Lost Humanity Short Story
This story is provided for free by H.S. Kallinger as part of the Lost Humanity universe.
Timing: Hotel of Lost Souls, of which, this sums up most of the first half
Content Warnings: angst, mention of rape, sexual assault, domestic abuse, police mention, controlling behavior, antagonist perspective
Author Note: This was a writing exercise challenge for antagonists. This was my best candidate, but it's more suited for r/relationships than r/amitheasshole. It breaks multiple AITA forum rules and would be deleted (no relationships, no revenge stories, too verbose). But the narrator likes breaking rules...
Am I the Asshole if I kept my SOs from their family while taking revenge on my abusive ex?
I have been in a LTR with the... president of our.. company. It was not originally ours. Backstory: The founder began making changes to the company that no one liked. Multiple grievances were filed by employees. However, he continued restricting privileges, increasing discipline with rules that he created and no one signed up with, and generally making the environment hostile. My significant other and I decided that if it was so hostile, a hostile takeover was warranted. We agreed to take power together as equals. CEOs. When we succeeded in our coup, he declared himself president while I was not there and made me VP. As I was still high up, I grudgingly allowed it. Otherwise, I would have had to challenge him right there, and I would appear greedy. I loved him. I ended up with the lion's share of responsibility, not the promised equality.
He changed. It was subtle and slow. He became controlling and... I must admit, abusive, at home. Dissatisfied with both my work and home life, I left him. He made grandiose gestures to woo me back, promising things would be better. I came back.
They were better on the surface alone. He showed signs of trust issues, fear of abandonment, and I blamed myself. I had left; I had instilled these issues within his heart. Still, things soured. Finally, aware that I could not fix the rift between us, I left again.
He chased me down and brought me back by force. He... hurt me and then apologised, wooed me again. I felt trapped, but I tried to make the best of it. This cycle continued until I could no longer endure it, and I left him once and for all.
He attacked me, but I fought him off and went into hiding. After I recovered from my injuries, I decided to take the business from him. In his declining behaviour, he allowed himself to become like the founder, only he favoured many employees, gave them bread and circuses to hide the damage he was doing to minorities within the company.
I began recruiting from within with the intention of another takeover. Friends were encouraging. I found even more potential employees to help.
And then I met them.
Here is where I face a dilemma.
I met three beautiful people and began dating two of them (the third, J was a lesbian, and therefore not interested in me, though she continued dating our girlfriend, S).
I kept it casual. I was not interested in another emotional relationship. The other, Z, insisted that he was straight. He only came on dates to be with S. However, I could tell he was attracted to me and made multiple moves and... pushed him into more. But he enjoyed it!
After, he tried to leave, but I convinced him to stay, to continue the dates. Or S did. I am uncertain.
Eventually, I opened up to him. I am unsure why. I only meant for things to be sexual. But he would not agree to a second time, though we did other things, which he started initiating, and all that was left was talk.
During all of this, I have paid for everything. I do not mind at all. I have money, and it should be enjoyed. But I have given them anything they ask. Entertainment systems, regular steak dinners, an extended stay room in a 5 star hotel that they use as an apartment, new clothing, pay-per-view--anything they ask.
Z argued with me constantly. He gave me little sexually. I always had S and one night stands, but I feel he has no gratitude for all I do for him. I literally saved his life when we met, pulling the three of them from a disaster scene. I have given him a place to live without the stress of work or school.
I realised that I was growing close to S and Z. It is not what I wanted. I left them for a while, their room set to autopay so that they did not suffer. I tried to forget about them. I tried to distance myself.
I went back. Z and I fought. It got physical. I left again. S had tried to make us stop. I felt terrible for her. I went back, and Z was a mess. I had not realised that he was not eating or caring for himself, his own heart breaking from my leaving. I realized I had fallen for S and Z.
I had a lot of work that kept me away off and on this whole time, so I did not think it would hurt if I left, honestly. So, I sat them down and told them what I was doing with our company, trying to take it from my ex. I did not tell them everything, just that he had betrayed me during the first takeover. Nothing else was relevant.
Shortly after, Z said he was ready to move our relationship to the next level. He got sick before we could, and then he agreed to seduce someone onto our side, an ex-lover of mine. I was too busy for our date in the meantime. After, the ex agreed to join my side, vote for me, but Z wanted to have sex with me, and I could not stand the thought right after...
He realised why I was saying no and yelled at me to leave, pushed me out the door. I left and returned to work. It was time for everything I'd worked for to come to fruition. It took two weeks. I was victorious. I ousted my ex and fired the whole board with a vote of no confidence. I had a nightmare that something bad happened to Z and returned.
He greeted me enthusiastically, and I confessed my love. He returned it. We were finally together...
...and then the police came and arrested me on kidnapping charges because they had not contacted their families after the disaster (as I had to remain hidden for safety from my ex, which carried over to them). Even though they told the police that I had done no wrong. Their parents had pressed charges, though we are all adults!
They were dragged home while I was held, questioned, and then released because they could not truly charge me with anything. Homosexuality is no longer a crime, no matter how they may wish it still was.
But now I am left wondering if I should seek them out. I do not know their old addresses, and they never needed to learn my phone number. If their parents felt so strongly that I was a toxic influence, should I not let them go? They have also not attempted to contact me that I know of, not even to call the hotel in which they stayed.
I think of how sick Z got when I left only a short time.
I do not wish to harm those I love, but I cannot proceed without knowing: am I the asshole?
tl;dr: I left my abusive ex with whom I ran a company we took over (and he took a higher position when we agreed to be equals). I met two new people and fell for them, but kept them from their families because I was in hiding from my ex for safety and forced one of the relationships in the beginning. I successfully took the business from my ex through scheming and manipulation (he was abusing employees). The police arrested me on false kidnapping charges when my significant others' families found them and pressed charges, but they were dropped. By then, my SOs were far away and have not contacted me. Am I the asshole?
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