The Monroe Legacy - Gen 1 Chapter 3 - Old Habits & New Tricks

For Marlie the next week flew by in a whirl of work and work-outs, balancing the endorphin high of fitness with the reality that she couldn't afford much food to power it. Her political spying was getting nowhere though, and she could have sworn that she kept seeing the guy in the baseball cap in unexpected places.

She spent most of her evenings pounding the treadmill, trying to think of ways to gather information. She was becoming so obsessed that she was forgetting to live, rummaging in bins and muttering about conspiracies to her own reflection.

In her search for clues and information on Marilyn, Marlie was losing herself and forgetting that the whole point of her new beginning was to escape the damaged, obsessive lives her parents and sister had been victims of. There's no knowing the depths her obsession might have reached had not a familiar distraction once again crossed her path.

Marlie couldn't believe it the day Ben Schmidt spoke to her again. She'd tried to forget him, convincing herself that he'd just felt sorry for the stranger in town as she'd heard at work that he was seeing a wealthy and beautiful socialite. But here he was again, definitely flirting with her.

This time when he asked her for a drink she didn't hesitate, she hadn't had a proper conversation in what felt like forever and Ben was too charming to refuse. Before agreeing she questioned him about his "girlfriend", she'd been taken advantage of too many times in the past to risk being used for just one night but Ben promised he was interested only in her. To test him Marlie suggested they go steady and was shocked that he agreed.

Despite worrying that Ben was too good to be true she decided to risk it. After sharing a bottle of wine at the local bar, Ben dropped her home. Marlie was feeling a little tipsy, she'd forgotten to have lunch so when he asked for a tour she led him round her humble dwelling, giggling all the way.



When Ben pulled her close and whispered that she was beautiful Marlie could feel the walls around her heart beginning to crumble. Laughing, she suggested they had a slumber party - she knew it was too soon, and she was sure there was a reason she was being careful, if only she could *hiccup* remember what it was. As she stumbled to take the trash from their impromptu midnight feast out, Marlie heard rustling near her bed. Racoons.

When she went back to investigate after changing in to the PJs she found Ben stripped down to his underwear, displaying an impressive body. All of her insecurities flared up, and she turned away.

  

But Ben would have none of it, pulling her close he told her that she had to be gorgeous, or he wouldn't be seen out with her! As the wine swirled around her head, dulling the sense that that was a weird way to phrase things, and Ben whispered sweet nothings in her ear Marlie let go and without really meaning to found herself under the covers with Ben.

Afterwards as the euphoria of the moment drained away, Marlie wondered what she had done. She barely knew this man, she'd promised that this town would be different and that she wouldn't let people use her just to make herself feel special. As she turned to explain this to Ben, to tell him that she needed to slow things down she found he'd already got dress and that he was trying to leave.


Marlie was furious with herself and threw herself back in to her work and fitness, promising that that was the least time she'd make a fool of herself. Progress was slow, every penny she made only just covered the bills and groceries, Ben never called her or answered her letters and to top it off it seemed she'd contracted a virus. One morning after 6 weeks of nausea she had to run out of the office in the middle of a meeting. Ignoring the angry shout of her boss, Marlie made it outside just in time to vomit all over the pavement.

She knew she'd need a doctors note if she was going to keep her job so she made an appointment for that afternoon and went back inside to repair the damage to her fledgling career.

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Next time in the Monroe Legacy - what's wrong with Marlie, will she keep her job? Will the guy in the ball-cap make contact. Will Ben ever call Marlie back?

Read on now in Chapter 4 - A Bump in the Road