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Mariska climbs into the back of the car and pulls out her phone. She noticed tons of notifications about their appearance at the Emmys but she knew she had something coming when she saw the 6 texts from Peter.
“Shit. I have to call Peter. He’s pissed about something. Can you give me a few minutes?”
Chris nodded and gave her some space in the back of the car. Even though they weren’t sitting on top of one another, he made sure his hand was perched on her thigh.
She pressed the call and knew that it was in for it. “Hi! What’s going on? I’m sorry I didn’t get your texts. I’m just now leaving the afterparty.”
She was barely able to get her words out before he started screaming, “Are you fucking kidding me right now! You stand there on fucking national tv and say that shit about me!”
“Woah! What are you talking about?!” She was trying to rack her brain about what it could have been but then it dawned on her.
“No baby, that’s not what I-“ he cuts her off. “Don’t you dare baby me! You’re out there whoring around with your fucking boyfriend while I’m here playing dad just for you to talk shit! Fuck you, fuck your boyfriend and fuck being your husband. I’m done.” He finished and hung up the call.
Tears were streaming down her face and Chris had smoke blowing out of his ears. She had put the phone on speaker about halfway through the conversation so he heard more than enough.
Chris pulled her into him and kissed the top of her head, “I’m going to do something and I’m not going to let you tell me otherwise okay?” She looked up at him in confusion. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss and he grabbed her phone off of her lap. When he pulled away, he quickly unlocked it and clicked on Peter's name.
“Chris…” She tried to grab her phone but he pushed her arm away.
“No, he doesn’t get to talk to you like that.”
“Hello?!” Peter finally answered.
“I don’t know who the hell you think you are talking to her that way but I can guarantee If I was in the same city as you, I’d beat your fucking ass!” Chris yelled into the phone. Mariska could tell he was just getting started because his face was getting red and the veins began to bulge in his forehead. The more he spoke the louder his voice got.
Peter tried to speak up but Chris wasn’t having it. “You are a pathetic piece of shit husband that doesn’t know how to hold a job and a worthless piece of shit of a human to talk to someone like that! No wonder she’s been fucking around with me for the last 20 years. If I ever hear you talk to her like you just did, or if you ever lay a finger on this woman. I promise you’re a dead man.” With that, he hung up the phone. He looked over at Mariska who had tears still streaming down her face. She wasn’t crying because she was sad. More so, she had to go home tomorrow and deal with it all while he got to go home to his wife and not face the consequences.
Not saying that Peter would ever lay a hand on her, nor has he ever. She just knew there would be more that is said from the moment she walks in the door. No matter if the kids are home or not.
“I’m not sorry Mack. He is so lucky that we are here because I wouldn’t hesitate one second to knock him out.”
She understood, she really did because if the roles were reversed she would say something to Sherman but she was tired. She was tired at the thought of having to deal with the shit that was said to her behind closed doors. Tired of having to do this quietly so that people don’t find out. She was tired of having her kids see how she was treated and think it was okay.
“I think I want a divorce.” She whispered as she laid her head on his shoulder.
Chris knew this day would come. He warned her that she would get tired of doing it all on her own and he promised her that he would be by her side every step of the way.
The following morning they flew back into JFK, landing around 1030. Chris insisted that he take her home the night before in case things escalated.
She punches in the code to her security lock and heads inside her Upper West Side townhouse. “I’m home!” She yelled as she toed off her shoes and walked into the kitchen. She turned back to the door, glancing at Chris who was grabbing her bags out of the trunk. She turns back and sees Peter walking down the stairs into the kitchen. “Hi.” He said in a flat tone.
“Hi. Where are the kids?” She asked, leaning against the counter. She tried to keep the conversation short and simple.
“Out.” He said walking to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.
They both turned and looked at the door hearing the sound of it closing and Peter scoffed. “Just who I wanted to see.”
“Don’t worry pal I’m not staying. Just came to help with her bags.” He said walking over towards Mariska. “I’m gonna go, baby. Call me if you need anything.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek, “I love you.”
Her hand grasped his forearm, “I love you too.”
He glanced over towards Peter, “take care of her.”
“Like you did last night?” He mumbled causing Chris to stop in his tracks.
Here we go.
He turned around and chuckled, “Peter, when will you learn to keep your mouth shut?” Mariska stood in front of him and placed a hand on his chest “stop, leave him be.”
“When you learn to keep your dick out of my wife.” He copped.
Chris looked down at Mariska and shook his head, “I’m sorry.” He charged around the kitchen island and grabbed Peter by the shirt. He threw him up against the nearest wall and held him there with an arm to the throat.
“Chris!!” Mariska yelled as she took two steps toward the men.
“Look buddy, I don't care if you like me or not. Honestly, I don’t care if you ever speak to me again, but if you ever disrespect her in front of me like you did last night, I’ll kick your fucking ass. Do you understand me?” Peter nodded and Chris let him go.
Chris walked back over to Mariska and pulled her in for a hard kiss. The minute his lips broke he smiled, “I love you. Call me later.” Without another word, he walked out the door.
—
Peter had been distant from Mariska the remainder of the night. There were no words exchanged nor did he come within 5 feet of her.
She walked out of the bathroom after her shower and found him in bed. He didn’t even look up from his book as she walked towards him. Finishing her bedtime routine she climbed under the sheets and looked over at him. “Are we going to talk or act like each other doesn’t exist?”
Peter put down his book and took off his glasses as if he was waiting for her to start. She took a deep breath and started. “What he did was out of line and I’m sorry. I will make sure I talk to him about it. But he has a point, I did not deserve to be yelled at the way you did.”
Peter shook his head, “don’t you get it, Mariska. You humiliated me on national television in front of millions of people. You called me out even if you didn’t mean to do it. You’re right, I was in the heat of the moment so angry at you I should have cooled off before I called you but you really upset me.”
She understood, she really did. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you at all.”
He nodded, “I put up with a lot of shit with the two of you. The comments, the photos, the looks and I get shit on in return. By not only him, but your fans as well. It gets old and I’m really tired of it.”
Mariska understood his frustrations. She knew how hurtful people could get and she just wasn’t sure what she should do.
“Peter, I don’t know what to say.”
He got situated down in bed and turned off his bedside light. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, “then don’t say anything. Just try and fix it.”
With that, he turned over and faded off to sleep. He was right. She had thought about divorce a few times but I’m the end, she would be hurting more people than not. It’s not that she wasn’t in love because she truly is. It was more the thrill she got out of her and Chris' relationship that she really enjoyed. Even though the world doesn’t really know what goes on behind closed doors, she enjoyed seeing people trying to figure it out.
The next morning she sat in the kitchen drinking her coffee, Peter came down and met her with a smile. “Morning.”
“Morning.” She smiled, “I thought a lot about what you said last night and I get it. I’m sorry I didn’t think about how much it must affect you. So I’ve decided that I’m going to deactivate my Twitter account and only keep my Instagram. I’m going to try and not feed into the whole Chris dynamic and I want to focus more on our family and us.”
Peter nodded, “if that’s what you think will help. Can I suggest something?”
“Of course.”
“If you and Chris must see each other, I think you should plan it once a month outside of work. Whether it be dinner or whatever. We have made this work for this long. I think things just got a little out of hand with him being back and we need to set boundaries. For both of us.”
He was right. When Chris came back it was like the two of them jumped right in head first and didn’t care about the consequences. “I agree. I’ll talk to him and let him know what we figure out.”
Peter smiled and walked over to her. “I love you.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist, “I love you too.”