Shawna did not care for these things at all. She was pretty much just waiting for the moment that her husband would leave so that she could get back to what she really wanted to be doing--the pool boy.

When Aleczander called out her name, Shawna was sitting by the pool, watching that very pool boy. She had hired him just two days ago, and she doubted that he'd last the week before he was sharing her bed. She was wearing a sheer white robe over her bikini and pretending (rather unconvincingly) to be knitting something. But Shawna did not knit well at all, and what she had in her hands was really just a tangled mass of yarn and needles.

Then the call rang out. Her husband's voice echoed through the porch and even seemed to make the water in the pool vibrate. As much as she would have liked to avoid it, it simply was too loud for her to do so. Reluctantly, she stood up and transfigured the robes so that they were no longer transparent before strolling into her husband's study.

"You bellowed?" she asked smoothly.

[Aleczander Hart]

Aleczander felt a muscle twitch in his face. "You damn well know I bellowed, what is this Shawna?" he rasped out the question as he held the photograph of his wildly gyrating wife for her to see.
He was willing the photograph to be a fake, something someone had concocted to anger him or ruin his life. If she made excuses or fumbled for an explanation It was true and if she didn't react at all, meant that she knew all about it and had expected the reaction. Either way she was incriminated beyond any doubt in his eyes. He still desperately wanted to believe that it wasn't happening, he was a powerful man with ambitions and connections! How could his unfeeling fish of a wife be as sick and simple as lesser men and women.

[Shawna Michelle Hart]

Shawna felt her stomach plummet when her husband waved the photograph in front of her. But her face did not show any reaction at all. She remembered the particular occasion when the photograph was taken. The man she had been with had gone and become "attached." He hadn't wanted their tryst to end, but Shawna, of course, never stayed long with any of her "distractions." Why would she? If she wanted to stay with just one man, she would stay with her husband.

"This is outrageous," she said, her tone icy but indignant. "You don't really believe that's me, do you? Clearly someone has altered this photograph to make it look like I was doing this. Surely you know I would never behave in such a manner."

[Aleczander Hart]

Aleczander scoffed "Wouldn't you? Do you honestly think I didn't use a Revealer on it or cast any number of charms on it?" he was bluffing, he hadn't done any of those things at all. He wasn't about to let her throw this back on him. Over the years she had gotten very good at deflecting him, and he had let her because it suited him and his needs. This ,he decided, was going to be a very good test. If this wasn't really happening, then everything was fine and she could prove it was faked easily. He decided he wasn't going to back down from it and read a scrawled message on the back, which he turned over for her to read.
"She always said I was better." he quoted "Explain this. Now." he held the picture between his thumb and fore finger, dangling it like some dead thing. He twirled the photo around so she could see herself again.

[Shawna Michelle Hart]

Shawna had long feared that this day would come. Aleczander, clueless as he was, couldn't possibly remain in the dark forever. He was dense, but he wasn't stupid. She had always been so careful, but in the last few months, she might have become a bit more reckless. Perhaps it was the fact that her fortieth.... er, twenty-ninth birthday had just passed. She needed to believe that she was still young and beautiful, and all those men would say such pretty words...

She was just as galled by the message on the back of the picture as he was. The fool! Didn't he know she said that to all the other men? Men needed to hear such things, even if they were lies. It fed their egos.

She took a breath, the only sign that she was in any way shaken by this situation. "Al, please," she said, her voice softening. "I don't know what this is, but clearly someone is framing me. It must be one of your enemies at work." She blinked and even managed to work up a couple of fat crocodile tears to shimmer in her crystal-blue eyes.

[Aleczander Hart]

Alcezander narrowed his gaze. "You don't even know who I really work for." The statement rung so false, If the Dark Lord suspected his Death Eaters of playing such petty games, He'd sooner kill them for making a mockery of his legacy to the wizarding world.
She also hadn't proved it was a fake, she was standing before him with contrite tears.
"You slut. You've been making a fool of me and you don't even have the guile to prove you're innocent enough to buy into denial for five minutes!" His voice shook as he threw the photograph at her face.
" I can't believe you've been a part of my life this long and I finally see which side your bread is buttered." he shook his head in disgust. He walked back to his desk and summoned the papers that had fluttered to the floor.
"I expect you to keep you're mouth shut, You're going to move out, get your own place. If I feel generous you'll receive a stipend at the end of each month." he turned to face her, the sparkle of her tears did remind him of how she used to be, and the thought depressed him.
what was he going to do about her? Was there really anything to be done?

[Shawna Michelle Hart]

Shawna was shocked. Never mind that she was lying through her teeth; why didn't he believe her? He was her husband. He was supposed to believe her, because he loved her. Did he love her? Had he ever loved her?

Shawna knew, of course, that it was hypocritical for her to even think such questions. She had never loved Aleczander. The marriage had been arranged, and she'd had no choice. Still, he did have some qualities that she had always appreciated, and they had been.... if not happy, at least content for a while. They'd had children together. And even though she had barred him from her bedroom after Vixie was born, she still assumed that there was something between them.

Her lower lip trembled, and the fat tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving behind dull gray mascara streaks. "Al, don't do this," she pleaded. "You can't tell me that you really believe some picture and not your wife. Think of the children."

[Aleczander Hart]

"You aren't proving anything to me. Once I admired how resourceful you were in deflecting me or turning situations around, now you disgust me. What does it matter if I trust the photograph more? I told you it isn't hiding anything, but you...You seem to be hiding something!" His mouth shut into a grim line. "Our Children are grown, they've got themselves to worry about and not if their mother is playing village broomstick."
His gut twisted at the thought of his children knowing about this sordid affair. Granted he hadn't spent excessive time with his children, he knew he had at least taught them that respect was worth it's weight in gold and their mother wasn't worth half the respect he gave her over the years of their matrimony.

[Shawna Michelle Hart]

"And how am I supposed to prove anything to you?" Shawna cried tearfully. "You've already made up your mind... you've condemned me without so much as a trial!"

She began to cry heavily, and it was only half-forced. She may not have loved her husband, but she didn't want to be thrown out of her beautiful house, either. She had worked so hard to make this house something to be proud of. So many discussions with decorators, contractors, antiques dealers, and furniture salesmen... so many hours of picking out swatches and samples and color schemes. Having other people decorate the house to her specifications had been one of the greatest joys in her early marriage, when the children were young.

"Even if it is true, have you never thought how you might be to blame for it? How you were never home, how you treated me as little better than a house elf with clothes? How I was expected to sit at home and wait for you instead of finding something to do that made me happy?"

[Aleczander Hart]

Aleczander snorted "I never treated you like a house elf! as for leaving you alone, If you recall dearest, You're the one that moved out of the bedroom! I decided that I'd rather work to better my family than try to understand your delusions of why you started to push me away! When Vickie was born, I thought you were warming up to me! then you decided that it was enough children for you and I thought you gave up trying!" he looked down at the photograph on the floor, at his wife's feet.
"Think of the apartment as a new little get away, decorate it and lavish your attentions on that." he sneered at her, angry at the flimsy accusation of neglect at his hands.
"I never told you that you weren't allowed to be happy, but shagging other men doesn't fall into 'weekend hobbies' or 'holidays with family'. I want you to get your clothing and get out! If you keep quite about why your leaving the house, I'll let you take the Edwardian collection you ferreted out of France." he paused and measured the look on her face. "Oh don't think you'll be allowed to take anything other than your clothing out of here." Aleczander almost wished she would try, only to enjoy taking whatever it was away from her. He'd rather see it reduced to ash than give her pleasure in her new little rat's nest.

[Shawna Michelle Hart]

"I moved out of the bedroom when Vixie was born because I didn't want any more children," Shawna informed him coldly.

This much, at least, was completely true. She had actually been faithful to him until after their third child was born. But childbirth was murder on her figure, and she'd had to work very hard to get it back into shape after three kids. And wretched children they were, too, always crying and demanding attention. If the second child had been a girl, she would have quit after two, because the marital agreement that her father had arranged with Al's father had been to have at least one boy and one girl. How unfortunate that Draven had been a boy, but at least it hadn't taken more than three times to have a girl.

Shawna was slowly getting angry now, and her desperate tears were fading. She was not going to leave this house without a fight. "How dare you make such an assumption about me? You have one picture of me in a compromising position with one man. That does not mean I've been.... what's this vulgar word you used? Shagging other men? I can't believe you would even accuse me of such a thing!"

[Aleczander Hart]

Aleczander set his jaw. "Don't get so righteous with me! One is as good as fifty and if you didn't want anymore children, by the looks of the photograph you figured out that mystery of life as well!" Aleczander felt his heart throb at the truth of his own statement. He never thought of cheating on his wife. It just wasn't part of his plans for his life or family.
His goal was to obtain wealth and power, then to use both to further his ideals into their society. This felt like a terrible mistake or a cruel joke from the world to his front door. He looked at his wife, jaw set to grind his teeth, and saw her momentary tears begin to dry to make room for anger and more than likely venom spitting. He crossed his arms over his chest resigned to hear some caterwauling and some of her mentioned vulgarity.

[Shawna Michelle Hart]

She was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. But she was still not ready to give up. This was her home, and she was not keen on leaving it anytime soon.

She broke down in tears and sank down into a chair, covering her face. "OK, I admit it!" she sobbed at last. "But if you only knew the whole story.... I didn't mean to do it! He... he slipped me a love potion! I was drugged, and couldn't help myself! When I came to, I didn't know what I had done... until he came back and told me! I had no idea he took pictures... but you have to know that wasn't really me! I was so ashamed...."

[Aleczander Hart]

Aleczander was floored by the account, of how his wife ended up in another's bed. He couldn't help that the feeling of disgust he had felt for her, still lingered.
"Why lie? Why not tell me?" He couldn't help but ask. He had heard the dark lord demand nothing less than the truth many times. He could appreciate now why it was so important to the cause, when the lies piled in front of him disgusted him so far he couldn't forgive even a love potion induced sexual frenzy. He didn't uncross his arms, and he felt a pulsing low throb start above his eye. The confession made everything clear to him. Even if this event happened with or without her consent, he'd never feel comfortable with her again.

[Shawna Michelle Hart]

Shawna held her hands clasped over her face while her body shook with heavy sobs. There were real tears coming from her eyes; she was very good at faking emotion when she needed to. But she didn't want him to look at her face as she concocted yet another lie, digging herself in deeper, and yet hopefully convincing him of her nonexistent innocence.

"I just... I couldn't! I was so ashamed, and I thought... Well, I thought you wouldn't understand. You do, don't you? You know how much I.... I... love you..."

It was hard for her to choke out the word, but she played it off as being overcome with emotion. The truth was, of course, Shawna did not love her husband... she barely even liked her own children. She loved one person, and one person only--herself.