by Marie Kelly
Asking what was wrong with her she gave a feeble smile, her hand slid along her forehead; her assertion of a headache saw him smile sympathetically at her. “I will say our goodbyes to our host and we can go home”, he offered gently. Sara gave him a thankful smile, watching as he moved to the other end of the room to give their farewells.
As she watched him talk to their host, Sara gave a sigh of relief hearing her phone ring, pulling it out quickly and answering. From the furthest side of the room Darius was surprised to see her on her phone, his surprise turning to a frown as all colour seemed to drain from her features, her complexion suddenly pale, as her hand reached out to a nearby table to steady herself. Turning, he sensed that there was something seriously wrong as she met his eyes, hers full of panic as she backed out towards the door, her look frantic as she turned and fled from the room.
Darius quickly made his way to the exit trying to catch up with her. As he made it out to the street he cried out her name as she had been about to step into a taxi. Looking back at him she shook her head, her mouth forming the word, “Sorry”, as she ducked inside and the car which slid into the heavy traffic. Pulling out his phone he called his security officer demanding that they set the tracker that he had placed in her phone. Signalling that his car be brought around, he waited for the information he had requested.
Stepping inside his car the call finally came, Darius’ mouth tightening hearing that she was close, that the signal had been traced to the hospital only ten blocks away. He felt the anger course through him, her words returning to him when they first met that she was dating a doctor before he forced her into his home.
He believed that their budding relationship ended the moment she become his mistress, however it all made sense now. Her need to be free, her need not to make waves in public, Darius filled with rage that the secret which he allowed her to keep had been her ongoing affair with the doctor. She lied to him when she insisted that it was not a man, white searing fury flooding through him. She made a complete fool of him. Barking the order the car headed to the hospital.
Sara rushed into the emergency room, running quickly to the information desk, ignoring the many curious looks from both staff and visitors, not caring that she looked so out of place wearing the long, expensive and elegant cocktail dress, her throat and wrist adorned with diamonds. She stood impatiently as the woman behind the desk helped the visitor in front of her, willing her to be faster in her need to find the patient she had come to see.
Finally it was her turn, and giving a weak smile, she gave the name of the patient, the woman giving a small return smile as she tried not to stare at the beautiful woman before her, her fingers flying over the keyboard before giving directions, relief filling Sara as she moved to the elevator.
The sound of her name being called made her spin around as she gasped, seeing Darius at the other end of the hospital foyer, his face angry as the elevator opened. Rushing inside she pressed the button of the floor, her last sight being that of a furious Darius bearing down on her.
Darius cursed as the doors to the elevator closed his attempts to reopen them too late. As it ascended, he carefully watched the floor numbers above the doors, his mouth setting as it stopped on the fourth floor, before once more descending. Jumping in the elevator already stopped there he pushed the same floor, the anger swelling within him.
Reaching the floor where he knew her to be, he moved along the corridor ignoring the surprised looks of those he met, his tuxedo standing out in the sterile environment. Turning the corridor he finally spotted Sara as she talked to a nurse, her eyes widened in alarm as she saw him coming towards her; her lovely eyes flicked to the room she stood beside, a panic seeming to fill Sara. Stopping feet from her, his whole body radiated the rage he felt as in a clipped voice he turned on the beautiful woman. “We are leaving now Sara”, he bit out between gritted teeth.
She however, backed away, a long hurt moan leaving her soft mouth as her head shook furiously. “No…Not till I know she is alright” Darius, who started to move forward, stopped abruptly, his face filling with confusion. Had she said “She”? What was she talking about? Sara turned and fled quickly into the room.
Frowning at the dazed nurse, still stood wide-eyed watching the drama unfold around her, he followed, stopping with the sight that met him, his mouth falling open. Sara knelt on the large bed, a small child’s arms thrown around her neck as she cried, tears filling Sara’s eyes also. “Its OK sweetie”, she soothed softly”, kissing the little girl’s head as she smoothed her blonde, almost white hair, “I’m here…it is going to be fine” The little girl clung to her for all she was worth.
“No go Sara…please”, her innocent voice tearing at Sara, the pain clear on her face as she stared over at Darius. “I won’t Carly. I’m here now. It will be fine. I will stay here with you…I promise” Her eyes held his, begging for understanding as he leant against the wall, shock filling him. There was no other man, relief flooding through him. Moving closer, Sara gently prised the small girl from herself, the child suddenly aware of the other person in the room as large brown eyes in a tiny, serious, and tear-streaked face looked somberly at him.
“Carly…I want you to meet a friend of mine”, Sara’s voice sounded strained as she spoke, “This is Darius” Looking unsure, he moved over to sit on the other side of the bed from Sara, a smile forced to his handsome features. “Hi Carly”, his voice so soft as he held out his hand, the little girl looking carefully at it before flicking her gaze to Sara for guidance, her small nod and encouraging smile seeing the child take the hand and smile back. Darius flicked his eyes to the small bracelet on her wrist, the love-heart charm hanging down. The words “Love you” on one side, and “Forever” on the other, as it spun.
“Hello”, she managed shyly before once more cowering back into the safety of Sara. Relaxing a little he gave her another smile, one of the heart-stopping ones which Sara had come to know so well; she felt a small laugh rise within her seeing how it even seemed to work on children as Carly grinned back.
“Are you in here for the hospital food?”, Darius chuckled playfully, once again Sara surprised at how easily he seemed to react to children, Carly shook her head and gave a small laugh before looking sadder, her hands patting her small stomach. “My tummy hurts really sore…and my hand too”, she said seriously, holding out her hand, an intravenous drip attached, her small face almost comical, Sara wrapping her arms around her again, stopping her as she tried to touch the large needle in her hand. “No sweetie…you have to leave that alone”, looking over at Darius.
“Yes…Carly has appendicitis… she needs to be on steroids before her operation tomorrow…so I have promised her a brand new teddy for being so brave” Darius smiled as the little girl nodded her small head, adopting a dramatically courageous expression on her tiny features. “I am going to be brave”, she whispered so seriously, Darius holding back the small laugh as his eyes flew to Sara’s, seeing as they shone with tears.
Tweaking Carly’s small nose gently, he stood. “Well you deserve the best teddy in the world then”, he said softly, “I am just going to borrow Sara for a moment …is that OK Carly?…promise she will be right back” The small child’s features filled with alarm once more before she nodded, letting go of Sara’s arm. Looking up at Sara he held out his hand, her face full of such thanks as she took it, a tremulous smile on her lips the two moving out of the small room together. Looking around he found a small room empty. Pulling her inside and closing the door he led her to sit on the bed while he took the chair beside, to look at her. Sara stared at him; her teeth savaging her lips, uncertainty written over her features, as Darius took a long steadying breathe exhaling softly, his eyes sombre.
“You have a child?” The question took Sara aback as she stared back at him aghast, “NO!” Her head shook as her hand shakily pushed back a strand of hair which had loosened over her cheek. “I…I mean not exactly…yes” Darius’s brow knitted together in confusio
n. “What does ‘not exactly, yes’ mean?”, his dark eyes boring into hers as hers flicked over him, so full of indecision. “I think the time for secrets is over don’t you Sara…and I take it that Carly was the secret you were keeping from me…or do you have more?”
With a soft groan she stared back at him, her expression a mixture of pain and desperation, as tears sat on the sill of her eyes, her head shaking as the tears slid down her cheeks. “It’s such a mess Darius. I have tried juggling everything, fixing everything myself and it is all just tumbling down around me”, her eyes searching his. “I am failing Carly…I am failing everybody” Darius took her hand, his voice soothing - comforting but firm. “Tell me what is going on Sara” Pulling her hand from his, she gave a long heart-rending sigh, her eyes falling to look so intently at her hands clenched so tightly on her lap.
“Do you remember Tara?” The vague memory of the one person he had often seen her spend her lunch breaks with six years ago saw him nod his head, “Sure…nice girl” Sara gave a brief smile and nodded. “We were friends our whole life. From school right through too …” her voice trailing off as she paused.
“When I left Nigel my mother was furious. She told me to go back to my husband. That I should learn better how to please my husband, not anger him” She heard the hiss of anger from him, Darius furious that any mother would ever allow - never mind insist - that her child return to such a dangerous environment.
“I couldn’t handle staying with Angela and Nick”, her look flicking to him briefly, “Nick came onto me a few times…Angela seemed to think I was flirting with him…I had no intention of staying there” A small shudder ran through her as Darius sat so silent and still, the small nerve on his jaw throbbing as he gritted his teeth so hard.
“Tara insisted that I come and stay with her and her little girl Carly. She had a rental and it meant that I could help her pay the bills” Her voice softened at the memory of her friend’s kindness. “Was Tara divorced?” he asked gently as Sara shook her head softly. “No. Tara never told me who the father was. Only that he was married and had moved back to Sweden…she had no contact with him. She was bringing Carly up herself”
Pausing, she pulled at her fingers, “I was determined to fight Nigel…let others see what kind of a monster he was and he was desperate for me not to…he wanted me to come back, learn to love him, but I refused, so then he wanted the no-fault divorce”, her eyes flying once more to Darius. “I swear to you that I am no quitter Darius…I would have taken him all the way”, her voice faltered once more. “One morning Carly came into my room…she was laughing. Told me that mummy was being sleepy and pretending not to wake. That was not like Tara…so I went in …and …” her voice broke as more tears fell down her cheek, her voice trembling with emotion.
“They told me that it was a brain aneurism…that she died in her sleep”, a sob leaving her as Darius rose, pulling her into his arms as she cried gently against him. Finally her hands pushed him from her, determined to finish her story as he once more sank into the chair. “Carly had nobody. I wanted to bring her up, be her mother but child services were against it. Then in her will Tara named me as her guardian if anything was ever to happen to her”, a small smile rising to her mouth.
“I fought them. Demanded that I be allowed to take guardianship of Carly…but they told me that I was not a suitable caregiver. That until I had my life in order and had a job and a place to stay then they would not allow me to adopt her” Her eyes flicked once more back to him as she gave another long sigh. “So I agreed to the quickie divorce from Nigel, the last thing I needed at that moment was proof of an unstable environment for her to be going into…I needed to show that my life was settled. Then I spent most of what was left of my savings applying to the court for a period of time to prove that I would be able to provide a secure home for Carly. They finally agreed to give me three months. Three months to ‘turn my life around’. Three months in which they would not place her for adoption to a family”, she gave a small hurt laugh as her lips twisted bitterly. “That was seven weeks ago. I never expected her to be there for two weeks never mind seven…and I feel so helpless. ” Her eyes finally holding his, “Her appendix almost ruptured…and I should have been there for her”
Darius gave a small groan, his hands once more reaching for hers, “I wish you had told me Sara…I might have been able to help” Her snort of derision made his brows furrow as she pulled her hands from his once more, a coldness filling her. “Help?…Your sole interest was in destroying or humiliating me…all for some belief that I was somehow involved in what happened six years ago or that I got some pleasure in firing you” Hurt once more filled her eyes, “Well I didn’t …I had nothing to do with the theft…and while you don’t see it…I was the one who helped you…but I have paid for that…over and over again”, her voice once more saddening as her expression again changed, this time to uncertainty as she stared at him.
“When I told my mother and sister what you had said …that you blamed me for being fired, Angela admitted that Nick had told her that he set you up” “Are you telling me that she knew and let me be fired?”, his voice hard as she shook her head. “No… He told her years later”, shaking her head softly. “Seemed that he felt that you were a threat to his chances with her… that you were out to land yourself the boss’s daughter… so he planted everything… I should have guessed… he always was a rat”, her tone venomous, surprised as he remained silent as she raised her chin angrily.
“So I was not about to give you the one thing that would allow you to fully destroy me” Darius looked back at her, his features sombre. “I would never have used a child Sara…never”, his words soft and low as she looked away, wiping away yet another tear with the back of her hand, nodding softly. “I’m sorry Darius. I know that things have been going so well…but I couldn’t take the chance…not with Carly. I have to make things right for her…I have to get things sorted”, looking desperately at the corner of the room. “She shouldn’t be there…she should be with me”, her voice disappearing into a whisper.
For several moments there had been silence between them before he once more spoke. “You said ‘what was left of your savings’ what did you mean by that?” Sara’s look flew to him, a small frown of surprise on her features before she answered slowly, “About two days before Tara died Ted Roberts phoned me” Darius remembered the burly foreman, a man he admired and liked very much, the only person that her father -an arrogant and bullying man - had seemed to respect, the two men having grown up together.
“He was retiring and my father stipulated in his will that he and his wife be given an all-expenses cruise as a final gift…apparently the cheque for the holiday bounced and he couldn’t get in touch with Nick or Angela…he called me because the money had to be paid that day” Giving another sigh she smoothed down her dress.
“So I went down to the travel agents and paid the cost myself…ten thousand dollars…I just assumed that there had been a mistake…that I would get the money back”, anger coming into her eyes. “But I didn’t get it back. You were coming against us and Nick was telling everybody how well we were doing…how you would fail…but the whole time he had been siphoning off money and lying about everything. A week after Tara’s death and being constantly brushed off for the return of the money, I went down to the office and demanded the return of my money or that I would call in the police” Her head dropped again. “That night he disappeared…and then everything came out. I had no money, no job and faced everything blowing up and becoming a media circus which would have killed my chances of adopting Carly”
Sitting back, Darius regarded her seriously, “So you have been trying to sort out everything by yourself? And all because of Carly?” Miserably, she nodded, “Yeah”, her tone full of defeat as she wiped away another tear, her voice becoming harder. “My mother and Angela … God they make me so mad…but for David and Carly…I had to do what I could…even accepting your ‘demands’”
“I will have some clothes sent over for you…take as long as you need” Sara nodded, murmuring a thanks as without another word he spun around and moved back down the corridor, something so deep inside Sara tearing that he had left her when she needed him most. Pulling herself together she pasted on as bright a smile as possible, standing taller as she moved back into the room, Carly’s relieved look making the pain dull just a little.
Chapter Eight
The whole evening she sat by Carly’s bedside, the small girl waking several times as the pain in her stomach become too much for her, Sara soothing the child who would cling to her hand until sleep would finally take her once more. She did not care what a strange sight she made, her hair now falling around her naked shoulders, her elegant cocktail dress now creased. She slept fitfully on the uncomfortable high winged chair which had been brought in by some kindly nurses. Sara was glad even for it, as they apologised that they had nothing else to offer her. She was thankful also that the nurses brought her tea, their friendly smiling faces welcome, after the coldness which seemed to fall on Darius as he left.
That their relationship was over she was in no doubt. His need to get away from the hospital - away from her - testament to that, she having to fight the tears which threatened each and every time she thought of him. Was this not what she wanted? Had she not needed to get away for her and Carly’s sake? Time and again the answer “yes” would stick in her throat while her heart cried “no”.