But he needn’t have worried, for his confession of love met with the deepest kiss of the evening. Grace Kingsbury in a whisper repeated “I love you too my darling. It seems I waited all my life just for you. Now you are with me and there is nothing else my heart desires. It’s as if all my wishes have been fulfilled Steve.”
The moment Grace said this, Steve knew his life had changed… forever! And he was completely blown away by the magic of the moment, and the utter relief that grace loved him too!
Suspended in that moment of love and bliss, Steve knew that he and Grace had become one, and nothing could separate them now. Their days of torment, loneliness and pain were behind them.
A tragedy had separated Steve from the love of his parents and ironically it was a
tragic set of events that had united him with the one he now loved so greatly.
Grace and Steve would long cherish this starlit spring night---- enhanced by the marvelous settings of candlelight and melodious music of the intimate restaurant- apart from their confession of love. This evening would be etched on their hearts and minds for a long, long, time.
Steve and Grace finally left the restaurant at three in the morning in Steve’s car—a hired BMW. When they finally reached Grace’s house—a huge mansion really— Steve parked the car in front of the majestic foyer of her house.
As they hugged tightly, Grace whispered in Steve’s ear “Thank you my darling, this was the most beautiful evening of my life. I have never been as happy as I am today and it’s all because of you; I so love you. Thank you for coming into my life. It has been blessed. I believe that you’re coming to the café was not a mere coincidence but something much more than that. I so believe it was God who orchestrated all this; he sent you there to save my life. For, had it not been for you, the elderly lady would have certainly crushed me under her car and I would be dead by now. My darling you don’t know how blessed I am to have you in my life. You have changed everything.” And so saying, Grace kissed him lovingly.
Although Steve was struck by the sheer sincerity and uninhibited expression of love he was surprised to experience a pang of guilt go through him. And he knew exactly why. “This wonderful girl who obviously loves me so deeply has little idea that it was not God who had orchestrated this incident to occur, and sent him there, but rather a wicked twosome had sent him there. It was a reprehensible plan devised by a deadly-duo who wanted her murdered, so that they could usurp her business that had in fact caused him to be there. Only that their plan had turned sour by a sheer quirk of fate, and I ended up saving the girl I had come to kill!
Now standing in the mansion’s foyer next to Grace, Steve deliberated whether he should tell Grace the truth or hide it-- lest it jeopardize their love and future together. But he found that he couldn’t make a decision—it wasn’t easy. So he decided he would give himself more time before telling Grace what transpired that fateful night.
On the one hand Steve did not want to lose the one he now loved so intensely, but on the other he was not comfortable with the thought of concealing the truth from her. He would have to make a decision when to tell her. But now was certainly not the moment, he decided. He didn’t want to ruin the wonderful evening Grace had had with him.
“The poor girl doesn’t need to hear it at this time!” he reminded himself.
Keeping this in mind, Steve did not tell Grace why he had happened to be at the café on the fateful night. Instead he kissed her and on that note they parted for the night. Grace Kingsbury, blissfully unaware of the thoughts tormenting Steve, let him go.
Steve arrived at his hotel at four in the morning. Although he was tired, and a bit drained, from the evening he had with Grace, he found he couldn’t sleep! The reflection —whether to tell Grace the truth, or to hide it from her – niggled his mind. He didn’t want to lose Grace who had, in such a short time, become the most precious thing in his life.
Steve wanted to start their new life based on trust and honesty, but was deeply fearful that his confession of truth could not only place his life in jeopardy, but more importantly, crush his new found love.
He knew the moment he told Grace the truth, his life would be at her mercy. Should he trust Grace, or should he not, was the question.
“Is it wise to place my life in someone else’s hands even if it is a person who loves me?”
After reflecting much on it in the solitude of his room, Steve decided he must tell Grace everything. He was convinced that if he and Grace were to have a life of trust and commitment, he would have to tell her everything. There could be no room for lies and dark secrets in love.
He decided to lay the naked truth on the table and then leave it to Grace and fate (God?). He was weary of living a life of crime, deception and dishonesty. If fate –or was it a higher force as Grace believed – had presented him a golden opportunity to start a brand-new life with someone who he loved so completely, he didn’t want to ruin it by hiding such a daunting truth. He had to tell Grace that he had been hired, by her own business partner, to kill her and that he had accepted that offer and had come to the café to carry out the devious assassination plan.
And when he made a firm decision to tell her the whole truth, he was surprised to discover that he felt glad and relieved, even though he was risking his life by doing so. But something was inspiring him and he did not want to ponder on what or who it was. He just decided to go through with this—tell the entire truth to Grace and then leave everything to her.
The release and liberation he felt from the decision was so enormous and soothing that Steve didn’t even realize when he fell asleep. His soul at peace, his restlessness gone, he slept deeply and serenely.
The next morning after he was done showering, he called up Grace. After they spoke for a while Steve said, “Grace I want to meet you; there is something I want to tell you, I need to tell you; can we go out for dinner tonight again please?” The solemnity and urgency in Steve’s voice startled Grace and she immediately became worried, but decided to wait for the evening and not ask anything on the phone. And so she simply said, “Sure darling, I would love to go out with you again”. Although Grace had tried to conceal her surprise and concern, Steve noticed a hint of worry in her voice.
“I will be at your house at 7 pm, is that alright with you”?
“Yes, I will wait for you.” And before she could say anything else, Steve hung up the phone.
At exactly five minutes to seven, he drove up the long driveway in front of Grace’s house. He was nervous about how she would react to his confession and his stomach was tied in knots as he parked his car, and made his way to the door.
And as he rang the bell the trepidation he felt consumed him but, he knew there was no turning back now.
Grace opened the door. The moment she saw Steve she knew there was bad news. The man looked totally stressed out, and this worried her, but she did not tell him anything. Instead she just stretched her arms and hugged Steve. She didn’t know what he had to tell her but she did know the man she loved was in need of tenderness and compassion. And the moment she hugged him she felt Steve’s’ body relax almost instantaneously.
As they drove away, Grace asked Steve casually “Where are we going today my darling”?
Steve turned, looked at her affectionately and said, “It’s a surprise Grace” and smiled. Although it was a genuine smile Grace did feel there was some apprehension mixed with it. She was now very concerned what Steve would tell her. She did not want to lose this man…her man.
“I won’t be able to bear another loss” she thought anxiously.
But her anxiety and gloom went away when Steve pulled up at a café on the outskirts of New York, in a forlorn area. It was her café –the Kingsbury café, where Steve had saved her life on that fateful night!
Steve had assumed that the Kingsbury Corporation must have fixed the café in these two weeks, from the mutilation it suffered from the accident.
But he was amazed to see the ca
fé as it stood now. There was no hint that anything had happened to it! The gaping hole made by the old lady’s car was gone! The broken furniture had been replaced and the interiors had been completely redone. It looked brand new! Steve couldn’t help but gawk at Grace, who looked amused, but embarrassed by Steve’s astonishment and admiration.
“You guys moved quickly didn’t you!” was all he could say.
Grace nodded in humility. She was happy to see Steve’s obvious approbation for her (and her company’s) efficiency.
Steve looked around and saw that the waiter who was there on the fateful night was there today as well, and he waved to him. But the waiter didn’t wave back, but stared curiously at Steve, not sure why this strange man who had walked in with the proprietor of the Kingsbury Empire, would wave at him?
Grace couldn’t suppress her laughter as she walked up to Chang Sui, the waiter, and explained who Steve was. Chang was truly shocked to learn Steve’s identity and he came running to Steve and gave him a tight hug. He had seen how Steve had flung himself in harm’s way to save the life of his boss and owner of the Kingsbury Empire –Grace Kingsbury.
“Sorry Mr. Neal I didn’t recognize. But you... you look so different today!” Sui exclaimed in disbelief. Steve smiled. He knew exactly why the waiter had not recognized him. He saw that Grace was now looking at him curiously. Steve knew what she was about to ask him. But it didn’t bother him. For, he had brought his darling Grace to her own café this evening deliberately. He wanted her to comprehend and relate to everything he was about to tell her. And which place could be better than this –the place where he had come to assassinate her, and ironically ended up saving her life instead.
After they were seated in a comfortable booth, and had ordered some coffee, Steve looked directly into the beautiful violet eyes of Grace Kingsbury and said “Grace, the truth of the matter is I love you, I love you like crazy. But I have been fighting my conscience for the past few days. If we are to start a life and spend it together, I realized it must be built on trust and honesty. “There is something I have to tell you and it’s something you need to know” Steve said solemnly. Steve’s serious expression worried Grace. She suddenly knew that what Steve was about to say could have serious impact on their relationship; and she braced herself to hear the truth. In the past two months ever since the fateful evening at the café, she realized how deeply she had fallen in love with Steve. This ruggedly handsome man with his blue eyes and wavy blonde hair, mild mannerism and a boyish smile, had bowled Grace over. His kindness, gentleness and strength had made a huge impact on her, apart from the fact that he had saved her from certain death.
She knew that he too loved her very much and in these two months she had fashioned many dreams about Steve and their life together. Her love for him had increased every passing day to the extent that it had become unbearable even to think about life without Steve. But looking now at the tense expression on Steve’s handsome face she wondered uneasily “Could it be that he wants to duck out of the relationship?”
Even as she worried about that, Grace was eager to know what Steve had to tell her, and she steadied her thoughts to hear what he had to say.
Steve on his part held nothing back and recounted the whole story. From the time his parents died till the day he first saw her, Steve did not hold back anything from the woman he loved. He told her how he was handed over to foster parents at the age of five, and how they had treated him cruelly and how he had decided to run away from them and how he had landed in Los Angeles and joined a gang, and how he committed petty crimes for which he had to go twice to prison. He went on to tell her that he had, in the past few months, experienced a strong desire to change his life for the better, go clean and become an upright person —like his dad and mom. And that he wanted to be the head of a major corporation, some day—something that would have made his parents proud, had they been alive. He then went on to tell her how Ricardo was introduced to him and he had the key to what he (Steve) wanted so desperately– money, so that he could break free from the world of crime and gangs. And for that reason he had decided to accept the offer of his friend and fellow gang member’s cousin Ricardo of assassinating an heiress for a large sum of money. This one last act of crime would not only enable him to quit his gang life for good but enable him to accomplish his dream of establishing a chain of restaurants on the west coast.
“And that heiress was me, wasn’t it Steve?” Grace interjected, looking calmly into his eyes. For a brief moment she seemed more like who she was – a millionaire and the owner of a large chain of highly successful cafes. Her candor was unexpected and took Steve by surprise. But Steve was past caring. He had to tell her the whole truth, without holding back anything, and he nodded “Yes it was you Grace”.
“I see”, Grace said quietly, “can you please go on”. And that’s what Steve did. He went on to complete the whole story. How he had put Ricardo’s plan into action and with what mind he had entered the café, how he had engaged her into a conversation with him, and while he was mulling whether to go ahead with the plan or not, the old lady’s car had crashed in, and how he had lunged instinctively to save her life.
With this Steve concluded his story. He was glad that he had told Grace the whole truth, for it seemed to have taken a huge burden off his chest and he was experiencing an extraordinary feeling of liberation.
“I’ve told you everything Grace” Steve said in a somber voice.
I’m not proud of what I have done or was attempting to do and my only hope is that you would forgive me; I leave it all to you to decide what to do with me and our life together. But let me tell you this, whatever decision you make, will be acceptable to me. I can only ask you to forgive me for what I was going to do to you on that crucial evening. I know that something, call it fate or God, was determined that it was not to be. How else could that lady’s car have crashed in precisely the moment when I was contemplating pulling out the gun that was concealed in my pocket to shoo…?”
And without completing the word Steve abruptly stopped speaking. He loved Grace too deeply to finish the last word. There was suddenly silence in the room. A silence that was hauntingly surreal, as Steve waited for Grace to react to what he had just confessed. Would she call the cops, or just get up and walk out of the restaurant in a fit of rage – and walk out on their newly found love, he wondered uneasily. His future now rested entirely at the mercy of Grace Kingsbury, and he was curious, more than anxious, to know what the verdict would be.
And when he looked up at Grace’s face, he expected her to explode at him, calling him every name under the sun. But that did not happen. There was no outburst of emotions or imputations. Steve was astonished to see how calm, even serene, Grace looked. There was absolutely no sign of any anguish, hurt, or indignation that she had been betrayed. Instead Grace seemed to have gone deep into thought and seemed very distant.
And after what seemed to be an eternity, she finally spoke.
“So my own partner wants to do away with me so that he may become the sole owner of the business conceived, created, and established by my father.” How strange life is Steve, the people we give opportunities to—like my father did to Gustav’s father—they, instead of being grateful, turn around and become your enemies, wanting everything you worked so hard for all your life. But you know what Steve, I knew Gustav never liked me, but I could have never guessed that he would go so far as to have me murdered to take over my father’s business. It’s surprised me, but not shocked me. “That’s Gustav for you; even his own father never trusted him” She said wryly. It was ironically his own father who had warned me to be careful of Gustav. His father viewed daddy much differently than Gustav did. He was grateful for what daddy did for him. But not Gustav, he pretends that my father gave his dad a raw deal. The fact is that he is jealous of me Steve. Jealous, that it was I who got the entire business of my father, and not him. Besides, he is also mad at me, for spurning him” Grace said. He wanted to get clo
se to me Steve; he wanted to marry me. But I never liked him. I knew he loved the business and not me. He wanted to marry me only for my business, my share. Love means nothing to him. He was always after the money.
When I rejected him, he must have thought the best thing for him would be to get rid of me. When you can’t have ‘em, you get rid of ‘em” Grace said with a dry smile.
“Steve, before I go any further, I want to thank you first for trusting me and telling me the truth; for if you had hidden all this from me and perhaps I found out later on, I would have felt cheated and deceived. But by telling me the whole truth, my admiration and respect for you has increased. When I first saw you Steve, I knew you were different from the men I met earlier in my life. There was something about you which told me here is a man who has seen much pain in life—much like I did. There was something about you which implored me to trust you with everything I have, including my life. Steve, life has not been fair to either of us and even more unfair to you than me. We both lost ones we loved and fate dealt us some very cruel blows. Yet today, even after hearing the appalling truth, I am glad I met you, fell in love with you. I have no regrets or complaints with life now Steve. They have miraculously disappeared, and have been replaced with thankfulness and gratitude, for having found you Steve. My father taught me a lot from the Bible; and one of the things he taught me was that we are all sinners –there is not one who has not sinned, yet the merciful God forgives us each time we sin and repent. If I can be forgiven a thousand times over by our merciful God can’t I, a mere human being, not forgive the one who loves me so deeply, and wishes to change my life and his? Could there be a greater disservice to God than to not forgive, in spite of the fact that He forgives our sins daily? Grace asked, in an emotion-filled voice.
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE : DEATH WHISPERED SOFTLY Page 10