“Y...you had no right. This had nothing to do with you. I hate you!” He hauled her harder to him, “Tough. It is done and from now on the rumours will stop. The lies will stop. Tell me that you don’t want that Sara...because I know that I damn well do” A loud sob left her, taking with it all the fight, as her head dropped, tears falling unchecked down her beautiful face. “Y...you don’t understand”, her voice full of misery, “Now all the gossip will start again...all of the finger-pointing; only now he has the whole situation with Nick to throw in. People will take sides, and they are going to look at the fact that less than a month after divorcing him I am the latest plaything for a man who has made it very clear that I am just in his bed till he returns to Italy”, her voice scathing, “a disposable sex toy”
Her eyes finally rose to hold his, “This will destroy any reputation I had left...only this time it will do it publically...you have no idea what you have done” Frowning, not understanding a word she was saying he lifted her chin, his look searching, “Then tell me Sara...why won’t you tell me?” He saw as hardness once more filled her lovely blue eyes, Sara pulling her head back moving to the car, her whole body resigned, “You did exactly what you wanted to do Darius. You destroyed me...more completely than you can ever know”
The return journey to his home was spent in silence, Darius scowling at the way she ignored him, her eyes full of sadness and desperation, staring blankly out of the window. That night they had not made love, Sara sliding as far away from him as possible as he stared at the dark ceiling, his insides churning with anger.
He had tried to help her, he defended her and she turned on him, her theatrics angering him as he tried to understand how he could have become the bad person in the scenario. Nigel was out of order, and if Sara was not prepared to put him in his place then she should have been thankful, not attacking him. Flicking a look at her stiff back turned away from him he wanted to turn her, to make her pay for her words. However, the desperation in her eyes had been real and again he cursed giving her the one-secret concession. Frowning, he again pondered her words “He had destroyed her”, turning over as he punched the pillow into shape. This had been his plan all along had it not? So why then did his stomach feel so cold, why did he care?
The next morning he blinked and groaned, his eyes falling on the clock reading 8:30. “Sara”, he mumbled sleepily, rolling over and frowning seeing the empty space he expected to see her lying in. The movement by the window drew his eye, Sara standing already dressed, staring out of the window, her countenance sad, resigned.
The memory of the previous night returned to him, as Darius frowned once more. “Sara?” his voice had been louder. She gave a small jump before turning to face him, the anger from the previous evening gone as she moved to the bed, sitting on the edge. “I’m sorry Darius”, her voice was low, gentle as he turned on his side to look at her. “What is going on Sara? There is more that you are not telling me”
She did not even try to lie, nodding her head softly, sadness filling her beautiful eyes. “Yes...yes there is, and Nigel knows everything. He wants me to go back to him...to be his wife again” Darius’ eyes widened in stunned shock as she shuddered. “Are you going to?” His voice was calm, steeliness within it, feeling the relief fill him as she shook her head “No...Never. That is one thing I can never do...though it might cost me everything”
He reached out a hand, his fingers trailing down her arm, his tone softer, “What is it he knows that you can’t tell me Sara?” For a moment he thought that she was going to speak, her eyes staring intently at her clasped hands, before she gave a sad sigh, her head shaking. “I can’t...please don’t ask”, her eyes moving to his. “But I am sorry. I know that you thought you were helping, and I appreciate what you did...I just...” Darius wrapped his fingers around her arms, pulling her down beside him; his face so serious.
“OK Sara...You say you can’t tell me...we will work on that ...but what if I can make sure that he doesn’t speak a word of anything he knows?” Her eyes widened in surprise, hope rising within her. “Y...you can?” Darius nodded his expression grim, “Yeah. I can make sure he never speaks a word of whatever it is he knows”, adding ruefully, “that I am not allowed to know”
Tears sprung up into her eyes, her mouth quivering into a smile. “Thank you”, she finally managed, before her hands moved to caress his cheeks, her head rising to kiss him. With a small groan he kissed her back, his need to know what secret she kept disappearing as the need to possess her swamped him.