Chapter 32

Jon moved to walk out of the room to confront Jacob and Danielle grabbed his arm, "Jon."

"You probably shouldn't be provoking me right now." He looked back at his wife with anger in his eyes. He can't believe he has to go calm down a situation of his wife hitting a guy. How the hell did he get himself into this? Did he really marry this volatile of a woman?

"Jon I know you care about me. But right now I'm asking as your wife for you to trust me, trust that I didn't hit him for no reason." Danielle asked him hoping he'd have reason enough to believe in her.

Jon looked down at his wedding ring. "Del I don't just care about you, I've fallen in love with you. I trust you'll explain to me what this is all about in great detail after I get Jacob to admit what he did. I understand if you've lived through this its hard on you. Please don't make this any harder by closing off to me. WE have to present a unified front right now and after word we're going to talk." Jon told her.

"You love me?" Danielle asked.

"Figures that's all you heard." Jon smiled and kissed her tenderly. “Yes and we’ll talk about that more too.” He'd then take her hand and walk out into the backstage area.

Jacob was fuming and stomping back and forth.

"Jacob thanks for waiting, now would you please explain to me what happened that lead up to security getting involved?"

"You're fucking wife kicked the shit out of me." Jacob screamed.

"Well that seems pretty extraordinary because she's not a violent person. What provoked this?"

"I have no idea."

"Really?" Jon asked quietly.

"She just hit me."

"For no reason?" Jon asked again.

"She saw me and my girl arguing and went off on me."

"Now Jacob, I'm married to this woman, we argue from time to time and she never hits me. Tell me more details. What caused this altercation?"

“Nothing she just flipped out.” Jacob lied to Jon.

“Well forgive me if I happen to believe the woman I love when she tells me there was a reason. I’ll just go ahead and ask some of the crew that work around you on a daily basis. I’m sure they’ll remember something.” Jon then grabbed the walkie like he was going to call someone to him when Jacob opens his mouth.

“Ok she saw me and Melissa fighting.”

“Yes you already told me that. She wouldn’t get that upset over two people arguing.” Jon again is using his very subdued quiet tone to hopefully give Jacob a sense of security since he’s not being scolded.

“I smacked my woman. She pissed me off and I had to put her back in her place. You know how it is.” Jacob tried to relate to Jon on a testosterone level.

“No actually I don’t, you see Jacob I’m a real man and real men never touch their woman with an angry hand. You have however, earned yourself a dismissal from Bon Jovi Entertainment. You are no longer employed and will be sent home on a one way ticket.”

“What the fuck you can’t fire me for arguing with my woman.”

“Actually I can. See my last name is Bon Jovi I’m kind of the head guy around here and I put in the bylaws of all employment orientation packets a little phrase about NO physical abuse allowed. Breaking that rule earns you termination of employment.”

Jon looked at Danielle and she’d say into the walkie. “Security to the dressing room please.”

Jacob figured there’s nothing to lose now so he looks at Danielle. “You better watch your back bitch.”

“You honestly think I’m scared of you? I kicked your ass once I can do it again, I’m not a woman you should be threatening. I‘m not weak and I’m not scared of you.”

“I agree with my wife, you see Jacob there’s something you should take to heart. If you ever come anywhere near my wife or threaten her in anyway you will be shown exactly what happens to people that piss me off. You see I was married to a 4th degree black belt for 20 yrs, do you honestly think I didn’t learn how to hurt someone really bad? Don’t you ever think of threatening or hurting my family.” Jon finished his threat and security took Jacob away. He’d also get security to watch Melissa and someone to talk to her about her options once the tour is back in the US for her safety.

Jon then turned to Danielle, “come on Mrs. Bongiovi its time you and I have our talk.” Jon leaned in and kiss her to ease her fear.

“Just talk?”

“Yes, no yelling no breaking up don’t worry about that, Danielle I have to know about this, we have to work through it and understand it so it won’t happen again.” Jon kissed her tenderly, taking her bottom lip in between his and sucking just a moment. He can see her fear radiate off of her. He knows she’s thinking no matter what she’s gonna be alone after this conversation so he’s letting his actions show her what words can not convince her of.

His arm encircled her waist and he walked her back to the bus. Once on the bus they sit down on the couch out front. The guys are still roaming around the arena and meeting fans so he knows they’ll have privacy.

“Alright baby, can you tell me about this asshole and how bad he hurt you, I can see it in your eyes its still there.”

“I was alright until Jacob brought it all back. I was young and stupid. Fresh out of college and moved to Arizona. I met a guy shortly after moving there that seemed great on the surface. He and I started hanging out and soon we were together. The thing was it didn’t take long for his controlling nature to surface and for me to quickly change who I was just to make sure he wouldn’t leave me all alone. Jon I became something I’m not. I became weak and insecure. Mind you I was living on the other side of the country from everyone and everything I knew, he was the first person to make me feel like I had something that was totally mine but the first time he pushed me into a wall should have been a clue to me. The first time he grabbed my arm hard enough to leave bruises should have been a red flag. I was told not to do this and not to do that. Everything we did had to be on his schedule and what he wanted to do. I soon started smoking to deal with the stress this was causing me, then I got yelled at by him for smoking so I’d sneak them. His great way to punish me for acting out or disobeying was anal sex.”

“OH my GOD honey, he hurt you on so many levels.” Jon took her hand and see in her eyes that she wasn’t completely there with him.

Danielle knew if she didn’t continue now and tell him everything she never would. “It wasn’t until almost a year into the situation that I finally woke up. He pulled a gun on me one night when I told him no to something. I managed to get out of his apartment and back to my own but I didn’t sleep that night because he had a key. Worse yet, he and I worked together, so the next day at work I was in fear and my friend Ryan saw it. He and my other friend Ted made me explain to them why I was in such fear and on edge. When I told them that Darryl was violent and we were together they both hugged me and told me I was safe now. I explained to them that I wasn’t cos he had a key to my house he could hurt me whenever he wanted. Ryan then went into the office and closed the door. I’m not sure what happened but he walked out with my key and even spent the night that night at my house on my couch to let me feel safe enough to sleep.” She’d finish the hardest part. Danielle opened her eyes and looked at Jon.

“He didn’t win though as you can tell. I saw him about 5months later and I was me again by then, realized that no matter what no one in this world has the right to hit me or hurt me. I told him off and told his then wife what an ass he truly was and warned her to beware. I also realized and I’ll tell you again - it was because of your music, that no one can ever get me to that spot again.”

“Why baby, tell me what you mean?”

“Jon you know I’m a fan and I’ve told you a million times, there’s always been a Jovi song around to get me through the night. Well this was probably the darkest time in my life and of course there was Jovi to get me through it.”

“What song?”

“You mean songs…Something for the Pain was huge for me then, Something to Believe In, oh and so many more." Danielle admitted. She figured if she's going to have this conversation with him it should be all the truth of those times. “When I finally started to believe in love and believe in the fairy tale again and believe I would survive, Without Love was one of my favorite songs.”

Jon tried to run through the lyrics of these songs in his head but was a loss, the catalogue of music they’ve done makes it almost impossible for him to pull lyrics to the forefront of his mind without the music to jog his memory.

Danielle noticed his confusion.

“Too many lyrics running through your head huh?”

“Honestly yes, I can’t think of what you’d hear in those songs to help. Can you tell me?”

“Sure. In Something to Believe in it was:

Tonight I'll dust myself off
Tonight I'll suck my gut in
I'll face the night and I'll pretend
I got something to believe in

Though I know I won't win
I'll take this one on the chin
We'll raise a toast and I'll pretend
I got something to believe in

In a world that gives you nothing
We need something to believe in

Those lines just hit a cord in me at the time and allowed me to know that everyone gets the wind knocked out of them at times and if you need to pretend to get by go for it.

Something for the Pain was simply the opening.


Happiness, it's been no friend to me
But forever after ain't what it's all cracked up to be
Yeah, I had a taste, you were my fantasy
But I lost my faith when I hit reality

And then part of the lyrics later.

I've tried to need someone, like they needed me
I opened up my heart, but all I did was bleed
I don't need no lover, just to get screwed
They don't make a bandage, that's going to cover my bruise

Without Love was my hopeful song if you will. Its when I realized that even though I got burned hardcore this time, you can’t close yourself off because :

Without love, there's nothing without love
Nothing else can get through the night
Nothing else feels right without love

I see my life
There's some things I took for granted
Love's passed me by
So many second chances
I was afraid
But I won't be afraid no more

So do you think your wife is psycho yet?” Danielle asked Jon.

“No but I’m very happy the music was there to help you through. I never can understand the loyalty fans show to us but this helps me get it. If there are more people like you out there that had something happen and there was a song of ours that helped them cope it all makes so much more sense to me. Thank you Danielle for talking with me. Thank you for telling me this, I know it can’t be easy for you to admit to being weak, that’s just not the woman I know so thank you.”

“You don’t think any less of me?”

“No not at all, and no you aren’t going to end up alone because of this either. Baby I love you, like I told you before we confronted Jacob. Somewhere between 12/7 and now I’ve fallen in love with you and I’m proud to call you my wife. It makes me even prouder when we learn something about each other, when we learn to communicate better and when we understand little things because of the bigger thing behind them. I now understand why you hesitate or get angry with me when I bark an order or make a demand without talking to you. It reminds you of the controlling asshole doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” Danielle admitted.

“So how are we going to handle that, I am controlling its who I am, I like things to go my way.”

“I think we’ll be ok with that because the one time we had the problem and I got angry about it you and I talked I didn’t get scolded or hurt like he used to do so I realized you may be controlling but you’re not like him. You like to have a happy household so you’re willing to talk and even compromise on some things.”

“Yes I learned a long time ago, a happy wife makes for a happy husband. Baby I like to be spanked and I like to spank - are you going to be able to handle that? Is it going to throw the past back up and make us deal with it every time?”

“No it won’t because I’ve known that about you for years. Besides a spank is playful and also sexual the way you want it, its not violent.”

“What can I do to help you? Is there something that I do that I need to stop.”

“No. Jon I don’t want you looking at me like I’m damaged now. I’m not. This is something that happened in my life years ago, its part of who I’ve become but its not part of who I am. You may not have ever found out about this unless the situation with Jacob happened because I don’t want to give asshole any more control over my life than he already had. Just realize that I fight back on things because I’ll never lose me again. As for sexual and normal interactions between us, don’t change them please. Nothing you’ve done yet has had any negative impact. Even when you grab me and throw me to the bed and follow down right on top of me, that doesn’t scare me so don’t stop it ok?”

“Ok baby.” Jon would then pull her to him for a kiss, this time its demanding and needy. He’s not asking for permission to kiss her he’s taking possession of her mouth with a right only a husband has.