What if you’ve returned from a two-week business trip in London, England (pre-Covid), and your live-in girlfriend has moved out, only leaving a note?
Would you feel betrayed? Angry? Hurt? All of the above?
Reading about this scenario, do you feel angry or sorry for this ex-boyfriend? Wondering how his ex could be so callous, as to only leave a note? No, face to face meeting, “Hey sorry, but our relationship isn’t working. Let’s part as friends.” Nope. She didn’t even extend an olive leaf. Only an impersonal note, “Jordan, I moved out. Can arrange financial issues later. Celine.”
Whatever you thought, let me set the record straight. This ex boyfriend isn’t the protagonist, but the villain in my novel, Love At the Mayo.
So, if you felt sorry for him, I’ve done my job. I wanted to create a villain who is more than one-dimensional. Of course, this scene alone reveals more about Celine than Jordan. So, do I give more clues about him and his background, motives, and actions? Or do I portray him as the perpetrator who pigeonholed Celine into a corner where her only escape was to leave when he was out of the country?
Yes, he’s a narcissist. How bad? Well, bad enough that Celine left him with only a note. Actually, she preferred to tell him face to face when he returned from London, but her father and best friend advised she only leave a note and move out. Why?
They know his control over her, and how he could talk her out of almost anything, including staying in a toxic relationship. And she knows that she’d probably stay if he attempted to persuade her like he always has.
But as a villain, he has his own wounds and demons that haunt him.
- First, his worst vice is his lust for prestige and wealth. This drives him to be a workaholic and basically Celine discovers shortly after moving in with him, she’s competing with his work. The driving force for his obsession is a goal to become a millionaire by 36. His first goal was to become one by 35 but he missed that mark by around 10K. See, his younger brother, became one in his mid-twenties, and two of his frat buddies from university reached that mile marker while he didn’t. He feels like a failure and determined to reach this goal before his next birthday.
- He’s obsessed with her moving out as if she abandoned him (even though he cheated on Celine with the receptionist at his work). Projecting his own behavior, he accuses her of cheating, truly convinced she’s seeing someone else. Feeling like the victim, he refuses to return a watch that belonged to her grandfather and worst of all, won’t negotiate with her on the ownership of the condo.
- She knows his true self he hides from others. In public, he presents a facade of a successful, driven man in control, but Celine knows the truth. Since she’s lived with him, she gets an in-depth view of his soul. He’s a walking heart attack about to implode, on Xanax, and suffers increased outbursts of temper, mood swings, and oppressive accusations. He hates to admit that she left him because he’d have to face himself, something he refuses to do.
I enjoyed creating this villain especially adding his humanity. I wanted the readers to see that he feels justified for his behavior towards his ex and also receive insight on his inner demons and angst. These are what keeps him up at night, and drives him to act vindictive and at times, downright destructive to Celine. But who doesn’t like a jaded, tormented villain?
How about you? What villain have you created that has dimension? Please share in Comments below. Thank you.