Carpe diem - Book 2
Prologue -- Anne-Marie's story
As a sensitive girl, her mother's drilling on the social graces had been seen as a criticism of her very nature. In order to please her, Anne-Marie had buried her feelings. She had played the role required of her, been the perfect little society girl, but, deep down, she had never been happy. This wasn't her.
Her sixteenth birthday cotillion should have been a joyous affair as she was presented to society, coming out of childhood into the adult world. The coming out part had not been what her mother expected.
Months earlier, a friend of her mother's had taken advantage of her when she confided in her that she had strange feelings for a friend. The woman had deftly seduced Anne-Marie and kept her firmly under her thumb all that time by threatening to reveal her shameful secret if she didn't do as she was told. She had used Anne-Marie as her own personal sex toy, even sharing her with like-minded perverts.
When she found out, Anne-Marie's mother had believed her friend that she was the one to have been seduced and that Anne-Marie had been prostituting herself with older women in her mother's circle of friends. She never questioned for a single moment how that could be possible without those adult women's consent and active participation.
Bereft of all privileges, Anne-Marie literally became a prisoner, isolated from contact with the outside world except for the time she spent at school and even that was closely monitored.
Lady Desmoines fully intended to 'cure' her daughter of her unnatural desires. She threw men at Anne-Marie and forced her to go out with them. She even arranged for her to be raped and deflowered on the evening of her sixteenth birthday in her very own bed. The man was a business associate of her father and had been only too willing to 'help' when her mother approached him.
So it went until Ann's twenty first birthday. She had wanted to run away before, but she didn't have the resources to make it on her own and was kept on a tight leash against just such an event.
Escape had seemed impossible and she had resigned herself to a life of subservience to other people's desires. That is until a few weeks before she turned twenty one and was due to forcibly marry a rich man of her mother's choosing. An older elegant man approached her at an art gallery opening to which her mother had dragged her. Her 'fiancé' had gone to refresh their drinks when the man walked over and stood beside her in front of the ugliest painting she had ever seen.
"Ms. Desmoines." He said quietly. "I was your grand-mother's lawyer. Before she passed away last year, she left clear instructions in her will. Her fortune is kept in a trust fund. You will get a substantial amount on your twenty first birthday, a second installment on your twenty fifth anniversary and the balance will revert under your control the day you marry the person you really love. She was saddened by the way your mother treated you, but, despite her best efforts, was kept away so she wouldn't interfere."
Anne-Marie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her beloved granny had reached from the grave to help her. She had missed her loving presence and wise counsel these last years. Now she knew why the old lady had stopped visiting. She was about to ask for more information when the man began to extol on the talent of the artist who had created the painting they were 'looking' at.
Recognizing her cue, Anne-Marie turned and took the flute of champagne from the man her mother has chosen for her. Oh, how she loathed the proprietary way her wrapped his arm around her shoulder and not so discreetly ran his fingers over the side of her breast.
After the men had presented themselves, Anne-Marie innocently told the gentleman that she would like to hear more from his clearly vast knowledge of the arts. He politely told her frequented galleries such as this one and they would possibly meet again at another function.
"What a complete and utter snob." Her 'fiancé' said after the man left. "This is all junk. Once we're married, you won't catch me in one of these places."
She almost vomited when he forced her to go down on him in his limousine as he drove her home. To further humiliate her, he kept the partition down so his driver could watch. His circle of friends often did this with their women, forcing them to perform lewd and lascivious acts in front of them. It was the epitome of their demonstration of power when they had women perform cunnilingus on each other and rammed their cocks in their cunts so they had to lick a pussy as they were taken.
She gritted her teeth as she visualized the revenge she would take on him and on her family if what the lawyer told her was true.
A week later, at yet another function, she was approached by a woman who said she was a colleague of the lawyer she had spoken to. They managed to speak longer as they maintained the facade of two airheads who gossiped gaily.
She explained that her grand-mother had hired their cabinet to draw airtight documents with the expectation of a contestation by her mother and that there were separate provisions for their fees.
On the day of her twenty first birthday, all she would have to do was to show up at their offices to sign the required documents and the money was hers immediately regardless of her mother's legal actions.
When Anne-Marie explained her plan, the woman laughed and told her that there would be a security team on the premises to whisk her away to a waiting vehicle. Arrangements had already been made for her to occupy a condo in downtown Montreal, free of charge until her twenty fifth birthday when she would have to option to buy it, start paying rent or move out.
Anne-Marie endured the following weeks with equanimity, knowing the day was approaching when she would be free. Since all the decisions were made for her, she only had to hide her disgust on the few occasions she had to be seen in public. She spent the rest of the time in her room, pleading some vague indisposition.
The day before the ceremony, she packed a suitcase and had the servants, her only true friends, secrete it away.
On the first day of the rest of her life, her mother came to see her as she was getting dressed in the expensive and dreadful wedding dress she had chosen for her. She gave her a sermon on how all she did was for Anne-Marie's own good and that she should be grateful. Anne-Marie somehow managed to keep from hitting her mother and played the role of the dutiful daughter. When she left, her mother felt a deep sense of vindication and pride in herself.
As her father walked her down the aisle, he played the part of the proud father for the hundreds of guests who crowded the church, though she knew very well that he would rather be on the golf course closing a deal he had been working on for months.
She was glad for the veil she was wearing. It hid her triumphant smile when her father went to put her hand in her husband-to-be's and she took it away before he could even touch her. She wished she could have taken a picture of expression of rage on his face at this insult to his manhood. His eyes promised retribution before his social mask dropped in place again.
The priest had seen nothing of this, so he went on with the ceremony. At the moment when he asked if she, Anne-Marie Desmoines would take this man as her lawful husband to honor, cherish and obey in sickness and in health until the day she died, she ripped her veil away and spit squarely in his face.
"I WILL NEVER MARRY THIS PIECE OF OFFAL!" She screamed. "IF THERE WAS ANY JUSTICE IN THIS WORLD, HE WOULD BE IN JAIL AND SO WOULD YOU, YOU HYENA!" She finished, pointing at her mother.
Picking up the train of her gown she ran out, surrounded by the six burly men who had appeared on cue. She dove in a waiting limousine in which was the suitcase she had prepared the previous day. Before it had turned the corner, she powered the window down and threw out the dress and all the accessories. She was leaving everything behind but the jeans, black t-shirt, leather jacket and biker boots she was wearing.
Over the next weeks, two security agents were with her at all times. They had to get physical on a few occasions when her ex-fiancé and/or friends of his came calling. They were very professional and called the police to have them arrested after restraining them. After a few times, a judge finally ordered him to stay away from her on pain of imprisonment for harassment and life endangerment.
When the expected legal challenge to Anne-Marie's bequest came, the law cabinet immediately filed a counter-suit. In the end, it cost a lot of money to her parents before they finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing they could do.
Months later, Anne-Marie learned that her ex-fiancé had roped in another rich heiress and that they were happily married. She pitied the poor woman, but not for long. She was blissfully partnered with a woman who loved her.
Or so she thought.
The first thing Anne-Marie did when she was free to live her life as she saw fit, was to re-activate her file at the university which her mother had terminated the very day the negotiations had been finalized and her engagement announced.
She spent the summer getting up to date on what she had missed during that dark period. In September, she was ready and dove in.
When she wasn't in school or studying, she was with a group of students learning mechanics, welding, and body work. She already had plans for the money she would get on her twenty fifth birthday and she wanted to be ready.
Occasionally she would go out for a beer with her fellow gearheads or members of her study group.
