Chapter 35: Til Death Do Us Part

You know I always find it's nice to start a legacy chapter off with a bit of beefcake- it's as essential as a cup of tea in the morning don't you know. Generation ten's beef comes in the form of the delectable Angel. Ooh, let's just take a moment to drink him in...



Okay moment's over. I could swoon over Angel all day but he'd never notice, mainly down to him not being real but also due to the fact that he only has eyes for one lady- fiancee Tallulah Tamworth. Angel is as dedicated to Tallulah as a man could possibly be, so naturally he was on hand on this occasion to celebrate her birthday.



Well, doesn't she just look... Tallulah-like.



I'd say Angel deffo approves though.



The arrival of Tallulah's birthday was a very significant event, not only because she was now old enough to go boozing and the like but because- more importantly- Angel could now legally get his filthy mitts on her.



And so he did just that.



Angel and Tallulah remained locked in one embrace or another for the first couple of days but eventually managed to part as Angel had to go to work and that. There was never really any clear-cut career in mind for him but, with Tallulah needing to be kept in the greatest finery, in the end Angel just had to find some way to earn a wage, and so he ended up as a dogsbody in the criminal career.



It didn't provide the greatest income but at least Angel was able to afford a pimpin' bike to go with his *ahem* bad boy image.



Of course it would have helped if Talluah too had decided to take on a career, but unsurprisingly that was never a viable option. After a brief stint in the athletic career Tallulah soon quit her job in order to spend more time on herself.



And so Tallulah became a lady of leisure with days dedicated to primping, preening, and of course pouting over the crapassrundowness of the house.



Angel tried his best to fix things in order to appease his lady, but for some strange reason Tallulah was never quite happy...



She did find some ways to amuse herself though- mainly harassing Angel's mother Bailey at least several times a week.



But although Bailey frequently lost her temper with the rudest houseguest in the land, what she suffered was nothing compared to Afia.

Ever since her teen years Tallulah had revelled in bullying Angel's younger sister, and now that she'd *cough* matured into a young adult things were no different.




Barely a day went by without Afia soiling herself over one upset or another.



In time it soon became clear that, rather than risk nuclear war, it would probably be best to get Tallulah out of the Heart household for good. Unfortunately though this wasn't so easy as Tallulah demanded a luxurious dwelling to suit her needs, and Angel couldn't exactly afford that.



Eventually though- after much scrimping and saving- Angel was able to afford a nice enough little place for him and Tallulah to set up home, and so the day arrived when he told his mother that he would be moving out.



Bailey was happy for her son of course but that's not to say she wasn't concerned. As you know Bailey hadn't exactly fostered the best relationship with her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, so it's safe to say she had a few doubts about her son's potential happiness with the devil woman, I mean, Tallulah.

In the end though it was his life, and so Bailey would just have to let Angel make his own mistakes. And besides, maybe she'd be proven wrong...



Later on that day it was time for a fresh start as Angel and Tallulah moved into their new home.



It wasn't the mansion that Tallulah wanted but it was a good start, and it even looked quite cosy.

At least, on the surface...



Angel's country chic home had a hidden secret. Whilst Angel had been able to afford to renovate the top floors when it came to the basement the funds had run out, and consequently it was left looking rather shabby...



Some rooms were more dilapidated than most...



And others were downright rotten...



Not long after Angel and Tallulah moved in Angel had to scoot off to work, leaving his lady of leisure to her own devices. He'd barely pulled away from the front drive before Tallulah was on the phone and ringing up all sorts of service people to attend to her needs.



And then it was straight to the mirror, as always.



The various butlers and maids of the Heart/Tamworth household didn't exactly last long. With her exacting standards and uber mean meanness Tallulah was very much prone to telling them to fack off on an almost-hourly basis.



But I guess it doesn't matter too much, cause who needs paid servants when you can have a skivvy for free?







Anything for his princess.



But although Angel's every waking moment was dedicated to keeping Tallulah happy, sometimes extenuating circumstances meant that Tallulah was bound to be grumpy- such as on this occasion where the living room set a little bit on fire.



Angel battled valiantly to save the house from ruin, looking very dapper in his snazzy boxers even if I do say so myself.



But that's not to say Tallulah was pleased. Even though Angel had saved the house from the fire he still got a tongue-lashing for not being manly enough to fireproof the property in the first place.



And he grew to regret such a lack of skills a few days later when the living room caught fire again, this time alighting Angel's derrière in the process.



He managed to put himself and the blaze out soon enough, aided in large proportions by the house's new butler- Milton Schreiber.



Tallulah warmed to Milton almost instantly, mainly because he was more than happy to provide her with relaxing massages.



And that wasn't all. Three meals a day, seven days a week, Milton provided Tallulah with sumptuous luxury in the form of exquisite home-cooked meals- the likes of which Angel couldn't even dream of making.



Yes, Milton really was the perfect servant, but it wasn't long before Tallulah began to appreciate him for so much more than that.



It started off as polite conversation- short exchanges about interests and hobbies, and as time went on Tallulah began to find she had so much in common with Milton. Before long they were spending long evenings together sipping cocktails and enjoying game after game of chess; more time than she had ever spent with Angel.



Of course, it wasn't always easy for Angel and Tallulah to find time to be together as a couple. In order to keep Tallulah happy Angel would work long hours and would often not come home until the early hours of the morning. But that's not to say he wasn't willing to make the effort to further their relationship, even if his attempts were ill-advised...



On one particular weekend Angel even went so far as to ask Tallulah to invite her parents round for lunch so he could get to know his prospective in-laws.



Clyde and Mitzee Tamworth were thrilled to see their daughter for the first time since she had moved in with Angel as a teenager, and even more keen to meet the man who had drawn their daughter away...



But sadly the meeting didn't get off to the best start when Angel greeted his guests like this...



He got a severe dressing-down for his troubles.



I wish I could say the rest of the day went more to plan, but sadly no matter what he did Angel just couldn't seem to make a good impression on the Tamworths.



And so as the evening drew in the Tamworths enjoyed a ripping good game of darts...



...Whilst Angel spent the night out in the backyard, with his gnome friends.



Poor dear.



The next morning Angel work early and set about taking an early morning jog before work. As he ran across Bridgeport, watching the sun stretch slowly across the land, he thought about his relationship with Tallulah and how he would be willing to do anything to ensure their future together.



Meanwhile, back at home, Milton and Tallulah were enjoying their morning tipple.



Infidelity was inevitable. By this point the relationship between Tallulah and Angel was so strained that the only real outcome was acting out, and Milton provided Tallulah with the solace she needed.







She'd gone into her relationship with Angel with her heart and her mind wide open. When they'd met they were teenagers, and whilst the love they'd shared had burned fiercely for a while, now they'd both grown up- and apart- and maybe along the way Tallulah had become bored with the man she had once loved.

The only problem was the situation was complicated. It wasn't simply love him or leave him- the convenience of their situation was such that Tallulah couldn't bear to leave, and at the heart of it all she didn't really want to hurt Angel.



Of course, this didn't mean that she'd be faithful. Tallulah loved Angel enough to keep her affair a secret from him, but not enough to either leave him or cease screwing around.



And so the secret continued, grew bigger, took hearts into it. Tallulah and Milton were embroiled in each another and neither was willing to leave, and so they had to look for ways to be together without raising the suspicions of Angel.



So, to the basement.



The dingy dankness of the basement had at first been abhorrent to Tallulah, but now the depths below came as a godsend- providing her somewhere private to conduct her affair away from her fiancé.







And so, whilst the guidelines of love were torn up below ground, on the surface nothing was any different for Angel. He still worshipped Tallulah- followed her to the ends of the earth- and remained completely unaware of the harm she was doing to him.



Maybe ignorance really is bliss.




But although Tallulah put on a good show of solidarity it wouldn't take long for cracks to appear. Keeping everything under wraps was a stressful burden, made all the more difficult to bear by just how nice Angel was. She wanted to hate him- she wanted a reason to betray him and leave him, but he never gave her one, and so as time went on Tallulah began to feel more and more frustrated with Angel.



The tensions simmering inside often burst through the surface, spitting forth like acid as Tallulah turned on Angel; such as on this occasion where a rare visit home to the family was blackened by Tallulah's wicked tongue.



In the end only one conclusion could really be reached. The lies couldn't last forever, and Tallulah knew she would have to end things with Angel before she destroyed them both.



Of course it would have been better if she'd reached this decision before the day of her wedding...



On a cool Saturday night Angel and Tallulah stood in front of their friends and family- the crowd watching with eager anticipation (and in many cases, trepidation) as they waited for the couple to promise their lives to each other.

As Angel prepared to say his vows a slow grin spread across his face as he regarded the love of his life. He couldn't believe the day was finally here, and he couldn't be happier.



The rush of pure joy only lasted a second before the 'I Do' was followed by 'I Don't'.



And Tallulah couldn't even manage a tiny ounce of sympathy.







In the room there was stunned silence for what seemed like eternity, and then Angel's world fell down.

Deciding that it was all or nothing Tallulah chose that perfect moment to not only break Angel's heart, but to shatter it into a million pieces and stab him with the shards.



Emotions bleeding, Angel could only listening in harrowed disbelief as Tallulah told him it was over.



And with that the best day of Angel's life became the worst.



The venue emptied out pretty quickly after that. Witness after witness shuffled out sombrely like guests at a funeral as Bailey comforted her bereaved son as best she could.



The only others who stayed behind were Angel's sister Afia and his cousins Aphrodite and Parvati, who could do little to ease his woes.



But what can you really do to help someone that badly hurt? Angel's family tried for a long while to help him- inviting him to stay with them for the night but he was resistant to any suggestions. And so they left, and Angel hit the bar to drown his sorrows.



It worked a little. Some of the pain lessened, but the anger remained.



When Angel returned home it was night-time. After walking the miles from the centre of Bridgeport he was greeted only by the dark house in the distance, with not even a gnome in sight.



Stepping inside his front door for the millionth time felt so different. This was the home he'd bought for Tallulah- this was meant to be the place where they'd raise a family and grow old together, and now instead he was alone.

It's enough to make anyone burst into tears.



But then... something like life. In the dark recesses of the house Angel thought he heard a sound... a voice?



Taking the elevator down to the basement Angel followed the beckoning emptiness of the corridor, bringing him ever closer to the sound as it grew louder.



And then, opening the door to the old study, he saw it.



The truth.



A frenzy of emotions hit Angel in that moment. The distressed sadness caused by the events of that day remained, but from inside the anger began to surface again.



It distorted his features, made him less than human.



And as the hatred burnt it's mark on his heart two words escaped Angel's lips:

"You'll pay".



Despite being rumbled Tallulah and Milton weren't exactly flustered. Tallulah began to mutter the usual 'it's not what it looks like' line but was hushed by Milton as he gripped her hand and told her she didn't have to explain herself to Angel anymore.


Milton was right of course- Tallulah was not longer Angel's problem... he wasn't responsible for her...




...Her life was out of his hands now.







The fire started quickly, creeping across the worn sofa like it was opening a gateway to hell.



By the time Tallulah and Milton realised anything was going on the room was already ablaze.



Panic, fear, pain- but in the middle of it all at least one person was thinking clearly. Immediately Milton ran towards the doorway as Tallulah melted, pulling at the doorknob frantically before he realised the door was locked.



They were trapped.



With so much debris discarded around the room the fire took control easily, pushing Tallulah and Milton back into a corner as they fought against the smoke and the heat.



It began to close around them with terrifying speed but Milton, seeing a brief opportunity, quickly ran past the flames to the one side of the room that wasn't ablaze, barely slipping through before the flames closed behind him.

He turned back for Tallulah but couldn't see her anymore.



There, in the centre of the flames, Tallulah hysterically attempted to shield herself from the pain as her skin burnt off.



And Milton could only listen to her agonised screams as she slowly died.



Not long after the flames subsided and it was only then that the reaper appeared, surveying the carnage that only Sims could cause.



Free from the agony at last the ghostly spectre of Tallulah remained suspended in the air for a short while before it drifted on to the afterlife.



Angel watched the Grim Reaper as he left the room, and knew then that it was finally over.



After standing outside for a long while Angel eventually took a few worn steps inside the old study, surveying the destruction he had caused and remaining unmoved.

On the floor a body remained, barely keeping it's grip on life.



Milton