Chapter Twenty Eight.
Erin.
When I heard a commotion at the far right of me. I glanced around at the noise and my eyes collided with a familiar pair of ice blue eyes. The woman was fair skinned and perfectly put together with her blond hair high on her head, with curls perfectly placed around her beautiful face. Her eyes continued to search my face and shock froze her smooth face. I silently cringed and held my breath for the chaos that Ellerson had warned me may happen. Eddie had noticed my line of sight and groaned in response. I squeezed Eddie’s hand tighter and all I could think of was his words under our willow tree. “I’m right here, baby. I’m right here” I just had to hold onto that thought.
“Vance” The stern and steely voice curled up my spine and I shuddered at the mirth in his tone. Eddie stiffened and turned his body to face the man, shielding me behind him fully. I clung even tighter to Eddie.
“Christopher” Eddie addressed the older man, just abrupt as the other man had.
“I didn’t think I would see you at the Gala this evening.” The man asked in a suspicious tone. Something was really off about this guy. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it though.
“I attend the Gala every year” Eddie replied dousing the rouse that this Christopher character had attempted to come over here. Christopher’s brow furrowed and his condescending gaze settled on me. I wasn’t sure who this man was, but he definitely held a grudge against Eddie. The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. The woman stood back enough to look at me. I didn’t have to ask Eddie to know that I was related to this woman, but I didn’t feel the connection I thought I would feel when I met my parents for the first time. When I was a teenager. I laid in bed at night, dreaming of being reunited with my parents. This was definitely not the vision I had in mind.
Christopher looked between the woman and I. The penny had finally dropped. Christopher tried pushing Eddie out of the way but Eddie didn’t even falter under Christopher’s weight. He stood strong and determined. Ellerson stepped up and looked down at Christopher furious face.
“Take your hands off Mr Vance or I will remove them myself”
I would have laughed at Ellerson’s military attitude if the situation was different. Christopher quickly accepted Ellerson’s warning and backed off, but the questions still loomed in both my parents’ eyes. They screamed this was far from over.
Two weeks ago the most important decision I had to make was if I fancied red or white wine with dinner and now I was faced with a past I had no memory of and parents that seemed more cautious than concerned. That little fact begged the question why had my disappearance been covered so much in the media, if they didn’t care at all.
“It can’t be?” Christopher bellowed, making the room quieten at the volume of his voice.
“Margaret?” Christopher asked with caution, not trusting his eyes.
“No.” Eddie stated in a calm voice. “Maggie is gone.” He continued, his voice void of any emotion. I could see the transformation from the man I loved into the tyrant he had become in my absence. I had read about it in all those articles Justice made me read. It was impressive and scary at the same time. I could see it was highly effective when dealing with people who were obviously rude, arrogant and obnoxious all at once.
“She looks very much alive, Edward” Christopher challenged, his statement laced with sarcasm. Christopher’s body strained under his inability to see me clearly. I shook with fear behind Eddie. Eddie’s arm tightened around my wrist like a security blanket.
“Where have you been hiding her?” Christopher blasted. His face turning purple under the exertion. That got my full attention.
Excuse me?
“What did you just say?” Eddie’s voice was low and hard. His shoulders straightened and his hand fisted beside him. Clenched.
This was a side to Eddie I had never seen before. As soon as I had that thought, I saw a flash of something. Eddie was stood toe to toe with Christopher silently telling him that we were going to be together, no matter what. Christopher looked has mad now, has he had back then. But Eddie wasn’t the young man he once was. He was harder, rougher around the edges and he definitely wasn’t afraid of telling someone to fuck off. That unsettled feeling I had before settled at the bottom of my stomach. I looked over at my parents and felt nothing. The only thing I could feel was annoyance and betrayal at the way they were treating Eddie right now.
“I want to know what you did to my little girl and why she is standing there brainwashed and looking at us as if we are strangers?”
The room stood in absolute silence. Eddie had mentioned that his parents would never make a scene in public, but obviously mine wouldn’t think twice about it. The anger on my fathers face wasn’t one of concern for my wellbeing or my return. It was one of distaste for the man that stood before him.
“I did not take Maggie from you.” Eddie practically spat his words at Christopher. The smirk on the other mans face spoke volumes and my insides churned.
Christopher wanted vengeance.
For what though?
“Not by my memory, boy. You blackmailed my wife and me to sign a marriage contract to marry Margaret. I did so, purely to keep her with us longer and then you took her anyway. We have lived the last ten years with that fact hanging over us, that there was nothing we could have done to keep her with us.” Christopher looked around the room for sympathy and gained it instantly. The shocked faces and the contempt they were directing towards Eddie made me feel sick. I wanted to blast them all, but Christopher’s words of blackmail stopped me. Eddie quickly turned around and faced me.
“This is not what it seems. There are other factors to be considered. Please Erin.” Eddie sounded so clinical. Our audience was silenced by another man’s entrance into the ballroom. When he saw the hordes of people surrounding us. He stalked over.
What now? This was suddenly becoming a nightmare.
“That is enough.” The mystery voice spoke as hard and has loud as Christopher, but there was a depth of danger there, that scared me. He was a brute of a man. He was tall with dark hair that flopped to one side and his broad frame was larger than Ellerson’s. The sheer size of him was daunting, combine that with his voice and the look of arrogance. He seemed literally dangerous. I saw a glimpse of a woman on his heels.
“Christopher. I suggest you explain yourself quickly because I will not tolerate you disrupting the fundraiser.” He paused, his dark eyes boring into Christopher’s. “Or challenging my son.”
My feet shook. My legs feeling like jelly.
“What the hell is going on?” Justice stirred through the tension in the room. She was angry. Her cheeks flushed with emotion. Then I saw Rafi sidle up next to Justice.
Rafi stepped forward, before Justice stopped him with a gentle touch on his sleeve and with a shake of her head, he retreated back beside her.
Well I’ll be damned.
“Son” I whispered under my breath. I had the nagging feeling that I had met this man before tonight and if I was right, it wasn’t in a good way. Blast my memory. Why can’t I remember anything, nothing makes sense anymore. There should have been more confrontation and there would have been, if it wasn’t for the announcer addressing the Gala and asking for Eddie to say a few words on behalf of the charity.
Eddie sighed. He looked physically drained. He looked down and I could see the fear and pain swimming through his pupils. He was afraid he would loose me again. What Christopher had said was bad. I had a feeling that I would learn worse before this was over, but I would give him the benefit of the doubt. I gave him a weak smile and nodded. He gently turned.
“Do not leave her side.” He ordered looking back at our parents, “Not one of them.” Eddie added moving his gaze over Faith, Peace and Justice. Rhodes nodded, silently obeying Eddie orders and he made his way up towards the stage.
Justice nudged my side. I tore my eyes from Eddie’s. Peace’s eyes were wide and Faith mouth hung open. I followed
their line of sight. I saw the other guests wait for Eddie’s presence on the stage. I studied the other people. I noticed her hair first. It was sleeked back elegantly and made her look sophisticated. I gulped down the ball in my throat. “Why is molly here?” Faith asked, then Justice’s temper rose, “Why is she stood behind Eddie’s Dad?”
I reached for Justice’s hand. It was Ellerson’s that I found there comforting me. His palm engrossed my smaller one and the gentleness he showed, calmed me.
Chapter Twenty Nine.
Eddie.
This was a nightmare. I had expected a heated discussion and maybe an argument, but not a fucking confrontation in front of London’s high society. Christopher Montgomery had aged over the years, but he was still an arrogant bastard, trying to manipulate his way through any situation.
This charity had been a beacon of light, when I had lost everything close to me. The Melody Foundation, that the Gala fundraised for was held in Molly’s memory. I was sick of the pretence my life had become over the years. It was time I stopped living behind my fear and insecurities. The past was about to become very present. I peered down at Erin. I heard Justice’s voice boom through crowd about Molly. What were they talking about? I hadn’t told anyone about Molly.
Her tiny frame stood behind Rhodes. She looked so fragile. It was time I started with some truths, so Erin could believe in me again.
“Good evening. I just want to take a moment to thank all of you for supporting the Melody Foundation’s Gala in memory of Molly Vance. I hope you enjoyed our little show. I realised only a moment ago, that there are more harrowing realities in this world than trying to bury the past. That is what I have done for most of my life. I was afraid of losing reality and kept all of it buried so deep that no one could use it against me, especially my father.” The guest gasped at my speech, but I had just started. “At a very young age I lost more than I could ever have imagined. I lost my mother.” Another gasp resonated from the crowd. The guest’s eyes tuned directly to Eliza Vance.
“For a young boy to deny the truth was has fatal as knowing the entire truth. I spent the next ten years living a lie and conforming to what was expected of me. Apart from my little piece of heaven, which was Maggie Montgomery. That was until she was taken away from me as well. Molly Vance was a brave woman, she sat at the side-lines and lived a half life, watching another woman raising her child as her own. You see, Molly was punished for following her heart. I watched my mother slip away from me little by little, not truly understanding what I was loosing or what that meant for me. I have learnt that love should never be forced. It should never be promised. It should be real and whole and free, because that’s the only way you can truly be alive. I am stood before you, not trying to gain sympathy for my past but clarity for my future. I am tired of living the pretence that I have everything I have ever wanted, when the only thing I ever desired is stood right before me, where she belongs.” I motioned towards my wife.
“The melody Foundation aids people living with a hereditary heart condition. The Foundation supports these individuals in living a normal and full life. They also support them when the condition deteriorates and can no longer support themselves. I stand here every year pretending that I am fine and living the dream. That is there pretence, not mine.” I state solemnly, my voice steady and even. The entire ballroom turned to look at Edmund and Eliza Vance.
“I thank you on behalf of my mother for supporting the charity, but I will not support this farce any longer.”
I was done.
Chapter Thirty.
Eddie.
I walked into the living room in search of Erin. She had been quiet and somewhat distant since the Gala. I didn’t like it! I knew when she found out that I had blackmailed both our parents to secure our marriage. She would distance herself. I had tried to give her the space to deal with all this chaos, but I couldn’t work. My staff were walking on hot coals, waiting for me to explode next. I just wished it didn’t hurt this much. I was silently dying inside and knowing that I caused all of this myself ate away at me, even further. I looked around the spacious room and found Erin sitting on one of the window seats looking out towards the pastures. This was one of my favourite places in the house. The outdoors reminded me of Maggie. Her face was pale and her eyes were glassy and distant. She sat with her earphones in and clutched her iPod tightly. I heard a little of the beat coming from her earphones. I couldn’t help but smile, she was playing Birdy’s Wings. That was the first time I realised that Erin was truly mine. Nothing else mattered. Not the amnesia or our differences, but seeing her passion and excitement blew my mind. Now I was seeing a different side. The one that I had caused. Even though it was unintentional, I still hated myself for it.
“She’ll come around.” Justice told me straight. Startling me. Her accent was more South than North. I knew very little of my wife’s best friends.
She was sat on one of the small chairs, at the opposite end of the room from Erin. No wonder I didn’t see her there.
“She just needs time to process everything that’s happened over the last couple of weeks.” I nodded in return, not trusting my voice.
“Has she asked about her parents?”
“She hasn’t said much, but I get the feeling that they weren’t close. She told us she felt nothing when she saw them. She expected to feel something for them.”
I nodded in understanding, “Is she ok?”
Justice nodded, “Yeah.” She said automatically. She stared at the floor and then looked at me again and then over to Erin. Whatever indecision she was battling with she had conquered. “She always does that, when she needs to think, you know.” Justice motion towards Erin listening to the music.
“Do what?”
“Listens to the same song, over and over again. It gets old quick, but that’s how she deals.” Justice shrugs. “So I don’t knock it. My nana always said don’t change what aint broken.”
I get it. We all do our own thing to cope.” I stated. A sudden thought drifted into my head.
“Did Erin do that before?”
“Yeah, pretty much from day one. Why?” Justice asked giving me a sceptical look. Justice cocked her head to the side, sending her flame red hair barrelling over her shoulders.
“Curious that’s all.”
“Ok, then.” Justice said and went back to her book. I couldn’t leave without knowing one last thing. I had to ask!
“Justice. Did Erin listen to any particular song after she met you?” I needed to know if she had lost every sense of me after the kidnapping or was it just the memory of me, she had forgotten.
“It was Ronan Keating’s when you say nothing at all. We use to have sleepovers back then and one night we watched Notting Hill and she fell in love with it. I think it always stayed with her because that’s her favourite movie. I’ve watched that film more times than I can count.”
My heart swelled. I was speechless. Justice raised a brow.
“Me too.”
“Yeah it’s a great…. Wait.” Justice looked at me frantically. “Did she watch that before… before the…” Justice words caught in her throat.
“Yeah.” I quietly answered. I wanted to give Justice more detail, but my throat was thick. That part of my heart was sacred and I had protected it all these years. I never spoke of my past with Maggie, not even to Rafi.
“Why?.... Was there a reason she liked that movie?”
“Yes. Maggie told me it reminded her of me. That I was right here, without saying nothing at all.” I told her boldly, holding my palm over my heart suddenly feeling vulnerable of how much I had just exposed about my past.
“Oh god.” Justice gasped and wiped the tears from her eyes before they fell. The more time I spent with these girls I realised they were something more than I initially realised. The question was, were they here to guide me and Erin back to a path we should have been destined to follow all along.
“What is it?”
“Erin had….�
�
“Erin had what?” I needed to know.
“Erin said something similar. She told us that she couldn’t fathom why she liked the movie so much, but it had touched her right there and she held her hand over her chest. She had you with her all along. She will come around Eddie. How could she not, you are a part of her, if she realises that or not.” Justice pleaded with a sincere smile on her face.
“Justice, I want you to know that my only intention back then, was to protect Erin. I made a decision that I regret, but If I had to choose between fighting for her and walking away. I would make that same decision again. I could have never walked away from her and maybe that makes me weak or fucking stupid for stooping to my father’s level, but I would have gone to any extreme to have kept her with me but I lost her anyway.” I bowed my head. The weight of my words laid heavy on my heart. When I raised my head back to justice. She wasn’t looking at me any longer, she was staring at a wide eyed Erin, who had obviously heard my every word. A single tear slid down her cheek and her eyes softened before she ran straight into my arms and into my heart. I had missed her with a longing that I would never be able to understand.
Mine.
Forever Mine.
I looked back at Justice and she was already gathering her things.
“I’ll leave you two to it. I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Justice told Erin and gave her a reassuring smile and left. I think I just got Red’s seal of approval. This was the first time in 36 hours that I was allowed to be in a room alone with my wife and gaining Justice’s trust made my heart nearly jumped out my chest with joy.
“I’m sorry I shut you out.” Erin’s apology rushed out of her mouth like a tap unable to keep anything in. The glassy look in her eyes was nearly my undoing. This woman could wound me with one look and make me want to rip the entire fucking world to rights. Erin’s body sagged and I pulled her flush against me. I placed my chin above her dirty blonde hair and took a deep breath of what could only be described as Maggie. I knew I loved Erin something fierce, but there would always be a part of me that craved them both. I would never wish that away for anything, it is what brought me to Erin.
Finding Erin Page 17