Prologue

"It's not that chocolates are a substitute for love. Love is a substitute for chocolate. Chocolate is, let's face it, far more reliable than a man." - Miranda Ingram

December 18th, 1904

Vivian Gallagher held tight to her sons' hand as the preacher concluded the speech. It had been a long, tedious diatribe about the countless good qualities her husband had possessed. Tears had begun to fall down her cheeks almost at once, giving the illusion that she was mourning the death of this man who had, in the words of the preacher who had never once met nor lived with Shawn Gallagher, 'been a loyal, dedicated husband and father.' In truth, the tears were of laughter and since she knew it would not be right to laugh at her husband's funeral they were the only things she could allow herself to let out.

Funerals usually concluded with a small gathering at ones' home after the burial, but since the only relatives she had left lived across an entire ocean she had foregone that tradition. Especially since all of three people had shown up to the cemetery.

One of them was her middle-aged neighbor, Mrs. Mclean; the second person was her employer, Matthew Cain who owned Cain's Candies on East 48th Street. The third person was a man she'd never seen before. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with shaggy brown hair and intense gray eyes. She felt a wave of uneasiness when his eyes slid to her.

The preacher shook her hand as the ceremony concluded and the men who worked there slowly lowered the casket. She picked up a handful of dirt and threw it on top of the wooden box that contained her husband. Good riddance, she thought, wanting to grab her son and go far away from the preacher who spoke untruths, the gravestone that lied, and all those who thought she gave a damn for the corpse that lay at her feet. Bitter emotions climbed their way up her throat and she swallowed to keep herself from shouting words that would have her mother rolling over in her grave.

Who was in control now? She thought, angrily, as Wesley, her four-year-old son mimicked her actions and threw dirt into the grave. Before he could throw anymore, she picked him up and sat him on her hip, meeting his jade, green eyes as snow began to softly fall around them. "We'll never see daddy again?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

Brushing back a bit of his soft, wheat colored hair, she told him, "No, honey. Daddy's gone with the angels." Devils, she thought but would never say to her son. Wesley put his head on her shoulder, cuddling into the curvature of her neck as Mrs. Mclean came up to her to give her condolences.

Vivian thanked her, knowing Mrs. Mclean was only doing it for show. She alone knew exactly the sort of hell Vivian had gone through the last three years.

Mr. Cain was next, holding out his hand, honestly speaking his own commiserations before adding, "I'll give you whatever time off you need." He was a sweet man, only just thirty years old, with light brown hair already streaked with gray and soft, pale blue eyes. He had taken over his father's candy shop a year or so after his father had hired her and had always treated her kindly and respectfully.

She forced a smile at his thoughtfulness but shook her head, "I can only afford a day or so more."

He nodded in understanding before patting her one last time on the back and turning to leave. Mrs. Mclean stood beside her, almost protectively, as the last person approached her. A feeling of dread settled in her stomach as he gave her a cursory glance, taking in her long-sleeved black dress, its collar buttoned to the top, and her black hat with a small black veil pulled over her face.

"I'm sorry, M'am, foah ya loss." He glanced at Mrs. Mclean before adding, "Would ya mind if I had a woid wit' ya, alone?"

Vivian found that thought to be gut-wrenching, but she saw no reason to refuse him. She handed Wesley to her neighbor before gesturing to a bench in sight of her son and friend but out of earshot. "What is it that I can do for you, Mr…?"

"Ridley, Robert Ridley." He told her, hastily, before adding, "It's unusual foah me ta come here ta a man's funeral, ya see, but I wasn't quite shoah showing up at ya place would have been best eithah…ya see, Mrs. Gallagher, ya husband had quite the debt with my boss."

A curse nearly slipped out of her mouth but she caught it in time, "I…who is your boss, if I may ask?"

Ridley grinned proudly a second before it vanished and he glanced around, "Uh, a mistah William Bailey. Goes by Barkers, m'am. Ya husband, a few weeks ago, lost a large sum of money ta him in a game of cards. We came ta collect in time ta find out about his passing."

Angry tears pricked her eyes as she realized he'd gotten the last laugh, "I see…and uh, how much was that 'large sum'?"

When he told her, she nearly threw up right then and there. Leave it to Shawn to lose a ton of money and then die. It was just like the selfish bastard. "Is there…is there any way you can give me…time? I just lost my husband, I had no clue about this debt, and I had to pay for this funeral…" A funeral for a man she had despised, one who had attacked her physically and verbally; never once had he given her a moment of peace.

Robert Ridley nodded, "I undahstand. My boss is offerin' ya your mourning period without a woid from us. All he asks is that ya have it all in full in one years time." He grinned, as if it was as simple as that.

It was good that she had a knack for numbers as well as making chocolate. "Thank you, Mr. Ridley." She shook his hand even as she mentally calculated her wages, expenses, and so forth.

He tipped his hat to her and walked off, but not without casting another appreciative glance over her. Chills erupted up and down her spine as she slowly started in the opposite direction. Even if she cut back on luxuries, she didn't know if she'd be able to save up that amount of money.

A sick feeling settled in her stomach, one that she'd become accustomed to over the next year, and she took her son from Mrs. Mclean and held him close as they started back to their apartment building. Wasn't it just like her husband to do this to her? The moment she'd thought she was finally free of him he found one last way to cut her from beyond the grave.

For years she had felt hopeless and weak, all because of one man who had thought he could love her only to hate her in the end. In the end, she had always found herself lacking, only managing to be second best to a ghost of a woman who had long been cold, six feet under. Now, she was finally able to put that past behind her, to move on with her son and give him all the happiness in the world while she worked on finding her own little bit of happiness.

Shawn Gallagher had managed to spoil even that bit of hope. Bitterness rose like a poison in her and she wanted to scream out in frustration at the unfairness. How could he take everything from her, even now? After all he'd put her through, she hope he was paying for it in the pits of hell.

Because, when it came to love, all she'd ever gotten was a swift kick in the teeth. From now on, she was living on her own terms and not those of a dead man.

A/N: Tell me what you think of Vivian and the beginning of Mush's story in a review!

Truly,

Joker is Poker with a J~

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