*sigh* I was hoping Thornton was getting better, but I suppose that was too hopeful to think. Definitely a major revelation, though! Didn't see that one coming!
Thornton is an interesting character. Given the backstory from his in-game bio I can almost understand why he is the way he is. At the same time though, autonomously flirting with Jamie whenever she's in the same room is not a terribly nice thing for a married man to do.
It was nice seeing the Bunches again. I really like the hospital "set".
Oh dear, poor Morgana. I wonder what story Thorton is going to come up with to excuse his unfaithful ways.
Thank you! I had fun creating that set. It will definitely be making repeat appearances. Don't worry too much about Morgana. She will have a happy ending...eventually.
You have really written a great story so far.
I love it how you give the townies a backstory.
To be true, in all of my games where I've played Thornton and Morgana they ended in a divorce. I'm curious to see what will happen to them in your story. What will Thronton say about the fact that Jamie is pregnant and he never wanted to have children? Yeah, I'm really curious!
Thank you so much! Yeah, it's actually pretty rare for the two of them to remain together in my games.
What will Thornton say to Morgana's accusation? Well...
Chapter 2 – LandslideNerdDude: You sure you're going to be okay?
LadyM: Yeah. Just have to start over, I guess.
NerdDude: Well call me if you need anything. I mean it.
LadyM: Thanks.
NerdDude: Got to go. Work in the A.M. Take care, little Sis.
LadyM: Hugs.
-NerdDude has signed out-With a sigh Morgana closed her browser window. It was getting late, and she probably should be getting to bed.
If she could manage to get her mind to stop racing.
This afternoon's confrontation had gone about as well as could be expected. At first Thornton had adamantly denied any sort of wrongdoing, that “Jamie is just doing this to get back at me for rejecting her,” but faced with the evidence he soon acquiesced.
“It wasn't supposed to happen,” Thornton sighed. “I saw her at the dance club on one of the nights when you were working late. It was just innocent chatting at first, a bit of dancing...and before I knew it we were in the back of the club making out.”
“I kept telling myself it was just a one time thing. It was a harmless bit of fun. We kept running into each other back at the dance club, and it would happen all over again. She gave me her phone number and we started meeting a bit after work.” He fidgeted nervously. “Finally, one afternoon, it went too far. We...met at Mick's for a few drinks, one thing led to another, and before I knew it we were in the photo booth doing...
things.”
“The
photo booth?”
“Yeah.”
Morgana cringed.
“After that I realized what was happening. It didn't feel right. I called Jamie the next day and broke it off then and there. Until she texted me yesterday we hadn't so much as spoken for over two months.”
Morgana pursed her lips and shook her head. “The story that I got from Jamie was a little different. She told me that
she was the one who broke it off with
you, and that
you were the one who kept texting
her.”
“And you're going to believe Jamie over me?”
“You
really have the nerve to ask me that? After you hid your relationship with Jamie, lied to my face about the reason why you were always home late, and gave me some bogus story about why you were canceling our France trip? Why
should I believe a word that you say?” She took a deep breath. “Jamie has no reason to lie to me. You, on the other hand,
do.”
“Hold on, hold on. The business trip is completely legitimate,” Thornton defended himself. “Mr. Alto have me an ultimatum. Go to the conference or he promotes Iliana instead of me.”
“But that was
not who you were talking to yesterday afternoon.”
“No, you are right...it was Jamie.” He shook his head. “Look, I
wanted to take that trip, Morgana, to at least try to make up for my mistake!”
Morgana could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Your
mistake? Forgetting to pay a bill, that's a mistake. A speeding ticket is a mistake. This is far more than just a mistake, Thornton. You cheated on your wife and got another woman pregnant. A woman who, mind you, is living off of an intern's salary and can scarce afford a child. Your so-called “mistake” has changed
her life forever!”
“That was the
last thing that I ever expected would happen!” Thornton snapped. “You know how much I dislike children.”
“And that's what makes it worse!” She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Ever since we married you have made it painfully obvious that children were out of the question for us, and now I find out that you are about to be the father of someone else's child. Do you have any
idea how that makes me feel?”
Thornton grimaced, but said nothing. At this point adrenaline had taken over and Morgana's heartbeat was racing. Steeling her resolve, she took a deep breath and dealt her final blow. There was no going back now.
“We're
through, Thornton. I've already contacted our lawyer and am filing for divorce.”
Morgana watched as his expression went from guilt to utter shock. “No, don't say that, Morgana. I...I will take responsibility for what I did. I will do what I can to make it up to you.” He moved to embrace her but she recoiled, shaking her head.
“Please, just
don't,” she spoke, her voice beginning to quiver. “This is not something you can just
make up to a person. You betrayed me. You betrayed my trust, you betrayed the sanctity of our marriage.” She held up her left hand and pointed at the diamond ring still adorning her finger. “
This was supposed to mean something!”
Thornton sighed deeply, shaking his head. “I never meant for this to happen, Morg...you
know that!”
“Neither of us did,” Morgana responded with a sigh of her own. “I've been doing a lot of soul-searching lately. We jumped into this marriage hardly even knowing each other, and I don't think that either of us realized...” Her voice trailed off. “Tell me, Thornton. Be honest with me, and be honest with yourself. Even if this hadn't happened, do you truly believe that we could have lasted?”
“Part of me would like to believe that we would...but the other part of me knows better.” Thornton looked her directly in the eyes. “Now it is your turn to be honest with me. Had you known my thoughts on children, would you have even accepted my proposal?”
“I...honestly cannot say.”
Silence reigned for what seemed like several minutes. Morgana could hear her own heartbeat as it continued to pound hard against her chest and the uncomfortable rumbling of an uneasy stomach. She didn't know how much more of this she could handle.
Finally Thornton sat down, the expression on his face pensive. “Then maybe...this whole thing was a mistake from the beginning. I'm not sure that I was even thinking in the long term when we made our vows.”
Morgana rolled her eyes. Somehow this didn't come as a shock.
“I won't contest the divorce,” Thornton continued. “I want to make this as easy on the both of us as possible. It's...the least I can do given what happened.”
“I appreciate that,” she softly replied. She stepped behind the couch to where she had laid out a pair of suitcases and her laptop bag. "I've already made arrangements for lodging for tonight. I...suppose that I will hear more from the lawyer when everything is finalized."
“For what it's worth, Morgana...I am deeply sorry.”
As she grabbed her luggage and opened the front door for what she imagined would be the final time, Morgana turned back and gave Thornton one last look. “I just hope that you can learn to love the child that you and Jamie have created. The baby deserves that much from you at the very least.”
With those words she walked out the front door and out of Thornton's life.
Morgana checked into the local motel about half an hour later. Her plan for the moment was to spend the next few nights there until her paycheck hit, then put down the security deposit on an apartment.
Beyond that, however, she had no idea.
There was no doubt in her mind that leaving Thornton was the right thing, but the uncertainty tied with it left her with a measure of uneasiness. Money was going to be a serious issue for a while, at least until the divorce was finalized. Morgana did have one fallback though; she still had the wedding ring. She cast a rueful glance at the diamond-studded band sitting on the desk in front of her. A ring that once symbolized a promise was now nothing more than a simple piece of jewelry. It would probably fetch a decent price at the consignment shop, at the very least.
Morgana yawned and glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was already after ten.
Might as well at least try to get some sleep, she thought. Chatting with her friends online for a while had done much to steady her nerves. She only hoped that it was enough to allow her to rest.
Morgana pulled back the covers on the bed and cringed at the musty odor emanating from the sheets. It had been two years, eight months, and an odd number of days since she had last slept alone. Tonight was just the first of many nights, she imagined, that would follow.
As she drifted off to sleep, though, Morgana couldn't help but think that things could only get better.
It sure as heck couldn't get much worse.
---
(A/N: Yes...the title does indeed refer to the Fleetwood Mac song. I thought it appropriate. Thank you all so much for reading. Things will get better for our Morgana, I promise.