It had been a rough day at St. Mungo's. This internship was kicking her butt! But Candice was determined to get the proper training to be a mediwitch, to be able to help people! Psychology was fascinating, and the wizarding version of how the brain worked and the potions that were available and the techniques to aid in recovery were astounding. But it was hard. She had to learn everything else along the way, and some days were harder than others at Mungo's. Today had just been One of Those Days.

Candice had assured Bradley that she was going to be home around six that evening, and had planned to cook him dinner. But that plan had gone awry, and she opened the door to their shared flat around nine in the evening. "Bradley, I'm home!" she called out, dropping her bag and keys on the table by the door. She unwrapped her scarf and hung it on a peg, along with her coat. Candice carefully peeled galoshes from her feet, leaving them by the door so she wouldn't tromp muddy feet through the house. Fully de-wintered, she sighed, stretched, and cracked her back.

She found her way to the kitchen, flipping on the lights as she went, unsurprised to find the note stuck to the fridge with a magnet. Out with the boys, be home later. Love you! Candy wondered when he had left. She couldn't be angry, though. Candice had been at work three hours late. Don't wait up. She sighed. Bradley went out all the time, but it seemed he never went out with her. When she had an evening off or the time to devote to him, Brad just wanted a quiet night in. And she obliged. Neglecting her own social desires to keep him happy. She loved Bradley, he was a good man, and they were going to get married. You didn't throw that away just because he didn't take you dancing, or because he came home smelling of other women's perfume...

Candice pushed the thought from her mind, swallowed the tears, and set about making dinner for herself. She wasn't a fool. Candy was well aware of the other women in Bradley's life. She didn't know who they were, how many, or how often- but she knew that they were there. And she couldn't blame him. Candice didn't think she was ugly, but she knew there were prettier girls out there than she was. And if Bradley needed those other women to be happy, who was she to deny him of that? Candice did a lot of things to make herself happy that he didn't approve of. He didn't like the idea of her working at St. Mungo's, living her life in a world he had no access to. Bradley didn't want her to have a career, to spend so much time away from him- but it made her happy, so he let her do it. She could repay the favor...

It was weird, what love could make you do. Candice put up with a lot because she loved Bradley. And had had convinced her that she could do no better than he. She believed him. He was attractive, he was successful, and when he wasn't being a prick, then he had the unique capability of making her feel like the only and most beautiful woman on the planet. The abuse she could handle, it was the happiness that crippled her and kept her with him. Nobody had made her feel that way in the past, and she didn't think that anyone else would be able to do it in the future. For that feeling, for those few moments of what true happiness really were, for the rare moment when she knew that he loved her- as best he knew how to love- Candy could accept his flaws and excuse them. Because those moments were worth every ounce of pain he had caused her.

She hummed quietly to herself as she began to prepare dinner. The methodical approach to cooking that she took was soothing. You could control every single aspect of a recipe. There wasn't much else Candice had control over in her life, so cooking was her guilty pleasure. Slicing, dicing, measuring, adding, adjusting, boiling, broiling, baking, grilling, mashing, cutting, plating, serving- every tiny detail was up to her.

Dinner was quick, but good. She ate, took her shower, found her most comfortable pajamas and curled up on the couch with a blanket and a romance novel. It was a shame that life was never like that. Men weren't chivalrous and monogamous- it wasn't how life worked anymore. Men were built to roam, and women were not. (Not women like her anyway. She was lucky to have one lover, having more than that would just irresponsible.) Candice had thought, when they first started dating, that he would be that man in the romance novel. He was for a long time, but it didn't last. Bradley was quick to let her know that if she loved him, she had to accept him for who he was- and he wasn't a one woman man.

"Fine, but no women in our house. Don't bring them home. Don't tell me about them. And leave my friends alone."

"Alright," he agreed. "Trust me, Buttercup, things will work out. If you can accept this, then we can make it through anything. I love you."

She knew it was a mistake then. She couldn't help it. Candice groaned, putting the book down, she couldn't focus. He was supposed to be at home! Bradley had promised her that he would be there tonight. That he would spend the evening with her- that they could do anything she wanted. The day before had been her birthday, but she was stuck at the hospital because it was the day after Halloween. So today was supposed to be her day. He was supposed to shower her with affection and attention and they could do whatever she wanted to. So much for that.

Candice woke up the next morning to quiet giggling. She blinked a few times, rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and sat up. Someone had covered her up, she noticed, as a blanket fell to the floor when she stirred. Who was in her house? Getting to her feet, she followed the sound- just in time to see one of her closest friends slip out the front door. "Bradley?" Candy called out, watching him come out of their bedroom, pulling his sleeping pants up to his waist. "Bradley, what was she doing here?"

He shrugged and pushed past her, heading into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Candy followed him, placing hands on her hips. "I asked you a question, Bradley Lear. What was she doing here?"

"She spent the night," he told her plainly, opening the fridge to pull out a carton of milk. He poured it into a bowl of cereal and turned to face her, shovelling some in his mouth. "You not making breakfast?" he asked. "I was looking forward to some pancakes and sausage."

"I... I just woke up. I hadn't started yet." Candice felt chastised, and immediately set about gathering things from the cabinet. "So why did she spend the night?" Candy asked as she started to make his breakfast.

"When did you finally get home?" Bradley countered, stepping out of her way so she could have the counterspace she needed. He took up a seat on a stool a few feet away, still eating his cereal. "You were supposed to be home at six."

Candice cracked open an egg violently, chucking the shell into the garbage disposal. "I was stuck at work. I got home at nineish and made dinner. And you weren't here- like you promised me that you would be. Like you always promise me that you will be, and never are. So what was Lily doing here?" Candice asked again. "I'm not going to let this one go. I want to know why she was here, and why she was sneaking out the door at such an ungodly hour. It looks pretty suspicious if you ask me, Bradley."

He set his cereal bowl down, and approached her. Candice felt his arms snake around her waist, and the fluttering kisses her placed to her neck were almost enough to distract her. "Don't worry 'bout it, Buttercup," he whispered. "She's gone, and today is about you."

She bumped him away with her hips, and turned around, pointing a spoon at him. "No, Bradley. Last night was supposed to be about me. The day before was supposed to be about me. You said the costume party was supposed to be about me. What was Lily doing in our house? What was she doing sneaking out of our room while I'm asleep on the couch?"

"You know. Just having a bit of fun. Nothing serious."

Candy sighed, and turned away from him. She started into the batter, stirring it slowly. "But we talked about that," she said quietly. "I told you that I didn't care who you were with- I told you anybody but my friends. Anybody but her."

"C'mon, babe, you know telling me no is like baiting me to do it."

"You know I love you, Bradley. I love you more than anything else. But I can't keep putting up with this. We're supposed to get married, Bradley. How can we have a relationship, or a family if you keep bringing women in and out of our home? What you do... on your own time... is your business. We agreed to that. But what goes on in this house is our business. Especially when I am at home."

Bradley shrugged. "You were asleep. What was I supposed to do?"

"Wake me up? Take me to bed? Anything other than sneak my best friend in here! I don't have to put up with this, you know," Candy told him. She had abandoned the pancakes for now. "It's not like you're the only man in the world, Bradley. What if I were doing this? Would you put up with it? What if it had been your best friend in my bed? How well would that have gone over?"

He laughed. "Like any of my friends would go to bed with you. We've been over this, Buttercup. You're not Grade A Prime Choice Meat. You're lucky to have a man like me considering all the women in the world who would have me. Just because I like to take a good looking woman to bed doesn't mean that shes got my heart. Besides, I deserve the treat, don't you think? I mean, what if you had to come home and look at you every day?"

Candy chewed her lip, not meeting his eyes. "I wouldn't be so upset by it. I take good care of you, Bradley. I clean, I cook, I pay more of the bills than you do... I put up with you staying out all night, I put up with the other women, with never knowing who you're with or what you'redoing. I let you come home to a clean house, a fresh meal, and I let you in my bed and I love you. I love you no matter what kind of bullshit you put me through. For three years, Bradley, I have dealt with this. And every time something like this happens, I turn a blind eye. I let you get away with it, because you tell me that I can't do any better. Because you are the best man that I've had, and I know that I'm lucky that you're here for me. But I can't keep doing this!"

"Don't get your knickers in a knot! I came home, didn't I? I'm here now, aren't I? I told you we could spend time together today. I know you're off work today, so why are you being such a bitch?"

"Because I'm sick of this!" Candy yelled at him. "Because I can't keep doing it. It's killing me inside! And I can't keep doing this to myself. What if I marry you, hm? What if I marry you, and we have babies, and they have to grow up in this? It's not fair to them! I never had parents growing up. When I have children, they are going to have the life that I never had. I can't give them that life when you have your whores and your parties and you can't treat me like I deserve to be treated!"

Bradley laughed again, brushing by her to drop his dishes in the sink. "You gotta compromise sometimes. To get a man like me you have to understand what comes with the territory. If I'm going to settle for you, then you have to deal with the consequences."

"Settle?" she repeated, frowning. Settling? He was settling for her? Candy coughed, swallowed, pushed back tears again. "I do everything for you. I don't turn you down for anything. I make your life perfect. I love you more than anyone else could love you. Because nobody else would put up with the shit that I put up with!"

"Same old song and dance, Buttercup. We go through this every few weeks. You get mad, you throw your little fit, you cry. I tell you I'm sorry. We make nice, and life goes on. Really, it's getting old, and I don't have the energy for it anymore. You aren't going to leave me- because you can't survive without me. Without me, you're nobody. Just some dumpy career woman with no life. And you'll spend the rest of your life wondering what could have been."

Candice felt something break in her then. Couldn't survive without him? Is that what he thought? That she was just going to spend the rest of her life doing what he said without asking questions? She wasn't strong, Candy knew that. She never had been. Nobody had wanted her, and when Bradley wanted her, she couldn't resist him. He hadn't seemed to care she had a few extra pounds, that she was too nice, that she had so many flaws. But her flaws weren't like his. Candice didn't hurt people for the sake of doing it. She didn't tear people down. How could she be successful helping others, if she couldn't help herself? What kind of example was she setting, letting Bradley do this to her, never fighting back, just accepting it.

"Not this time," she told him. "Not this time. Not anymore. You have a choice to make, Bradley. It's me- or it's everything else. Either you love me, and you take me... Or you take the women and the parties. I can't do this anymore. I won't do it anymore. What is it?"

Bradley shook his head. "Quit this. Make me my breakfast and let's go out. Don't ruin our day with this mess."

"Make your choice."

He chuckled again, obviously not taking any of it seriously. Just another day in his relationship. "You know how things work between us, Candy. You know that it's you and me, but you know I have to have what I need."

"If I'm not enough for you, then maybe we shouldn't get married, Bradley. Maybe you need to find somebody who can make you happy. And maybe I can find someone who won't need anybody other than me to be happy. You can't give me the life that I want." Candice pulled the engagement ring from her finger, and put it i his hand. "I'm going to stay with my grandparents for a few days. When I come home, I want you and all of your stuff gone. I mean it. If you don't leave, I'll call the police. My name is on our lease- not yours. I have the receipts for rent, for bills, for everything. I can make this a problem for you if I have to."

Bradley was dumbfounded. She watched as he looked at the ring in his hand, disbelieving. Candy pushed everything in the sink that she had been working on, and then went to her room. She put on jeans and a sweater, pulled her scarf from the peg and wrapped it around her neck. Candice tugged on her galoshes, grabbed her pocket book, and extracted her wand. With a quick muttering, she apparated out of the doorway to her grandparents house. She meant it this time. She was done.