by Lily Orevba
***
Soothing classical music filled the atmosphere and gave it the feel of serenity. Howard watched as his father socialized with the townsfolk: hugging, kissing, and welcoming every guest. Stuart seemed alive and well and just watching him relate with old friends and business partners like a healthy human being, put a smile on Howard’s face.
Perhaps the ball wasn’t such a bad idea. Stuart needed the distraction from his deteriorating health, the staff needed the distraction from the fire, and Howard needed to introduce his new wife formally to the townsfolk.
Just thinking of Gloria made his smile broaden. He was proud to be her husband and while he didn’t know what she’d look like in her ball gown, he had no doubt she’d draw the eyes of the entire room.
He turned to the staircase in search of her but found nothing. Stuart was beginning to usher people to the ballroom where the music was. He didn’t want to go anywhere without Gloria so he maintained his position by the foot of the stairs, waiting for her.
A few minutes later and he was convinced he needed to go up there himself. He took the first step when he heard his name. Turning at the familiarity of the voice that was behind him, Alice stood there, looking absolutely breath-taking. Her purple ball gown contrasted perfectly with her blue eyes. Her hair fell to her shoulders in a mass of curly brunette locks and her fingers were covered in purple gloves.
“Howard.” She offered him a small smile, her eyes twinkling as she offered him her hand.
He returned her smile before taking her hand and planting a kiss on her knuckles. “I’m glad you came, Alice.” He released his hold on her hand.
She stood before him, her eyes seeming to take in his features. If Howard didn’t know any better, he’d assume Alice was being less than modest with him, which was confusing, seeing as the seductress who stood before him could hardly be the same chatty nurse who once cared for his father.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She batted her eyelashes at him and walked to his side where she tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. “Do you mind escorting me into the ballroom?” She purred. “I came alone and it’s mighty humiliating walking into one of those things all by myself.”
For a brief second, Howard thought of Gloria and the fact that she’d be walking down those steps any minute, and he wanted to be around to walk her into the ball room. But he knew it would only take a second to escort Alice in, and he’d be back right on time to be the one to receive Gloria and walk her into the room where he’d officially introduce her as his wife to a room full of distinguished men and women of Eureka Springs.
***
Fully expecting to be greeted by a full hallway, Gloria was disappointed to walk down the stairs to an empty room. Her greatest disappointment was Howard’s failure to receive her. She knew the party had begun without her but she also felt the need to wait for Howard to escort her into the room. He was her husband after all, and it was supposed to be a ball to introduce her as his wife. Walking into the room alone would pass across the wrong message to the crowd.
With a sigh, she leaned against the railing, her eyes scanning her surroundings for a sign of him.
“Gorgeous!”
She pulled her eyes shut at the voice. Trembling from head to toes, she almost wished she could make him disappear. Unfortunately, when she opened her eyes, he was standing before her.
“You, Gloria, are beyond beautiful. I’ve seen you clad in many outfits and of course, clad in nothing.” Marcus winked. “But this, this sparkling white outfit looks like it was made for you. To the stranger, you could almost pass off as the undefiled bride” —his words being pelted at her made it difficult for her to stand— “with a clean past but to the men of San Francisco whose beds you have defiled.”
“Please, Marcus.” Gloria didn’t have the emotional stamina or the physical strength for Marcus’s verbal abuse. For a second she thought she could have a wonderful evening but Marcus had to show up.
“I don’t think so, Gloria.”
She lifted her eyes at the sound of approaching footsteps, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. Marcus turned to see what it was that got her attention. Sighting Howard, he turned back swiftly.
“Looks like your knight is here. We are not done, Gloria.”
Marcus walked away with his head bowed. A part of Gloria hoped that Howard would recognize Marcus as the man who was rude to her in the town’s ball but the moment the two men passed each other without a word, Gloria knew her husband didn’t recognize Marcus. To make matters worse, she knew she would never be given the luxury of forgetting Marcus because he had found his way back into her life, and he wasn’t leaving without leaving his mark behind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The ball progressed smoothly. Perhaps too well if Alice had any say in it. She watched with great irritation as Howard escorted Gloria into the ballroom and with greater irritation as the guests swooned around Gloria. She didn’t know what it was about Gloria but people seemed drawn to her. It was no wonder that Gloria was one of the most notorious prostitutes in San Francisco. It was no wonder that Howard was drawn by her beauty. It was no wonder that Stuart was willing to do anything to protect Gloria.
Perhaps Stuart had been one of Gloria’s solicitors in San Francisco. Perhaps he shared Gloria’s bed on many occasions. It was the only logical reason a man would highly desire the presence of a known prostitute in his house.
Alice’s anger and general irritation grew with every passing hour and especially as Marcus left her side. She would have protested his leaving if she wasn’t already tiring with his chit chatter that was becoming less sensible by the minute as he took large swallows of whiskey from the decanter itself. The moment he announced his intention to have a little discussion with an elderly woman he sighted in the crowd, Alice couldn’t have been more pleased. The reason for coming to the ball in the first place was already defeated anyway. Marcus was drunk. Howard hadn’t given Alice a second glance since he turned down her invitation to dance, and Gloria hadn’t left Howard’s side since they walked into the room together.
Alice released a frustrated sigh. She’d just have to come up with another plan to expose Gloria to the world because as it so hopelessly turned out, her plan failed even before it took off.
***
Gayle Truman’s cheeks turned a bright red as she watched helplessly as Marcus made his way to her.
Marcus, the worst mistake Gayle ever made her entire life. Being the wife of a wealthy sailor did nothing to alleviate Gayle’s increasing loneliness until she found herself lying in the bed of a charming stranger. One night with Marcus had led to many more nights with him, her mind awed and thrilled that a young man of Marcus’s age who was close to twenty years her junior, would be interested in her.
Gayle stuck with Marcus until she was drowning under the weight of her infidelity and dying from the poison she had prepared for herself to drink.
Lee Truman’s return with a stroke that paralyzed him for a few days was the boost they needed to revive their relationship. Gayle began to fall in love with her husband again; a fact that opened her eyes to Marcus’s evil nature.
Marcus didn’t care for the breakup and began threatening her until she was flat out broke from paying him to keep quiet about the affair.
Seeing Marcus at the Sullivan’s estate was a shock powerful enough to leave her trembling as she stood beside Lee and a gathering of three friends. Marcus made his way to the small gathering, his collar button undone, his neck tie hanging loose and his eyes fixed on her. Drunk! He was drunk.
Afraid, she knew there was nowhere to run so she maintained her position by her husband.
“Gayle, darling!” Marcus waved enthusiastically at her.
The small party turned at the sound of her name, sighting a drunken Marcus wobble across the room. He came to a halt before them.
“I’ve been looking” —he slurred, reaching forward and taking a string of her curly hair captive and twir
led it around his index finger— “all over for you. You look gorgeous!” He laughed, throwing his hands in the air. “All the women in this room look gorgeous!”
“Excuse me, Mister, but that’s my wife you’re disrespecting.”
Gayle heard Lee’s voice through the storm brewing in her mind. She was on the verge of tears knowing there was nothing she could do about Marcus. She had been so foolish for not telling Lee of the affair.
“Oh, you!” Marcus pointed a shaky finger at Lee. “I might not know you but I’ve heard some interesting stories.” He laughed.
Gayle turned to Lee. “We should ignore the ranting of a drunk who can barely stand on his two feet.” She tried to usher her husband away but Marcus took a hold of her hair and drew her back.
Stunned, she let out a pained yelp.
“Did she tell you of our affair?” He slurred, turning to Lee. “She didn’t think of me as a drunk then.”
“What in the world?! Who let this lunatic into my building?”
A soft cry escaped Gayle’s lips as she tried to maintain her composure even if the entire room had their eyes on her.
“Howard…”
“I’ve been called so many things—” Marcus continued.
Howard pulled Marcus’s collar and landed a punch on his jaw.
“Howard!”
Marcus let out a cynical laugh, exposing bloody teeth.
“Go right ahead, Mr Sullivan, I sure do deserve it for the many things I’ve done to and with your wife.”
Howard’s hold around Marcus’s collar loosened as Howard’s mouth fell open.
Gayle couldn’t say she was surprised to hear that Marcus had been with Howard’s new bride as well. Marcus was capable of anything.
“Speak of my wife again and I’ll run my fist through your gut,” Howard threatened.
Marcus laughed yet again. “The first time was in the brothel in San Francisco in Coleen’s brothel…”
Gloria longed for the ground beneath her to give way and swallow her whole as Marcus spoke of her years in San Francisco before a ballroom full of people.
“I was the third man she had to spend the night with that day.” He grinned at the memory. “Or was it fifth?” He turned questioning eyes to her.
Howard trembled by her side, his fingers clenched to form a fist.
“It doesn’t matter, really. Gloria has been with hundreds of us but she managed to fall in love with me! Not you, Mr. Sullivan. Me! I’d know this because even while she was married—”
Howard threw another angry punch at Marcus, sweat beading his forehead. Tears filled Gloria’s eyes as he turned to her. He looked like a wounded animal, his questioning gaze pleading with her to deny Marcus’s claims.
Gloria’s gaze shifted to Marcus who lay unconscious on the floor. She could easily deny it and pass it off as the ranting of a drunken man. She could convince Howard and he’d believe her over Marcus. She could act insulted that an uninvited guest threw mud at her reputation. But as she stared into the eyes of the man who had become her universe, she knew she couldn’t, even if he willed her to. She couldn’t lie to him.
Prostitution was a part of her she couldn’t run from. She was guilty as charged. But it was in the past and while she regretted not telling him, she hoped against hope that he’d forgive her.
With a sad sigh, she nodded once, her gaze dropping to the ground. She watched as Howard’s feet maneuvered their way through the crowd and a drop of her tears landed on the ground.
Gloria’s past had finally resurfaced with the mission to drown her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The earth beneath Howard’s feet seemed to have given way as he struggled to maintain his balance while half-racing out the front door. The air, all of a sudden, seemed to be choking him and his vision was blurred by his tears.
Gloria, the woman he married, the woman he fell so hopelessly in love with, turned out to be a prostitute. It was a thought that was too heavy for his confused mind to process.
It was simply impossible.
Howard was willing to throw the lying drunk out of his property. He was willing to overlook the confessions of the drunk and pass him off as a man who only showed up to get vengeance on him and Gloria for the night in the town’s ball.
Frankly, he was willing to believe that the clouds were green before he believed Gloria prostituted herself. After knocking the drunken fool unconscious, his gaze turned slowly to Gloria. A part of him longed for her to deny the accusations; he would rather live with a lie than handle the truth. But as Gloria nodded her head, Howard felt his universe crash all around him.
Everything—every kiss, every hug, every I love you—was a lie. Everything they shared as a couple was built on a lie. Everything was unreal. Yet, it felt real. Gloria’s love for him felt real and he desperately needed to believe it.
He stumbled down the grassy slope, his mind having no direction in particular. He just needed to get away, away from his unreal world.
“Howard!”
Gloria’s desperate call behind him only helped hasten his pace. He couldn’t look at her, not now. He couldn’t speak to her for fear he’d say something he would live to regret.
“Howard, please! Please,” she yelled, her footsteps sounding closer to his retreating back. “Howard!”
Howard didn’t know why but he felt his legs pull to a halt.
“Please.” Gloria sobbed as she came to stand before him. Her eyes were red and tears stained her face, smearing her make up. Her lips trembled as she spoke, “I have no explanation for any of this but please…”
“Why?” Howard heard his gruff whisper.
“Howard…”
He shook his head, pushing aside his feelings for her; they could destroy him. All they’d do is blind him from the truth and he seriously needed the truth. “Why?!” he yelled, his body rigid. “Why did you come here? Why did you marry me?”
Everything in him needed to know the answer to that question.
“Howard, please…”
“Please, Gloria! I demand an answer!” He clenched his teeth.
Gloria’s tears ran unrestrained down her face. “I was a lot of things back in San Francisco, things I’m ashamed of right now.” Her voice trembled. “I’ve done many things that cannot be forgiven, Howard. I came here for the money.”
Those words were powerful enough to keep Howard frozen on the spot, barely able to breathe.
He could tell that she fought to keep from falling apart before him. “Three thousand dollars.” Her gaze lifted from the ground up to his eyes. “Price to get married to you.”
Howard had no doubt his father was the one to make the offer. Yet, Gloria’s betrayal felt worse.
“Howard.” She reached for his hand but he jerked it away. She gasped at his rejection. “Falling in love wasn’t a part of the plan, but it happened. It really did,” she pleaded. “I love you, Howard and I might have kept many things from you, I might have lied about my past but I swear to you, I wasn’t lying when I told you I loved you.” She fell to her knees before him. “I love you, Howard.” She wept.
Howard felt his heart respond to those words. She loved him. He loved her beyond words and he wanted to gather her sobbing form in his arms, and hide her in the safety of his love. Perhaps she had a terrible past, but it could be forgiven. He knew it would be hard but he also knew his heart would eventually heal.
Leaning forward, his fingers barely rested on her when he heard the words of the drunken man reverberate in his mind.
“...but she managed to fall in love with me! Not you, Mr. Sullivan, me! I’d know this because even while she was married...”
Fear gripped Howard. No! He shook his head, hoping the words that followed wouldn’t confirm his fears. “Gloria…” he whispered. Her gaze rose to him, pleading with him to forgive her but he needed the truth. “Did you…” He sighed, pulling his eyelids shut. “Gloria, did you…” His voice trembled as tears filled his eyes. “Did you have an
affair while we were married?”
The silence that followed his question confirmed his suspicion. Afraid, he opened his eyes to stare at the woman who knelt before him. “Howard, please,” she whispered.
Howard took a step back, Gloria all of a sudden appearing to be nothing but a liar. A gold digging, conniving, cheating, deceptive…
“Please don’t make me give you an answer.”
…manipulative, heartless, selfish…
“I made a mistake.”
…Prostitute.
Gloria was a prostitute! Nothing could change that. Not the comfort his home provided, not the money, not the luxury, and most definitely not his love.
He shook his head. “No, Gloria, I’m the one who made a mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake,” he whispered, before continuing his trek down the grassy slope, away from the prostitute he had been so unfortunate to marry.
***
Alice had to smile. No, she couldn’t have hoped for things to turn out any better. With Marcus exposing Gloria all by himself, Alice would come off looking innocent from the whole drama.
She raised her glass to her lips and took a long sip of her wine as she watched the drama that was powerful enough to bring the entire ball to a halt: Marcus publicly proclaiming to have had an affair with a woman who appeared to be rich and powerful; Howard, showing up to salvage the situation and himself getting the oh-so-wonderful news that his precious bride was a sneaky, lying prostitute.
Alice felt like her face was literally glowing with excitement as she watched Howard storm out of the room, leaving the soiled prostitute behind. Then, Gloria ran after him. Alice didn’t think she needed to worry about how things would eventually turn out between them simply because she knew Howard would never forgive Gloria.
Next to storm out of the ball room was the powerful, rich husband who was himself plagued with a cheating woman. His wife followed suit, sobbing after him.