Revengeful Deceptions

by Ursula Dukes

  As the four of them gathered together that evening to go over their plans, Dominique thought it best if they waited until after the holiday. Christmas was a week away and although things certainly weren’t going as planned, Dominique did not want to ruin anybody’s Christmas, and besides, her good friends Pam and Rob were coming down to spend the holiday with her so she wouldn’t have to be alone and Rob, who she made privy to her plan, told her he had something for her, something she would definitely need once she carried out her plan.

  “Okay so what day are you thinking Dominique?” asked Neal who's strength was something they needed if they were going to be able to carry out their plan.

  “Well, I was thinking New Year’s Eve would be perfect, we all meet at the penthouse no later than ten am. We do what we need to do and say everything that we need to say and be done by no later than three because I’ve gotta get to the Hyannis to get the last ferry. So what do you guys think does that sound like a plan?” Dominique hoped they would agree.

  “Yes,” they all nodded.

  “Dominique are you sure you want to stay in Nantucket? I mean you'll be so isolated and what if Adam shows up?” Molly was worried for her pregnant friend.

  “Actually Molly going to Nantucket was Muriel's idea, she's letting me stay at the cottage for a while, just until things die down and we see where we are with Brandon. If things don’t go as planned then he's going to want to come after me even more so than before.

  And now that I’ve got someone else to think about I can't let that happen. Besides, Nantucket Island is the last place he'll look and I have it on good authority that he hates the island, especially in the winter months.” Dominique smiled at Muriel who was the source of her information.

  “That's all well and good Dominique but you still haven’t answered my question about Adam showing up unexpectedly, you yourself said that he loved going there in the winter.”

  “I've taken care of that Molly, don’t you worry,” said Muriel, “I've already taken the keys back from Adam and his father under the rouse of having the house renovated. I told them that I needed a project to do and a total renovation with all new windows and an update of the heating system.

  At first Jonathan was a bit suspicious but when I assured him that I would be spending a lot of time there once the holidays were over, he was more than willing to give me free rein, I suppose it’s so he can carry on with his mistresses. But it will give me a chance to spend time with Dominique and pamper her. We'll be able to get ready for the baby,” she said excitedly.

  “Dominique, when are you going to tell Adam? You shouldn’t keep something like this from him, it’s not right.”

  Dominique knew that Muriel was right, but she couldn’t tell Adam; not yet, it wasn’t time. She had to know if he still cared for her and since he had cut off all contact that meant he no longer did.

  “Muriel, I just want to get through the next few weeks, and then I’ll tell him, but please let me do it in my own time, please?” Dominique begged.

  “Of course Dominique, I understand completely.”

  Dominique knew that she did.

  By the time they had concluded their night, all arrangements had been made. Dominique told them all that there was nothing left to do but enjoy the holidays with their families, and that the next time they would all be together would be the morning of Dec. 31st. Once everyone had gone, Dominique sat alone with her thoughts; she was the only one who had no family left, Brandon saw to that the night he left Stephen and Teddy to die.

  Dominique needed to go out before her friends arrived. She knew she should have returned it but she couldn't, it was engraved. She wanted to give Adam the Christmas gift she had gotten him several weeks earlier. She had wrapped the Tagheuer watch herself and wanted to give it to him today. She wanted him to read the inscription, it was simple, Love always, Dominique. She had wanted him to know that she loved him well before he had mentioned the words the night of her accident.

  Pam and Rob arrived on Christmas Eve day to find Dominique happily baking in her tiny kitchen. She had gone about shopping and getting everything ready for her dear friends earlier in the week and when Pam and Rob walked into the brownstone, they marveled at how wonderful everything looked. After giving them a tour around the small apartment, Dominique and Pam stood in the kitchen talking while Rob went out to the car to get the rest of their bags.

  “Dominique it is so good to see you and you look amazing! Even after everything that's happened to you, you still manage to have that wonderful glow that all pregnant women get. I'm jealous,” her friend hugged and kissed her.

  “Well don’t let that glow fool ya Pam, she laughed, “I'm still healing and my ribs hurt like crazy some nights but the Doctor said I was lucky and that I’m healing just fine.”

  Pam gasped, “Oh Dominique, I can't believe you’re really going to have a baby. I am so happy for you. Now tell me, what do you want?” she giggled.

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter to me, but... I would not be opposed to the idea of having a little girl,” Dominique smiled as she remembered that she and Stephen had talked about having another child. It just wasn’t in the cards, she told herself.

  “Dominique maybe you can give my wife here some pointers, we've been wanting a kid for a long time now,” said Rob who was reading the pregnancy results.

  “Me? Give you guy’s pointers? All I can say is bop like rabbits,” she joked.

  “I feel like going out, how about you guys? You feel like going for a bite to eat?” She asked her friends, even though Rob worked in Boston he rarely had a chance to take in the sights and Dominique was hungry.

  Although she was only a few weeks along, she had used the excuse of her being pregnant to allow herself to indulge in food and she liked to indulge very often. As they walked past Mistral's, Pam peeked inside the window.

  “This place looks wonderful, let’s try here.” Dominique didn’t want to let on that this was the last place she had wanted to go. Wanting to make her friends happy she agreed to go inside. Dominique hoped that it would be to packed with holiday shoppers’ looking for a quick lunch, but the waiting line was at a minimum and as they sat at the bar, Dominique shared with her friends that this was the restaurant that Adam had taken her on their first date.

  “Oh Dominique, I am so sorry, come on let's go somewhere else,” said Pam who had already stood up to leave.

  “Non-sense Pam don’t be silly, it's fine really, and the food here is excellent. Come, sit back down and enjoy your drink.”

  “Only if you’re sure Dom, because if you’re not, you just say the word and we can go.”

  “It's perfectly alright Pam, really.”

  As Dominique pointed out the beautiful decorations to Pam, she heard her name being called.

  “Dominique? Dominique I thought that was you. Squealed Adam's Cousin Nicole. Dominique had met Nicole during thanksgiving weekend and even though the two had barely met they bonded instantly.

  “Nicole,” Dominique stood up and hugged her friend. “Nicole what a wonderful surprise, what are you doing here?”

  “Oh we got to Wellesley yesterday and I had some last minute shopping to do so Adam was kind enough to bring us into the city. How are you Dominique? I heard about the accident, I heard that they haven’t even caught the guy yet, you must have been terrified. I'm glad you’re alright though,” she said, sounding genuinely concerned.

  “I am doing alright Nicole thank you for asking, oh how rude of me, let me introduce you to my good friends Pam and Rob, they are visiting from New Hampshire to spend the holiday with me.”

  As Nicole shook their hands, Adam appeared from behind her.

  “Nicole our table is....”

  When Adam walked out of the men's room he wondered who Nicole was talking to, probably some friends from the neighborhood, he thought to himself as he made his way over to the table.

  When he saw Dominique his heart sank, he had never seen her looking so beautiful. He wa
nted to pull her into his arms, fell the warmth of her body again; he was always so cold now.

  He tensed, “Dominique hello, it’s nice to see you, how are you feeling? I see you remember Nicole?” he tried to sound casual.

  “Hello Adam, I'm doing much better thank you and of course I remember Nicole. These are my friends Pam and Rob.”

  Pam immediately noticed the intense chemistry between the two, even before either of them spoke a word.

  Dominique wrapped her sweater around her tight, the moment she did it she felt stupid, she knew she was far from showing.

  With a very firm grip, Rob shook Adam's hand; it was all that he could do not to punch the guy in the face for abandoning his friend in her time of need.

  “Well Nicole, give my best to your family and be sure to tell Muriel I said hello and Merry Christmas!”

  “I will and Merry Christmas to you Dominique, it was nice meeting you guys,” Nicole said to Rob and Pam. “Enjoy your stay here in Boston.”

  Dominique waited until Nicole was making her way to she and Adam's table.

  “Adam, Merry Christmas, have you been out long?” She asked wanting to know if he got his gift. She had gone to his place earlier in the day to drop it off and seeing that he wasn’t home she let herself in and left it along with a card and her key on a side table next to the door.

  “No, I’ve been carting Nicole around for most of the day, why?” He asked concerned.

  “Oh it's nothing, I just wanted you to know that I stopped by earlier to give you your Christmas present, but when I saw that you weren’t home I let myself in and left it for you on the table. Oh but don’t worry, I left my key there too.”

  A look of sadness spread across his face. He had forgotten that he had given her a key; he was even more upset that she had given it back.

  “Dominique I'm not worried about the key,” he said appalled that she would think he would be.

  Dominique couldn’t stand it anymore, here it was Christmas, and he had promised her that he’d make it Merry. She should be spending it with him. No he wasn’t going to ruin her Christmas.

  “Well Adam, Merry Christmas,” she said coldly before turning her back on him and rejoining her friends.

  Adam reached out to touch her but pulled away at the last minute.

  “Merry Christmas Dominique.”

  As Adam turned and walked away Pam held her friends hand, she knew that turning her back on him was the hardest thing she had to do.

  “Adam? I don’t know what got between you two but it's obvious that you two love each other. You need to squash whatever it is that's made you go your separate ways and tell her how you feel,” said Nicole.

  “It's complicated Nicole.”

  “What’s so complicated? You love her don’t you?”

  “Yes I do.” Even as he said the words he strained his eyes through the crowd, just to see her, just to have one more glance before she walked out of his life for good. For a moment he thought that he could be content with seeing her at random times such as this, but that was something that he knew his heart couldn’t take, he'd have to have all of her or nothing.

  “Well than that’s all you need Adam, that’s all you need.”

  “No, cousin, I’m afraid not,” he said as they finished their drinks, “Come on let's head back to Wellesley, but before we do I’ve gotta stop at home real quick, it'll only take a minute.”

  While he left his cousin sitting in the car, Adam returned to his condo, the moment he opened the door, he saw the small box along with a card and the key, “just like she said,” he muttered to himself.

  His cousin could wait he told himself as he sat down and opened the card.

  Written on the inside of the romantic card was a loving note from Dominique. She must have written this weeks ago, he told himself as he read it aloud.

  Adam, if anyone would have asked me what I was planning on doing for Christmas this year I would have said, absolutely nothing. But, in a few short months, you changed that and in a good way! Adam, you make me laugh, you make me smile and yes sometimes cry, but not in sorrow but in joy, for you have made me believe in miracles Adam Caruso, and I thank you for that.

  Love Always,

  Dominique

  Adam could feel the tenderness of each word as he stared at the card. He then carefully unwrapped the small box and opened it to reveal the gorgeous Swiss made watch that fit him perfectly. Before he put it on he read the inscription, Love Always, Dominique.

  He wished at that moment that she was right there with him so that he could thank her and tell her how much she means to him. He had a gift for her too, one that he had purchased weeks ago, before everything went sour and now he wanted more than anything to give it to her.

  But he knew that his mother and father would be expecting him and his cousin to come back very soon and if his maniac brother found out that he went to see her, he would once again threaten to go after her. And if he knew one true thing about his brother, his threats could be brutal and that they were always followed through.

  “Dominique I hope you know how very much I love you,” he whispered out loud.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Dominique was silent during the walk back to her place. Rob and Pam didn’t press the issue of seeing Adam and knew that she would talk about it when she was ready.

  Dominique wanted to get home, she wanted to crawl into bed and cry and sleep, sleep until December thirty first, when it would all be over.

  But she knew that she couldn’t, her friends were over and what kind of hostess would she be if she left them alone so that she could go in her room and sulk. No, she'd do fine; once they got home she'd take a hot shower, put on something nice and have a wonderful Christmas Eve, with her friends. Adam didn’t need her and she didn’t need him. “So that’s that,” she whispered as she caressed her belly.

  “Hey Adam, um I think you’re going the wrong way, this isn’t the way back to Wellesley hun.”

  “I know Nicole I gotta make one more stop but listen I’m gonna need you to keep your mouth shut and don’t tell anyone that we stopped here okay? Can you do that?”

  “Of Course Adam, you can trust me, does this have to do with Dominique and your brother?”

  Adam sat surprised. “What do you mean my brother?”

  “Adam do you think I forgot about how at thanksgiving all was well until your brother said something that upset Dominique so badly she jumped in a taxi and took off? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that something was going on and obviously still is. But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me and besides, I like Dominique a hell of a lot more than I like your brother so go on, I’ll wait here in the car.

  Dominique had just gotten out of the shower when the doorbell rang.

  “Don't worry Dom, I’ll get it,” Shouted Rob who had begun lighting the fire.

  “Thanks Rob.” Dominique wondered who it could be, maybe its Molly and Neal she thought as she strained to hear the voices.

  Muffled sounds was all that she could here and in a moment Pam was knocking on her door asking if she could come in.

  “Who is it Pam?” asked Dominique who could tell by her expression that it wasn’t Molly and Neal.

  “Dom, its Adam, he says he really needs to talk to you.”

  “Pam, what should I do?”

  “No, no Dominique don’t give me that look, its time you decided on your own do you want to see him or not?”

  Pam wore a hopeful look on her face so Dominique took that as a; you should talk to him look.

  “Okay Pam I’ll talk to him.”

  “Phew, see that wasn’t so bad,” Pam smirked. She had wanted Dominique to talk to Adam; she just didn't want to have to tell her friend what to do.

  Okay, just give me a minute to throw something on and then send him in.”

  “Here in your bedroom? You sure you don’t want me and Rob to go out and leave you guys here alone for a while?” Pam joked.

&
nbsp; “No its fine Pam, now go and make him as uncomfortable as you possibly can,” Smirked Dominique. “I want him to suffer, just a little,” she smiled at her friend as she closed the door. Even though it was all coming to a head in almost less than a week, Dominique needed to know where she stood with Adam, but whatever he said tonight, she was not prepared yet to tell him about the baby.

  Dominique dressed quickly in a pair of satin lounge pants, matching tank and wrap around sweater. As she draped the sweater over her shoulders Adam knocked quietly at the door.

  The moment she answered the door and closed it behind him, Adam felt the familiar twinge of desire rise inside of him.

  It was all he could do not to throw her on the bed and ravish her body, a body that seemed even more voluptuous than the last time that he saw her, but remembering that she was still healing he decided against it.

  “Dominique, I came by to say thank you for the watch, it’s beautiful and the inscription is lovely as well. But I also came by to give you your gift, I bought it weeks ago and I hope that you like it.

  Adam stared intently at Dominique while she unwrapped the elongated box and opened it up to see the dazzling vintage platinum tennis bracelet.

  “Oh my god Adam, it’s amazing, it’s beautiful, it’s... it’s gorgeous Adam.”

  Out of habit, Dominique put her arms around him and kissed him passionately, Adam returned her kiss but only momentarily before pulling away. He could not get caught up in the kiss; he knew that if he did he would become entangled forever. She meant too much to him, he couldn’t risk her getting hurt. No, it’s better for me to suffer he told himself.

  “Dominique I can't, I have to go, I can't stay here with you. I just wanted to give you your gift and say thank you for mine. Merry Christmas Dominique.”

  “Adam wait, please! We need to talk; there are so many things I need for you to know. Adam please don’t walk away, PLEASE!” Dominique begged, but it was too late, Adam had already opened the door and as the tears streamed down her face she picked up the box that still held the bracelet and threw it, hitting him on the back of his head.