An Unhappy Return

The four and a half hour drive from Toronto to Ottawa had felt a lot longer than that for Donna. She hadn't heard anything about Brendan's documentary and still didn't know what her curse was, only that she now seemed to have to do anything her ex-husband told her. That was the ultimate nightmare scenario. He had been controlling enough without magical assistance. It was one of the main reasons she had needed to get away from him in the first place.

What she had been made to do to Andy was devastating for her. He was a good man who didn't deserve that at all. She was aware Liam had built him up in his mind to be the devil itself, but that was just the story he needed to tell himself. It had in fact been Donna who had pursued Andy and not the other way round. In fact, he had refused to start anything with her while she was still in a relationship as he thought an affair would be too disrespectful to her then husband. Somehow that had been twisted in Liam's mind into Andy demanding she left him. It was also Andy who had persuaded her not to push for custody of Ashley, which she would almost certainly have been given. He thought it would be too disruptive to her education and social life to move her to another city and also felt taking her from Liam as well might completely destroy him as he would be left with nobody.

When Donna had announced that she was leaving Andy to go back to Liam in the sudden, shocking and cruel way that she was **** to, there had been no need for martial arts to defend herself. His initial reaction was to ask her if she was okay. He had seen how wildly out of character and irrationally she was behaving - apart from anything else 'pencil dick' was a bizarre insult to throw at someone so obviously well endowed in that department - and his first concern had been for her and not himself. She also knew that, if Andy had truly felt she longed to be back with Liam and her daughter, he would have let her go. That was who he was. It was why she loved being with him, and had felt so free after all those years of dealing with Liam's possessive nature. She couldn't believe she was driving away from such an idealistic life and back into her miserable old one.

What made her maddest about Liam's actions was what this might do to Ashley. Of course, Doona was **** to spend more time with her wonderful daughter, but this wasn't the way to do it. She was a seriously bright and emotionally intelligent kid, and Donna was going to have to act like she was happy to be back when she would have rather been anywhere else. That wasn't going to be easy. And to make matters worse, she had no idea how far this curse that Liam had either discovered or placed on her could be taken.

As she drove into the still familiar street she once lived in, Donna could see Liam and Ashley waiting for her at the front gate. The obvious joy in Ashley's eyes was simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. Seeing her daughter so happy at her arrival was, of course, a beautiful thing, but her return was a facade, and she was certain there was no way this could end but badly.

Once Donna had been fondly welcomed back to her old home by her daughter, who had been allowed to stay up past her usual bedtime for the occasion, Ashley was sent upstairs to sleep. That left Donna alone with Liam in an extremely tense and uncomfortable environment. She was about to speak, but her former husband got in first.

"Donna, please don't say anything yet" he ordered her "I have a few things I need to say to you first"