It's a late enough time. Alexis went home after an amazing dinner with the nice company a long time ago. Raquelle is not sleeping and is definitely not going to do it. She is sitting in her room, looking through the window, watching the sky, in which it's possible to see so many little stars and the bright moon that is shining above the whole city.
“Thank God, my aunt Alicia is finally able to live a quiet life and not to think about Eleanor,” Raquelle thinks, watching the sky with a slight smile and leaning on the windowsill with her elbows and putting her chin on her hands. “She can finally think of herself and have enough rest after everything she has to get through.”
Raquelle cracks a slight smile.
“By the way, I must confess that I do even feel proud…” Raquelle thinks. “Because I’ve reached my goal and done my best. Yes, I was madly scared, and it was a very hard thing to do, but everything ended well. I kept the promise I gave my aunt and can be absolutely quiet about her. Knowing she would finally be able to relax and give herself enough attention,”
Raquelle sighs quietly and stops looking at the sky, moving them down.
“But I’m sad ‘cause I forgot about myself, all my best friends, and grandpa because of the rush…” Raquelle thinks with sadness in her eyes. “Due to the problems with Aunt, I didn’t think of contacting them. I got so busy with the story of Eleanor Woodham that I forgot to think of those, who stayed in New York. I didn’t call them. I didn’t try to find out how they were doing there. But I promised to call them often and tell them what’s happening to me.”
Raquelle sighs quietly.
“But I think I’ve gotta fix this mistake now,” Raquelle decides. “And tomorrow, I should try to contact at least someone from them. Find out how they’re doing… Tell everything I’ve gotten through here. Let them know I’m okay, and they may have no worries about me. In case they see news about Eleanor almost killing me.”
Raquelle glances aside.
“And now I can finally enjoy my unplanned vacation in London before returning to New York,” Raquelle thinks. “And start to think about how to solve my own problems. The story of the slander is not over yet. I’ve gotta solve it. I’ve gotta bring my good name back and prove to everyone that the words of Terrence MacClife are a lie. I don’t know how… But I must do this… I must make that man pay for what he did.”
Raquelle moves her eyes to the window for a few seconds, at some moment starting to understand that even if the problems of Alicia are solved, she does not feel happy. She does not feel the relief she was expecting to get.
“But I don’t feel happy now,” Raquelle frowns slightly. “I don’t wanna whoop for happiness. I helped Aunt Alicia solve her problem… So, I’m supposed to feel happiness and relief… But I don’t feel anything like this.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“No, I…” Raquelle thinks. “I’m madly happy I’ve done what I promised. But I feel kind of sad anyway… I don’t have a wish to jump and rejoice. As if nothing has been over yet. As if I’d have to get through much before I can finally relax.”
Raquelle sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes.
“I don’t know, maybe, I just need some time?” Raquelle asks herself. “Maybe, I am still shocked after what happened, and I don’t I understand it clearly? Maybe, I can stop feeling like this and become able to be happy everything stayed in the past some time later? I think I’m supposed to get much better because I know Aunt Alicia is alright now.”
Two seconds later, Raquelle steps back slowly from the window and sits on the bed.
“Ah, God…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “How I wish someone was next to me right now… I need to talk to someone. Someone to be close to me… Maybe, I will get a little better and… Kinda… Get it off my chest…”
Raquelle sighs heavily again and slowly moves her eyes to the floor, thinking about something. At some moment, someone suddenly knocks at the door of her room… As if someone read the girl's mind about wishing to be with someone and told them about her feelings, and they decided to come to her.
“Yeah!” Raquelle pronounces loudly, moving her eyes to the door. “Come in!”
The door opens quietly, and Alicia shows at the doorstep and looks inside her niece's room a little hesitantly.
“Oh, Aunt…” Raquelle smiles slightly.
“Aren’t you sleeping, sweetie?” Alicia asks quietly.
“No, I’m not. And I don’t want to, honestly.”
“You know, honestly, me too… I dreamed of sleeping as much as possible for the whole day, but when I reached my bed, I stopped wishing that. I decided to fall asleep earlier, but I didn’t manage to do this.”
“Get it. Then…”
Raquelle bites her lip slightly.
“Maybe, you want to come to me?” Raquelle suggests.
“Okay,” Alicia agrees. “I’d do it with pleasure.”
Alicia enters the room at once and closes the door after herself, holding the edges of her long, dark brown terrycloth.
“Moreover, I want to do it…” Alicia confesses.
“Come in…” Raquelle pronounces softly. “Let’s talk a little.”
“By the way, when I was going to my room, I heard you saying something.”
“Me?”
“Have you talked to someone? Called your grandpa or one of your friends? As far as I know, it’s not very late in New York at the moment.”
“No, no, I didn't talk to anyone…” Raquelle replies hesitantly, scratching the back of her head and glancing aside.
“No?”
“Nope… I called nobody.”
“Talked to yourself?”
“Yup… I…” Raquelle bites her lip slightly and slowly moves her eyes to Alicia. “I was just reasoning aloud.”
“Reasoning?” Alicia rounds her eyes.
“Yeah… I was reasoning about my life… About what's gonna happen…”
“I got it…” Alicia pronounces thoughtfully. “Honestly, I also like thinking about something… Sometimes it helps you settle your mind quite well.”
“And it helps you get into another world. Which is much better than the one, in which we’re living.”
“Well, it is, too…”
Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, after which Alicia comes closer to Raquelle sitting on the bed and not stopping looking at her.
“Okay, as you and I aren’t sleeping, let’s talk a little,” Alicia suggests thoughtfully. “Moreover, I’ve wanted to find out something from you for a long time.”
“Really?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“Yes. I’d like to talk to you about one thing.”
“One thing? And what’s that? Do you have problems?”
“Oh, no, no, my sunshine,” Alicia shakes her head. “It’s not about my problems. It’s about you.”
“Me?”
“Yes.” Alicia sits on the bed in front of Raquelle with a slight smile, glancing at the window. “I always saved this talk for later due to the situation with Eleanor. But now we could talk about what I want.”
“So, what would you like to talk to me about?” Raquelle shows interest. “I’m listening to you.”
“Actually…” Alicia locks her fingers tightly. “I would like to talk to you about the situation with the slander. I mean, the one that possibly had to do with all of that.”
“Do you want to talk about the one to have to do with it?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“Yes… The actor that you had a photoshoot some time ago with.”
“Yeah…” Raquelle pronounces hesitantly. “Right… I worked with him…”
“So, I would like to find out more about that story.”
“Aunt, I’ve already told you everything. I did it on one of the first days after I came here to visit you.”
“Yeah, I remember. But still, you missed some things.”
“Me?”
“Tell me, please, why did you fight with that actor? Terrence MacClife, or what’s his name?”
“We just didn’t like each other.”
“It can’t be happening, sweetie. Any hate is usually caused by a reason.”
“I already told you I wasn’t the one to start that conflict,” Raquelle says quietly. “MacClife is the one to blame.”
“But why? What provoked that conflict?”
“He didn’t like the fact that I rejected him. He didn’t like I didn’t admire him and honestly told him I didn’t know who that kind of famous actor was.”
“Rejected?”
“It hurt him much. As he said, girls had never dared to reject him before. He was used to being able to seduce any girl he liked.”
“And why did you reject him?”
“Because he is an insolent, selfish donkey.”
“But you didn’t even know him and weren't aware of who he actually was.”
“At first, I was amicable to him and behaved gently. But when I heard his talk with his manager, in which he showered me with mud, I forgot about politeness and kindness.”
“So, what did he say?”
“He just insulted me. He resented that I honestly told him I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t watch any movies, in which he played.”
“Yeah, but had he been nice to you before it happened?”
“Yeah, he smiled and was gentle. But when he realized I wouldn’t hang on his neck and whoop from happiness like a piggy, he was replaced. He almost stopped talking. MacClife was gloomily looking at me until the end of our talk with Serena and his manager, and he was cold while I was trying to pretend that nothing happened.”
“Tell me honestly, my darling…”
Alicia smiles mysteriously.
“Did you like him?” Alicia asks.
“Me?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Like? That selfish donkey?”
“Didn’t your heart start beating fast when you just met that guy?”
“Erm…” Raquelle pronounces excitedly. “I…”
“M-m-m, you got nervous…” Alicia notices confidently.
“What? No! Not true! I didn’t get nervous!”
“It seems like you are not indifferent to that man.”
“Come on, Aunt…” Raquelle nervously chuckles. “Don’t say such stupid things!”
“Why is it stupid?” Alicia wonders. “Couldn’t you like a young, handsome man?”
“He is a donkey!” Raquelle sharply tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Non-educated, selfish, and insolent cretin!”
“Honey, don’t say that,” Alicia says softly.
“But it’s the truth, Aunt Alicia. MacClife wasn’t definitely taught to treat girls well. He believes girls would like his methods of seducing.”
“So, which are his methods?”
“Accosting a girl! Feeling her up insolently and trying to kiss her by force!”
“Accosting?”
“Just because other girls would be happy to be felt up by that idiot, it doesn’t mean I would love it, too.”
“Did he accost you?”
“He did!” Raquelle confesses loudly. “We knew each other for a few minutes, but he already started to place his hands on my body.”
“You said you fought.”
“Right, we did. But during the fight, he began to accost me.”
“Wow… Your grandfather told me nothing about that.”
“I didn’t find the courage to tell him everything that happened. I didn’t tell him about being accosted and the way that idiot kissed me by force.”
“What?” Alicia rounds her eyes. “Were you kissed? By that man?”
“Yes, he kissed me! Not as a friend, on the cheek, if you are wondering.”
“My God, what a twist…” Alicia smiles mysteriously. “As it turned out, my girl already had her first kiss…”
“You imagine how non-educated he is! His parents definitely taught him nothing if he thinks accosting girls and kissing them by force is fine.”
“Maybe, everything happened not by force?”
“What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “My God, Aunt Alicia… How can you say things like these?”
“Confess that you liked it.”
“Liked? How could you dare to think about it? How could I like something like this? Like the fact that I was felt up against my wish!”
“M-m-m… Girl, you got blush! And you got much more nervous!”
“And what?”
“What? You liked it!”
“Aunt!”
“M-m-m…” Alicia smiles slyly, looking at Raquelle getting a little blush from confusion. “Oh, you don't want to tell me something, my dear niece. You do not…”
“Nor truth!” Raquelle protests shyly.
“When I started to talk about him, your face sharply got blush.”
“And what?”
“You are not indifferent to that man. Either you like him very much, or you’re surely in love with him.”
“Aunt Alicia!”
“Believe me, girl, I’ve lived much more than you’ve done and know well when a person gets a crush on someone.”
“My God, Aunt…” Raquelle laughs shyly. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re in love, my sunshine. In love. You’re not indifferent to that man. No matter how hard you’re hiding your feelings, everything is written on your face.”
“You are kidding me!”
“Why am I kidding you?” Alicia wonders. “I am not kidding, I am telling the truth.”
“We can’t fall in love with someone after knowing each other for a few minutes. Especially, the one that places his hands on your body and acts like a girl belongs to him.”
“Trust me, sweetie, sometimes people fall in love after a first meeting and get married literally on a second one.”
“Stop, please…”
“Yes, I agree that Terrence shouldn't have behaved like that after a few minutes of knowing you. As well as he shouldn't have killed you. But you definitely had nothing against it.”
“Serious? It was disgusting to me when he was feeling my whole body up! When he was licking literally my whole face!”
“If you had wanted, you would’ve immediately put an end to that.”
“I did try to stop him!” Raquelle exclaims. “I did! But he gave a damn about my threats about reporting him to the police and charging for the rape attempt.”
“Well… Maybe, your words didn’t fit your wishes. They didn’t fit the reaction of your body.”
“Do you think I will really love the way a selfish horndog feels my breasts, ass, and waist up and tries to kiss me on the lips or my neck?”
“Yeah, but you never let anyone do this before. Even if you said someone had tried to kiss you many times.”
“MacClife was too headstrong. And my slaps didn’t impact him. They made much accost me much harder.”
“M-m-m, that’s bad to raise your hand on a man, my girl,” Alicia notices confidently. “Your grandfather and I never taught you that fighting with men was fine. That fighting is actually good.”
“He asked for that!”
“You shouldn't have given him slaps in the face, Raquelle.”
“Do you think I should’ve stood and taken the way that man was shamelessly feeling me up and licking me from head to foot? I must’ve defended myself somehow!”
“You should’ve asked for help.”
“There was nobody around! Terrence went insane when nobody could see us. With the pretense of other people, he tried to hold himself down somehow. However, he always ran after me and tried to pick me up.” Raquelle falls into silence for two seconds and glances aside. “And he literally dared to get jealous of me.”
“That’s how?” Alicia wonders.
“Who is he to ban me from communicating with men and accepting their compliments? I am a single girl! I can talk to anyone I want!”
“M-m-m, that guy was really jealous,” Alicia smiles slyly.
“I don’t need that horndog not for anything. There are many enough girls around him, who are ready to praise him.”
“Does it hurt you?”
“Me? Hurt? Why would it be?”
“Raquelle…”
“I am not in love with that man, Aunt!” Raquelle protests. “And I would never fall in love with the one, who dares to spread all the false rumors about me and turn people against me.”
“But it hasn’t been proven anyhow.”
“Yeah? Is that okay he openly claimed he would ruin my career?”
“Honey, he could say it in anger.”
“No, Aunt, it was not said in anger.”
“Don’t blame anyone before you get real proof of their fault.”
“I shall make him confess he was the one to do it.”
“No, Raquelle, don’t blame him for everything. There may be very many suspects.”
“Nobody else wishes me anything bad. MacClife is the only one I’ve lately fought with. So, he is the only one to have a motive to do that.”
“Anyone from your haters could do this. You’ve got literally as many haters as fans.”
“Yeah, they’ve always slandered me. But this time, people did believe the lie.”
“Anyway, you shouldn't blame someone without proof.”
“I’ve been receiving letters from the anonymous that doesn’t hide that it was their work for a long time. Yes, they can’t call a name, but I am sure it’s Terrence MacClife.”
“I think he wouldn’t hide his identity if it was really his work. If the one to blame is hiding their identity and insulting you secretly, it means they’re afraid. They understand they are lying and are afraid to be revealed.”
“So, MacClife is also afraid his acting career would be over if people found out it was a lie. I mean, he would lose any hope of getting famous and getting a starring role.”
“No, Raquelle, I think Terrence MacClife wasn’t the one to do it,” Alicia says confidently.
“Why does nobody wanna believe me? Inspector Bradford is the only one to believe me when I told him about this situation. Why does everyone defend that man like this? Natalia, Grandfather Frederick, Lexi, you…”
“Because you’ve got no proof of the fact that Terrence was the one to do it.”
“But what about the anonymous letters?”
“The one to blame doesn’t call their name!”
“I am sure someday they will reveal themselves.”
“Of course. And be sure, it is going to be someone else not to be Terrence.”
“Oh, Aunt…” Raquelle sighs tiredly.
“And you should not have actually provoked that man into a conflict.”
“So, should I have lied that I knew him?”
“No, you don’t need to lie.”
“I don’t understand you. I don’t understand you at all.”
“You know, I’ve got a feeling you wanted to have a conflict.”
“What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Wanted?”
“As if you do need that flow of emotions.”
“No, that’s not the truth!”
“I repeat, if you’d really wanted, you would’ve immediately stopped it. You didn’t want other men to accost you, they didn't do. But since Terrence accosted you, it means you wanted it.”
“I did not want it! I did not!”
“Raquelle…”
“I can’t believe I hear these things from you.”
“Listen, maybe, you finally have a chance to get your happiness? The happiness that your grandfather and I wish you!”
“What kind of happiness do you mean?”
“Your personal one, my darling Raquelle.”
“My God…” Raquelle moans tiredly. “Here you go again…”
“Do you think I’ll stop talking about it? No, girl! Until you get married and give birth to children, your grandfather and I will not calm down.”
“Aunt…”
“It’s time for you to think about creating your family and to look for a partner. You wouldn’t be next to me and your grandfather and stay under his wings forever. Early or late, you’d have to live with your husband and educate your own children.”
“You do know well that I don’t rush to get married,” Raquelle protests shyly.
“That’s bad you are not in a rush! Bad!”
“Besides, I’m not ready for that yet.”
“It just can’t be the truth.”
“It can be.”
“I know you’re scared. You’re excited. That’s fine. Everyone gets through everything for the first time. But you have to. All the people create their families.”
“I know.”
“What would you do when you stayed alone? When someday you have no me and Mr. Cameron!”
“I don’t wanna think about it now.”
“You know how it’s bad to be alone! A human can’t be alone. They need a family. They need someone to take care of them. You need a strong, loving man, who needs a kind, caring girl.”
“I know, Aunt. But getting married and giving birth to children is not the most important thing to me.”
“You should start to think about it.”
“I’m currently focused on different things. I’m not obsessed with the wish to get married and give birth to a child as soon as possible.”
“But someday you’d start thinking of that.”
“I would solve this problem.”
“What if you meet nobody? What if you reject all the men, who would find other girls?”
“It’s not my fate, then.”
“No, Raquelle, you can’t stay alone.”
“Aunt…”
“Years are gone, and you are getting older. Not younger. You wouldn’t also be beautiful forever. Every year, it’s going to get harder for you to get the attention of a man. They do need young girls, after all.”
“But I’ve never said I don’t want a husband or children at all. I always say that I wanna think about it later.”
“No, sweetie, you should think about it now while you’re young and full of energy. While men are near you and pay attention to such a beautiful girl.”
“But I am not ready!”
“Your grandfather and I have always been for playing weddings and giving birth to children early. When you reach legal age, you should start thinking about it.”
“I get it. But I’ve got a different opinion about it.”
“Excuse me, honey, but I don’t understand why you delay it for later.”
“Why don’t you wanna hear me? I do say I am not ready to get married!”
“Do you think your mother was ready? Your grandmothers were ready? No, my sunshine! They doubted and were excited, as well. But they did it!”
“It’s such a serious change.”
“Right, but it’s much easier for a young girl to get used to changes than an adult woman, who has her own habits and her own character.”
“I don’t wanna change anything in my life for a man.”
“You’ve just never loved anyone. If you did, you would think differently.”
“Aunt Alicia…”
“Now it’s a good time to start living a family life. You are not a child, but you are not a woman yet. You understand everything and are not stupid… And if you had a man that would be a little older, you would get much wiser and smarter thanks to him.”
“Yeah, I know…”
“And I think you should pay attention to that actor. Don’t fight with him. You can try to befriend him. Maybe, he is not as terrible as you think now.”
“My God, Aunt, what are you talking about?” Raquelle moans tiredly. “Why do you literally marry me off all the men I know?”
“I want you not to lose your happiness.”
“What kind of happiness could I have next to the one, who insults and humiliates me for the whole world?”
“It hasn’t been proven yet.”
“You say it like you know who spread all the rumors about me.”
“No, I don’t know. But something tells me that it wasn’t Terrence.”
“You say it because there is another man in my way, who you could try to marry me off.”
“Having an appearance like yours, you could’ve met a man, fallen in love, gotten married, and educated children a long time ago. You’re young, beautiful, smart, and well-educated… Any man dreams of a girl like you! It’s not a secret that they’re all dreaming of being with you and literally ready to sell their soul to get your heart.”
“Yeah, but I like nobody yet.” Raquelle swallows up nervously. “Besides… Nobody would love to be with the model, whose career has been almost ruined by bad rumors and slander.”
“My girl, if a man truly loved you, he would not care what people say about you. Especially, if he saw what you really are. And what you could do.”
“Alas, now I’m not as holy and perfect as I had been before I got involved in the scandal with Terrence MacClife. A man doesn’t need a girl like me.”
“Don’t say that, sweetie,” Alicia protests softly, taking Raquelle’s hands and caressing them. “You say it like you’re kind of ugly, terrible, and stupid.”
“No, I…”
“It’s not the truth, sweetheart! Not the truth. You’re my beauty. Beautiful and smart! The angel with a kind heart!”
“I don’t wanna say it.”
“For example, Terrence could pay attention to you. I am even sure he paid attention if you say that man was running after you like a tail.”
“Even if it’s so, I don’t need that man not for anything. That selfish peacock that thinks there is nobody else to be better than him.”
“You know, sweetie, if someone really wants, they can do anything,” Alicia says confidently. “If Terrence had a goal to get your attention, he would do possible and impossible.”
“No, Aunt Alicia, that’s not my man.”
“You never know whom fate may bring you to. Sometimes even enemies become best friends. As well as best friends may suddenly develop hatred for each other. Life is a thing that is capable of cruel irony, sparkling humor, and the most unexpected and sharpest twists.”
“God clearly let me know I must not have stood in the way of MacClife. That’s not my man. Not the one I’m destined to create a family with. If it’s so, someday to be more decent would stand in my way. There are many men in the world, who would be much better than that idiot.”
“But it doesn’t mean you’ll never meet again. You could run into him somewhere at a celebrity party. You both are famous and could surely hang out in the same circles.”
“Oh, God shall not let! God shall not let us run into each other somewhere. If it happens before I make him pay for everything, I will strangle him with my own hands.”
“Raquelle…”
“I swear, Aunt, if that man is a few miles away from me, I will do something to make him put his puffy tail between his legs. And stop pretending to be nobody the hell knows who. I shall kick that idiot enough and make him regret doing all of that.”
“Ah, Raquelle, what a headstrong girl you are…” Alicia sighs tiredly.
“But I really hope we'll never meet again. And we’d especially never work together.”
“Sometimes you should give someone a second chance.”
“Not that donkey!”
“Raquelle…”
“Alright, Aunt, forget that man,” Raquelle sharply cuts off. “And pray that he and I don’t meet at a party or somewhere on the street again.”
“Oh, sweetie, why are you rejecting all the men so hard?” Alicia shakes her head. “Why don’t you wanna give anyone a little chance? Don’t you wanna just go on a date and talk to someone?”
“When I meet a good, educated man, I will be happy to go on a date with him,” Raquelle promises.
“When will it happen?”
“I don’t know. God will decide.”
“Just don’t say you’re still obsessed with your career.”
“Of course! I worry about what that selfish idiot did. And when I’m back in New York, I will do my best to get my clean and honest name back and start working hard again. Of course, if people want to see you on the runways and covers of magazines…”
“What if they don’t?”
“Gonna think up something. But if I’ve got a chance to be back, I shall do it.”
“Oh, honey…” Alicia shakes her head with sadness in her eyes. “Do you wanna work until exhaustion and forget about yourself and your close people again?”
“I just love my job and wanna focus my attention on it… For someone, a job is something they terribly hate, but I adore what I am doing. And I am grateful to fate for getting a chance to do what I like.”
“Sweetie, but you’ve reached very much for the years of working. And you proved that people didn’t believe you for any reason. What else do you need?”
“I just know there is something I haven’t reached yet.”
“Raquelle, my girl…”
“Don’t worry, Aunt, when I reach everything that is possible, I shall be working much less and thinking of me.”
“Is this a consequence of the fact that everyone despised you in childhood, and nobody believe that you would reach something? Is that why you wanna prove that you’re worth something?”
“Maybe,” Raquelle shrugs. “Your childhood traumas can kill your wish to do something and make you think you’re worthless. But they can encourage you to prove to everyone that you’re worth something and can become successful one beautiful day. But believe me, I am doing it not by force but by my own wish. And I think this is the meaning of my life.”
“No, sweetie, it’s not the meaning of your life. Life can’t be stuck on shootings and fashion shows.”
“But I also think of Grandpa. I do take care of him and do everything he needs. So, he recently expressed a wish to move to a smaller apartment, and I agreed with him. I let him know that I would be ready to pay for anything he chose.”
“That’s wrong that you limit your life only to taking care of Mr. Cameron and working.”
“It doesn’t give me discomfort.”
“My God, why don’t you wanna just start to go on dates and meet guys? There are so many good boys around, but you wanna pay attention to nobody. They’ve proposed to you to marry so many times, but you didn’t even wanna try.”
“Aunt…”
“You’re already twenty-three, but you’ve had no boyfriend yet. You’ve never been in a relationship and have no experience.”
“And what? I will have it someday! This is not the end of the world!”
“Are you going to say single until the end of your life?”
“No, of course. I haven’t just met the man, whom I would consider a decent partner.”
“Ah, Raquelle…” Alicia sighs with a slight smile. “If you keep refusing to get sighs of attention and show no initiative when there is someone, who wishes to get to know you better, you may easily stay single.”
“I don’t wanna communicate with someone I don’t like at all.”
“There is nothing that would ban you from thinking of your personal happiness. Loving someone is excellent! You don’t know it, but when you discover it, you will understand you were a silly girl when you refused to try and missed all the chances.”
“I’ve got no reason to get married immediately. I shall do it when fate tells me. When I realize I’ve met the one, who deserves it.”
“Don’t deprive yourself of happiness, sweetie. I’m begging you.” Alicia softly caresses Raquelle's hand with a slight smile on her face. “You are a young girl. Your whole life lies in front of you. Your grandfather and I did everything to make you a decent person and taught you everything any girl should’ve been able to do. We instilled kindness, loyalty, and an ability to love in you.”
“I know,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“And what a beauty you are! You are literally more beautiful than your mother was! Men literally break their necks when seeing you for the reason.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“It’s not a secret to us that you’re quite a purposeful girl. If you want something, you can be anyone. For as long as I remember you, you’ve always been headstrong and reached your wishes and goals early or late.”
“Right…”
“If not for your headstrong character, you wouldn't have made the career that you built up. Not by using money or getting in bed, as many people wanna believe. You did it. You got through all the traps and difficulties of working in a modeling business with honor and dignity and eventually got what you wanted.”
“Yeah, but…” Raquelle pronounces quietly and thoughtfully. “I met many barriers on my way to worldwide fame… It was especially hard to compete with other, more experienced models, who didn’t always treat me well.”
Raquelle says nothing for two seconds.
“And I wasn’t experienced and was silly,” Raquelle adds. “I didn’t know how to show myself, to pose beautifully, to hide my weaknesses, and to show my dignity… I couldn’t speak to reporters, and I was literally running away from my fans, who got me scared by suddenly surrounding me, screaming out something, and not letting me go… I had to overcome many things before I became who I was…”
Raquelle sighs quietly with sadness in her eyes.
“I mean who I had been,” Raquelle adds. “Before Terrence MacClife ruined everything I was keeping so hard…”
“Early or late, the one to blame for that situation will get what they deserve,” Alicia says confidently. “When everyone knows they slandered you, they will make their life hard. That one will regret daring to start that scandal and slandering you.”
“You know… There is a part of the truth about all these charges. I am actually deeply wrong when I call myself an innocent angel.”
“No, Raquelle, don’t say that! Fear God!”
“There’s one thing that hasn’t let me calm down for ages. Something that I will never want to make public. Because… If everyone knows it, nobody will have to spread false rumors about me to ruin my reputation and career.”
“What are you talking about, sunshine?” Alicia wonders. “You’re my angel! The angel that has never done anything bad to anyone!”
“No, Aunt, there’s something terrible…”
“Don’t scare me, sweetie, please.”
“You know well that one model almost died because of me. I accidentally pushed her off the stairs when she was threatening me with scissors and said she wanted to kill me.”
“But that girl stayed alive,” Alicia recalls. “Yes, she had a fracture of her arm and thigh and brain damage. Yes, she had a very long therapy. But that model is alive, thank God.”
“Yeah, but she had to retire because of me. Camilla suffered so much that she wasn’t able to work for fifteen hours per day. That girl tried to come back, but she didn’t make it.”
“That was an accident, honey. You were just protecting yourself. Otherwise, you would’ve been there instead of her. She would’ve stabbed you with the scissors and pushed you off the stairs.”
“I didn’t want to hurt her in any way. And I didn’t want to become a reason why her brother hung himself at his home.”
“What if it didn’t happen because of you? You said that the guy suffered from deep depression for a long time! What if he had been planning to kill himself before it happened? But nobody from his family knew it!”
“Yeah, but he felt much worse after I rejected his love. I honestly confessed that I didn’t consider him my beloved man. Though, I added that I was always ready to be next to him as a friend.”
“Your grandfather said that the guy was very good. Kind, nice, and shy…”
“Yeah, but if I had lied to him not to make his condition worse, it would’ve been worse. For him and me.”
“Oh, Raquelle, I don’t understand you…” Alicia sighs tiredly. “Why do you always reject good and shy boys? Many of them could be perfect partners for you.”
“Aunt Alicia, here you go again…”
“You see, boys kill themselves because of you. Life lied in front of that guy, but he ended it because you didn’t give him a chance.”
“I’m very sorry about Fred’s death. I swear I never wanted it and never wished him to die. He was good and kind, but I couldn’t do it otherwise.”
“Raquelle…”
“It’s been so many years, but I still think about that case with a shake. Just like the moment when I accidentally pushed his sister off the long, slippery stairs. And I saw her hitting her head strongly and getting a couple of fractures.”
“I can understand her feelings. Camilla lost her brother, whom she loved very much. Though, that girl should not have attacked you with scissors and tried to wound you.”
“I felt so unprotected…” Raquelle says with sadness in her eyes. “There was nobody, who could help me and pull that girl aside. There was nobody near the dressing room. Even though we were screaming like crazy. We wanted to pull each other by the hair… We ruined each other’s makeup… We tore the clothes that we were wearing… I got multiple bruises on my body…”
“I’m sorry that nobody meddled in time. Maybe, nothing would’ve happened if someone had been near.”
“And when we were tried to break up, both of us were so excited that even the tough men couldn’t calm us down. Nether Camilla nor me.”
“Your grandfather and I taught you to never fight or snap at someone.”
“Yeah, and what did it lead to? To the fact that I was humiliated in my childhood! Everyone saw that I didn’t want to and couldn’t protect myself, and they used the moment. They knew they would be unpunished.”
“But you didn’t make it better when you were waving your hands and beating that girl.”
“I know… I was scared to death when I looked around and realized that we were seen. There were so many witnesses to how I pushed that girl off the stairs. How she fell down with loud shouts and ended up there unconscious.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously, breathing a little heavily.
“At that moment, I didn’t care about that girl. I only thought about myself. About the fact that I was in trouble. That it was the end of my perfect reputation. That all those people would contact the journalists and tell them about that case. Or just take photos and record video and publish them somewhere on the Internet.”
“That’s bad you didn’t even go down to come to that girl and help her,” Alicia replies.
“Yeah… I i… I ran to my dressing room, locked myself there, and started to cry. Cry in despair. Because I understood that I was about to lose everything. Everything I worked like crazy for ages. I didn’t wanna believe my efforts could not be worth it. That I sacrificed so much for my brilliant modeling career for nothing.”
“When your grandfather told me about that case, I was shocked. Just like he was. We didn’t want to believe two people suffered because of you.”
“They didn’t even give me a chance to explain everything. The organizers of the fashion show didn’t talk for too long before they told me they decided to suspend me. It was the first case when they did that to me.”
“At that moment, you ruined your image of the innocent angel that your managers created for you. You could not hide it. People saw everything well.”
“I know…” Raquelle pronounces with a shake and blinks her wet from tears eyes two times. “I literally had hysteria when I met Serena and my team to talk about what happened. They swore at me for thinking about me much more than the suffered girl. The father of whom was actually a very important man in the government of the country. It was one more reason why my career could’ve been over.”
“Your managers had to apply a lot of efforts to solve this scandal and not to let the journalists find out what happened before the show.”
“Yeah… My suspension from the show was explained by the fact that I suddenly felt bad and had to rush to the hospital. And all the witnesses to that case got a lot of money, so they were silent. They solved the problem with that girl. Her managers… Her parents…”
“You were madly lucky that the managers stood by you like that and saved your reputation. Otherwise, something worse than what the anonymous did now would’ve happened.”
“I’m terribly afraid that someone will wish to break the silence and confess what happened. Use what’s happening now. Because… Some people show up every day to say terrible things about me. But while nobody can prove it, the case with Camilla is different. People saw everything with their own eyes. And I saw many of them recording everything on their phones. If someone posts all the dirt somewhere, there will be a much more serious scandal. Because I ruined the life of the famous model. The daughter of the official.”
“I will not calm you down and say it will not happen. Because it’s possible enough.”
“Listen, Aunt…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “What if all these false rumors have to do with that case? What if they were spread by some of the witnesses? Or the model herself? Or her parents? What if everybody is right that Terrence MacClife doesn’t have to do with it?”
“Who knows, sweetie,” Alicia shrugs. “Maybe, that’s true. I don’t exclude that someone decided to reveal you and ruin your career so many years later.”
“At some moment, I started to suspect that model. But I quickly got rid of that thought. I was too mad at MacClife, who dared to behave toward me like that.”
“So, I advise you to think about your charges for him much better. Moreover, he doesn’t probably know about the case with that girl.”
“If he knows it, I will be in trouble. That idiot will surely tell the journalists about it to take revenge. And then, all the witnesses will show up after they were told to shut up and got a thick wad of money.”
“Listen, honey, have you ever talked to that girl since that accident happened?”
“Nope, not even once…”
“If you know how to contact her, you should visit Camilla and apologize to her. For pushing her off the stairs and being guilty of the death of her brother.”
“She will hardly forgive me.”
“But you must try. Even if someone talks about it, this will be the best thing you can do. Apologies and some material help can help you make the situation better.”
“Everyone will think I’m trying to whitewash myself. That I do all of that for the public.”
“Anyway, if you’re silent and pretending that you don’t have to do with it, your career will be over for sure.”
“I didn’t want it!” Raquelle exclaims in despair. “I didn’t wanna kill or hurt anyone!”
“I didn’t also wanna harm Ines or kill Gilbert. And I shall regret it all my life.”
“It’s so interesting… You ran away from the crime scene, and I did the same thing…”
“Eleanor somehow said you and I were kind of the same. And I can’t argue with her. You and I are not holy. We both harmed someone. We both dreamed of running away from the responsibility. But we eventually paid for everything.”
“Yeah… The situation with rumors is my punishment. The punishment for thinking about myself and my career much more in any situation. I didn’t care about the fate of that girl at all. I was only praying about having a chance to keep working quietly.”
“All of us are sinful. All of us make mistakes.”
“Don’t you think I’m bad because of all my actions?”
“Come on, sweetie! Of course, no!” Alicia takes Raquelle’s hands, hugs her around the shoulders, and caresses her head. “Whatever you do, your grandfather Frederick and I will always love you. We will cut anyone’s throat for daring to harm you.”
“Will the others love me if they know about what happened? Will my friends not turn their backs against me? Natalia and Anna know nothing about that case! I’ve never told them about it! Only my managers, my grandfather, and you know it.”
“If you don’t act like an egoistic princess that only thinks of her own comfort, there is a chance that people will believe in your regret.”
“But I am not an egoist! I can think about others!”
“I know, sunshine.”
“Oh, God…” Raquelle moves her eyes down and sighs heavily. “I can't even imagine what to expect when I'm back in New York in a few weeks. Even if I know that I'd have to show up one beautiful day early or late to try to deny the information that they write about me in newspapers and magazines. Praying that the information about the case with that model doesn’t show up anywhere.”
“I’m sure you can do it,” Alicia says with a slight smile. “Maybe, someone has already woken up and would agree to help you if you needed it.”
“It would be great… Or I would have to take it and forget about my modeling career. Get used to the life of a common person. And think… About how to keep providing myself.”
“Even if it happens, you will get used. As you see, I’ve lived a quiet life for many years, even if I was known as a designer to some people. Who, however, did not get it by working hard. The awards of who were bought.”
“I know.”
“But when an end was put to my career, I started living like all the people. It's been many years. Everyone has almost forgotten me. Nobody remembers there was a designer like Alicia Thompson, who created a few successful collections that are impossible to find in shops.” Alicia swallows up nervously. “The only reason they could remember me is the fact that I killed Gilbert. But they quickly forgot that. Nobody has watched my life closely after that event. The media talked about it for some time and forgot. As if nothing happened.”
“I wouldn’t like everyone to remember me as a thankless egoist if I had to quit a career in a modeling business.”
“Everything will be forgotten, don’t worry,” Alicia says softly as she glances at the window. “You just need some time for everyone to forget you and let you live a quiet life.”
“What if they don’t?” Raquelle worries. “If they hate me until the last day of my life?”
“Listen, just because you are known now doesn't mean everyone will remember you forever. It might often happen that people forget someone who was famous some time ago, and not remember that person. Fellows don’t always remember even great all-favorite people, even after they go into shadows and die. People have forgotten so many great fellows so far! But their names used to be sounded almost in the whole world.”
“You’re right.”
“So, Gilbert is currently remembered by only his family. But in the 80s, his name and the last name of his family were known to everyone. And people won’t talk about Eleanor forever. They will quickly forget her because her family has already lost popularity and power.”
“Do you think?”
“Of course,” Alicia nods confidently. “Remember, sweetie, nothing lasts forever, nothing stays the same. Even the greatest and all-favorite people can’t be in the mind of someone forever. They are either not remembered or remembered very rarely. Somewhere once per year or much rarer.”
“I’ve gotta agree with you,” Raquelle sighs quietly, moving her eyes somewhere into the distance. “But I don't think everyone would forget me so easily after everything that has been published in all newspapers and magazines.”
“Why?”
“People always knew me as a girl with a perfect reputation, who never got caught in something terrible: I didn’t start scandals, didn’t drive a car when being drunk, didn’t get arrested for something… I was just perfect! A role model for all the girls! The one to be a love interest of all the men!”
“Nobody knows you were slandered.”
“But everyone knows a quite shy person isn’t always what everyone thinks. He or she would show himself or herself and shake people up early or late.”
“But we both know you’re really a very shy and conscientious girl, who would never do something terrible. Who did nothing from what that stinker charged you with.”
“I know, but people may think so… That I was pretending to be an innocent angel… And when I got sick of being a good girl, I did those things. And I made myself a thankless egoist that forgot who helped her get that success.”
“But not everyone would believe it. There would be someone to believe you’ve always been sweet and shy.”
“Right, there would be… But it’s gonna be hard to get my good name back after the scandal that became serious for a few days… If only it’s actually possible…”
“You know, my sweetheart, I think everything will be fine soon,” Alicia says confidently with a slight smile. “Maybe, it would happen not today and not tomorrow but some time later. Everything will get better. And maybe, you don’t have to think of looking for another job, for which you would get much less money than one shooting in a magazine.”
“Do you think so?” Raquelle asks hesitantly.
Alicia says nothing and just hugs Raquelle amicably with a slight smile on her face. And a few seconds later, they step away from each other and keep silent for two more. After this, the woman smiles mysteriously again, watching her niece, who is looking at her hands folded in front of her.
“But still, Raquelle…” Alicia pronounces confidently. “Confess that you consider Terrence sympathetic.”
“Oh, God, Aunt…” Raquelle laughs shyly and closes her face with her hand for two seconds. “Here you go again…”
“My girl, I shall leave you alone until you tell me the truth.” Alicia embraces Raquelle again and puts her head on her lap. “I will not calm down until you give me hope that I will see you in a wedding dress and know you’re expecting a baby.”
“Gosh, you and Grandpa agreed,” Raquelle says shyly. “When I told him about Terrence, he literally started to match me with him every day and was sure I was in love with him.”
“Maybe, it’s true!”
“Aunt Alicia!”
“Although I don’t know that actor well, I do know who Terrence MacClife is. I heard he played a role in a movie that got him famous a few years ago.”
“Yeah… Where’s that famous guy now? This is probably the only merit of him that not everyone knows about.”
“And I must confess that Terrence is a very handsome and outstanding man,” Alicia smiles mysteriously. “A six-foot handsome man… Very confident and always keeps his head proudly raised… He definitely knows who he is…”
Alicia says nothing for two seconds.
“He’s so popular among girls for a reason. Because that man can’t stay without attention.”
“Well…” Raquelle bites her lip slightly and smiles shyly. “You’re absolutely right…”
“Are you confessing he’s handsome?”
“I am.” Raquelle smiles very widely and rolls her eyes dreamily, while Alicia softly caresses her head. “Although he’s selfish and non-educated, I must admit that man is really gorgeous. He's really irresistible and good-looking. To be honest, my heart stopped when I looked at him.”
“That’s how…” Alicia smiles mysteriously.
“I’ve probably never met a more handsome man than him.”
“I think girls would be envying you if you and he became a couple,” Alicia notices with a slight smile, caressing Raquelle’s head and stroking her slightly matted, loose hair. “Or maybe, many people do see you together and dream of hearing the news that you’re dating…”
“I’m afraid it might happen only in my dreams. Dating Terrence MacClife himself is a too great honor for me that I don’t deserve.”
“No, Aunt, we will not surely date.”
“Why not? Anything is possible!”
“May he date someone else. I personally don’t need that man.”
“Aren’t you afraid to regret missing your chance somehow? Rejecting the man?”
“Regret not becoming the girlfriend of the one, who humiliated me? Oh, no!”
“Don’t say it so confidently.”
“Excuse me, Aunt, but you’re a little naive.” Raquelle slowly sits up. “How could you actually say these things? How could you literally push me into the arms of the one, who is the reason why I had to run away here to let people calm down a little?”
“You’re just obsessed with anger and think so,” Alicia replies confidently. “If you reflected soberly as well as other people did, you wouldn’t charge someone without proof.”
“It’s okay, you will all regret defending him. Someday you will realize I was absolutely right. I wouldn’t lie to people if I told the whole world who Terrence MacClife actually is.”
“First, you should either make the author of those anonymous letters reveal themselves, or wait for that person to do it at their wish. And then you would make some conclusions.”
“Don’t worry about it, Auntie,” Raquelle says confidently. “I will surely make MacClife confess that it was the one to do it. And then I will print all the letters with pleasure and sue him, charging that man for spreading the false rumors and demanding to pay me moral damage.”
“Do you need it?”
“I do! I wanna do my best to ruin MacClife’s career and deprive him of his dream of becoming famous. I want all the little girls to open their eyes and realize they are admiring the wrong man. He is actually terrible and vengeful. Not a sweet and kind guy that Terrence is playing in public.”
“Revenge wouldn’t give you anything good.”
“I can’t leave the one to blame unpunished.”
“Of course, sweetie. But at first, you should prove that he was guilty of spreading the rumors.”
“I will do it,” Raquelle promises confidently. “Don’t doubt.”
“Couldn’t your sympathy for that man make your heart a little softer?”
“There is no sympathy.”
“I will not get off you until you confess that you are not indifferent to him,” Alicia says confidently. “I will not believe you don’t think of that man.”
“Why should I think of him?”
“Because you like him.”
“Nor true!”
“Don’t lie to your aunt.”
“Just because I think he’s incredibly handsome doesn’t mean I like him.”
“Since you didn’t reject him at once, it means you got attracted to him somehow.”
“Aunt, please, let’s not talk about it. Nothing will happen between Terrence and me. And I hope we will never meet again. He would live his life, and I would live my life.”
“My God, sweetie, stop finding excuses. I do really see you’re dreaming of making him pay attention to you.”
“Me?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“Don’t pretend you don’t care about him.”
“My God…”
Raquelle closes her face with both hands and shakes her head, not hiding her shy smile and sometimes laughing shyly while she has a little blush on her face.
“You are having sympathy for Terrence,” Alicia says confidently. “Even if you didn’t get on, you got attracted to that guy somehow.”
“Oh, you and Grandfather are incorrigible,” Raquelle sighs tiredly.
“Ah, Raquelle, you can lie to anyone, even your grandfather. But you can't lie to me.”
“I’m not lying to you.”
“Does hiding your sympathy for the man make sense?”
“Please, stop marrying me off any man I know,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“I'm a woman, Raquelle. The woman, who has lived enough and seen much in her life.”
“Aunt Alicia…”
“I can understand you and what you feel much better.”
“There is nothing between Terrence and me, and there will not be.”
“Listen, if you're afraid to confess your feelings, don't be. There’s nothing bad about it! We all get through that somehow.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“You can say nothing to your grandfather and your friends. You can even say it to the man that you like. But you can tell me everything. You know I shall be happy to help you or advise something if I can do it.”
“Erm…” Raquelle stutters, hesitantly looking at Alicia and tightly locking her fingers.
“C’mon, sunshine…” Alicia takes Raquelle’s hand, which she softly caresses. “Tell your auntie what you're worried about. What you are feeling… Tell me everything you’re worried about. Moreover, if you’re in love, it happened to you for the first time. And you probably need help to figure it out.”
Before saying something, Raquelle says nothing for a few seconds and looks at Alicia with sadness in her eyes. But later, she exhales sharply and glances aside.
“Yes, Aunt…” Raquelle pronounces quietly. “You’re partly, absolutely right.”
“Right?” Alicia rounds her eyes.
“I’m really not indifferent to that man. I have not been since the first day we met. I got a crush at first sight.”
“That’s how?”
“Thinking of him makes me nervous… In a nice sense… It doesn’t scare me. No… But… It’s not happening when I talk about any other man.”
“Do you think it’s sympathy?”
“I don’t know…” Raquelle shakes her head. “I can’t understand myself and my feelings… I don’t know what’s happening to me. I don’t understand why I’m getting attracted to the one I’ve seen two times. The one that annoys me. The one I hate to death.”
Raquelle swallows up nervously.
“I was like electrified after I saw him for the first time…” Raquelle confesses. “I literally stopped recognizing myself.”
“Wow…” Alicia smiles mysteriously.
“Maybe, if he hadn’t behaved like that, we would’ve gotten on well, and I would’ve agreed to go somewhere with him.”
“Really?”
“But alas, it’s impossible. I don’t have to have a man like him by my side, I need a more decent and educated man.”
“Have you ever thought of him while you’re here?”
“Always… Not as about the one I have a crush on, but the one that’s about to ruin my career.”
“Hasn’t your heart ever stopped when thinking about him? Thinking about your kiss?”
“No,” Raquelle shakes her head and smiles widely. “But I really liked that kiss. I liked everything that happened between us.”
“That’s how…”
“You can think I’m crazy, but…” Raquelle shrugs. “I really liked everything he was doing. Yes, we barely knew each other. We were obsessed with hate. But… I didn't actually wanna break free. I wanted everything to last as long as possible.”
“M-m-m, I didn’t think you’d like something like that.”
“I didn’t also think it could be real. But I liked it! Even if I couldn’t calm myself down. My heart suddenly started beating faster… I felt a little dizzy… It was hard to breathe… And I could barely stand on my feet…”
“I get it.”
“So, that’s why I didn’t make my threats of screaming, begging for help, and charging MacClife for a wish to rape me come true.”
“Not thinking about the charges for spreading the rumors, would you go on a date with him?”
“I dunno… Maybe, I would do that. But I would think very well before giving an answer.”
“That’s how…”
“Anyway, even if I feel sympathy for that guy, he will never know it.”
“Never know it?”
“I am not going to confess that I like that selfish idiot. And I will never do it.”
“You think he doesn’t guess it?”
“I don’t care. I’ve always said he is disgusting to me, and I will keep saying it.”
“So, are you gonna keep playing a catch with him?”
“If he likes it, it’s okay. I would keep playing this game and not let him catch me.”
“Do you know you may make him much more attracted to you if you keep playing this game?”
“Early or late, he would get sick of running after me. And realize I would not answer to his attention.”
“Maybe, you do.”
“No, Aunt, I will not.”
“Anything is possible.”
“Terrence is not the only man in the world. There are many other good men. Among whom there may be the one I’m destined to be with.”
“The question is whether you like him. What if you keep rejecting them as well as you rejected others?”
“We will see,” Raquelle shrugs. “But I can clearly say I would do my best not to be with that man.”
“Don’t you even wanna give him a chance?”
“No, I don’t want.”
“If you don’t like it, you can always end a relationship with him.”
“I wish I didn’t start it at all.”
“Could you forget the one, who gave you the first kiss ever?”
“I’m gonna have very many kisses in my life. It’s not the last one.”
“But would you like them as much as you liked that one?”
“They would be much better! I am sure about it.”
“So, we will see.”
“But I will not pretend that I didn’t have that kiss. I will never forget it.”
“The first time can never be forgotten, my sweetheart.” Alicia softly caresses Raquelle’s cheek. “It will never happen again.”
“I know, Aunt,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Raquelle sighs heavily.
“But I don’t understand myself so far,” Raquelle confesses. “I don’t know what’s happening to me… I feel happy thanks to these feelings, but I’m anxious. And I don’t know what to do… That’s why I’m a little nervous.”
“I completely understand you,” Alicia says replies confidently.
“Nevertheless, I know I shouldn't let my feelings cloud my mind. I should not refuse a wish to punish that man for slandering me. A wish to let the whole world know the truth about him.”
“What if you know he’s guilty of nothing?”
“Nothing would be changed.”
“Why?”
“Because that man would give me nothing good. I’d have many problems with him.”
“But you try. Nothing would happen if you just gave him a chance.”
“No, Aunt, I don’t want,” Raquelle shakes her head.
“Don’t hide and suppress your feelings, Raquelle.” Alicia caresses Raquelle’s cheek with a slight smile. “Love is the most wonderful feeling in the world. Loving and being loved is amazing.”
“But I like the bad man!” Raquelle exclaims.
“You judge him only by the conflict.”
“He is a peacock. The selfish narcissus that can’t take getting no compliments.”
“Who doesn’t like compliments? I personally don’t know anyone!”
“I’d make a mistake if I let myself love Terrence and told him I’m dreaming of his hands touching me again.”
“I do say, if you don’t like it, you will find another man. Start with something! Get experience in communicating with men. Start to date someone. Sometimes women date men for ages before they find someone to be nice to them. You shouldn't have to get married to anyone to stand in your way.”
“As if you want to get me married to anyone to stand in my way.”
“No, sweetie, not anyone to stand in your way.”
“Anyway, I’ve told you everything,” Raquelle says confidently. “The story of that man and me will have no continue. And I will forget him once and forever after I bring him to clean water and bring my kind name back.”
“However, I highly recommend that you look at that man differently and try to find something good about him. Try to talk to him as friends.”
“I doubt that I’ll find something good about him. His ability to kiss well and caress a girl from head to feet doesn’t count.”
“I don’t make you date him. Just start to discover what relationships are. You’re already twenty-three, but you’re still dating nobody. You’ve never had a boyfriend.”
“And what? I don’t care about it.”
“But I do care. I’m worried because such a young and beautiful girl thinks only of shootings and fashion shows.”
“I’m just waiting for my man.”
“You know, you may wait for the one forever. You should do something! Don’t pretend to be a Snow Queen when a man suggests you just go somewhere to walk.”
“Oh, God, Aunt, no matter how much I explain it to you, you keep insisting on what you want,” Raquelle sighs tiredly.
“Raquelle, my girl, listen to me…” Alicia softly caresses Raquelle’s hand, moves closer to her, and embraces her around the shoulders. “Of course, I'm not an expert in this type of matter. But since I’ve got an experience in these things, I wanna say one thing.”
“One thing?” Raquelle asks. “Which thing?”
“Don’t fear what you feel,” Alicia advises. “It’s absolutely fine. It’s fine to feel sympathy for someone. A heart doesn’t know good people from bad. Sometimes it may belong to the worst stinker that doesn’t need you at all.”
“I understand it… But I wanna love a good man. Kind, educated, and decent man that would respect girls.”
“There are people that get bored from being with good guys.”
“Do you think I will feel bored with a good man?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“I don’t exclude,” Alicia replies thoughtfully. “Since you liked all the emotions you got from Terrence, it means you will be unconsciously looking for those, who are able to give them to you. Without getting them, you may be very bored.”
“Don’t make me laugh, Auntie,” Raquelle laughs shyly.
“It’s true, darling. There are people like this.”
“But I am not one of them.”
“Who knows. Maybe, you’d love to live by far not the quietest life. Maybe, you’d always love to get strong emotions.”
“No, it’s not about me.”
“Besides, I wanna say something to you.”
“What?”
“Sometimes men may be a little rude, hiding their feelings for a girl in this way.”
“Huh?”
“If Terrence really behaved a little rudely toward you, it doesn’t mean he hates you to the death. Maybe, that’s how he’s trying to hide his feelings. Maybe, he likes you, but that man doesn’t wanna confess it. Or he’s shy. He doesn’t know how to get your attention. How to get you impressed.”
“Do you think he likes me?” Raquelle frowns slightly.
“Remember, my sweetheart, no man would pay attention to a girl if he didn’t like her. And I wanna notice the attention might be not only nice but also vice versa. It often happens that you might get hurt and humiliated for people somehow.”
“But why?”
“They just don’t wanna show their real feelings. And they’re hiding them under a mask. Or they just can’t show them.”
“Is that possible?”
“Of course, it’s possible.”
“Yeah, but does it make sense? I would not date that man and especially get married to him.”
“Besides, when a man gets jealous of a girl, who is surrounded by men, it may also mean there’s sympathy on his side.”
“Yeah?”
“If Terrence were indifferent to you, he wouldn’t even look at you. He wouldn’t care if you got admiration, how many men surrounded you, or something like that. In your case, everything lets you know that you got that guy attracted.”
“I don’t know…” Raquelle sighs tiredly, moving her eyes to her hands folded in front of her. “I don’t care about it.”
“Listen to your aunt Alicia,” Alicia advises confidently. “She wouldn’t advise something bad.”
“I know.”
“If you become more careful and notice even little things, you will be able to understand if you’ve got a chance to get a man. And if you can do this, don’t miss your chance.”
Alicia says nothing for two seconds.
“You can’t run away from what you’re destined to,” Alicia adds. “Fate will follow you wherever you are. Even if you’re running away from it and hiding everywhere.”
“Do you really think MacClife is my destiny?” Raquelle wonders.
“Anything is possible.”
“Don’t make me laugh, Aunt Alicia. For God’s sake!”
“And if you get an opportunity, you can bring him to me and your grandfather and introduce him to us. We’d look at that handsome guy, talk to him and decide if he’s a good partner for you.”
“I see no meaning.”
“We think soberly. Without an offense at the heart and an obsession with love. We would be your brains and rate your choice if you finally brought your boyfriend to us.”
“I will do it, don’t worry.”
“I wish it happened at the nearest time.”
“Listen, Aunt…” Raquelle softly takes Alicia’s hand. “I understand your wish to be at my wedding and hold my children in your arms. But please, don’t rush me. I don’t wanna get married against my wish. I’m not ready for that now.”
“When you fall in love, you will surely get a wish to get married,” Alicia assures. “You’re saying these things because you have no man in your life. But when you do, everything will change.”
“I don’t wanna regret listening to you and deciding to get married against my wish just to make you happy and calm your heart down.”
“I am sure you will say, ‘thank you’ to your grandfather and me for rushing you.”
“Aunt Alicia…”
“If you miss your time, you will be alone, and nobody will need you. You will be crying your eyes out and suffering from loneliness, being jealous of your friends, who will be married to good men and educate their children unlike you.”
“I’ve never said I don’t wanna get married and give birth to children. I just wanna wait for a while and live for me.”
“You should get married while you’re young and surrounded by men.”
“But I am young! I am only twenty-three!”
“Yeah, but you know how fast time flies! It seems like I was only twenty some time ago. But when I blinked my eyes, I turned forty-seven! And I will not get younger. I will be getting older.”
“You can get married at any age – even when you’re forty. Your age shouldn't be a barrier to your happiness, no matter when you find it.”
“No, sweetie, nobody will need you when you’re forty. Men always aim to find young girls.”
“It’s a different time now. Not what it was like when you were twenty. Love can be born at any age. It doesn’t have any age limits. It’s never too late to let someone to make you feel happy every day in your heart.”
“Maybe, time is changing. But alas, you can’t change nature. Only young girls get much more attention.”
“Don’t you want me to stay alone because you are now?” Raquelle asks hesitantly.
“Me?” Alicia rounds her eyes.
“You haven’t met a man and gotten married. At the bottom of your heart, you’re worried about it and don’t want the same to happen to me.”
“No, girl, you’re wrong,” Alicia smiles mysteriously. “I had a man. And I did even get married to him.”
“Really?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “You were married?”
“Yes, I was. For your information, I got married when I gave a damn about myself a long time ago. When I thought I would never create my family again.”
“Wow!” Raquelle gets excited and bends a leg under herself. “You’ve never said it! I didn’t know you were actually married.”
“I must confess that I’m a little surprised you’ve never asked why I’ve got the surname Middleton.”
“I thought you changed it to say farewell to your former life.”
“It’s partly correct. But it’s actually the surname of my husband that I got after our wedding.”
“God, but when did you do it? When did you get married?”
“Fourteen years ago. I met him in April 2000. I was thirty-three.” Alicia thinks for a few seconds, thinking of something from her youth. “Quite late… I didn’t think of a wedding and was ready to live my life without a husband and children. But it happened that I met a very good man and fell in love with him.”
“In April 2000?” Raquelle frowns slightly. “So, it happened after you were released from prison?”
“Yes, sweetie. It happened two years after I was in prison for the murder and was found non-guilty.”
“And what was that man?”
“His name was Dominick… Dominick Middleton… He was only two years older than me. He looked not like an eternally handsome man from the cover of a magazine, as, for example, Terrence MacClife is. But I found him very sympathetic. Slim, fit… With light brown hair… Besides, he had incredibly kind eyes. It was clear that man had a clean soul and a kind heart.”
“And where did you meet?”
“We met in a hypermarket when I went to buy a pack of milk.”
“Hypermarket?”
“Yes, imagine.” Alicia cracks a slight smile. “I got horrified by the line in front of a cash. And I wanted to go where Dominick was standing with lots of purchases. But when he saw I had only a pack of milk, he let me go forward. At first, I refused and said I hurried nowhere, but that man insisted and stood after me.”
***
April 18th, 2000.
Alicia comes to the cash to pay for only one purchase – a packet of milk she is holding in her hands, being at a small hypermarket where there are not so many people, nice music is playing and getting anyone bored. She chooses the one, to which not many people want to come. And she sees a tall young man with short, light brown hair standing ahead with a cart of some purchases: from food and household chemistry to office supplies and something else.
At some moment, the stranger moves his eyes to Alicia standing behind him and quickly understands that a cashier may spend a lot of time scanning all of his purchases and getting the payment from him.
“Are you only buying milk?” the stranger asks Alicia.
“Erm, yes, just a pack of milk,” Alicia shrugs.
“Maybe, you should go forward, and I follow you?”
“No, thanks, do not need.”
“I have got very many purchases – a cashier is going to scan them for a long time. It might take very much time.”
“It’s alright, I do not rush. I can wait for as long as I have to.”
“Come on, Ms., go forward. Why would I hold you long when you need to buy only a packet of milk?”
“Do not worry, sir, I shall wait for my time,” Alicia smiles shyly. “But thanks for suggesting.”
“Go before I start putting the purchases on tape. That man is already going to pay.”
“Do you really not mind?”
“Of course, not!”
The man goes aside to let Alicia go through a narrow passage between cashiers that is fenced with metallic railings.
“Go, I shall go after you!” the man exclaims.
After hesitating for two seconds, Alicia stands in the place of the man, who is holding the handle of the filled cart with a shy smile.
“Oh, thank you so much,” Alicia thanks with a slight smile. “You are very nice.”
“Why could I not give in to such a beautiful woman?” the man says amicably.
“Come on, do not make me blush.”
“But it’s the truth! Does nobody say you are very beautiful?”
“Of course, I hear it. And it’s always nice.”
“But I think your eyes are a little sad,” the man notices thoughtfully, closely looking at Alicia’s face.
“Really?”
“Of course, I’m not a psychologist, but I see that something definitely makes you worried.”
“Do not pay attention,” Alicia says shyly, stroking down her hair gathered into a ponytail. “Just a hard time in my life… Not all things go well… My plans do not always come true.”
“I get it. Sadly, it happens. Everything cannot be absolutely perfect.”
“Yes, I know. But everything was much worse some time ago. However, thank God, it’s all getting better little by little.”
“That’s good. I’m very glad for you.”
“Excuse me, sir, why do you care about it?” Alicia asks.
“Just wondering.”
“Did you decide to shorten the time while waiting for your turn?”
“So, do you not like the fact that I am speaking to you?” the man rounds his eyes.
“No, come on! I did not mean that… Just…”
“No, if you do not want to speak, it’s alright. I shall say nothing more.”
“No, do not worry. I do not mind talking to you.”
Alicia glances at the man, who is supposed to pay for everything but is still standing in front of the cash and talking to a cashier about something with a bank card in his hands.
“Moreover, I have lately lacked heart-to-heart talks,” Alicia confesses.
“Really?” the man wonders. “Do you have nobody?”
“I have only a little niece, but she is living with her grandfather in the United States.”
“United States?”
“Yes, but I’m not able to visit her so far. Sadly, I’m not so rich to go to the USA to visit my niece. Even if I’m madly missing my girl.”
“Do you have someone here?”
“Alas, no.”
“No?”
“My parents, sadly, died. As well as my younger sister and my brother-in-law.”
“Died? Did you lose your whole family?”
“Yes… My parents died of natural causes one year ago, and my sister and brother-in-law were crushed in a car accident two years ago.”
“Oh…” the man pronounces with sadness in his eyes. “I’m really very sorry…”
“That’s how!”
“Are you married?”
“No, I am not married. I’ve never been.”
“And you have no children?”
“Alas, God didn’t give them to me.”
“Alright… But why does your niece live in the USA, not here?”
“Her father was an American. So, my niece stayed with her grandfather on the father.”
“My gosh… So, as I understand, are you all alone here?”
“I could say so,” Alicia shrugs with sadness in her eyes. “Of course, I speak to some people I am working with, but I’m not very close to them.”
“I get it. Well, if you feel so lonely, I could make a company for you and make you stop feeling so.”
“Are you not afraid I would consider you too obtrusive?” Alicia laughs shyly.
“I am not insisting!” the man exclaims. “Just suggesting. It’s nice to talk to a good person. Especially, such a beautiful woman.”
“Hard to deny.”
Alicia throws a look at the cashier and sees that one still talking to the man, who tries to say something with a bank card in his hands, gesticulating actively but staying quiet enough.
“Yeah, it seems like it’s going to take a lot of time,” Alicia says thoughtfully. “As I understand, he has some problems with a card.”
“Let’s think it’s fate,” the man smiles slightly. “Someone in heaven makes that man stand in front of the cash, so we can talk much longer.”
“As I understand, would you like it?”
“It would be great. I would like to talk to someone and relax.”
“That’s how!”
“Honestly, the last few weeks have been quite tense for me.”
“Well, was a suggestion to let me go forward a good reason to talk?” Alicia laughs shyly.
“I could say so. But I usually always let those, who have got a couple of purchases, forward. I don’t like making people wait for too long. I understand that they might have their personal business.”
“That’s how!”
“And actually, I love doing something good and nice. I try to help everybody, to never be rude, and to behave worthily.”
“After listening to you, anyone would think you are literally a perfect man,” Alicia laughs shyly.
“There are no perfect people. But I have a really perfect character. In my opinion, and the opinion of those I know.”
“People say everything you do will come back to you as a boomerang. I guess your life is supposed to be full of good things.”
“Partly, yes. But sometimes I have hard days.”
“Anyway, I must confess that I feel quite good while talking with you.”
“Nice to hear it.”
“I think you are really such a good and kind man.”
“I try not to act like some evil people and rotted scumbags that do want to make my mood much worse.”
“That’s right!” Alicia approves. “I’m not perfect, too, but I try to stay good.”
“You are not only good, but also very sympathetic and attractive.”
“Aw, sir, I probably cannot remember how many times you have called me beautiful,” Alicia smiles shyly.
“And I think I must get acquainted with you,” the man replies confidently. “Maybe, we introduce ourselves to each other?”
“With pleasure. I am Alicia.”
“And I am Dominick. It is such a pleasure to meet you.”
With these words, Dominick shakes Alicia by the hand, not stopping smiling shyly at her and definitely putting an eye on this young, beautiful woman, who feels quite comfortable while talking with this positive man.
“Same, Dominick,” Alicia nods and breaks the handshake with Dominick.
“Listen, Alicia, maybe, we will meet in the city someday?” Dominick suggests amicably. “Drink a cup of coffee, walk somewhere, go to a cinema… If we both feel a little lonely, why don’t we fix it?”
“I would not dare to refuse,” Alicia replies confidently and smiles shyly. “You would insist if I did not do it.”
“Missing a chance to speak to such a wonderful beauty I met at this hypermarket would be a sin.”
“Oh, Dominick…”
“I really never thought I could meet a woman at a shop. But since it happened, I just cannot miss this chance.”
“I am agreeing to do this just because you seem a light person to me. With the hope that my intuition will not betray me.”
“I will do everything not to disappoint you.”
Alicia smiles much wider, and Dominick answers her back, not hiding his admiration and wish to get to know this woman, who takes care of her well and looks beautiful, much better. And meanwhile, the cashier finally finishes the talk with the man, who takes his packet and leaves this place.
“It’s your turn now!” Dominick notices.
“Yeah, that man has gone…” Alicia pronounces quietly. “Now I can come to the cashier.”
Alicia comes to the cashier, gives the pack of milk that he quickly scans, asks him to give her a packet, and gives him a few banknotes, getting a little change after this. And after this, the shop staff member starts scanning all the purchases of Dominick, a part of which he has already put on a special tape.
“So, do you agree to walk with me?” Dominick asks.
“Why not?” Alicia shrugs with a slight smile.
“Great!”
“But not today, please.”
“Not today?”
“Today I should do a few things. But tomorrow, I could go somewhere with you.”
“Fine, it’s alright,” Dominick shrugs. “If you want to meet tomorrow, it will happen tomorrow. I do not make you agree right now.”
“Just know that I agree to drink coffee with you.”
“So, maybe, should I drive you home?” Dominick suggests. “I am in a car and can bring you anywhere you tell.”
“Erm, no, thanks, I shall use a bus,” Alicia refuses shyly.
“It wouldn’t be hard for me to do this.”
“Thanks, I don’t need it.”
“Alright, as you wish. Then tell me how to find you to agree about a meeting.”
“I shall leave my number for you. We will call and agree about everything somehow later.”
“Great! In this case, I shall surely leave you my phone number. If you just want to talk, I’m at your service at any time. Call me, send me messages – I’m always on the line.”
“Thank you so much, Dominick,” Alicia smiles shyly. “You are very nice.”
“Sadly, I have no pieces of paper or pen to write a number. But I have them in my car.”
“Alas, I have nothing, as well.”
“It’s okay, I shall pay for everything, and we will come to that one. Wait for me, please.”
“Alright, I shall wait.”
“And still, I would like to drive you home. Why would you spend money on a bus?”
“No, Dominick, thanks, don’t need.”
“How far should you go?”
“Erm…” Alicia bites her lip slightly. “No… Not very long… Two or three bus stops before I have to walk a little.”
“Sorry. I thought your home was further.”
“Sorry?”
“You and I would get so little time to talk.”
“But we have decided to meet tomorrow.”
“Yeah, but I’ll have to wait for tomorrow…”
“Aw, Dominick, I think you are a too sweet man,” Alicia shakes her head with a shy smile.
“I just do not want to miss a chance to speak to such a sweet woman like you.”
“I can give you this pleasure.”
“Besides, who knows, maybe, our meeting was destined.”
“Do you believe in fate?”
“Definitely.”
“Alright…”
“I use any moment in my life and try to miss nothing and not to waste my time.”
“Really?”
“We think we have very much time to live and would do everything. But nobody knows how long we will live in this world. Whether we will die tomorrow or after tomorrow… I always live a day like this is the last day of my life. This thought makes me do something and not waste it for nothing.”
“And I do not think about it, to be honest,” Alicia confesses shyly. “I'm just living and doing my business, not caring about how much time I have got.”
“Try then. If you have got a dream, start to reach it right now. With the thought that you have very little time. Be sure, the result will be worth it.”
“Have you always lived in this way, or did you start to do it some time ago?”
“Some time ago. I did not use to care about it before. But I’m getting older and wiser and starting to understand much. Furthermore, stories of people, who die very early and do not do very much, make me change my mind about my life.”
“I get it…”
Alicia falls into silence and just smiles shyly, folding her hands in front of her. Dominick answers her back, putting all the purchases scanned by the cashier in plastic packets and going to take money from his wallet to pay for what he bought.
The young woman watches the man, whom she just met, all this time with interest. Although he is not absolutely handsome, Dominick has great charisma and gives positivity and a wish to smile widely and be happy about life. That’s what Alicia likes. And she thinks she needs such a positive man, who would be able to distract her from everything that happened to her some time ago. From everything that still makes her shake every time she calls the memories about.
***
“And then we talked a little, and in the end, Dominick suggested driving me home,” Alicia confesses. “But I refused and said goodbye to him after we shared our numbers and agreed to call each other.”
“Did you like talking with him so much?” Raquelle asks.
“Very much. Yes, we barely knew each other, but I could not refuse. Besides, I needed to talk to someone. I wanted to find someone to distract me from what happened to me. By that time, Sebastian, my lawyer, and I had stopped communicating, and Mother and Father died. But I lived at their apartment when I met Dominick.”
“But why did you never tell me you met him?”
“There was just no moment to tell you that… And you never asked me about my personal life.”
“Yeah, but… I always thought you didn’t get married and give birth to a child.”
“But it’s not the truth. I got married but didn’t give birth to a child. To my great sadness.”
“Alright… And how was your acquaintance with Dominick?”
“So…” Alicia cracks a slight smile. “First, we were speaking very well. We tried to help and support each other at hard times. Dominick was a very good and positive man. He wasn’t absolutely handsome, but he had such a strong charisma that I didn’t care about how he looked.”
“Great,” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“Dominick came into my life at a very good moment. As I’ve said, I was all alone. Your mother and father and grandfather and grandmother died, and you lived with your grandfather Frederick in America.”
“We were missing you so much…”
“I wanted to come, but I had no money for a ticket. At that moment, I just started to get used to my life. Yes, I already began working at the university, but I originally got a job as a cook in the dining room.”
“But how did you get a job as a teacher?”
“I was just asked to replace one of the teachers, who got ill. They knew I had an experience in the fashion sphere and quickly solved the problem of replacing.”
Alicia falls into silence for two seconds.
“And my boss liked the way I was teaching so much that I was made a permanent teacher a little later,” Alicia confesses. “By that time, I already got the trust of my colleagues, and nobody minded me getting promoted.”
“But was it hard, right?” Raquelle asks.
“Right, It was very hard to get the trust of my colleagues as they knew I was in prison. Many people looked at me badly and whispered bad things behind my back. But everything got better a little later.”
“Okay…”
“When I was working as a cook, I was earning not very much money to buy a ticket to the USA. I was lucky I had enough to buy food and some necessary things.”
“I think Grandpa would’ve agreed to pay for your trip if you’d agreed to visit us.”
“No, sweetie. The fact that he always lets me live at his home, so I don't spend money on a room at a hotel, is too much. Besides, Mr. Cameron has also never been rich. He’s worked much but earned very little.”
“He would pay at least a part of the amount.”
“No, Raquelle, I wanted to pay for me. I got the opportunity to do it a few years later, when I became a teacher. They increased my salary, and I was able to get much more.”
“Were you really all alone in London after the deaths of all the family members?”
“Alas, honey, I stayed all alone. I had no close friends and relatives by my side. But an acquaintance with Dominick helped me get better.”
“So, did you get on well quickly?”
“Yes, we quickly became friends. And some time later, I realized Dominick became something more than just a friend to me. But I couldn’t say it to him… I wasn’t sure Dominick felt the same for me. I thought he considered me a friend. And I was worried about it and was doing my best to hide my feelings.”
“But as I understand, everything ended well?”
“Yes. As it turned out, he was also in love with me. Literally since the first day.”
“Really?”
“Someday, Dominick invited me on a walk at one quiet place and told me that.”
“And you?”
“I was madly happy because my feelings were mutual. That I finally met the man I fell in love with. Truly.”
“Did you confess your feelings?”
“I did. I said I realized I wasn’t indifferent to him a long time ago.”
“And did you start to date?”
“We did. And after going on a few more dates, Dominick suggested he and I date, and I agreed with pleasure.”
“Excuse me, Aunt, did you tell him what happened to you?”
“Yes, sweetie,” Alicia nods with sadness in her eyes. “I had to tell him the truth about the sins of my past because I wanted to be honest with Dominick. And he started to notice that I looked sad very often.”
“I get it.”
“I was terribly afraid of that moment because I thought he would leave me.”
“But did he learn it anyway?”
“He did.”
“And how did he react?”
“Dominick was shocked and didn’t wanna believe it was the truth. He didn’t wanna believe I could do that. But to prove that, I showed him a few articles about the murder of Gilbert and my trial of mine. It changed his mind.”
***
The middle of June 2000.
Alicia has been enjoying the pastime with a man named Dominick Middleton, whom she met in the line at the hypermarket. That man let her go forward after he saw she was going to buy only a packet of milk and realized he should have given in to her not to make her waste her time. Thus, they got busy with a talk, quickly got on, and eventually decided to keep communicating.
After a few dates, it became something more. Someday, Dominick and Alicia confessed their sympathy for each other and decided to start dating. They have felt very good together from the beginning. None of them regrets choosing such a wonderful person as a partner. Every one of them takes care of each other and tries to make the second half happy, letting each other know that they can not only accept.
But Dominick is upset because his beloved woman has looked kind of sad for a long time. She looks like she is hiding something from him and does not want to say it. He does not guess that Alicia almost went to prison two years ago due to the charges for the murder of the famous English businessman Gilbert Woodham, for which his family cannot still forgive the woman.
Alicia is terribly afraid to confess to her boyfriend that she committed a terrible sin, for which she still has to pay somehow. For which she has not gotten forgiveness, even if she, being a religious woman, goes to a crunch almost every day and asks God for forgiveness for the acts she did at a young age. Even if it’s been a long time since she was pronounced non-guilty for the murder, Alicia cannot forget everything she had to get through.
But now Dominick is sick of seeing Alicia sad. He is determined to find out the reason why she is behaving like this and do his best to help her get through it. No matter what she tells him. The man tries to start to get something out of his sweetheart, whom he is spending his time at her home, in her small room, and sitting on the bed with.
“You’ve lately looked especially sad,” Dominick notices confidently, holding Alicia’s hands. “That’s what really hurts me.”
“Why, sweetie?” Alicia wonders.
“I’m doing my best to make you happy. But you’re still upset and worried about something.”
“Dominick…”
“You looked like this on the day we met for the first time, but now nothing has changed.”
“I was just very lonely. I was worried about the deaths of my close people and couldn’t accept it.”
“But you are not alone now. You have me.”
Dominick tucks a strand of Alicia’s hair behind her ear.
“You and I began to date,” Dominick recalls. “We confessed our sympathy for each other and decided that we’d feel good together.”
“Do you think I’m lying to you?” Alicia wonders.
“No, sweetie, you are not lying to me.”
“If I wasn’t in love with you, I wouldn’t start to date you.”
“I’m doing everything I can to make you feel happy.”
“And I highly appreciate it.” Alicia tenderly caresses Dominick’s cheek with a slight smile. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”
“But I see no happiness on your face!” Dominick exclaims. “I don’t see you’re happy with everything!”
“I am happy with everything!”
“Your eyes are still as sad as they were on the day we met at the hypermarket.”
“Dominick, sweetheart…”
“What’s wrong, Alicia?” Dominick wonders. “What’s happening to you?”
“Nothing…”
“I’ve got a feeling that you’re hiding something from me.”
“Me? Hiding?”
“As if there’s something you’re hiding from me.”
“Listen, sweetie…”
“Is there a secret? Don’t I know something about you?”
Alicia swallows up nervously with a scare in her eyes, getting quite white from just thinking she would have to tell Dominick the truth about her past. The past that she wants to forget so badly. For which the man would start judging her after finding out what his beloved girl, whom he considers sweet and innocent, did.
“For God’s sake, Dominick…” Alicia shakes her head.
“You and I are no longer strangers,” Dominick says confidently. “You’ve become my woman, and I’ve become your man. And I think we should have no secrets.”
“I know.”
“I personally hide nothing from you and tell you all the truth. When I worry about something, I always say it to you. With the hope that I will get the support, comfort, and a piece of advice.”
“You know well that you can always come to me and talk to me if you need it.”
“As well as you can come to me and talk to me.”
Dominick tenderly caresses Alicia’s cheek.
“I am with you to make you happy,” Dominick says confidently. “To see happiness in your eyes. To make you stop feeling bored. To make you forget you’re alone. To help you come to yourself after the death of all the close people you loved so much.”
“And you’re helping me well,” Alicia smiles shyly. “Thanks to you, I already felt happy. Yes, the pain from the loss of my close people would never get weak. But thanks to you, I think about it much less. And I’m ready to keep moving on. Keep living. Thinking of my life. My future. To learn to live without those I loved.”
“But it’s clear it’s not enough to make you stop feeling sad.”
“Dominick…”
“I see something is bothering you, Alicia. I see there’s something that doesn’t let you become happy and relax.”
“It’s not the truth…”
“You’re always kind of tense. You’re always thinking of something. Yes, you’re smiling. But your eyes are sad. They show no happiness.”
“But a human can’t always be happy. Sometimes there are moments when they might get upset.”
“Right, but you’re always sad!” Dominick notices. “I haven’t seen real happiness in your eyes yet. I haven’t seen you being truly happy about something.”
“I’m happy every time we spend time together.”
“Is the problem about me?” Dominick shakes his head. “Am I doing something wrong? Am I doing not enough to make you happy?”
“No, no, sweetheart, don’t say that!” Alicia protests, caressing Dominick’s hands. “You’re doing very much for me.”
“If you want something I haven’t done, tell me. I promise I will do my best to fix it. Even if it’s impossible, I will find a way to help you. To comfort you. To calm your heart down.”
“You’re doing too much for me. So much that I sometimes feel kind of awkward.”
“Stop, Alicia.”
“It’s true, Dominick.” Alicia cracks a slight smile. “You’re doing as much for me as nobody else has done before. I was never so happy, even when my family was alive. When I lived with them.”
“I care about you because I love you with all my heart,” Dominick says confidently. “Because you mean very much to me. You’re making me stop feeling lonely while my own family is far from me.”
“I’m doing my best to make you feel good.”
“I would get much better if you told me what is bothering you, and how I could help you.”
“Dominick…”
“Please, Alicia…” Dominick looks at Alicia with a greater pity in his eyes and shakes his head. “I wanna know what’s happening to you.”
“For God’s sake, sweetie…” Alicia pronounces hesitantly.
“We can’t have a trusting relationship if you’re hiding something from me. If you’re not telling me what’s happening to you.”
“Nothing is happening to me.”
“You’re lying to me.”
“I’m not lying.”
“Do you think I cannot differ a lie from a truth?”
“Do you doubt my love for you? Do you think I don’t actually love you?”
“I don’t doubt you love me. But I am more than sure that there’s something you’re hiding from me.”
“I’m hiding nothing from you.”
“I don’t believe you’ve been grieving for your family for two years already. It’s impossible!”
“Many people have grieved for them for ages! For example, my niece still cannot take the death of her parents.”
“But having this time is enough to at least brace yourself and keep moving on. Yes, I agree that it’s impossible to forget that. But it’s possible to keep being busy with your life.”
“You understand nothing.”
“I was also very hurt when my grandfather left us. I was always very close to him and considered him one of the wisest people. Yes, I worried, suffered, and even cried a little… But some time later, I braced myself and kept living. Because I knew I couldn’t be stuck on it forever.”
“You’re right, honey. Absolutely right.”
“So, you should do the same.”
“I’m trying. You see that I’m not getting obsessed with strong depression, and I am trying to get busy with something.”
“Anyway, I’ve got reasons to believe there’s another explanation for your sadness. Your constant tension.”
“Dominick…”
“You’re getting me upset, Alicia,” Dominick says confidently. “It’s hurtful that I literally opened my soul to you and told you everything about me. While you’re refusing to show me yours. You’re refusing to tell me what’s bothering you.”
“But you’re hurting me by not trusting me.”
“Do you think I could trust you?”
“For God’s sake, Dominick!” Alicia pronounces with horror in her eyes.
“Until I know all the truth about you, I will be obsessed with doubts.”
“Dominick, please!”
“It’s bad that I don’t know anyone, who would tell me all the truth about you. If I knew something, I would already come to them and ask about everything.”
“Your words are hurting me.”
“Aren’t you hurting me?” Dominick wonders. “Is it hurtful that you don’t wanna trust me? Don’t wanna be honest with me!”
“You don’t understand…”
“So, is there something? So, is there something you’re hiding from me?”
“Honey, please…”
“You can’t build a relationship by lying. If you wanna keep dating me, you should be honest and tell me everything that bothers you.”
“I know…”
“I don’t wanna scare and blackmail you somehow, but I’ve gotta say it. If you don’t tell me all the truth, I will start to doubt we should continue our relationship.”
“What?” Alicia rounds her eyes, getting sharply white and looking at Dominick surprisingly.
“Yes, yes, you heard it right,” Dominick nods confidently. “I don’t want to do this, but your secrets are starting to cause more and more questions.”
“No, Dominick, please!”
“Don’t you want me to regret deciding to start dating you?”
“I don’t.”
“Then stop this game and finally confess everything.”
“I can’t!”
“Why?”
“Because you wouldn’t understand!”
“Why wouldn’t I understand?”
“You would not!”
“Listen, Alicia, first, tell me everything, and then we will figure it out.”
“Please, sweetie, don’t make me do it,” Alicia begs with despair, feeling her eyes getting wet with tears coming to them.
“Are you preferring to be silent? Preferring putting our relationship under a threat?”
“Dominick…”
“I am not kidding, Alicia. If you don’t tell me what’s happening to you, I will have to think about breaking up with you.”
“No, Dominick, don’t do this!” Alicia begs loudly in despair.
“What do you want to get? What do you want to get by saying nothing? Deciding to pretend that everything is okay? What? Tell me!”
“You wouldn’t like what I would tell you.”
“You say you love me!”
“Yes, I do.”
“Or don’t you do?”
“No, no, Dominick, the problem is not about you! Not about you!”
“But what?” Dominick wonders loudly. “Why do you make me nervous?”
“Dominick…”
“Why are you doing this to me? Why do you think you can hide something from me?”
“Because this is my terrible secret…”
Alicia moves aside her eyes, which are wet from tears, and sniffs quietly.
“What I’ve been ashamed of for many years,” Alicia confesses in a low voice.
“Is there something I don’t know about you?” Dominick specifies.
“It’s very hurtful for me to say it. And to think about it.”
“But if you want our relationship not to lead to a breakup because of your lie, you will have to tell me all the truth.”
“You’re pressing on me.”
“You’re making me upset.”
“For God’s sake, Dominick…” Alicia sniffs quietly. “Let’s talk about it the next time.”
“What next time? How long are you going to hide the truth from me? How long?”
“I…” Alicia pronounces in a little shaking voice. “I’m not ready yet… Not ready to talk about it.”
“When would you be?”
“I don’t know. I know nothing.”
“Are you going to have me wrapped around your finger and lie to me that everything is alright?”
“No, no, c’mon!”
“Alright, Alicia, let’s solve this problem once and forever,” Dominick says confidently, raising his head proudly raised. “Either you immediately tell me everything you’re hiding from me, or we’re ending our relationship.”
“Please, Dominick…”
“You’re giving me no choice.”
“You can’t leave me. I love you.”
“If you love me, reveal all your secrets.”
“You think it’s so easy?”
“Is it so hard to tell what your man is asking you about? Your beloved man, who is worried about you so much and wanna help you somehow?”
“I know, honey…”
“Decide, Alicia!” Dominick exclaims. “Decide what you want to do: revealing your secrets or breaking up.”
“Please…”
“It’s very hurtful for me to say it and to be so stubborn. But I see it’s worthless to ask you to tell me all the truth in a good way. So, I have to press on you a little.”
“My God, Dominick…”
Alicia sniffs quietly and closes her mouth with her hand, while her heart is beating much faster from just thinking she would tell Dominick about her wild past. Tell him about how she hit the little girl with a car and ran away from the crime scene because of her reluctance to pay for the consequences, still not knowing what happened to her. Tell him about how she was working at the nightclub and pleasing men of different ages for great money. Tell him how she became a lover of a rich man, who lost his mind and seriously wanted to make her his wife. How she accidentally killed him many years later, was hiding from the police but gave up at her wish and almost got a great sentence for the murder.
She is terribly afraid Dominick would not accept it and would immediately love to leave her if he found out all the truth. The woman is so attracted to this man and does not want to lose him for any reason. She is lucky for the first time in many years. She met someone, who loved her not for the way she looked but for her soul, for the first time in her life. The one, who is truly worried about her and wants her to be happy. Alicia would hardly meet a second man like him. Furthermore, she is no longer a girl and has already turned thirty. It means meeting a good man and getting married to him would be much harder.
“Alright, Alicia, stop finding some excuses,” Dominick says confidently. “Tell me everything you’re hiding from me.”
“Please…” Alicia shakes her head.
“I am waiting.”
“I’m not ready.”
“You want us to break up?”
“Nope…”
“Tell me then!”
“But…”
“Or let’s solve this problem easily: you and I would break up and forget we decided to date. I would be living my life, and you would be living your life. I would not care about you, and you would not think about me.”
“Don’t hurt me like this…”
“Speak…”
“Oh…”
Alicia sighs heavily.
“Okay…” Alicia pronounces tiredly and runs her hands over her hair. “Okay. I shall tell. If you want it, I will tell you everything I am hiding from you.”
“Speak,” Dominick pronounces quietly, crossing his arms over the chest. “I am waiting.”
“So…” Alicia moves her eyes to her hands. “It’s about my past… My youth…”
“Your youth?” Dominick wonders.
“Yes… There’s something I did… Something that I…” Alicia swallows up nervously. “I’m still ashamed of.”
“It’s clear it’s something serious,” Dominick assumes.
“Very serious… And I haven’t forgotten it for many years… It’s impossible to pretend it didn't happen to me. It’s impossible. And… So… I have to live with it. I have to suffer…”
“But what did you do in your youth if you’re still ashamed of that?” Dominick throws his hands up.
“I… I…”
Alicia sniffs quietly and starts carefully wiping tears off under her eyes, barely holding down a wish to cry. Because of the memories, which get immediately obsessed with her thoughts. Because of the thought that Dominick is about to find out her terrible secret, which she wanted to hide from him so hard. Even if she understood that any secret would come to light early or late.
“What?” Dominick wonders.
“I…” Alicia pronounces in a little shaking voice. “It’s very hard to talk about it… To call the memories about it… I can’t think quietly about it…”
“Just tell me what you did in your youth, so I understand you.”
“I…” Alicia closes her face with both hands for two seconds, understanding she is starting to shake from strong excitement. “My God, I’m so ashamed…”
“Oh, my gosh…” Dominick sighs tiredly, shaking his head slightly.
“The case is that I… I…”
Alicia falls into silence again because she cannot find the courage to confess what she did.
“Oh, it’s too hard…” Alicia exhales sharply.
“Don’t make me wait, Alicia!” Dominick exclaims. “The sooner you tell me everything, the sooner we solve this problem. And the sooner you calm down.”
“Sorry, sweetheart… Sorry… It’s very hard to me…”
Alicia falls into silence for a few seconds, braces herself silently, and gets ready for the worst that might happen after her confession about the murder and prostitution. And then the woman crying quietly exhales sharply and hesitantly moves her wet eyes to Dominick, who is patiently waiting for his sweetheart to say just something but getting a little mad because she is wasting time and not wishing to tell him all the secrets.
“I killed the man…” Alicia confesses in one breath.
“What you?” Dominick rounds his eyes.
“I killed the man. And I almost went to prison for that. But I did not do it. Even if I should’ve done…”
Dominick gets sharply white after what he heard and literally stops breathing, while his dumbfounded eyes are set on Alicia crying quietly and looking at him with pity in her eyes.
“K-k-k-killed…” Dominick pronounces in a little shaking voice. “Someone?”
“I didn’t want it, I swear,” Alicia excuses herself with pity in her eyes. “It happened accidentally. I wasn’t gonna kill him. I… I didn’t doubt my strength…”
“Jesus Christ…” Dominick shakes his head. “No… No, I don’t believe it. I don’t believe.”
“It’s true, Dominick,” Alicia replies excitedly. “I am a killer. Not as innocent as you thought.”
“You’re lying to me. I don’t believe you could kill someone. You could not do.”
“But I did kill! I killed the man and almost went to prison for the murder. Besides… There’s a possibility that… I…”
“What?”
“I could’ve killed one more person.”
“One more person?” Dominick opens his eyes widely.
“When I was nineteen, I accidentally hit one little girl with a car. On the pedestrian crossing.” Alicia swallows up nervously. “I didn’t manage to stop in time when it was the red light. I distracted myself…”
“Jesus Christ… Alicia…”
“Too many people became witnesses to that event and surrounded that girl. She was unconscious, covered with blood… She was lying in an unnatural pose.”
“And… Do you want to say she died?”
“I don’t know…” Alicia pronounces in a shaking voice, shaking her head. “At first, I left my car to find out how she was doing. But when someone said they couldn’t feel the pulse, I was obsessed with a strong panic. I was madly scared that I killed her. But I didn’t want to pay for that. I didn’t wanna go to prison. I was too young.”
“So, did you run away?”
“Yes.” Alicia inclines her head guiltily. “While people were trying to support her life and give her the first aid, I got into the car shortly and started to press on the gas pedal. Someone tried to close the way, but I left that place magically. I was driving where my eyes looked. Straightly. I didn’t almost follow the rules of the road. I was so shocked that I couldn’t realize what was happening. I didn't understand what I was doing, where I was going, and something like that.”
“And don’t you know what happened to that girl?”
“Nope, I know nothing about her.”
“My gosh…” Dominick shakes his head. “But how did it happen? How does it happen that you haven’t been punished yet?”
“I don’t know, Dominick. But at first, I was terribly afraid that someone would tell the police about me. I dunno… Memorize the number of my car, for example… It’s super easy for the police to find out all the information about the owner. By the way, I was registered as the owner of the car.” Alicia shrugs. “But… It’s been so many years, but nobody has given me any claims. Nobody has found me. And I am still guessing if that girl is alive. Or she died.”
“My God…”
Dominick puts his hand on his heart, which starts beating much faster from excitement.
“Everything went black before my eyes.” Dominick exhales sharply. “My God…”
“After that case, I was afraid to drive the car again for a very long time,” Alicia confesses. “I was afraid to hit someone again. At first, I couldn’t calm down and was terribly nervous because of what I did.”
“Did your parents know it?”
“No, I told them nothing. I lied that I just crushed the column when they saw dents on the car and cracks on the glass. Father and Mother scolded me cruelly, but I knew that there would be a much more serious scandal if they had known that the person could’ve died because of me.”
“The more I listen to you, the more surprised I get. I am surprised by how many sins you’ve committed.”
“It’s been two years since I was almost put in prison, but I still can’t come to myself,” Alicia confesses and sniffs quietly. “I can't forget it and keep living my life. Many people still look at me badly because of what I did. Even if it happened accidentally. I always hear someone calling me a killer… I hear them wishing me to burn in hell. And if they knew that I could’ve killed the girl, they would actually burn me on the fire like a witch.”
“But…” Dominick glances aside for a second. “Why? Why did you do that?”
“I didn’t want it, I swear!” Alicia says excitedly. “I would’ve never done that on purpose.”
“I can’t believe it…”
“God hasn’t forgiven me for what I did. Even if I pray to Him every day and ask Him to forgive me. Give me relief, and let me live a quiet life. But my sins are too strong. Because I am a killer… Probably, the killer of two people. No matter what they were, I killed them. Even if I didn’t want it.”
“And who did you kill?” Dominick asks.
“One man… A businessman… Very famous…”
“Businessman?”
“He owned the network of cloth shops in England, and his daughter is running everything now.”
“Wait… Do you mean Gilbert Woodham?”
“Yes, him,” Alicia nods.
“You know that I don’t usually watch the news and don't read it on the Internet. But I heard something about that murder. Even if I didn’t aim to find out everything. Who killed, how, why…”
“So, now you know who did it.”
“Oh, my God…”
“I killed him accidentally… When I was trying to defend myself…”
“Defending?”
“He wanted to rape me.” Alicia loudly sniffs. “He wanted to do everything to make me belong to him. But I didn’t want… Trying to get out of his arms and run away didn’t lead to anything good.”
“And how did you kill him?” Dominick specifies.
“I took a vase… The first thing I could reach… And I hit him on the head…”
“On the head?”
“Gilbert died shortly after… I… I hit him too strongly… Didn’t count my strength… But I just wanted to knock him out… For him just to lose consciousness. I… I didn’t think he would die.”
“Jesus Christ…” Dominick closes his mouth with his hand. “I can’t believe it… I can’t do… It’s awful…”
“A miracle helped me run away from his house and hide from the police,” Alicia confesses. “But then I got sick of it and decided to give up. And I got arrested. I was in prison for a few months.”
“And didn’t they sentence you?”
“Nope… I was found non-guilty. They believed I really killed him accidentally.” Alicia loudly sniffs. “That’s good I had a wonderful lawyer, who did his best for them to release me. If not for him, I would’ve been in prison, I would've been sentenced at least for twenty years.”
“It’s amazing… You killed the man, who was famous in England.”
“I know… His family almost killed me when the judge announced the sentence.” Alicia wipes tears under her eyes. “They cursed me… They wished me to die… Insulted the judge… They resented that she dared to go against the Woodhams. They said I should've literally gotten a life sentence. It was horrible! I will never forget everything they told me.”
“Bloody hell…” Dominick pronounces thoughtfully. “Bloody hell…”
Dominick exhales sharply.
“I can’t believe it…” Dominick adds. “I can’t believe my sweetheart dared to kill someone.”
“But I did it,” Alicia shrugs.
“But what did you have to do with that man? Where did you meet him?”
“I…” Alicia bites her lip slightly. “I met him… At the nightclub…”
“Were you having fun there?” Dominick specifies.
“Nope, working.”
“Working?”
“Yes… As a dancer.”
“Dancer?”
“For money.”
“What?” Dominick rounds his eyes, starting to breathe heavily enough from excitement.
“It’s the truth.”
“Were you also dancing for men for money? Were you a stripper?”
“I was too young!” Alicia excuses herself with despair. “I was only eighteen when I went there. My friend persuaded me to do… She said I would earn good money there. And I went. And one year later, I hit that girl.”
“My God, Alicia…”
“I was really earning good money there. But I got much more when I met Gilbert. I literally became a lover of him… I was pleasing him… And he was giving me money and expensive stuff.”
“But… You are religious! You regularly go to a crunch and pray to God! How could you do? How could you behave like a fallen woman?”
“I wasn’t always like this! At the age of eighteen, I could be ashamed only of my parents, who wouldn’t have forgiven me if they had known their daughter was working as a stripper and pleasing men for money. I became religious after I decided to stop being a prostitute.”
“It seems like I am talking to another person. Not my Alicia. Not the woman I love.”
“Yes, I’ve got sins. It’s the truth.”
“No, I refuse to believe it! I refuse to believe you could do this.”
“But I did it!” Alicia exclaims. “Even if I didn’t want to do it!”
“I heard something about the murder, but I had no wish or time to watch it. And I didn’t find out who actually killed that man.”
“It was me. I killed Gilbert. And I had promiscuity with men that paid good money to me.”
“It cannot be the truth…” Dominick shakes his head. “I don’t wanna believe it.”
“That’s what I was hiding from you,” Alicia confesses and sniffs quietly. “What I was afraid to tell you.”
Alicia carefully wipes off tears under her eyes.
“I knew you’d find out everything early or late,” Alicia adds. “From me or newspapers. But… I did want everything to happen much later. Or never happen.”
“I must be sleeping now… It must be my nightmare.”
“No, Dominick. I would really like everything to be a nightmare, but it’s reality. Two years ago, I accidentally killed Gilbert and almost went to prison.”
“Oh, my God…”
Dominick doubles over and squeezes the bridge of his nose, thinking about something for a few seconds, while Alicia looks at him with pity in her eyes.
“It’s my sin…” Alicia says hesitantly. “What ruined my whole life. I mean… I messed up everything. If I hadn’t decided to go to work at the nightclub for a wish to earn much money, nothing would’ve happened. I would’ve been married to a decent man and had educated children. I guess God decided to punish me when I also had to suffer a lot because of the situation with the girl.”
“Sorry, Alicia, but I don’t believe you,” Dominick shakes his head. “I wanna believe my ears are lying to me.”
“I can show you some articles on the Internet that would make you believe I didn’t lie to you.”
“Articles?”
“Since you haven’t read them much earlier, I can give you the possibility to read everything now. And make sure I didn’t lie to you. That’s really my terrible secret. The reason why I’ve been worried all this time.”
“Alright, let me read.”
“Now… I will quickly find a couple of articles…”
Alicia gets up from the bed, comes to the writing table, puts in the socket of the modern for the current time system block, and presses a button to turn it on. Some time later, the computer loads the operating system, and the woman opens a browser and starts to search for the information she needs on one of the sites.
All this time, Dominick keeps sitting on the bed and tries to accept everything he hears. The man does not want to believe his beloved Alicia could do such a terrible thing and make so many mistakes because of her stupidity. He wants to hear it’s not the truth, and the secret of his sweetheart has to do with something less shocking. However, at the bottom of his heart, he starts to doubt that Alicia lied to him because she looks too excited and white, and her hands are shaking strongly while she is using a mouse and typing something on the keyboard.
At some moment, Alicia crying quietly finds an article and moves her eyes to the shocked Dominick being white from horror.
“Look!” Alicia exclaims and gets up from the chair she was sitting on. “This article says Gilbert Woodham died.”
Dominick gets up from the bed, comes to the computer slowly but confidently, sits on the table, and starts to closely read the article Alicia showed him. It really tells about the death of the all-famous businessman Gilbert Woodham, who was killed at his own house.
“Wow…” Dominick shakes his head. “He was killed at his own house, but nobody even noticed it.”
“I’m shocked, too,” Alicia confesses. “But a miracle helped me run away from here. In the opposite case, they wouldn’t have let me and would’ve betrayed me to the police.”
“Bloody hell…”
“Here’s another article.”
Alicia opens a page with another article that tells about the confirmation of the death of Gilbert and the search for the possible killer that is hiding from everyone and not letting anyone know about her.
“How strong the shit was supposed to be to die instantly?” Dominick wonders.
“I was ready for anything to save myself from his harassment,” Alicia sighs heavily.
“Oh, I've got nothing to say…”
“Another article.”
Dominick starts reading the next article, which says the killer of Gilbert Woodham has finally been found. To be clear, Alicia Thompson, who killed him, came to the police station and gave up at her wish.
“Alicia Thompson…” Dominick shakes his head with his widely open eyes, getting much whiter from horror. “Killed Gilbert Woodham…”
“It’s true,” Alicia confirms with tears in her eyes. “I killed him…”
“I can’t believe it…”
After this, Alicia shows Dominick a few more articles that talk about how the trial of the woman was happening. They tell about literally every single hearing and give special attention to what was said by the defendant, who was trying to prove she was innocent.
“Every single hearing was real hell to me,” Alicia confesses. “It was literally much worse than the way those, who I had to be in prison with, treated me.”
Sometimes Dominick has to read everything he sees multiple times to make sure his eyes do not lie to him. And the more the man reads, the more he realizes that Alicia told him the truth and really killed the man. Who was known literally to the whole country.
“Well?” Alicia pronounces without emotions in her wet eyes. “Do you believe me now? Do you believe I told you the truth about the murder?”
But Dominick says nothing and just sets his dumbfounded eyes into the distance, being shocked by everything he had to hear.
“I am really very sorry about what happened,” Alicia excuses herself with pity in her eyes. “It’s been two years, but I still can’t forget what happened. And every day, I wake up with a cold sweat as I see nightmares.”
Alicia sniffs quietly.
“Nightmares about me killing Gilbert,” Alicia adds in a very shaking voice. “I see his bloody head… His dead eyes… I hear his daughter cursing me and threatening to kill me… His family wishing me to die and burn somewhere in hell.”
Alicia swallows up nervously.
“I still clearly remember what they told me after the judge pronounced me non-guilty,” Alicia confesses. “They said I would never live a quiet life. I would never find peace and forget everything that happened to me. They said it would be my forever mark, which I would never get rid of.”
Alicia sniffs quietly, looking at Dominick with her wet eyes, while he still says nothing and thinks about something.
“And I’m starting to understand their words are coming true,” Alicia confesses. “I haven’t gotten peace and forgotten everything I had to get through. The past is still chasing me. Even if I decided to change my name and my look, nothing would change. Because a human can’t change their memory, as well. They can’t erase everything they don’t wanna remember. I would never become another person.”
Alicia wipes tears from her face.
“Well, I wouldn’t get used to a new version of mine,” Alicia assumes. “Just like I couldn’t get used to the image of Cheryl. The dancer, who was working at the nightclub and met Gilbert. He met her, not the girl Alicia, who was just a student in the daylight. A well-educated and smart enough girl. I stopped being Cheryl a long time ago, and I try not to remember I was the one somehow. But I would never forget everything she did. Everything I did because of my stupidity when I was a young girl, who agreed to use her beautiful body to earn some money.”
Alicia shakes her head.
“My God…” Alicia pronounces in a shaking voice. “I’m so ashamed… I’m so ashamed of everything I did.”
Alicia makes a quiet sob.
“Why was I an idiot?” Alicia wonders. “Why did I ruin my life like this? Everything could’ve been different! I would’ve been much happier if I hadn’t had the Woodham family in my life. I mean Gilbert. Who didn’t wanna let me go and let me live a quiet life. He was obsessed with a wish to make me belong to him and make me give birth to a child. But I never wanted it. And I didn’t know how to get off that man.”
Alicia looks at Dominick with a greater pity in her eyes.
“Please, Dominick, trust me,” Alicia begs. “Believe me, I am very sorry about everything I did. If I had a chance to come back to the past and fix everything, I would undoubtedly use it. I would tell the young me that my actions wouldn’t lead to anything good. I would do my best not to let events turn out the way they did.”
Alicia says nothing for a few seconds to catch a breath and then notices Dominick has said nothing all this time and is still looking into the distance with his dumbfounded eyes.
“Dominick?” Alicia addresses the man. “Dominick, why are you silent?”
Dominick still says nothing, trying to accept what he just heard.
“Would you say nothing to me?” Alicia wonders. “Wouldn’t you scream? Swear? Insult? Humiliate? Do just something!”
Alicia sniffs quietly.
“Don’t worry, I would understand it,” Alicia says softly. “You can do anything you want. I completely understand that it might be a shock to you. And I wouldn’t be surprised by your reaction. I wouldn’t mind it and find some excuses for me. Because it would be worthless.”
Alicia swallows up nervously.
“But remember…” Alicia pronounces quietly. “Whatever you do and say, I won’t be mad. Not at all. Even if you decide to leave me after what you found out, I will not stop you.”
Alicia says nothing for two seconds.
“C’mon, Dominick, start!” Alicia exclaims. “Say anything you want! Do anything you want! Don’t be silent! I’m begging you. For God’s sake… Your silence is much worse than any punishment. Please, let me know what to expect. I must know it.”
However, Dominick is still sitting on the chair and looking into the distance, reflecting on the shocking confession of Alicia and thinking about all the words she said.
“Don’t be silent, Dominick!” Alicia begs with despair. “Please! Talk to me! Dominick! Say something! Please, please…”
Only when Alicia puts her hands on the hands of Dominick, which are folded in front of him, he moves his eyes to her for the first time in a while. He looks at his sweetheart without emotions. He is not going to scream insults and destroy everything in his way. Nothing. The man just looks at the woman crying bitterly with his empty eyes, while she is afraid her nightmare will come true, and her boyfriend will love to end a relationship with her.
“Are you leaving me?” Alicia asks. “Yeah? Don’t you want to be with me anymore? Tell me! Dominick! For God’s sake, don’t be silent! Say something! Don’t’ scare me. Do anything you want, but don't be silent. Please… For God’s sake…”
Dominick looks at Alicia without emotions in his eyes for a few seconds, not believing the one, who committed a hard sin, is standing in front of him. And then he moves his eyes aside again and exhales slowly, running his hands over his face.
“Sorry…” Dominick pronounces quietly in a low voice. “It’s too hard…”
“I understand, honey,” Alicia replies softly.
“I need to think.”
“What?”
“I should think about this situation well and decide what to do. I have nothing to say to you now.”
“Dominick…”
“And I’m asking you not to bother me for at least two days. No calls, no messages.”
“But…”
“I will contact you when I make a decision.”
“D-d-dominick…”
“All the best, Alicia.”
Saying anything more, Dominick gets up from the chair and quietly goes to the exit of the room.
“Dominick?” Alicia opens her wet eyes wider. “Dominick?”
However, Dominick does not even look at Alicia when leaving her room, takes his light coat hanging in a special place in the hall, opens the hall door, and leaves the apartment of his sweetheart, the confession of who gets him shocked.
“Dominick!” Alicia exclaims when Dominick already closes the door after himself and leaves. “Dominick…”
Alicia slowly looks around the whole hall with her wet eyes and sniffs quietly, understanding that she is shaking strongly from excitement.
“My God…” Alicia pronounces very quietly. “Is everything over? Is this the end of the relationship between Dominick and me? Are we no longer together? Did he leave me? Does Dominick not want to be with me anymore? To be with a killer? The killer of Gilbert! The possible killer of that girl!”
Alicia shakes her head.
“Don’t I deserve to be happy?” Alicia wonders. “I met such a good man and got the love for him! I was sure he was my destiny. I would spend the rest of my life with him. Who else would pay attention to the thirty-year-old woman, who killed the man and danced half-naked for rich people?”
Alicia closes her mouth with both hands.
“I don’t ask anything more…” Alicia adds. “Just happiness. Just happiness that any woman wants. I wanna get married and live with my beloved man. I wanna try to give birth to a baby before it’s too late. I don’t need anything more.”
Alicia moves her eyes to the white ceiling.
“My God, do I ask so much?” Alicia wonders. “Don’t I deserve to be happy with a good man, who loves my soul, not my body? Why do You deprive me of a chance to live a quiet life? Why do I have to suffer? I did pay enough for what I did one day!”
Alicia makes a loud sob.
“Stop, enough!” Alicia exclaims desperately. “I don’t wanna suffer anymore! I don’t wanna think of the sins of my past forever and meet those, who ignore me because Gilbert died because of me. I already paid enough for what I did. The way I was suffering was my punishment. And I don’t wanna suffer much more. Please, God… End it all… Let me be happy. Please…”
Alicia gets down on her knees and starts crying very hard with a loud shout, letting her emotions go out and not holding herself down while she is alone. In the bottom of her heart, she understands that her confession of the sins of the past almost ruined her relationship with Dominick, who would hardly love to be with someone, who has never been as holy as he thought. But the woman does not want to make it happen. She wants the man to try to understand her and decide to be with her and love her, despite everything she did against her wish.
***
“After reading everything from start to end, Dominick was really disappointed,” Alicia confesses. “He was looking into the distance for a long time and couldn’t believe it was the truth… But at some moment, Dominick looked at me and said he needed to think. And… He eventually left my home.”
Alicia sighs heavily.
“I didn’t try to stop him.,” Alicia adds. “Because I saw no meaning in excusing myself somehow. But when he left, I began to cry, and I couldn’t stop. Because I was sure my confession would ruin everything that was happening between Dominick and me.”
“Did he leave you?” Raquelle asks.
“I thought he would do.”
“Thought?”
“Although he asked me to give him two days to think about everything, I stopped speaking to him.”
“You did?”
“I was sure he wouldn't be with me after everything he found out. And I thought it would be better to break up first. I started to accept the fact that our relationship was over.”
“Did Dominick try to contact you?”
“Yes. Some time later, he started to call me. But I didn’t answer. I didn’t reply to his message, in which he asked me about a meeting to talk about our future.”
“But why?”
“I… I was afraid to look into his eyes after that man found out my terrible secret. I was afraid to hear he would leave me. I was afraid Dominick couldn’t take everything I told him.”
“Oh, my God…”
“But one beautiful day, Dominick went to my home without warning. I opened the door and saw him on the doorstep.” Alicia tightly locks her fingers. “I didn’t kick him out and let him in. But I was terribly nervous and felt strong awkwardness.”
“Wow…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully.
“I started to excuse myself somehow and begged for forgiveness literally on my knees. But somehow he said he believed me and would not turn his back on me.”
“He believed you?”
“Yes, Dominick did. He believed I killed Gilbert accidentally. To defend me.”
“My gosh…” Raquelle shakes her head.
“I didn’t believe him at first and thought he was lying to me. But later, he changed my mind, after all. And eventually, I… I stopped ignoring him. We continued to date… But at least, after that case, I got much better. Because Dominick knew my terrible secret and didn’t judge me.” Alicia cracks a slight smile. “Furthermore, Dominick started to show a much stronger care and always reminded me that he would always be by my side. That man always said he didn’t care that I almost ended up in prison. He believed I didn’t have a wish to commit such a hard sin.”
“Did you tell him just about the murder?” Raquelle specifies.
“No. He also knew about my job as a prostitute at a young age. About how I hit Ines with a car when I was nineteen, thinking that she could’ve died at that moment.”
“And he didn’t judge you?”
“Nope. Dominick didn’t judge me for having sex with men of any age.”
“Wow…”
“He often said everyone made mistakes when they were young.” Alicia cracks a slight smile. “He confessed that he always hurt girls and fought with boys in his childhood. He regretted that until the last day of his life. He wanted to find them and ask them for forgiveness.”
“That’s great he was supporting you like this,” Raquelle smiles shyly. “It’s clear that man cared about your feelings, not your past.”
“Dominick was a very light and kind man. He couldn’t be rude and always tried to solve any question peacefully.” Alicia sighs quietly. “When he found out about my past, he said no bad words and never insulted me. But I expected that man would insult me as well as Eleanor and her family did it after the announcement of the sentence.”
“Wise thing,” Raquelle pronounces.
“He just said he should’ve thought and left. Yeah! No insults, no humiliations.”
“Yeah…”
“Someone else would’ve said that I was a whore and a killer, a nasty scumbag, a bitch, and something like that. But not Dominick. He acted like a true man. He felt pain but didn’t show it.”
“You were lucky to have him,” Raquelle smiles slightly. “It’s clear Dominick was a wonderful man.”
“That man always did his best to make me happy and made me feel like a queen. He was the one to help me come to myself after that awful story when I was seeing constant nightmares at night. His care got me so touched that I was falling in love with him more and more.”
Alicia carefully wipes tears under her eyes, while calling out memories of her past.
“I loved Dominick not for the way he looked, but for his amazing character,” Alicia confesses. “For a sense of peace that he gave me… For tenderness and kindness… After finding out what happened to me, he cared about me so much and was afraid to do something wrong. I just couldn’t leave his care without attention and did my best to make him happy.”
“And when did you decide to marry?” Raquelle asks.
“At the end of 2000. We met in April and got married at the beginning of December. Some time before Christmas holidays.”
“Did you date him for only six months? Or even less?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t already doubt I would feel very good with that man. So, that’s why I didn’t even think and said yes at once when Dominick got down on a knee on one of our dates and proposed to me.”
“Great.”
“We started getting ready on the same day. We talked a lot about what our wedding would be like. And if we were both going to marry for the first time, that was very exciting.”
“I get it.”
“You know what kind of feelings I had when picking up a dress.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Alicia smiles widely. “But it was a short one. Not a puffy one that young girls may have. I decided I was too old for that type of dress and wanted to put on something modest. I found a very beautiful dress that I fell in love with at once.”
“Okay…”
“So, some time later, we picked up the wedding day. Dominick and I got married on December 2nd, 2000. And I took the last name of my husband without thinking: it was Thompson but became Middleton.”
“So, it happened that there was recently a wedding anniversary for you and your husband?”
“Yes, sweetie,” Alicia nods with a slight smile. “If my husband was by my side, we would celebrate our fourteenth wedding anniversary. I’m sure we would’ve lived until this day and been getting ready for Christmas together… And you would’ve known the one, who became your uncle…”
“And what was your wedding like?” Raquelle asks with a slight smile. “Did you probably have a gorgeous wedding ceremony?”
“No, there was no gorgeous wedding!”
“No?”
“We had a very modest ceremony, in which there were only our witnesses.”
“That’s how…”
“Dominick and I didn’t have a stunning celebration and invite many people. We just officially registered our marriage.”
“Didn’t you want it?”
“Pomposity wasn’t as important to me as our feelings, which were getting stronger every day. Besides, we decided that this type of wedding could be organized only by young girls and guys. Well, we were beyond thirty. So, we decided not to have a gorgeous wedding and save money for our honeymoon and something yet.”
Alicia sighs with a slight smile.
“So, there were only my husband and I and a couple of friends of ours,” Alicia confesses. “My old friend, the family of who knew my parents well, and who I met for the first time in a while after I started to date that man… And Dominick’s close friend, who was like a brother to him.”
***
December 2nd, 2000. Day.
A couple in love, Alicia Thompson and Dominick Middleton, are going to get married at one of the registration offices in London. They decided not to have any awesome celebrations and just to register their marriage officially.
The happy bride does not stop smiling widely, wearing a beautiful white middle-length dress that perfectly fits her thin waist, pumps of the same color as her dress, and a little hat with a veil that covers her eyes. She is holding a little bouquet of white tulips with both hands that are shaking slightly from excitement. Alicia looks very happy because she is about to become the wife of the man she fell in love with all her heart.
Her partner also looks very happy and does not hide his tender smile when he looks at the love of his life at times. He does not look like the most handsome man in the world, but nobody would call him ugly. Just a common, sympathetic man that is a little older than the woman is. The tall man with very short light brown hair and kind gray eyes, who is standing next to his future wife and holding her hand, did not give a damn about his wedding and chose a gray suit, a shirt that is much darker, and black shoes for the registration of his marriage.
Two witnesses of the future spouses came here along with them, as well: the middle-aged woman is a witness of the bride, and the man of the same age is a witness of the groom. They do not hide their smiles while the woman standing in front of them and wearing a dark blue dress is concluding the marriage of Dominick and Alicia and saying what all the couples that want to get married usually hear when they want to get married.
For this event, the witnesses also chose beautiful clothes: the woman is wearing a beautiful simple midi-length black dress, and the man is wearing a classic crème suit. It seems like they already got on well because they sometimes share a slight smile with each other while their friends are getting married.
“Dominick Brandon Middleton, will you take Alicia Irene Thompson as your wife and live with her in love and peace, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, until death do you apart?” the woman, who is concluding the marriage of Alicia and Dominick, asks.
“Yes, I will,” Dominick nods confidently with a wide smile.
“Alicia Irene Thompson, will you take Dominick Brandon Middleton as your husband and live with him in love and peace, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse, until death do you apart?”
“I will,” Alicia nods with a wide smile.
“After you decided to conclude a marriage with the pretense of two witnesses at your wish, I have the right to register your marriage. But first of all, I ask you, Alicia, and you, Dominick, confirm your wish to do it by leaving your signature on this document.”
Alicia and Dominick come closer to the table, on which the paper that the woman turns on them is placed. The bride leaves her signature in a few places first, and then she gives a pen to her soon-to-be husband, who also signs where he is asked to do it. And then the future spouses stand in their places, share a tender smile, and take each other’s hand.
“And now may the witnesses of the groom and the bride leave their signatures,” the woman says.
The witnesses of Dominick and Alicia also come to the table and quickly leave their signatures on the same paper, while the people in love look and smile at each other again. After signing the document, the two witnesses stand next to the groom and the bride and continue to listen to the speech of the woman, who is hosting the wedding ceremony in a spacious light room.
“A marriage ring is a symbol of your true love and loyal,” the woman says with a slight smile. “It symbolizes the birth of a new family, unite of two fates, two loving people that are going to enter into a law marriage and live a long and happy life. So, I am asking you, Alicia and Dominick, put on your rings right now.”
The witness of the groom quickly takes a little box from an inside pocket, opens it, and gives it to the future spouses. It’s possible to see two similar rings of a different size that are made of clean gold but have no the smallest brilliants.
Dominick takes the ring that is smaller than another and places it on the ring finger of Alicia’s left hand, on which she already has a ring given to her by him on their engagement that is also made of gold but has a small brilliant. And then Alicia herself takes the second ring and places it on the man’s finger of his hand with her hand, which is slightly shaking from a nice excitement. After sharing the rings, they turn to the woman, take each other’s hand tightly with a wild smile and throw another tender ogle look at each other while their witnesses watch them, not hiding their happiness.
“Dear bride and bridegroom, from now on, a new life that you will live together is starting for you,” the woman says confidently. “Keep your great and true love and do not let it get weak because of life problems that might ruin your happiness. May your marriage be as strong and unbroken as a brick wall, and may your feelings stay as true and tender as they were at the beginning of your relationship. From now on, you must love each other and be together in any situation: whatever what happens, the husband must be with his wife, and the wife must be with her husband.”
Dominick and Alicia look at each other again and share a true smile, feeling something nice when they see each other’s happy eyes full of gloss and fire.
“Thus, by the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife,” the woman says with a wide smile. “Congratulations, newlyweds, your marriage has been registered. Confirm your marriage by your first marriage kiss.”
After finally getting a chance to get through this exciting moment, Alicia and Dominick turn to each other and just smile shyly for two seconds. And then the man moves off the veil that closes the woman’s eyes, softly grabs her face, and gives her a tender kiss on the lips. Which becomes the first one they have as a husband and a wife.
Along with the applause of the woman, who got them married, and their witnesses, who also give happy whoops, the newborn spouses kiss each other for a few seconds. And then they break the kiss and take each other in a strong hug, during which the happy Dominick lifts his beloved, very fragile Alicia up for two moments while she just keeps her arms wrapped around his neck, not believing she has gotten married to the beloved man, who fell in love with her with all the heart… Even knowing about her dark past that she tries not to think about.
Yes, Dominick knows well that Alicia was a prostitute some time ago and getting money for that and somehow killed the man to defend herself but was found non-guilty. At first, he was shocked – no need to deny it. But later, he confidently claimed that he did not care about the woman’s past as he fell in love with Alicia from the present, not Alicia from the past. The man does not think he needs to ignore the woman because of her horrible past. He understands that she was too young when working as a prostitute. He understands she was just trying to defend herself when she accidentally killed a man named Gilbert.
Dominick got a strong love for Alicia and did not want to reject her just because of her terrible sins of the past. This woman loves him with all her heart, takes care of him like nobody else, and does not stop making her beloved man happy and does stay the one he always dreamed about. If someday he has to protest Alicia from the furious family of Gilbert that has not forgiven this woman for the murder and the fact that she was found non-guilty and keeps cursing her and wishing her to die, Dominick is ready to give his everything not to let them hurt his new wife.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Mr. and Mrs. Middleton!” the woman announces solemnly. “From now on, they are husband and wife! One family, one piece!”
Dominick kisses Alicia smiling widely cutely on her temple, and she softly caresses his cheek, looking into his eyes tenderly. And then their witnesses come to them and congratulate them on getting married with nice words and amicable, strong hugs.
“Congrats, Alicia, I’m so happy for you!” the witness of the bride exclaims happily, hugging Alicia touchingly and sharing an amicable kiss on the cheek with her.
A few seconds later, the woman comes to Dominick and hugs him, as well.
“Congrats, Dominick,” the woman pronounces amicably. “Make my friend happy. She deserves it like nobody else.”
“Buddy, congrats you on getting married!” the witness of the groom exclaims with a wide smile, tightly hugging Dominick and clapping him on the back.
When he steps back from the happy Dominick, the man takes Alicia in his amicable hug.
“Congrats, Alicia!” the woman congratulates. “Take care of my friend well. He deserves and needs the care of the good woman.”
The newlyweds keep accepting congratulations from their witnesses and talking to them about something while being happy they found happiness next to each other and truly hoping their life would be very long, happy, and full of bright emotions.
***
December 2nd, 2000. Late evening.
Today, Dominick and Alicia officially became husband and wife by registering their marriage according to all the rules with the pretense of two witnesses. But the newlyweds had no fabulous celebration and did not invite many guests that usually visit a wedding. No, they did not spare money. They just did not want it. The young people decided that they did not need to spend much money to celebrate their wedding and prove their feelings.
The fact that they just went to the registration office with their witnesses, registered their marriage, accepted congratulations, and sat with them in a small restaurant was enough for them. However, Alicia and Dominick do not exclude that someday they would invite all their closest people and friends and celebrate this event quietly and accept little gifts from them. But now they do not want to think about organizing a celebration. They want to enjoy each other and their new status.
So, closer to the late evening, the newlyweds went to Dominick’s apartment, looking forward to their first marriage night, which was going to be very modest, as well. Alicia is just going to move here as the wife of this man, but she has always felt like home in this small, modest, but very light and comfortable place. And he does not doubt that this place will be much better than before when his beloved woman moves here…
To celebrate their long-awaited marriage, the people in love do not refuse to drink a glass of champagne, sitting in a spacious room that belongs to the two from now on. It’s dark outside, streetlamps are lighting up the streets, and they turned on the low light in their room, which creates a more intimate atmosphere. None of them has taken off what they put on today to enter into a marriage and put on something lighter. Only Alicia took off her little hat with a veil that closed her eyes some time ago and loosed her hair that was gathered in a beautiful bun before.
“Let’s drink for us,” Dominick suggests with a slight smile, sitting on the bed along with Alicia with a glass of champagne in his hands. “For us to be very happy and live a long life.”
“For us to have peace and quiet at our home,” Alicia smiles widely, raising her glass slightly and fixing her loose hair that reaches her shoulders with a free hand. “And us making beautiful, healthy children that we would love with all our hearts.”
“For us!”
“Yeah!”
The people in love click each other’s glass and drink some champagne, not stopping smiling shyly and not moving their tender gaze off the beloved person. The cold-to-taste drink gives them a nice feeling in the mouth and makes them feel much better after being nervous for a whole day before concluding a marriage.
“Ah, gosh, how much I was nervous today…” Alicia confesses with a shy smile. “I was afraid something might’ve gone wrong… I got married for the first time. So, I wanted everything to be fine.”
“Don’t deny I was a little excited, as well,” Dominick replies softly. “I also got married for the first time.”
“People are right when saying a wedding is an exciting event.”
“But when we were pronounced as husband and wife, my excitement was gone.”
“Agree… It’s such a great change in life, for which you must be ready.”
“We can relax now. The important thing is that we’re married now and will be very happy.”
Dominick caresses Alicia’s cheek tenderly with a slight smile.
“I will be madly happy to live with the woman, who became the best thing I have ever had in my life,” Dominick adds.
“Honestly, I still can’t believe I got married…” Alicia confesses shyly.
“Why?”
“Because I gave a damn about me a long time ago. And I made myself think everything was lost at my age.”
“Is thirty-four such a bad age, at which you should give a damn about you and start to pronounce you an old lady?”
“I was educated like this. My parents always said if I didn’t get married before thirty, I may have no hope to do it after.”
“Stop, sweetie! It’s just prejudices of the old generation that everyone must forget.”
“When I turned thirty, I stopped even hoping I would get married and give birth to children.”
“But I think you now understand that these talks don’t make sense. You can get married and give birth at any age!”
“Yeah… You’re probably right…” Alicia glances aside for a second. “It seems like I’m sleeping and seeing a wonderful dream. In which I meet my prince and fall in love with him with all my heart.”
“But it’s not a dream, my sweetie,” Dominick protests confidently. “It’s reality.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Dominick puts his glass of champagne on a bed near the bed, puts his hand on one of Alicia’s cheeks, and tenderly caresses another, making her smile widely.
“From now on, you’re my beloved wife and will be living with me, in this apartment that has become yours, too,” Dominick says confidently with his head proudly raised.
“I know,” Alicia replies shyly. “Husband… My beloved husband…”
“And I really hope when you move here, this place will become a real paradise where I can come back again and again with great pleasure.”
“I swore to become the perfect wife that you always dreamed about,” Alicia recalls with a tender smile, softly caressing Dominick’s cheek and running her hand over his short hair. “And I shall surely become the one and make you very happy. Do my best to meet your expectations.”
“I am already very happy. Because you agreed to marry me and to make me stop feeling lonely.” Alicia says nothing and just smiles shyly. “You do know my family is living in Glasgow, and I’m here all alone. There are only a few good friends. One of whom is Darren. The one, who become my witness. Who I trust as much as I trust me.”
“I know.”
“But now I’ve got you. The beloved woman that became a part of my family.”
“We will make each other stop feeling lonely,” Alicia says thoughtfully, drinking some champagne and putting her glass on the table. “Because I was lonely, too. Unfortunately, I’ve got nobody from my family here: no parents, no sister, no brother-in-law… Nobody… I can only talk to my friend Brenda, who is the daughter of my parents’ friends. We’ve always gotten on well and now often meet each other.”
“The fate itself did bring us together to become happy.”
“Right…”
“Hey, when are you gonna visit your niece?”
“I don’t know, sweetie,” Alicia shrugs.
“But do you want to see her?”
“I want to see her so badly. Raquelle is growing up far from me and hasn’t seen her aunt for so many years, while she was busy with her problems.”
“You know, I’d like to go to the USA with you and meet your niece.”
“If we have an opportunity, we will surely go to the USA. So, you meet Raquelle and her grandfather on the father.”
“Since you’re an aunt of her, that girl became my niece, too. Who I can't wait to see.”
“You will, I promise.”
“I hope I'll get on with her.”
“Of course, you would do,” Alicia smiles shyly. “You’re such a good and kind man. Children do feel it well and get attracted to that type of people.”
“I’ve just always adored children and want to get my own babies someday. Two – a boy and a girl.”
“I promise, honey, I will give you as many children as you want and introduce you to my girl.”
Alicia holding Dominick by the back of his head kisses him cutely on the cheek and tenderly rubs her nose against it with a slight smile.
“Our children will get all my mother’s love,” Alicia adds. “I also dream of becoming a mother. And I also adore children. You know what pleasure I had when babysitting Raquelle when she was a baby.”
“I’m sure you will be a wonderful mother,” Dominick says confidently. “The best mother in the world.”
Dominick rubs the tip of his nose tenderly against Alicia’s nose and kisses it cutely, running the back of his hands over her cheek.
“You’re my caring, kind, and careful one,” Dominick adds.
“I’ve always known I was born to be a wonderful wife and mother,” Alicia says confidently. “Just like any woman should be.”
“I wish God gave us children as soon as possible, so we can be much happier.”
“Amen, Dominick, amen!” Alicia takes Dominick’s hand and tenderly caresses it. “But I dreamed of doing that much earlier because I was always sure girls should’ve gotten married at an early age. That’s what my parents taught me.”
“Better late than never,” Dominick shrugs with a slight smile. “And moreover, if you had married before, you and I would’ve hardly met. I would’ve been married to another woman.”
“That’s right. So, I’m very happy I became a married woman now. Happy that God brought me to you. The man, who made me incredibly happy.”
Dominick smiles widely and, letting his eyes slide over Alicia’s face, tenderly caresses her head and runs his hand over her flowing hair that reaches her fragile shoulders.
“Making much more sure that I’m madly lucky to meet such an amazing person like you,” Dominick says in a much lower, deep voice. “I will never stop saying it.”
“If only you knew how lucky I am to meet such a wonderful man,” Alicia says with a shy smile. “Who loves me the way I am… With all my weaknesses, dignities… With the sins of the past…”
Alicia shamelessly moves her eyes aside, but then Dominick grabs her face and makes the woman look into his eyes.
“We’ve talked about it many times, Alicia,” Dominick says softly. “And you know well what I think about it.”
“I know, Dominick, but…” Alicia pronounces hesitantly.
“I don’t care about what you did when you were much younger, and I’m not going to turn my back on you because of what happened in the past.”
“If you left me, I’d go crazy from grief. I felt so bad when we didn’t meet each other. When I thought our relationship was over.”
“We all have the right to make mistakes, and we often make stupid things when we are young and regret them later. People shouldn't remind you of them until the last day of your life and ignore you. I think anyone deserves a second chance.”
“It’s been a long time since I was found non-guilty for the murder…” Alicia replies with sadness in her eyes. “Two years… And it has been more than ten years since I hit the girl with the car. I will hardly know something about her.”
Alicia swallows up nervously.
“Thank God, the family of that man stopped chasing me and didn’t make all their threats come true,” Alicia adds. “But I’m still terribly afraid of talking with people about what I did… And I can’t forgive me for that… Even if I regularly go to a church and ask God for forgiveness.”
“Sweetie, why do you blame yourself for what’s over?” Dominick wonders. “Why would you make yourself nervous and think of what hurts you so much?”
“It will always be with me.”
“Don’t think about it, Alicia. That man is dead, you were found non-guilty, the case was closed forever, and the family of the dead left you alone. Why would you always think of that and make your mood worse? And don’t think about that girl. If you haven’t been charged for so many years, and her family hasn’t demanded any moral damage from you, don’t torture yourself.”
“I always think about it, Dominick.” Alicia hesitantly looks into Dominick’s eyes. “And I’m terribly afraid that one fateful day you will take your words back and leave me because of my terrible past.”
“My God, Alicia, please, don’t say stupid things,” Dominick says softly, tightly embracing and pressing Alicia to himself and tenderly kissing her on a temple. “I always tell you that I judge people not by their acts of the past but their acts of the present.”
“Yeah, but…”
“I think many people do what they might regret later somewhere in the past. So, when someone regrets and tries to get better, I don’t actually start a talk about their past and judge them for what they are in the present.”
“Aren’t you really confused by the fact that you got married to the former prostitute, who has slept with a bigger part of the men living in London?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Dominick…”
“I know you did that for money, for paying for your studies at the university and helping your family that needed at least something.”
“I was such an idiot…”
“I know you wouldn’t have even thought of being a prostitute for no reason. Because even though you are beautiful and have an unreal charm, you don’t look like a whore. You’ve always seemed to be a very shy and educated woman.”
“I’ve never doubted my beauty and used it with pleasure. But I didn’t’ always do it right. Somehow, I listened to one piece of advice from a friend of mine, who found out I needed money and suggested I work as a stripper. And I agreed. I agreed to sell my young body.” Alicia sighs heavily. “And because of my stupidity, I almost went to prison, where I could’ve spent the rest of my life.”
“But you conquered my heart thanks to your eternal beauty and infinite charm,” Dominick says confidently. “My heart started beating faster when I met you for the first time.”
Dominick caresses Alicia’s cheeks, runs his hands over her arms, and softly takes her hands folded in front of her.
“Dominick…” Alicia smiles shyly.
“And now I don’t doubt this body would belong to nobody but me,” Dominick says confidently.
“It belongs only to my husband,” Alicia replies with her head proudly raised. “As it should be.”
“I want to be the only one to be able to touch it, caress it, and kiss it as much as I want.”
“Of course, sweetie.”
Alicia smiles wide, biting her lip slightly, and softly grabs Dominick by the loosened tie that is still placed around his neck.
“You can do anything you want to me, sweetie,” Alicia says in a lower voice and kisses the corners of Dominick’s lips. “I’m all yours. All yours.”
“I like this answer,” Dominick purrs with a wide smile, while his hands very tenderly caress Alicia’s knee and then get underneath her white dress. “My beloved beauty…”
Still keeping his hand where it is being, Dominick slowly gets Alicia involved in a tender kiss on the lips that she answers with pleasure, running her hand over his hair with and against the grain. This man does everything very tenderly and does not hurry to attack the young woman with kisses and hugs. It’s actually not about him. Even if he wanted to show passion or some cruelty, he would have much more tenderness. Alicia already realized it and fell much more in love with her husband, who treats her like a brilliant.
After those rude kisses of the late Gilbert, who thought he could do anything to her, and acts, in which evil thoughts were hidden, Alicia is now living the best moments of her life. She is realizing how it’s great to love a man, who truly loves and appreciates you and can show tenderness and care. Dominick is the absolute opposite of her former, late lover. Her husband is so kind, tender, and careful… He never does what would cause her discomfort. This man always knows her wishes, shows interest in what’s happening to her, and is ready to sacrifice anything for the happiness that she deserves.
“Gosh, Dominick, you’re just amazing…” Alicia pronounces softly, breathing a little heavily with her half-closed eyes from pleasure when Dominick kisses her on the cheek, the area behind her ear, and her earlobe. “What are you doing to me?”
“Showing love for my beloved wife,” Dominick replies with an innocent smile, running his lips over the same area behind Alicia’s ear two times. “Giving her pleasure and making her relax…”
Dominick smoothly gets down to the gracious curve of Alicia’s neck, on which he leaves tender kisses with great pleasure. That’s why her pulse becomes frequent, and she literally forgets how to breathe, leaning her head back unconsciously with her closed eyes and letting the man smoother the front of her neck with kisses. Under the influence of her feelings, she is shaking after every touch of her tender skin on the feminine neck with his lips. She feels a slight tickle in her abdomen and unconsciously gets her thighs tenser while her husband is caressing them tenderly.
“I want to remember our first marriage night forever and make it unforgettable,” Dominick says in a little hoarse voice with a heavy breath, getting much downer and starting to smoother Alicia’s collarbones with dizzying kisses. “And I hope it’s mutual. You’ve got the same wish.”
“For such incredible kisses, I’m ready for anything,” Alicia says in a little quiet, little hoarse voice, while her hands are tenderly caressing Dominick’s face or stroking his hair. “Especially… To make the first marriage night with my husband just… Magnificent.”
“Then I’m suggesting not to waste time talking and to spend unforgettable time with each other.”
Dominick tenderly kisses another curve of Alicia’s neck, making her breathe in quietly and literally feel a strong shake and crazy heartbeat of the heart in her head.
“We’ve got a whole night to enjoy the first hours of being husband and wife,” Dominick adds in a much lower voice.
“And then one month of our honeymoon…” Alicia purrs tenderly. “And the whole life…”
“Yup…”
When at some moment, Dominick slides to her lips and gives her a short on them, Alicia softly steps back with a mysterious smile on her face, reaches for glasses of champagne, and gives one of them to her husband.
“But at first, let’s drink some champagne and help ourselves relax,” Alicia suggests softly. “Agree, you can’t feel pleasure from something when you’re too tense and can’t relax.”
“Nice idea,” Dominick smiles shyly and takes a glass from Alicia’s hands.
Smiling tenderly at each other and sitting on the bed with their bodies turned on one another, Alicia and Dominick slightly click their glasses and drink some champagne, in which there are still some bubbles. A long gaze into each other’s eyes makes them obey a wish to get each other involved in a tender, continuous kiss, and give it all the love. But a little later, they break it and just look into each other’s eyes and smile shyly, while Alicia also tenderly caresses Dominick’s cheek.
“You’re my beauty…” Dominick pronounces quietly. “The beauty that deserved to be happy.”
“Dominick…” Alicia gets blushed, looking aside with a wide smile.
“I must repeat how lucky I am to meet you. Now I realize that you’re my destiny. The woman I’m destined to live with until the last day of my life.”
“I wish it happened.”
“I love you, Alicia,” Dominick confesses confidently. “I love you with all my heart… And I want to give you all my love and care. I wanna make you the happiest woman in the world.”
“I madly love you, too, Dominick,” Alicia says with a wide smile. “Very much. You’re the light, which made my life much better and more beautiful.”
“Sweetheart…”
“I’ll never regret deciding to get married to you. Because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened in my life. My hard life, in which so many things happened that sometimes I…”
“Sh-h-h…”
Dominick softly puts a finger on Alicia’s lips, while she falls into silence and looks at him with her widely open eyes.
“Say nothing…” Dominick almost whispers. “And remember, since today, a new life started for you. In which there will be only you, me, our future children. No enemies of us. No enemies.”
“I believe it would happen,” Alicia pronounces in a quiet, low voice.
“Don’t doubt, my queen.” Dominick leaves one tender kiss on Alicia’s lips, cheek, and a curve of her neck, making her smile shyly. “Nothing can break our love… Nothing… It’s gonna get stronger and live forever…”
“I believe, my sunshine…” Alicia smiles widely. “I believe…”
Alicia slowly gets up from the bed, puts her glass of champagne on the table, and turns on when Dominick comes to her.
“We’re gonna have very many unforgettable moments,” Dominick says confidently, putting his glass on the table. “Very many…”
Dominick grabs Alicia by the waist and tenderly presses her to himself while she tenderly looks into his eyes.
“Today we’ll spend an unforgettable first marriage night,” Dominick adds. “And go to the honeymoon after tomorrow and spend one month there. One month, my love. We’re gonna be having a fun time and thinking about no cares for one month.”
“I’m already counting down the minutes ‘till we get into our airplane and fly away,” Alicia confesses with a slight smile, putting her hands on Dominick’s chest. “I wanna spend time with you and go somewhere else except London and New York, where I often fly.”
“Soon, my love. We’re gonna have a magnificent rest soon.” Dominick tenderly caresses Alicia’s cheek and runs his fingers through her hair. “I can’t wait for the day when we fly away…”
“Sweetheart…” Alicia pronounces tenderly. “Dominick…”
Alicia puts her arms around Dominick’s neck and gives him a kiss full of love on the lips, to which he answers with pleasure, hugging her by the waist tighter. And when he wants to go further, she steps back from him with a mysterious smile and slowly runs her hands over his cheek, collarbones, chest, and abdomen, not stopping looking into his eyes that are looking only at her.
Alicia already notices that Dominick’s muscles are tensing with just one touch of her hand, which wakes up a little fire inside him. Which burns up more and more every second. And then the brunette steps far away from him and slowly strips off one of her shoulders, not stopping looking at him with a playful smile and deciding to call the memories of something she can do and use her skills to seduce her husband.
But later, Alicia puts on a sleeve on her shoulder and decides to add some fire, slowly opening up a clatter of her dress and lowering it. Thus, Dominick can see her white bra that perfectly expresses her breasts and makes them much bigger thanks to the push-up effect. The man instantly takes a breath away, has his pupils grown in size, rounds his eyes that are set on the gorgeous breasts of his wife, and swallows up nervously, starting to breathe much heavier.
“Oh, Alicia…” Dominick pronounces in a much lower, quieter voice.
“Yes, yes, I got ready for this day very well,” Alicia says confidently. “Our first marriage night that I wanna make incredible.”
Alicia slowly turns her back on Dominick and lets him admire her perfectly straight back, the view of which makes the man much more excited and gives him a much stronger wish to make this young beauty belong to him.
“I already want you…” Dominick confesses.
“Patience, Dominick, patience…” Alicia pronounces in a low voice with a mysterious smile. “Everything in time…”
Alicia does know well how to seduce men very well, so they go insane and become slaves in feminine hands. And now she uses everything she learned when she was working at the nightclub. For example, now the young wife puts on her dress again, closes the clatter, slowly goes around Dominick, stands behind his back, and starts to massage his shoulders strongly but tenderly.
“Do you want a little massage?” Alicia asks in a low, seducing voice. “Huh? I can give such an incredible one that you would be delighted.”
“M-m-m, it would be great…” Dominick pronounces quietly with a peaceful smile. “Get rid of this tension…”
After massaging his shoulders, Alicia tenderly runs her hands over Dominick’s back up and down, while he sometimes closes his eyes from pleasure. A little later, she starts to squeeze every part of his skin and all his bones strongly but very softly, making her husband delighted and making her smile wider and wider.
“Oh, gosh, Alicia, you’re so amazing,” Dominick pronounces in a low, hoarse voice and swallows up nervously. “It’s so good… M-m-m…”
“I did say you would be delighted,” Alicia says confidently.
“Don’t stop… Please, don’t stop. You’re doing this so well…”
“What did you say, honey?” Alicia moves her eyes to Dominick with a sly smile. “Don’t you want more?”
“No!” Dominick protests. “I told you to keep doing this!”
“Huh! Don’t want! Okay then!”
“No! Alicia!”
“So, then let’s see if you like this…”
Alicia takes a crème jacket off Dominick that he is still wearing and puts it aside. And then she massages his back for some time before she gets his shirt out of his pants and gets her hands underneath it, letting them tenderly slide over the strong, naked masculine back. It makes him shake, close his eyes and make quiet moans of pleasure, focusing his mind only on his feelings and how much he likes what his wife is doing.
“M-m-m, I like it so much…” Dominick purrs quietly.
“Thanks,” Alicia pronounces softly.
“I’d give anything if you did this massage to me every day. If you helped me relax after working…”
“If you want, you’re gonna get not only this massage every day but also what you’re gonna love much more,” Alicia whispers in Dominick’s ear and tenderly kisses the area behind his ear. “Just let me know what you want, and I shall do it. Anything for you, sweetheart.”
“Do this to me…”
Dominick turns on Alicia quickly, presses her sharply to himself by the waist, and kisses her on the lips with a loud breath. But the woman lets him only give her a short kiss, then steps back softly and puts a finger on his mouth.
“C’mon, sweetie, don’t rush,” Alicia pronounces in a low voice with a sly smile.
“Why?” Dominick wonders.
“Let’s not hurry up.”
“Do you know I was waiting for this moment for a very long time? You know how much I wanted to stay with you and give you all my love?”
“Well, you don’t want everything to be over too soon.”
“No, I doubt everything’s gonna be over soon…” Dominick says in a little hoarse voice, letting his eyes slide over Alicia’s whole body and look at her with interest and a mysterious smile. “Really doubt…”
“We’re gonna have a whole night. A whole night that we will spend together.”
“I know, but you’re so… So attractive… I can’t contain myself…”
“Anyway, you’ll have to wait for a while to make this night unforgettable.”
“What?”
“M-m-m…”
Alicia smoothly, shaking her thighs slightly, comes to the table, takes her glass of champagne, and drinks some of the alcohol drink, not stopping looking at Dominick slyly while he is still looking only at her.
“But I’m sure you’re gonna love it much,” Alicia adds, comes closer to Dominick, slowly runs her hand over his chest, and then slides underneath his shirt and tenderly caresses his torso under it. “Do my best for you to remember this night for a long time. And think about it every time we’re far from each other.”
Alicia steps back from Dominick again, comes to the table, and puts her glass on it. At the same time, she raises the skirt of her white dress on purpose, so he can see her naked leg, which make him swallow up nervously. Then the woman smiles slyly and slightly opens up her collarbones, proudly showing them to her husband and trying to keep a gaze in his eyes.
“Ah, honey…” Alicia smiles coquettishly, biting her lip slightly and tenderly running her hands over the torso of Dominick, who is breathing unevenly after all the girl’s acts. “I’ve never felt as good as I’m feeling now…”
Two moments later, Alicia grabs Dominick by the nape of his neck, sharply presses him to herself, and kisses him on the lips quite passionately for him to remember this unforgettable moment for a long time. While he answers it with pleasure, running his hands over her back and pressing his beloved wife to himself as closely as possible.
Alicia skillfully caresses Dominick’s lips for a few seconds, bites them slightly, and pulls them out, and then she works with her tongue in the same way, teasing her beloved man with it and touching the most sensitive areas in his mouth. And while he is breathing heavily and not hiding how much he likes it, the woman slides down to her neck and covers it with kisses that have a different grade of passion with great pleasure, making the man delighted.
“M-m-m, Alicia…” Dominick pronounces tenderly with a wide smile while Alicia’s hands slide over his torso. “You’re a wizard…”
“Relax, sweetie, relax…” Alicia replies with a sly smile. “It’s okay…”
By doing all of this, Alicia makes Dominick feel a strong shake in his whole body, breathe heavily, and understand his heart stops every time the tender feminine lips caress his skin and touch the most sensitive areas. When her warm, soft hands caress his arms, in which she feels safe, and his torso. When her fingers stroke his hair or caress his face. When her fingertips tenderly caress the skin on his head.
And after understanding that he got quite excited, Alicia sharply steps back from Dominick breathing heavily, running her hand tenderly over his thigh to burn up passion and a wish for something more inside him. She does see well how heavily he is breathing, how strong his pupils are dilated, and his little squinted eyes are set only on the woman that drives him insane thanks to her beauty and ability to seduce.
“M-m-m, how tense you are…” Alicia notices with a sly smile, tenderly touching Dominick’s chest and feeling his muscles are slightly tense.
“It’s all because of you…” Dominick pronounces in a little hoarse voice.
“I haven’t done anything yet.” Alicia slowly runs her fingers over Dominick’s chest and his nipples, which are tough enough from excitement. “Nothing.”
“But just looking at you is enough to lose my mind,” Dominick says confidently.
“Yeah, but you’re going to have to wait for a while here.”
“Why?”
“Erm, because I wanna go to take a shower quickly…”
“C’mon, beautiful, how could you take a shower right now?”
“I promise I will not stay there for too long. You can put on something light.”
“Can I go with you?”
“To take a shower with me?” Alicia rounds her eyes. “No, you can’t!”
“Why?”
“You can’t!”
“I am your husband now.”
“And what?”
“Don’t you really wanna take a shower with me? If you wanted, I could wash your back with a loofah…”
Dominick slowly runs his hands over Alicia’s thighs and places them on her buttocks.
“Wash your whole gorgeous body with gel…” Dominick purrs tenderly. “And caress it a little…”
“Thanks, sweetheart, another time,” Alicia smiles shyly.
“Alicia…”
“I will be back now… Don’t go anywhere.”
Alicia slowly turns on the door and takes two steps before Dominick grabs her by the curves of her waist from behind and sharply presses her to himself.
“C’mon, babe, don’t rush,” Dominick pronounces with a shy smile. “Don’t rush…”
Dominick runs his lips over the nape of Alicia’s thin, gracious neck, the unbelievable smell of which he breathes in.
“We haven’t started it yet,” Dominick notices confidently. “We haven’t finished warming up…”
Dominick moves Alicia’s hair aside and covers the nape of her neck with very tender kisses. He is doing this so wonderfully that the woman moans quietly with her closed eyes.
“Oh, Dominick…” Alicia moans sensually.
“Quiet, sweetheart, quiet…” Dominick pronounces quietly and tenderly. “It’s okay…”
Alicia shakes slightly and starts to feel something warm between her legs when Dominick starts caressing her belly with his soft hand.
“You’re imitable…” Alicia pronounces with a heavy breath.
“I hope you don’t think that I’m a shy man, who doesn’t know what to do to a woman?” Dominick smiles slyly.
“Your shyness gets me attracted to you. Your tenderness… Your care… You’ve got something the man of my dreams has.”
“And you’ve got something the woman of my dreams has.”
Dominick softly grabs Alicia by the throat, leans her head a little back, and covers a curve of her feminine neck with more exciting kisses, from which her heart either misses beats or beats like crazy and is about to jump out of her chest.
“Oh, God, Dominick…” Alicia makes a quiet, sexual moan.
“So what, don’t you hurry to run away from me?” Dominick pronounces in a low, hoarse voice while he tenderly caresses a curve of Alicia’s neck with his lips and kisses the area behind her ear, and his hands are sliding over her belly.
“You’re not letting me go…”
“I will not do it. Never.”
Dominick leaves a short kiss on the curve of Alicia’s neck again. One of him slides to her thigh and gets underneath her dress, while the second one slides over her collarbones.
“You’re mine…” Dominick pronounces with a peaceful smile. “Min…”
Dominick caresses Alicia’s neck with his lips, while his hands are messaging her breasts tenderly but confidently. That’s why she cannot hold down her quiet moans full of pleasure, shaking slightly from excitement and being barely able to stand on her feet.
“M-m-m, my God, I feel bad…” Alicia pronounces quietly with closed eyes, feeling a little dizzy. “M-m-m…”
“Do you still hope you'll get off me so easily after what you did to me?” Dominick smiles slyly. “No, my sunshine, as you’ve started this game, you will not quit it.”
Dominick slightly grabs Alicia’s ear with his lips and whispers something in it in his low, deep voice, from which she gets goosebumps on her skin:
“You’ll have to bring it to an end…”
Dominick caresses the front of Alicia’s neck with his fingertips and tenderly kisses the nape of it.
“Have…” Dominick adds in a whisper.
After leaving a short kiss on the area behind her ear, Dominick gets Alicia involved in a continuous kiss on the lips, which she instantly answers to, quietly moaning while his fingertips tenderly caress the front of her neck, and his second hand tenderly massages her breasts.
At some moment, Alicia turns on Dominick with a slight smile and looks into his eyes with her little bedroom eyes, grabbing him by the nape of his neck with both hands and breathing in his masculine smell that easily drives her crazy.
“I want you, Dominick…” Alicia pronounces in a low, little hoarse voice. “I want you right here and now…”
“Are you ready for this?” Dominick asks.
“I’m ready for anything with you.”
A sly smile appears on Dominick’s face, while Alicia puts her hands on his shoulders and brings her face much closer to him, looking at his lips with a bedroom look.
“Let’s spend a magnificent night as husband and wife and do our best to never forget it,” Alicia suggests.
“You’ll never forget it,” Dominick promises in a whisper, tenderly caressing Alicia’s cheek. “It’s gonna be one of the best moments of your life.”
“Do it then…” Alicia steps back from Dominick, lowers her hands and exhales quietly with a slight smile. “Do it together…”
Dominick smiles much wider and looks into Alicia’s eyes for two seconds, caressing her face with the fingertips of his hands and running them over her hair. And then he grabs her face and gives her a very tender kiss on the lips, to which she answers with pleasure, putting her arms around his waist and putting her hands on his back. But later, this kiss becomes more passionate and confident because they add more and more passion to it and let their hands get loose that caress the face, neck, shoulders, and hair and also go down and down.
For example, one of Dominick’s hands tenderly starts to caress Alicia’s belly, while she keeps her hands on his chest and confidently slides over it with them. A little later, the man starts to smooth his wife’s neck with kisses or caress it with both hands, and she makes sensual sighs and caresses his head or slightly scratches his back, getting her hands underneath his shirt. Sometimes he helps himself a little, bending her head on different sides to see all the most beautiful and sensitive areas, kissing and caressing which makes her shake strongly and feel that a strong heartbeat echoes in her head.
A little later, the quite excited Alicia breathing heavily starts to open up buttons on Dominick’s shirt and weaken a belt on his pants while he is busy kissing her collarbones and small décolleté. However, the man also opens up a clatter of the woman’s dress and lowers it a little so that he sees her beautiful, gracious shoulders that he cannot leave without kisses.
At some moment, his belt gets taken off and put aside by Alicia, and she caresses the masculine naked torso with great pleasure. While he lowers her dress a little and covers her breasts with kisses, which he also squeezes and caresses tenderly. But some time later, Alicia takes the shirt off Dominick, and he takes off her dress that falls on the floor, leaving her in white lace underwear that perfectly fits her gorgeous hourglass body.
Every time, their excitement is getting stronger, and the newlyweds are about to give themselves to each other and do their best to remember this night forever. Passion for each other makes them act absolutely free, feel relaxed at this moment that makes them very happy, and forget about all their problems, cares, and worries.
And a little later, Dominick takes Alicia in his arms, places her on the bed, raises himself above her, keeping his weight on his arms, gives her another madly amazing kiss on the lips, and covers her neck with dizzying kisses. She moans quietly with closed eyes, and her hands caress his head or slide randomly up and down over his back, or scratch it slightly. Dominick’s hand later goes down the feminine body and tenderly caresses Alicia’s belly, to which he takes a path from kisses, starting from the front of her neck, continuing on her collarbones, and finishing on her breasts.
By doing all of that, he gives his young wife as much pleasure as she has never gotten before. The man makes her feel like a beloved woman in the strong but tender arms of such a trustful man. With him, she can be herself and not pretend to be someone she is not. She can do anything she wants, not hiding her feelings and emotions, and knowing she could always say she is not happy in case she dislikes something.
And some time later, Alicia quickly places Dominick on the back, sits over him, and does everything he was doing to her. She is doing her best to make him feel the same pleasure that he gave her. Besides, she confidently leaves short, tender kisses on his chest and abdomen or runs her hands over the naked torso and caresses the man’s nipples with her lips.
Alicia gets so busy caressing her beloved man that she does not notice that Dominick uses the moment, opening easily a clatter of her bra that he later puts aside, and does not reject a chance to give some attention to the naked female breasts that seem so gorgeous and attractive to him and her tough nipples. And the woman herself takes his pants off and puts them aside without problems. Some time later, they stay absolutely naked, getting ready to give themselves to each other and spend an unforgettable night that is going to give them many strong emotions and become one of the brightest memories in their lives.
***
Thinking of the best time of her life when she was absolutely happy and believed she would be happy forever, Alicia smiles unconsciously and feels something nice and warm in her soul.
“Ah, my God, it seems like it happened some time ago…” Alicia sighs with a slight smile. “I still remember getting a proposal… Visiting shops, picking up a dress, shoes, and a hat… Thinking about what kind of hairstyle to pick up… I was worried something would go wrong…”
Alicia sighs quietly.
“That was an amazing time,” Alicia confesses. “The time when I was the happiest woman in the world.”
“So, as I understand, did Grandpa Frederick know nothing about your wedding with that man?” Raquelle asks.
“No, I told him about Dominick much later when we met for the first time in a while. When then I saw you… After you grew up.”
“Yeah, many years were gone.”
“Right. But we started to meet much more. I could find an opportunity to go to the USA, or you and Mr. Cameron visited me.”
“Yeah…”
“So sorry I didn’t introduce you to my husband.”
“Did you like being married?”
“I did, my sunshine,” Alicia smiles shyly. “I never regretted agreeing to marry that man. With him, I felt like a queen.”
“Really?”
“We weren’t quite rich and sometimes had no money. But it didn’t prevent us from being happy. Well, we didn’t understand how people could ruin their marriages because of money. When you love someone, you don’t care how much your partner has. You love someone for their love and care, not for their money.”
“Right,” Raquelle smiles slightly.
“There’s something I wanna tell you…” Alicia sighs with a slight smile on her face. “Some of my familiar people say everything sharply changes after the wedding. Your love fades away because you start getting busy with homework or other things. But my husband and I didn’t have it.”
“No?” Raquelle wonders.
“The love between Dominick and me was getting stronger every day. I couldn’t imagine anyone else instead of him.”
“You had such an idyll?”
“I didn’t even think it could happen. Yes, of course, we could argue about something, but we never had serious fights or moments when we didn’t speak to each other for a few days. We quickly learned to solve problems.”
“Great.”
“I think the reason was that my husband wasn’t a lover of conflicts. He was a very kind man, who wished nobody anything bad.”
“Do you think your relatives would’ve loved and accepted Dominick?”
“If my parents had been alive at that time, they would’ve surely approved my marriage and the man I picked up to be my husband. And my sissy Elizabeth would’ve liked him. Dominick would’ve also probably gotten on well with Jackson.”
“That’s how…”
“My husband easily got on well with people thanks to his soft character. I didn’t know anyone to say bad things about him.”
“Well, if he was so good, it would’ve happened.”
“You know how much I needed Elizabeth. How I wanted to share my happiness with her and say how lucky I was to have my husband, who literally praised me for the years we lived together. Just like I was happy for her when she started dating your father.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Lizzy told me everything. She could say nothing about some things to Mother and Father, but she was honest with me.”
“Did you know about her affair?”
“Oh, I knew everything about her relationship. I knew when they shared the first kiss when they started to date, when Jackson proposed to Elizabeth… I knew everything! And I wanted my sister to know everything about my husband.”
“Excuse me, Aunt, but why do you talk about your husband in the past?” Raquelle asks hesitantly. “Why are you alone now? What happened to Dominick?”
“Alas, my sweetie, fate didn’t let us spend the whole life together and become parents.”
“Why? Did you divorce that man?”
“No, we didn’t divorce and weren’t planning to do that.”
“But what happened?”
“Unfortunately, my husband suddenly died almost two years later after our wedding.”
“Died?” Raquelle opens her eyes full of horror wider.
“Yes, died.”
Alicia sighs heavily.
“After barely feeling happy and forgetting what happened to me, I suddenly became a widow,” Alicia adds with sadness in her eyes.
“But why did he die?” Raquelle wonders. “As I understand, he was young enough.”
“Since the death certificate said, Dominick died from throat cancer.”
“What?” Raquelle opens her eyes widely. “Throat cancer?”
“Yes. And the worse thing is that my husband was hiding his illness from me.”
“Hiding his illness?”
“As it turned out, he had been sick for a long time. Before we met. As his doctor told me later, he experienced a remission. However, when we got married, the illness let him know about it. And it became much more aggressive. It began to kill my husband very fast.”
“My God…” Raquelle shakes her head. “Didn’t you see anything suspicious? If your husband was mortally ill, he was supposed to fade away before your eyes!”
“It was impossible to say he was sick, judging his look,” Alicia confesses. “Dominick was always kind, caring, smiling a lot, having fun and living an active life… He went to work… Gave me much attention… He didn’t forget me even when he went home, being sick after a workday. My husband did his best not to let me know something happened to him.”
Alicia shrugs.
“Well…” Alicia pronounces thoughtfully. “Maybe, he just started to lose his hair quickly. He didn’t have much hair before, but at some moment, Dominick became almost bald.”
“And didn’t you find out what happened to him?” Raquelle wonders.
“I didn’t find it out from him. I found out about his illness after he died. His doctor confessed that he was hiding the diagnosis from me at the plea of Dominick.”
“But that was wrong!”
“The doctor apologized to me many times after that. He said I had the right to know everything. Because I was Dominick’s wife.”
“And when did he get worse?”
“A few weeks before his death. There were no signs of trouble.”
“Is that the time when his illness let him know about it?”
“Yes. Someday, Dominick got much worse. He had to go to the hospital. I saw him fading away before my eyes, but doctors were making me sure that my husband could be cured. Even if he had very little time to live. And Dominick knew it well.”
“Oh, God…”
“I spent many hours with him every day and supported him in all ways. I begged doctors to cure him… Tried to make my husband sure he would get on well, and we would become parents. I started to go to a crunch every day and prayed to God about Dominick’s recovery. I begged him not to take Him away from me. I asked him to give us a chance to give birth to a child. I asked Him for forgiveness for the sins of my past. I begged Him not to punish me again.”
Alicia shakes her head with sadness in her eyes.
“But one fateful day, he got much worse,” Alicia confesses. “I spend almost a whole day with him… I even got the time off work to do it… Some time before his death, Dominick was sure he would die soon. And he started to repeat it often… Even if I tried to make him sure that everything would be alright.”
***
October 11th, 2002.
“No, honey, please, don’t say that!” Alicia begs with pity in her wet eyes, sitting on the bed, on which Dominick is lying, and holding his hand.
After living two years in a marriage, Alicia and Dominick Middleton seemed to be so happy, planned their future life, and wanted to get ready for the birth of their own children at the nearest time. But all the plans were ruined because of the terrible event. The man got much worse and immediately rushed to the hospital.
For a few weeks, doctors have been trying to recover Dominick, who looks terribly white and cannot even get up from the bed because of strong weakness. Unfortunately, Alicia has not found out the diagnosis of her husband because nobody says anything to her. Even if the man is absolutely sure about his death. He lost his energy to fight and is getting ready to go to another world at the nearest time.
The woman stays with him all day and all night, takes care of him, goes to a crunch every day, and prays to God about her beloved man’s recovery. Alicia can think of nothing but Dominick. All her thoughts are about her husband, who has become the meaning of her life. Who literally saved her from the depression that she had after everything that happened to her four years ago.
“I’m dying, Alicia…” Dominick pronounces quietly, slightly touching a tub coming out of his nose and looking at Alicia with pity in his sick enough eyes that are deprived of fire and life. “And I’m sure my time will come today…”
“No, no, Dominick, for God’s sake, don’t say so!” Alicia begs with despair.
“Alas, I can do nothing anymore.”
“Please, sweetheart, don’t give up!”
Alicia tenderly caresses Dominick’s cheek, looking at her dying husband with wet eyes.
“You will not die…” Alicia pronounces in a little shaking voice. “I know you will get well. Just don’t lose hope, I’m begging you…”
“It’s very hurtful for me to say it,” Dominick says quietly. “My heart is tearing apart from pain… From thinking I would leave you alone. But unfortunately… I’ve got a little time to live…”
“You shouldn’t lose hope, sweetie.”
“It’s been a few weeks, but doctors haven’t found out what’s happening to me.”
“They will find out what’s happening to you and provide you with therapy.”
“I don’t know… Hardly…”
“I ask Dr. Cedric about you every day, and he says not everything is lost.”
“He just doesn’t wanna make you upset. Because he sees you’re worried about me.”
“Everything’s gonna be fine, honey. You just need to wait for a while and believe in a miracle.”
“No miracle will help me…”
Dominick runs his dead eyes around the whole spacious and light room that he has not left for a long time.
“Your prayers to God will not help me, either…” Dominick adds in a little shaking voice. “He would take me out anyway… Because I can’t avoid it…”
“Honey…” Alicia pronounces with pity in her eyes.
“You know… Somehow, someone said that when death comes to you, you feel it earlier…” Dominick sniffs quietly. “At first, I thought it was a delirium… Even when my grandfather was dying on a hospital bed, he had felt it and started to say farewell to everyone a long time before his death. He asked everybody he hurt for forgiveness…”
Dominick closes his eyes for a second and exhales slowly, hearing machines turned on to his body and watching his condition make a regular sound.
“So, I’m feeling like I’m about to leave you…” Dominick says in a little shaking voice, looking at Alicia guiltily.
“No, Dominick, no…” Alicia shakes her head sharply.
“Sorry, sweetheart…” Dominick tenderly caresses Alicia’s cheek. “I’m so sorry it all happened… I wanted to make you happy… Make you forget the bad things… Forget what still doesn’t let you live quietly… But alas… I can’t… Because death is about to take me out.”
“No, honey, no, don’t dare to say so!” Alicia begs a little louder in despair.
“It’s coming for me… I know it…”
“Please, fight until the end… Don’t give up! I can’t live without you! I can’t!”
“I’ve been fighting for a long time. And… I lost hope to leave this place alive.”
“Dominick…”
“It’s madly hurtful for me to think I shall no longer be back home and will not spend time with you, my beloved wife. That has been a shoot of the sunlight in my life all this time.”
“You will get well, you’ll see,” Alicia says softly, tenderly caressing Dominick’s hand and kissing him on the white cheek. “Every day, I go to a crunch and pray to God that He gives you a chance to get well and let us have children. I wish He didn’t take you away from me and punish me for my past sins.”
“No God, prayers and injections will help me anymore…” Dominick sighs resignedly. “It all doesn’t make sense.”
Dominick coughs quite loudly and puts his head on the pillow.
“I’m totally powerless,” Dominick adds quietly. “I can’t get up and… I can barely speak…”
“Dominick…” Alicia pronounces with tears in her eyes.
“I don’t wanna eat. I always get sick… And sometimes I think all my organs are burning inside me…”
“I completely understand and am literally getting through what you’re feeling,” Alicia says in a little shaking voice, holding Dominick’s hand and tenderly caressing his head, on which he has lately had very little hair.
“I’m so sorry…”
“When you feel too bad, I can feel the same… If you choke, I can’t breathe… And seeing you eat nothing, I don’t want to even touch food.”
“No, my queen, I want you to eat… You must eat.”
“I can’t. I can’t swallow even a piece.”
“Just because I’m dying doesn’t mean you should be…”
“If I had to, I would easily sacrifice my life for you. Any part of my body if the doctor told me that you needed a donor. I swear, my love, I would give you anything. Without thinking.”
“No, my sunshine, I don’t need a donor now…” Dominick coughs so strongly that he literally chokes on it. “It’s my time to say goodbye to my close people and write a will…”
“No, Dominick, don’t even dare to think about it!” Alicia exclaims loudly. “Don’t dare, hear me!”
“It’s true, Alicia… My time has come…”
“Dominick, please, don’t make me feel hurt… I wouldn't live without you. You’re the meaning of my life! The dearest thing I have.”
Alicia puts her nose on Dominick’s shoulder and is crying quietly, while he looks at her with pity in his dead eyes and tenderly caresses his wife’s head.
“Don’t cry, my love, I don’t want to see your tears…” Dominick says quietly, with sadness in his eyes. “Before my death, I want to see your smile, not your tears. The smile that slew me from the first minutes of knowing you…”
“You can’t leave me alone,” Alicia pronounces in a shaking voice with tears, tenderly grabbing Dominick’s face. “You can’t…”
“You know how much I don’t want it…”
“We wanted to live a long and happy life together. We wanted to raise our children, babysit our grandchildren, and die on the same day…”
“I wanted it, too, but alas…”
“I’m begging you, don’t let these two years we’ve been married become just nice memories.”
“Sorry that I haven’t asked my family to come here and say goodbye to them…”
Dominick sighs heavily.
“But I’m so glad I introduced them to you as my beloved wife they accepted with pleasure,” Dominick cracks a slight smile.
“Do you want me to call them and ask them to come to London?” Alicia suggests. “They will come here immediately! I shall explain that you’re in a hospital and tell them you wanna see them.”
“No, sweetie, don’t need…”
“But you wanna see them!”
“I’m afraid that when they come here from Glasgow, they will not see me alive.”
“No…”
“Nevertheless, call them to tell them about my death… I want them to know it… Them to come to my funeral and… Stand in front of my grave…”
“Dominick, I’m begging you on my knees, don’t talk about death,” Alicia makes a quiet sob, taking Dominick’s hands tightly. “You’re hurting me…”
“I know…”
“I believe you will get well and pray about it every single day.”
Alicia caresses Dominick’s cheek.
“And I will not stop believing, even if doctors haven’t found out what’s happening to you,” Alicia adds and kisses Dominick cutely on the temple.
“It’s worthless…” Dominick shakes his head.
“It’s okay, honey, I’m with you. I will not leave you, no matter how hard your illness is. I’ll always be by your side, I promise…”
“I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through all of this without you by my side,” Dominick says in a lower voice and quietly moans from weakness. “All these years that I’ve known that you have been the best in my life. I’m happy fate brought us together.”
“Dominick…”
“And I’m truly grateful to you for always being by my side and taking care of me with such love and tenderness. You’ve always been my light at the end of the tunnel. The reason why I’ve been so happy…”
“I shall keep taking care of you. And when you get well and leave the hospital, we will live happily and start to think about our children, who will carry on our family’s name. I will give birth to a baby that we will be raising together.”
“So sorry that I haven’t become a father for thirty-seven years of my life…” Dominick coughs much louder and stronger, slightly getting up in bed. “But I love children so much… I miss my niblings, who live far from me… Who don’t know their uncle is about to die…”
“They will meet their cousins that will be born in our family,” Alicia says in a little shaking voice, tenderly caressing Dominick’s face and kissing him on the forehead. “Just believe in your recovery… For those you love so much…”
“No, Alicia, it’s the end…” Dominick shakes his head, breathing heavily and feeling like everything burns inside him from the pain that becomes just unbearable. “I can even barely speak now… But… I’m trying so hard… To find… The strength… To do… This…”
“Maybe, you need to sleep a little or try to eat something?” Alicia suggests. “You eat almost nothing! And you sleep very badly!”
“Nope…”
“You will see – when you eat and sleep, you will get better.”
“I can’t eat… Any food gets out of me later… And only one word ‘food’ makes me feel very sick… Very strong…”
“Sweetheart…”
Alicia bends to Dominick much more to bring her face closer to him, while he turns it on a side, looking at a small window in his hospital room with a tired look.
“Please, don’t give up…” Alicia begs with pity in her eyes, caressing Dominick’s head. “I’m begging you… You’re my strong man… You never give up…”
“I have no strength…” Dominick pronounces quietly.
“Do it for me… Think about the strong pain you give me when saying these terrible words.”
“I’m sorry, Alicia…” Dominick apologizes with a heavy breath, barely finding the strength to reach Alicia’s face with his hand and caress her cheek tenderly.
“You have nothing to apologize to me for.”
“I’m so sorry for leaving you and not giving you everything I promised… I wanted to do so much… But I couldn’t…”
“Dominick, please…”
Alicia tenderly kisses Dominick on the forehead, rubs her cheek slightly against it with tears in her eyes, and leaves a shy kiss on his light blue lips.
“Don’t leave me…” Alicia begs with despair.
“Never forget that I madly love you…” Dominick says quietly. “I will always love…”
“Dominick…”
“You…” Dominick coughs very strongly with a feeling that his throat is literally burning. “You’re the love of my life. Who has done so much that I… I did not thank you enough…”
“Hold on, my love, hold on as hard as possible,” Alicia begs. “I’m begging you…”
“I…”
“You will get over it, I know… Just hold on… Think of everybody you love.”
“Al…”
When Dominick wants to say something, he gets obsessed with a stronger cough and starts to choke with it, and literally gets his throat burning. Some time later, the man even starts to cough up some blood with clots and barely fights back his wish to scream from the pain that gets obsessed with his weak body and makes him feel something is burning down his organs.
Seeing her husband getting much worse, Alicia sharply gets up and gets confused for a while, being able only to watch him spitting up blood and choking from his own cough.
“Dominick…” Alicia pronounces with horror in her widely open eyes. “Dominick, what’s wrong? Dominick!”
But Dominick cannot answer Alicia because he cannot deal with an attack of a cough, getting whiter and whiter, and some spots on his arms he got a long time ago became quite noticeable.
“Dominick, please, don’t be silent!” Alicia begs with despair. “Tell me something! Honey! Honey!”
Fortunately, the shocked Alicia quickly braces herself and understands she must call someone to help her right now.
“Wait, sweetie…” Alicia pronounces in a shaking voice. “I will call a doctor now… Now… Now… Hold on!”
Alicia quickly runs to the door, opens it, and shouts so loudly for someone to hear her:
“Please, someone, come here! My husband is feeling bad! Doctor Cedric! Someone! Please! My husband is dying!”
Leaving the door open, Alicia comes to Dominick choking with a torturing cough with blood and caresses his back with eyes that are wet from tears, being horrified by how much weight he has lost in the past few weeks that are a real torture for him.
“Hold on, sweetheart, hold on!” Alicia begs with despair, watching Dominick with tears in her eyes. “It’s gonna be okay.”
A few seconds later, two doctors run into the room: a man and a woman, who were not far from here, and heard Alicia screaming out for help.
“Please, help!” Alicia begs. “My husband is choking with a cough and spitting up blood! He feels very bad! Please, do something!”
The doctors immediately react and run to Dominick quickly, raising the headboard of the bed that can be regulated manually, laying him down on a pillow, and pulling down the hospital shirt he is wearing. And while the man checks indicators on machines that he does not like, the woman types a number on the phone placed in the room. So, after her call, another man comes into the room and helps the doctors put on an oxygen mask on the face of the choking Dominick and inject something into his arm.
Alicia, closing her mouth with both hands and shaking her head, gets horror in her wet and red eyes while watching the doctors fuming and trying to help Dominick, whose state is getting worse and worse every new second. After her beloved husband’s confident words about him dying and leaving her today, the woman is afraid it may really come true. She does not want to lose this man, whom she madly loves with all her heart! Who she is getting more attracted to every day. Who became a meaning in her life… Alicia knows that she will get through another hit of life.
She barely came to herself and forgot the shocking things that had to do with the terrible family Woodham, which, it’s amazing, left her alone and has not been chasing the one that killed their close person accidentally for a long time. But if Alicia lost her husband, she would lose the meaning of life. She would have nobody to live for because she has no close people. She would have only to call the memories of her niece and visit her for the first time in such a long time that she has not communicated with her due to all these problems.
“No, God, no, You cannot take Dominick away from me…” Alicia thinks with pity in her eyes, watching the doctors trying to help Dominick and save him from such terrible tortures and hearing the uneven sounds of machines that are connected to his body. “You can’t… Please, save him… Do everything for him to survive… I don’t wanna lose my husband… I don’t want… Don’t punish me…”
Alicia closes her mouth with her hand.
“I’ve prayed for forgiveness for my past sins so many times when going to the crunch every single day, asking You for forgiveness for being a prostitute and killer and swearing to get better…” Alicia thinks and sniffs quietly. “Haven’t You still forgiven me yet? Do I still have to pay for the sins of my past?”
Alicia shakes her head.
“Gosh, please, let my husband live…” Alicia begs silently. “Dominick is the best thing that’s ever happened to me… I want to live with him, love him, take care of him, give birth to many children, and feel beloved and wanted. Do not deprive me of the happiness that I was waiting for so long… I wouldn’t like to live if he died. I wouldn’t like…”
Some time later, an adult man with dark, thin hair on his head, on which there are also gray hairs, enters the room and looks around excitedly.
“Was I called?” the doctor asks and moves his eyes to the doctors, who are trying to save Dominick and then Alicia. “Mrs. Middleton… What’s happening?”
“Dr. Cedric, Dominick got much worse,” Alicia says with pity in her eyes. “He is getting ready for the death and saying farewell to me… And he started choking with a cough with blood…”
“God, oh my gosh… Seriously?”
“Yes…”
“Oh…” Cedric throws a look at the doctors, who are still doing something to Dominick. “What are you all doing there? Let me go! Now!”
Cedric quickly comes to Dominick’s bed, the cough of which was stopped by the doctors and gets horrified by his look. This man looks like he is really about to die. Deathly white, covered with some spots, with big circles under his dead eyes, with too many hairs lost…
“The indicators of the machines are quite unstable,” Cedric pronounces thoughtfully. “Something is not right.”
“I’m dying, Dr. Westley…” Dominick barely pronounces, taking an oxygen mask off his face and looking at Cedric resignedly. “I know it… Foreseeing my death…”
“No, Mr. Middleton, do not say it,” Cedric shakes his head.
“And the last night, I thought I saw my dead grandfather… He said we would meet soon…”
“Dead grandfather?”
“Yes… He’s calling me…”
“Oh, Jesus Christ…” Cedric touches Dominick’s forehead to check his fever. “Oh, your forehead is so hot… Your fever is getting up.”
“I’m burning inside…” Dominick says quietly. “Dying… Grandfather is calling me…”
“Gosh, Dominick…” Alicia gets horrified with tears in her eyes, starting to breathe heavily from the strong excitement.
“I love you, Alicia… Love… L…”
Dominick gets obsessed with a strong cough again, but then he gets deprived of an opportunity to breathe and starts to shake slightly. His widely open eyes are set into the distance, and he makes quiet, painful sounds that let everybody know how bad he feels.
“Dominick!” Alicia shouts excitedly, instantly comes to the bed of Dominick, and takes his hand with tears in her eyes. “Dominick! No, Dominick! Hold on!”
While the doctors try to do something, Dominick first raises himself a little and then sharply falls on the bed with rolled eyes, and one of the machines starts to make uneven sounds.
“No!” Alicia shouts with horror in her eyes, grabbing her hair. “Dominick! Don’t die!”
“The pulse is uneven!” Cedric says confidently, listening to Dominick’s heart with his stethoscope.
“The blood pressure is dropping!” the male doctor exclaims, checking one of the machines connected to Dominick.
“Defibrillator, now!” the female woman orders.
“Mrs. Middleton, leave this place, please,” Cedric says quietly, coming to Alicia and bringing her to the door.
“What happened to my husband, doctor?” Alicia asks with horror in her eyes. “Has he died? Tell me!”
“I shall come to you and say everything later. But now, wait for me behind the door, please.”
“But…”
“Please, Mrs. Middleton, wait behind the door.”
After getting the excited and crying Alicia out of the room, Cedric and the doctors prepare a portable defibrillator, opens the chest of the unconscious Dominick, and apply a special gel to it. Every one of them does what they should and does not waste time because they know every single second is now very important.
So, a few moments later, one doctor is ready to put electrodes on his chest, another is ready to change the tension, and two others carefully watch the indicators of the machines and the sick person's state.
“Shock!” the doctor orders.
One blast of strong shock – and Dominick’s body raises a little and sharply lowers. Then the same happens again – no result. A third time – worthless again. Just like a fourth one… And another stronger blast happens before Dominick’s heart, which was beating too slowly or too fast, stops. That’s why everybody in the room hears a monotonous sound, and one of the machines shows zeroes and a straight isoline.
“No pulse!” Cedric says. “Use cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as well.”
After two more blasts, one of the doctors, who knows cardiopulmonary resuscitation very well starts doing it, putting his hands on one another and slightly pressing Dominick’s chest. Another doctor carefully watches the indicators of one of the machines, and Cedric makes an injection in the man’s arm after quickly finding an ampule with some solution and a new syringe. But unfortunately, all these things are absolutely worthless because Dominick is still unconscious, and his heart does not stop beating, no matter how hard the doctors are trying to save his life.
***
Alicia is walking from one side to another in front of the door to the room of Dominick, the life of whom the doctors have been trying to save for a few minutes by doing resuscitation. The crying woman starts to believe more and more that her husband will really die at the nearest time because he has lately looked very badly. He has become like an alive corpse: white, slim, with dead eyes.
Unfortunately, she does not know what kind of illness the man got obsessed with so much and literally burned him down for a few weeks. He was fine and did not look like a sick one some time ago. And then he suddenly felt bad… And the worst thing is that doctors cannot find out what he is sick with, start to cure him, and do their best to let him live a normal life.
It’s been so much time, but none of the doctors have left Dominick’s room to tell her what happened. It makes Alicia much more nervous and afraid of losing her beloved man, for whom she would rather die than seeing how the man is getting tortured and dying like this.
It’s too hard for her… Just like it was hard to see the corpse of the man she killed somehow… Alicia is not sure if she could quietly look at the dead body of her own husband if she was told he was dead and got permission to say farewell to him. However, she understands she might probably have to get ready for that.
“Gosh, why has it taken so long?” Alicia wonders, nervously walking into the empty hall of the hospital, embracing herself with her arms, and crying quietly. “Why doesn’t Dr. Cedric come to me and say anything? They’ve been there for so long! Something terrible happened to Dominick?”
Alicia shakes her head.
“Gosh, gosh, gosh…” Alicia thinks with tears in her eyes. “No… I will not survive it… May everything be fine, please… May my husband stay alive… I don’t wanna lose Dominick, I don’t want… Help him, God, please! He didn’t deserve it… My husband must get well! He must!”
And then fortunately or unfortunately, Dominick’s doctor, Cedric, finally leaves the room, looking too sad and excited. When she sees him, Alicia comes to him and looks at him with tears in her eyes.
“Dr. Cedric, how is he doing?” Alicia asks with tears in a shaking voice.
“Mrs. Middleton…” Cedric pronounces hesitantly, looking at Alicia with sadness in her eyes.
“Please, tell me Dominick is fine.”
“Erm…”
Cedric suddenly falls into silence and sighs quietly, not being able to tell something that, in his opinion, would get the dumbfounded and exhausted Alicia shocked.
“So what, Doctor, why are you silent?” Alicia exclaims loudly.
“I…” Cedric pronounces hesitantly. “I don’t know… How to say it to you…”
“Just tell me Dominick is alive and will get well soon…”
“Erm…”
“Please, do not make me feel worse than I feel now…” Alicia sniffs quietly. “I want to know what’s happening to my husband…”
“Unfortunately, I have very sad news for you, Mrs. Middleton,” Cedric replies hesitantly, looking at Alicia a little guiltily.
“What?”
“It’s madly unpleasant for me to say it, but…”
Cedric falls into silence for two seconds and swallows up nervously, while Alicia looks at him with tears in her eyes and shakes her head.
“Your husband, Dominick Brandon Middleton, has just passed away,” Cedric says with sadness in his eyes. “His heart stopped beating…”
“What?” Alicia rounds her eyes.
“We did everything we could, but unfortunately, everything was worthless. Accept my condolences…”
Alicia gets immediately obsessed with a wave of shock and starts to cry much harder than before, shaking her head with her mouth tightly closed with both hands and shaking strongly after these words that sounded out of the blue.
“No…” Alicia pronounces in a shaking voice. “No… No-o-o-o…”
Cedric’s heart squeezes and bleeds while he sees how much Alicia gets shocked when she hears about the death of her husband, Dominick. The man looks at her with great pity in his eyes for two seconds and then takes her in his hug to comfort her somehow.
“It’s not true, I do not believe it!” Alicia makes a loud sob. “My husband has not died! He could not leave me alone! Could not!”
“Believe me, darling, it was very hard for me to tell you that,” Cedric says with pity in his eyes. “But unfortunately, Mr. Middleton is dead.”
“You are lying to me! Lying!” Alicia sharply steps back from Cedric. “Please, tell me he is alive! Tell me Dominick has not died!”
“Please, my dear, calm down, please,” Cedric says softly.
“Don’t hurt me like this…”
“I completely understand your pain and know how much you loved your husband, but unfortunately, you heard the truth.”
“No, I refuse to believe my husband has died, I refuse!” Alicia shakes her head with tears in her eyes.
“I’m very sorry. The doctors did their best to save him. But alas, We did not do this.”
“For God’s sake, don’t give me much stronger pain. It’s very hard for me…”
“Mrs. Middleton, please, calm down.” Cedric hugs Alicia tightly again and softly caresses her back while she is crying bitterly on his shoulder. “We all completely understand your pain. I know it’s hard for you to believe it.”
“He should have lived!” Alicia makes a quiet sob. “Dominick couldn’t leave me alone! He could not! He knew I couldn’t live without him!”
“I repeat, doctors did their best to save your husband,” Cedric says confidently, softly caressing Alicia’s shoulder after stepping back from her. “But we were powerless in front of the illness that got obsessed with him.”
“No, Dominick, no…” Alicia shakes her head with tears.
“He has died because of his illness. It made him get tortured for these few weeks. Even injections did not help him get better.”
“But why, doctor? Why did Dominick die? What kind of illness did he get and make him suffer so much?”
“Terrible illness.”
“My God… Did you know something but did not tell me that?”
“Unfortunately, yes, Mrs. Middleton,” Cedric nods with sadness in his eyes. “Actually, doctors knew what kind of illness he had and were doing their best to cure him. But alas, medicine was powerless in his case.”
“Then tell me what he was sick with!” Alicia gives a loud sob. “I don’t believe you really could do nothing.”
“Sadly, unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to cure someone, who has the last stage of any type of cancer,” Cedric replies with sadness in his eyes, sighing hard.
“Last stage of cancer?”
“We couldn’t help your husband because he had cancer…”
Cedric’s words make Alicia deeply shocked. The woman opens her eyes much wider and sets them on Cedric, refusing to believe Dominick was actually seriously ill and really doomed to death due to the aggressive stage of this terrible illness.
“W-what-t d-did you s-s-say?” Alicia asks in a shaking voice, opening her eyes widely. “My husband… Had… Cancer?”
“The last stage of throat cancer…” Cedric says with a heavy heart.
“I can’t believe it…”
“This type of cancer is very hard to diagnose at an early stage because everything starts with a sore throat and hoarseness.”
“Did everything start in the case of my husband?”
“Exactly. Mr. Middleton came to us with these problems a few years ago. But we found nothing and started to treat him for laryngitis, but it did not help.”
“My God, so, did my husband have cancer for a long time?”
“Yes. And the problem was that he did not pay attention to a hard cough and a sore throat for some time and kept living his common life. Your husband went to the doctor when he felt very bad and could not take it.”
“How awful…”
“Then we realized everything was more serious and sent him for a full workup: analyzes, scans, the biopsy, an X-ray, etc. And after a very close examination, doctors found a malignant tumor in the infraglottic cavity. This type of tumor is a rare thing, but it develops very quickly.”
“My gosh…” Alicia shakes her head with her mouth closed with her hand.
“Well, after getting the diagnosis, we sent him to radiation therapy. We were able to do it because the tumor did not reach the esophagus and blood vessels. Because of this, as you told me before, he started to lose his hair and became almost bald…”
“Right, at some moment, he lost almost all of his hair. But he told me it was an inherited thing. Many people in his family started to lose their hair at a young age. And I thought it was the truth because his brother had thin hair, as well.”
“So, some time later, he got surgery, and we kept his condition under our control, which got really much better for some time. A period of, so to speak, remission began and lasted until the day you came here with him when he could not breathe and speak.”
After everything she heard, the shocked Alicia starts shaking strongly and shakes her head with tears in her eyes, not being able to believe Dominick was hiding the fact that he was seriously sick but did not show it and found the strength to live a normal life and pretend that everything was fine.
“But why?” Alicia makes a sob. “Why did you say nothing to me about my husband’s diagnosis? You did know what happened to him but hid it from me and tried to make me sure you could treat Dominick!”
“For God’s sake, forgive me, Mrs. Middleton,” Cedric apologizes with pity in his eyes, putting his hand on his heart. “I know I should have told you a diagnosis of your husband much earlier.”
“But why did you not say?”
“Mr. Middleton begged me to tell you nothing when I told him I was going to tell his wife about his state.”
“Dominick asked you?”
“He did not want to make you upset and was doing his best to hide the truth.”
“But you must have told me even if he didn’t want to say it!” Alicia raises her voice. “I am his wife! I should have known why my husband was sick! How could you hide it from me and keep the illusion that Dominick would get well?”
“Listen, Mrs. Middleton, I’m very sorry it all happened. I swear, I wanted to tell you everything when the state of your husband got so bad that it was impossible to deny he was deathly sick. And he had wanted to tell you everything some time before his death.”
“But he told me nothing! He even gave me no hint! And instead of telling me his diagnosis, you lied to me!”
“Forgive me, please.”
“I did not expect it from you, Dr. Cedric. I did not…”
“Somehow, your husband told me you had a very hard life and had gotten through too many shocking things. Mr. Middleton did not want you to suffer because of another hit of fate. So, he begged me not to tell you his diagnosis.”
“But couldn’t you tell me everything secretly? Was it so hard to explain that my husband didn’t want to make me upset?”
“That man said you were so happy with him that his heart squeezed when imagining himself telling you about his deathly diagnose.”
“Gosh, did I really deserve it?” Alicia wonders, closing her face with both hands and giving a couple of loud sobs. “Why do You deprive me of all my close people? Husband, parents, sister, brother-in-law… I need only to know something bad happened to my niece… Why do I lose my close people, why?”
Alicia sniffs quietly.
“If only I didn’t know something happened to my niece…” Alicia adds quietly. “I would really go crazy…”
Alicia slowly comes to the line of chairs and sits on one of them, still crying bitterly and wishing to know her husband did not die and did not have cancer. She thinks that her life will be over after Dominick’s death, and she will never be happy. After living two years in a marriage with her beloved man, she suddenly became a young widow… Even if there were no signs of something bad, and the Middletons were very happy together and would become parents of their first baby very soon.
“Why, Dominick, why?” Alicia wonders, choking with tears, and sniffs quietly. “Why did you hide this from me? I had the right to know something was not right with you! I had…”
“Mrs. Middleton, I completely understand your pain and feel truly sorry for you,” Cedric says softly, sitting down next to Alicia and hugging her around the shoulders. “I am a widower, as well. My wife died many years ago due to the last stage of breast cancer. Believe me, I understand your situation like nobody else and know how bad you feel.”
“Couldn’t you tell me that secretly from Dominick?” Alicia asks, moving her eyes to Dominick. “Since my husband did not want you to tell me that, I would have been silent and then made him sure to confess everything.”
“Forgive me, please… I did not really want everything to happen this way, and I let your husband know that hiding it from his wife was a bad thing many times. But he was insisting on that and begging me to find any excuses not to make you suffer much more.”
“I suffered much more when I didn’t know what was happening to my husband, and why he was fading away before my eyes.”
“I’m sure some time before his death, he had wanted to say that but had no strength. You saw he could barely speak but tried to do so hard.”
“He didn’t tell me that… My husband was only saying he would die today, and nothing would help him. Dominick gave up and… Let that illness get a victory over him and take my beloved man away from me…”
“Your husband was foreseeing his death for a long time. Besides, he thought that he was talking with his dead family members at night several times. They were calling him to follow them.”
“That’s horrible… Awful!”
“But actually, it happens before death. Dying people often see hallucinations or dead people. So, death wasn’t a surprise for Mr. Middleton. He knew he would die. He was ready for that.”
“No, I can’t believe it…”
Alicia runs her hands through her little matted hair and pulls it slightly.
“It seems like a nightmare,” Alicia adds in a little shaking voice. “It’s not the truth… I haven’t become a widow and lost my beloved husband… No… It’s not the truth…”
“Sadly, my dear, sometimes life may be too unfair and deprive us of the dearest things we have,” Cedric sighs heavily, taking Alicia’s hands.
“I felt happy only when he came into my life. With him, I got the peace I wanted and was surrounded by care and love. I wanted to give birth to a child for him. I dreamed of us educating that one together.”
“Your husband had hardly wanted to die before the illness came back to him. He also planned to live with you and raise his children and grandchildren. Mr. Middleton talked very much about how much he loved you, and how he wanted to have his own children.” Cedric cracks a slight smile. “And I believe it was true. Because you also loved him like crazy and were taking care of him all this time so touchingly. You literally sacrificed yourself for that man…”
“I would give my life for him if I had to…” Alicia says in a little shaking voice. “Dominick was the whole world to me… I fell in love with him so strongly that I couldn’t imagine anyone but him instead of this man.”
Alicia sniffs quietly.
“My heart, my soul – I belonged only to him,” Alicia adds quietly. “I was so happy with him… We lived in peace and rarely fought…”
“I get it,” Cedric nods. “My wife and I also thought we’d live together. But sadly, she left me. Even if she gave birth to a wonderful son that I love very much.”
“Did I stay alone?” Alicia shakes her head. “Do I have nobody anymore? Do I have no reason to live for?”
“No, Mrs. Middleton, you should live for your niece, whom your husband talked much about. As far as I know, that girl recently became an orphan. So… I’m sure she will need your love so much.”
“I haven’t seen my girl for such a long time… I don’t know if she actually remembers me…”
“Of course, she does. You’ve always participated in educating her.”
“Right, but she’s so little… She can barely remember her close people. I’m afraid that my niece will forget her late parents very soon.”
“Anyway, after Mr. Middleton’s funeral, you can go to the USA and visit your niece. Maybe, it would help you come to yourself after your husband’s death.”
“Nothing will help me… I’m broken and devastated…”
“Talk with your close person and tell them everything. Or go to a psychologist, who would help you get through this pain and give you a wish to keep living. I think you should get a couple of consults.”
“How do I keep living when I stayed all alone? I have no family and friends!”
“You’ve got a niece. While she is alive and healthy, you are not alone. You’ve got a reason to live. Since you don’t have your own children, give your love to that girl. Become a mother and a father, whom she lost.”
“Someone would be happy about my grief now.” Alicia sighs heavily and sniffs quietly. “If my enemies knew I became a disconsolate widow, they would be happy and mocking me all together.”
“I’m sure your enemies would feel sorry for you,” Cedric says confidently.
“No, Doctor, you’re wrong. Those people always cursed me and wished I was never happy. And they got what they wanted. Their words are coming true. I stayed alone. I am suffering.”
“Don’t think about those people, my darling. Better think of those, who really love you, and ask them for help. They will surely help you get through this time and come back to your normal life.”
“Gosh… My life started to get better… I seriously thought I found my happiness… But then I heard the news about the death of my husband…” Alicia sniffs quietly. “My Dominick is dead… He is dead…”
“I’m saddened not less than you are,” Cedric says confidently. “For the few years that I watched Mr. Middleton, we became quite close. He shared what he was worried about, his feelings, and his emotions, and I listened to him closely, tried to find words to comfort him, and I closely listened, tried to comfort him and gave him some pieces of advice.”
Cedric cracks a slight smile.
“Your husband was a wonderful man,” Cedric notices. “I would say he was the best one of all my patients…”
“Doctor…” Alicia pronounces with tears in her eyes. “Let me see him.”
“What?”
“Please, Dr. Cedric, let me look at my husband the last time and say farewell to him. I want to make sure he is really dead…”
“Don’t better do it…” Cedric shakes his head.
“At least for one moment…”
“He wanted you to remember him as a happy, healthy, and smiling man, not the deathly white and skinny one your husband was for a few weeks.”
“I’m begging you, bring me to him. I want to look at him, at least for a moment and say farewell to him. Say that I shall always love him…”
“Listen…”
“Please, Doctor, don’t refuse. I have the right to see my husband.”
“His body will be moved to a morgue, and pathologists will examine it to confirm the reason for his death officially. And when you are ready, they will get him ready for a funeral and give him to you at any time.”
“Please, Doctor, let me see him…”
Cedric takes Alicia crying bitterly in his hug and softly caresses her head, understanding he would not have the courage to let her see her dead husband, and his heart is bleeding from seeing how bad the woman feels now. But he understands that he cannot help her and get through the loss of her close person.
Some time later, the door that leads to Dominick’s room opens. The doctors, who tried to save his life but were powerless in front of his terrible illness, leave it. At the same time, they are carrying a gurney, on which the man is lying and covered with a white, tight blanket from head to foot.
Alicia moves her eyes to them and quickly understands that they are carrying the dead Dominick out of the room.
“My gosh…” Alicia pronounces in a shaking voice with tears in her eyes. “Dominick… Dominick!”
Alicia quickly runs to the gurney and gets horrified while looking at the human body covered with a blanket, starting to shake much stronger and crying much harder. She understands that her nightmare has come true. The doctors do not rush to carry the gurney away and just stand, waiting for the woman to step away from it. Literally understanding that she would better look at her husband for the last time.
“D-dominick…” Alicia pronounces in a shaking voice, being excited and closing her mouth with her hand, and sniffs quietly. “N-no… No, you can’t leave me… Don’t do this…”
“Mrs. Middleton, you better go to the cafeteria and drink water,” Cedric says quietly, coming to Alicia, hugging her around the shoulders, and trying to take her aside. “You need to calm down.”
But Alicia does not hear Cedric’s words and continues to stand next to the gurney, crying over the dead body of Dominick and not finding the courage just to touch him for some time.
“Mrs. Middleton, please, calm down,” Cedric says as softly as possible. “M…”
Cedric does not finish his thought because Alicia shaking from horror takes a white blanket off the corpse’s face. And she makes absolutely sure that Dominick is dead because she sees the body of her husband. His face is deathly white, with a slight blue shade, his lips, which were tender red, fit his skin color, and his eyes are tightly closed and will never open again.
Seeing the corpse of her beloved man, Alicia cries loudly with her widely open eyes and her mouth closed with both hands and steps back, setting her eyes full of horror on Dominick’s corpse.
“NO!” Alicia shouts. “DOMINICK!”
Alicia comes to the gurney again and tenderly caresses the face of the dead Dominick, feeling no fear of corpses that she got after the accident murder of Gilbert. Moreover, she even kisses her husband on the forehead and cries over his corpse very hard, while the doctors silently watch her with sadness in their eyes.
“N-no, honey, please, don’t do this to me,” Alicia begs with despair. “Don’t leave me alone… I’m begging you… Come back to me, Dominick, I’m begging! Dominick! For God’s sake… Say something to me!”
Cedric sees that Alicia needs a little to fall into a strong hysteria due to the news about her husband’s death. The man feels how it hurts for him to watch the woman suffering, while she cannot believe she lost her beloved person. He truly feels sorry for her and grieves for his patient, but he can do nothing, unfortunately.
“Mrs. Middleton, please, calm down,” Cedric says with pity in his eyes, hugging Alicia around the shoulders. “You’ve brought yourself to exhaustion in the past few weeks… Don’t make yourself worse…”
“Do something, Doctor, please,” Alicia begs in a shaking voice. “Don’t let my husband die! Don’t let him die!”
“We cannot help him anyhow. Mrs. Middleton. Mr. Middleton is dead. He will be moved to a morgue. Your husband has died. Throat cancer has killed him. The doctors did their best to save his life, but we could not treat him.”
“NO-O-O-O-O-O!”
Alicia doubles over, literally choking with tears and not even thinking of keeping her emotions inside. She is sure that she would not be able to take Dominick’s death and keep living a normal life. The woman tried to hold herself down somehow. But when she saw the corpse of Dominick, she stopped controlling herself and is letting her pain out, not caring about the fact that someone might look at her questioningly and think she is a little crazy.
“DOMINICK, PLEASE, DON’T DIE!” Alicia shouts with despair. “DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Alicia makes a couple of loud sobs.
“COME BACK TO ME!” Alicia begs. “I DON’T WANNA BELIEVE YOU’RE DEAD! DON’T WANT!”
“Don’t scream like this, Mrs. Middleton,” Cedric says quietly, softly caressing Alicia’s back. “We completely understand it, but sadly, your husband is dead. He is here, in front of you. Dead.”
“NO, I DON’T WANT TO BELIEVE IT! I DON’T WANT!” Alicia hides her face in Dominick’s chest, not stopping giving sobs. “Answer me, Dominick, ANSWER! I can’t lose you, as well! I CANNOT!”
“Carry his body away before she gets much worse,” Cedric says to the doctors. “If you can, find a nurse on the way and call her to me.”
The doctors are silently going to carry the gurney with Dominick’s body away, and one of them covers his face with the blanket again. But Alicia does not want to let her husband go and say farewell to him forever…
“No, don’t take him away, please!” Alicia jabs excitedly with tears in her eyes. “Don’t take my husband away! DO NOT DO IT! I want to be with him!”
“Mrs. Middleton, come with me,” Cedric says softly, embracing Alicia and taking her far from the gurney.
“No, I don’t want…”
“It’s alright, darling. A nurse will give you a sedative, and then you will go home, eat, sleep and calm down a little.”
“I will not get better anymore… I WILL NOT!”
“If you want, I can call someone of your friends or familiars so they are with you.”
“I will not get better! Because I LOST MY HUSBAND! I LOST HIM, DR. CEDRIC, I LOST!”
While the devastated Alicia puts her nose in his shoulder, Cedric gives the doctors a sign so they carry away the gurney with Dominick right now. But seeing them going at a long distance, the woman quickly runs after them but gets caught and held by the doctor of her husband.
“DOMINICK!” Alicia shouts at the top of her lungs. “NO! MY HUSBAND! WHERE ARE YOU CARRYING HIM AWAY?”
“Mrs. Middleton, calm down…” Cedric calms down.
“LET ME STAY WITH HIM! I WANT TO SAY FAREWELL TO MY HUSBAND!”
“Mrs. Middleton, people are watching you,” Cedric says quietly, quickly looking around and seeing that some man and woman looking at Alicia strangely, while she gets obsessed with a real hysteria.
“I don’t care… I don’t care about anything and anyone!”
“Let’s go to a nurse for her to give you some drugs to calm you down.”
“I DO WANT NOTHING! NOTHING! I WANT ONLY TO SEE MY HUSBAND!”
“Mrs. Middleton…
“LET ME COME TO HIM! LET ME GO!”
Alicia runs to the leaving gurney very quickly with loud shouts of despair and tears in her wet eyes that have been terribly red and puffy in the past few weeks. This woman has cried enough tears all this time and has become too exhausted, very skinny, and quite white. She did forget what it meant to be really happy because she was only thinking about Dominick getting well. His illness, which she did not know about before, deprived her of energy. But after finding out about his death, Alicia lost the meaning of life and is sure she will never accept the fact that her greatest and biggest love, which became the first serious one in her life, has gone forever.
Cedric quickly catches her and tries to stop and hold her, but Alicia tries to get out with loud shouts and tears of despair and to run after the doctors, who hid somewhere in the corner, carrying the body of the dead Dominick on the gurney.
“Mrs. Middleton, please, calm down,” Cedric says loudly.
“Don’t take him away…” Alicia begs with despair.
“Mrs. Middleton…”
Cedric understands more and more that Alicia got obsessed with hysteria because of such a terrible piece of news that she is not ready to take.
“Let me be with him…” Alicia says in a shaking voice with tears, breathing heavily from strong excitement and trying to get out of Cedric’s grip. “I want to say goodbye to my husband…”
“It’s okay, darling, it’s okay,” Cedric pronounces quietly.
“Please… Please…”
Meanwhile, Cedric sees a young female nurse from afar and asks her to come to him with a gesture. And Alicia crying bitterly suddenly feels a light dizziness, strong weakness and panic, which is the reason why it’s getting harder and harder for her to breathe. Moreover, she sees something like a veil, feels nausea in her throat, and sharply gets white and quite cold.
Actually, the woman felt not very well before and barely stood on her feet because of the experienced stress and strong exhaustion. But now she gets much worse, everything goes blurred before her eyes, and she hears sounds like through a deaf wall. And a few seconds later after fighting with her condition, Alicia falls unconscious like a stone with a quiet, painful moan and gets dragged into infinite darkness. Luckily, Cedric reacts very quickly, catches her not to let her hit the head, and softly lowers her to the floor.
“Mrs. Middleton!” Cedric pronounces excitedly. “Jesus Christ… Mrs. Middleton!”
Cedric claps the cheeks of the unconscious Alicia, seeing how white, cold, and exhausted by such strong stress she is.
“Mrs. Middleton, can you hear me?” Cedric tries to reach. “Mrs. Middleton! Answer me! Mrs. Middleton?”
At this moment, a nurse runs to Cedric, who is holding the unconscious Alicia, but later he carries her carefully to chairs and seats on one of them.
“What’s happening, Mr. Westley?” the nurse asks and throws a look at Cedric and Alicia. “Oh… Is she unconscious?”
“Yes, strong stress that got much worse due to the news about her husband’s death,” Cedric says with sadness in his eyes, unbuttoning Alicia’s coat and a couple of top buttons on her shirt. “She was his wife.”
“Is that the man, who was going to us for a few years and was sick with throat cancer?”
The nurse squats down and checks Alicia’s pulse on her neck and wrist.
“It seems like, Dominick…” the nurse adds thoughtfully.
“Him,” Cedric nods.
“Wait, did he die?”
“Unfortunately, yes… Literally a few minutes ago…”
“Oh, my God… So sorry… He was a good man… I remember him well.”
“The doctors did their best, but his illness was way stronger.”
“How sad it all is…”
“His wife couldn’t quietly take this piece of news. She got obsessed with strong hysteria when she saw his corpse.”
“I heard her screaming when being a few meters away from here,” the nurse confesses, using a compact flashlight to check Alicia’s eyes and see their reaction to the light.
“My heart was bleeding at that moment.”
“Mine, too… Of course, many people took someone’s death or illness hard and got obsessed with hysteria. But for me, this is the first case when a person screamed at the whole hospital.”
“Yeah, this woman did not definitely want to keep everything inside.”
“Anyway, I completely understand her.”
“Oh, my God…”
Cedric claps Alicia’s cheek.
“I’m really regretting listening to Dominick and being silent about his diagnose,” Cedric confesses. “His wife had the right to know that her husband had the last stage of cancer.”
“Right…” the nurse nods. “But if he died, regretting is too late…”
“I know, but I should’ve told everything. This poor woman suffered from suspense and thought everything was fixable.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Mr. Westley. You just wanted to make it better.”
The nurse takes a little ampulla out of a little pocket of her uniform with some solution, adds a little bit of it to a piece of cotton that she also always has with her, and lets Alicia breathe it in. But even after waving the piece of cotton in front of her nose, the woman does not wake up and still looks very white and exhausted.
“She doesn’t wake up…” the nurse pronounces thoughtfully.
“No?” Cedric rounds his eyes.
“No… Find a guy. So, he carries her to my office. I will work on her.”
“Oh, there is no need to find!” Cedric exclaims, glancing at a young guy carrying an empty gurney rightly, and calls him to himself with a gesture. “Alan, come here now!”
The young doctor named Alan comes to Cedric with a gurney and glances at Alicia, whom she is still trying to wake up.
“What’s wrong?” Alan asks.
“Carry her on the gurney and take her to my office,” the nurse says. “Mr. Westley is not allowed to do it because his back hurts.”
“No problem.”
Alan takes the unconscious Alicia in his arms and carefully places her on the gurney that he starts to push forward, going to the office of the nurse. All this time, Cedric and she are trying to wake the deathly white and exhausted woman up somehow. But sadly, they cannot do this, at least now, while they have nothing that would help them.
***
“His sudden death became a great shock to me,” Alicia confesses. “I was shocked by that piece of news and couldn’t believe it for a long time. I thought that someone had deceived me. My beloved man was still alive… I didn’t believe even when I saw his dead body with my own eyes. I thought I was going crazy.”
“My gosh…” Raquelle pronounces with sadness in her eyes, holding the almost crying Alicia by her hands. “Aunt Alicia…”
“It’s still hard for me to believe it. I haven’t still taken his death.” Alicia sniffs quietly. “But I understand my husband is dead when I come to the cemetery. When I bring flowers to the grave, stand, and cry… Cry over the grave with his name, Dominick Brandon Middleton, on it. And I still suffer because I lost the love that many people could only dream about.”
“Do you often visit him?” Raquelle asks.
“Very often. I've done it for twelve years. The last time I checked on my husband’s grave happened some time before Eleanor told his people to bring me to her.”
“I’m imagining how much you miss him.”
“Very much…”
Alicia sighs very hard, understanding that tears start to get out of her eyes because of the memories that get obsessed with her and still make her heart tear apart.
“I’m still missing him so much…” Alicia confesses in a little shaking voice. “He became my first and only love in my life. That man was my happiness, my inspiration… My late husband was the whole world to me. The world that was ruined after his sudden death.”
“Auntie…” Raquelle pronounces quietly with sadness in her eyes, shaking her head. “Darling…”
“If you want, I shall drive you to the cemetery somehow and show his grave. I think you should know who your uncle was. You’ve never seen him yet. And then you would visit him alone whenever you want.”
“Of course. I wonder to know what your husband was like. I wanna see his grave.”
“He often said he wanted to go to the USA and meet you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I told him a lot about you. I said how much I missed you… Dominick even suggested we go to visit you and your grandfather together.” Alicia sighs heavily. “But alas, I didn’t introduce you to your uncle. Who would’ve loved you like his daughter.”
“I don’t doubt,” Raquelle cracks a slight smile.
“Probably… This is the punishment for my mistakes.” Alicia, getting much sadder, wipes her tears away quickly with her hand and sniffs quietly. “And the curses of Gilbert’s family worked. They wanted me to suffer, and I’m doing now.”
“No, Aunt, don’t say so,” Raquelle begs with pity in her eyes, softly caressing Alicia’s hand.
“Eleanor knew I’d have to suffer much. Even after experiencing the trial and not going to prison, I kept living like in hell.”
“I don’t think so. You were very happy in a marriage for two years.”
“Yeah, but I wanted to live my whole life with Dominick and give birth to his children. But it didn’t come true.”
“Say, would you have stayed with him if you had known about his illness before?” Raquelle asks hesitantly. “If you had known you’d become a widow after getting married!”
“Without doubts,” Alicia pronounces confidently. “I would’ve stayed with that man until the very end. Even if I had lost him eventually. I wouldn’t have left Dominick by my wish. And I said it all the time when my husband was close to death.”
“Did he really never complain about anything? Didn’t he let you know that he felt bad?”
“No, never. My husband never said what bothered him. He always seemed happy and cheerful. He really wanted me to feel good.” Alicia shakes her head. “He didn’t wanna load me with his problems. Even working from day to night and getting terribly exhausted, Dominick had an unspoken rule: give me attention anyway.”
“So, didn't you meet anyone after Dominick’s death?” Raquelle asks.
“No, I didn’t meet anyone after his death…”
“Because of your age?”
“Not only that. I thought a second man, who would’ve replaced my late husband, couldn’t just exist in the world. There was not and will not be anyone better than Dominick. I’m still sure about it.”
“You say, did you get married to that man before the story of Eleanor Woodham’s father happened?” Raquelle asks carefully.
“Yes, right.” Alicia moves her eyes down a little shamelessly and tightly locks her fingers. “I met my husband after I started working in the club. Where I met Gilbert… And was in prison for killing Eleanor’s father for three months while the police were investigating it.”
“Did you reject happiness and decide not to date anyone at your wish?” Raquelle wonders.
“Yes, I refused to date men.” Alicia sighs heavily and throws a sad look at the window. “After everything I had to get through, I decided not to fall in love anymore. However, nobody got a crush on me after my husband’s death…”
“Why?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman! At the age of forty-seven, you look wonderful. Slim, fit, always dress up well…”
“I don’t know…” Alicia shrugs. “Maybe, I was closed and not letting men come to me. Maybe, the problem was with my age. Because I was thirty-five by the time Dominick died. As people say, no longer a young girl…”
“But there are cases when people find their happiness after they turn thirty,” Raquelle notices with a slight smile.
“I know, but I didn’t want to get through that again. I thought I was done with it. And… I decided to accept the fact that I would never be a happy wife and mother.”
“Were you afraid the same thing would repeat?”
“Partly. What happened made me think that because something like that happened to my relationships with the men, I would’ve hardly been happy.” Alicia swallows up nervously. “I thought God punished me for my sins and took all my close people from me. He decided that I didn’t deserve happiness after working as a prostitute and killing the man.”
“Do you think God hasn’t forgiven you?” Raquelle asks.
“Most likely. Yes, I always pray to Him every day and ask Him for forgiveness. But it’s clear that my sin is too hard. And God doesn’t want to forgive me. He makes me suffer and pay much for the things I did at a young age.”
“I don’t believe you easily accepted the fact that you weren’t destined to become happy.”
“I spent very much time taking it. But now I quietly accept the fact that I’m still single.” Alicia glances at her hands. “Of course, I feel sorry that it happened… So, it’s my destiny. Living without a husband and children. Paying for the sins of the past.”
“Maybe, it is not too late to think of your happiness?” Raquelle smiles mysteriously.
“Me?”
“I’m sure a sympathetic man would pay attention to you.”
“No, Raquelle, come on…”
“What? You could meet go to a shop and meet someone! Maybe, you get a chance to become happy again.”
“No, sweetie, my time has gone…” Alicia shakes her head with a slight smile and sadness in her eyes.
“Why, Aunt?” Raquelle wonders. “Why do you think marrying and giving birth to children is a matter for young people? It’s wrong! You can make a dream come true at any age. You need only a wish and patience.”
“The case is not only about it, my sunshine. The case is also about my feelings.”
“Your feelings?”
“I still keep loyalty to my late husband, who I haven’t forgotten even so many years later after his death. And I shall never forget Dominick, whom I loved with all my heart.”
“Do you still love him?”
“Yes, honey. It’s been very many years, but I still love Dominick… And I’ll never forget everything he did for me.” Alicia sighs heavily. “My husband literally brought me back to life after what I had to get through because of Eleanor’s father. And I shall always be grateful to him for making me feel happy, at least for a while. A happy, beloved, and desired woman.”
“So, don’t you wanna get married?” Raquelle asks.
“No, I don’t want. I am a widow. I will remain the one. May Dominick be my only husband. Who I love very much.”
“And children?” Raquelle pronounces carefully. “Would you like to have a child?”
“Of course, I would do,” Alicia smiles shyly. “You know well how much I adore children and how much pleasure I have when I manage to watch them.”
“Sorry that you and your husband didn’t think about it at once.”
“I’m sorry, too. We shouldn't have delayed it, just like your mother and father did. Dominick and I wanted to have children, but we decided to live for each other and then think of someone to carry our name.”
“Wouldn’t you be afraid of watching your children by yourself for a bigger part of the time?”
“No, it would not be. Besides, I’ve always been sure a woman was born to be a mother. A wonderful wife and a caring mother.”
“And who did you want more?”
“Dominick and I wanted to have two babies: a girl and a boy. We always said if we became parents, we would have at least two children.”
“Okay…”
“But…” Alicia sighs heavily. “Unfortunately, it did not happen due to the death of the love of all my life. And I didn’t become a mother. I was never pregnant. I never even experienced a miscarriage.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s very sad… But…” Alicia moves her eyes to Raquelle with a slight smile. “But I’m madly happy I’ve got you. The one, to whom I can give my mother’s love that I didn’t give my children.”
“I know, Aunt,” Raquelle nods.
“I must confess that you’ve become like my own daughter, whom I love very much. We spent so much time together when you were a little child that I managed to set affection upon you. And I madly missed you when you were far from me.”
“You know well that I’m attracted to you, as well. I have always said you and Grandfather replaced my father and mother. And I’m truly grateful to you for everything you’ve given me.”
“You know, Raquelle…” Alicia pronounces, looking at Raquelle with a slight smile. “The older you get, the more I understand you’ve got a strong resemblance to my sis.”
“Really?”
“You’re very similar to your mother. Every time I look at you, I see Elizabeth in front of me.”
“You know it better,” Raquelle shrugs. “Because I don’t almost remember the way she looked.”
“Believe me, girl, you look the way she did. Your grandfather and grandmother would say you’ve literally become an image of Elizabeth.”
“She was beautiful?”
“Very! Your mother was just a beauty. Elizabeth was popular among men as well as you are now. They didn’t literally let her go, and they often invited her on dates. But my sissy behaved very worthily. She accepted attention, but she never went too far.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And your father became the first man of her in all senses.”
“That’s how…”
“I mean… She had boyfriends, but everything was discreet in their cases. But everything was otherwise about Jackson… With him, she started to think of a wedding and children more and more.”
“My gosh,” Raquelle smiles slightly.
“So, your father couldn’t resist and fell in love with her at first sight. He quickly let everybody know that other men would have no chance because Lizzy would belong to him. And it happened.”
***
September 6th, 1990.
“Jackson Ronald Cameron, do you take Elizabeth Lauren Thompson as your wife?” addressing Jackson, the judge asks, who is wearing a formal dark suit and sitting at a small table, around which quite many people came together. “Do you promise to be with her for better or worse, for richer or poorer until death do you apart?”
“Yes, I do,” Jackson replies confidently with a shy smile.
“Elizabeth Lauren Thompson, do you take Jackson Ronald Cameron to your husband?” the judge addresses Elizabeth. “Do you promise to be with him for better or worse, for richer or poorer until death do you apart?”
“Yes, I do,” Elizabeth nods with a wide smile.
All the guests smile much wider and get truly happy that Jackson and Elizabeth are about to finally become husband and wife. So, the parents and the older sister of the bride standing closer to the two than the others barely hold down their tears while watching the happy Elizabeth standing in front of the judge and holding her soon-to-be husband under an arm. And the father of the groom is proudly standing next to the relatives of the one to become his daughter-in-law, whom he loves so much, not hiding his happiness for his only son, who is going to get married.
“Since you two agree, I ask you, Elizabeth and Jackson, to share the rings,” the judge asks after saying something to get Elizabeth and Jackson married according to the law.
And Jackson smiling shyly and being incredibly proud takes one of the gold wedding rings from a little box that his best man gives him and puts it on the left hand of Elizabeth with great pleasure. And then the girl takes the second ring and puts it on the ring finger of the man’s left hand, who looks at the unbelievably beautiful girl or the jewelry that would let people know what his new status is.
“And now, Jackson and Elizabeth, come to me, please, and leave your signatures here,” the judge asks, moving a piece of paper closer to the edge of the table.
Elizabeth and Jackson come closer to the table. The man helps the girl sit down, holding a chair for her, and sits in the second one placed against her. The judge points at the places where the young people need to leave a signature, and they quickly take a pen and leave a few ones in a document for a few seconds.
“Now the witnesses should come and leave their signatures, as well,” the judge asks.
Jackson and Elizabeth get up and step aside, and then a young sympathetic girl and a little rude-to-look man, who is actually very polite, sit down. He also holds a chair for her at first and then gets down. The judge shows the places where they need to leave their signatures, and they write something in the document, get up and come back to the places where they were standing before.
“So, the future spouses gave their agreement for this marriage, and there are no barriers to that,” the judge concludes. “So, we went through all the formalities.”
The judge falls into silence for two seconds and quickly looks at all the guests, the bride, and the bridegroom.
“And now, by the power that I was given, I am pronouncing this man and this woman husband and wife,” the judge says solemnly with his head proudly raised, who is getting Elizabeth and Jackson married.
When the judge says these words, a small number of the guests from the bride and the bridegroom side do not hide their smiles. All of them are in a very beautiful room and surrounding the old man sitting at the small table.
Since the future spouses decided to have a modest wedding ceremony, all the invited people are wearing very simple clothes: women did not care much about their hair and picked up very cute and sympathetic dresses, almost all of which have the same length. And men brushed their hair put attention on complete suits, or came here in shirts of pastel shades and dark pants.
Jackson and Elizabeth, who are standing in front of the judge hand in hand with the wedding rings they already shared are also wearing modest clothes. The groom put on a charcoal suit, and the bride picked up a long white dress of the simplest cut that fits her slim waist so well. The girl’s long hair is curled in big curls and beautifully placed on one of her shoulders, her makeup is made of nude shades and perfectly expresses her natural beauty, and she is wearing a small headband on her head with artificial flowers. The man got his hair his thick hair done and brushed it to the side, there is a small boutonniere on the lapel of his jacket, and he is wearing a silver watch on his left hand.
There are two people standing on both sides of them – the maid of honor and the groomsman. They are also wearing simple clothes, and they did not care much about their hair. None of them is hiding their true smiles while watching the bride and groom smile widely, sometimes sharing a tender look with each other and holding each other’s hand.
“Congratulations, Elizabeth and Jackson, your marriage is concluded,” the judge says with a wide smile. “And now confirm it by giving your first marriage kiss.”
Probably, everybody is waiting for this moment more than anything else. The guests could not wait for the young people to finally share a kiss before their eyes and confirm the status they just got. And Elizabeth and Jackson were also dreaming of this more than anything and decided not to waste time. After the judge’s words, the people in love turn on each other and smile widely at each other for two moments, and the man softly grabs the face of the girl, who is tall but a little lower than him, and gives her a tender kiss full of love, which she immediately answers, putting her hands on his back and trying to press to the one she can confidently call her husband as closely as possible.
The guests immediately start applauding happily and loudly, saying something nice to the kissing people, who just concluded a legal marriage and are now giving each other their first marriage kiss. Probably, the relatives of the just-married people are happier than the others: the proud father of the groom and the bride barely hold down their wish to shed a tear, the mother and the older sister of the girl are crying quietly from happiness, closing their mouths with their hands. Meanwhile, the judge cracks a slight smile at everybody, quickly takes some papers in one pile, gets up from his place, and starts applauding along with the others, as well.
A few seconds later, the just-married Jackson and Elizabeth break the kiss and look at each other for two seconds with a wide smile and a special gloss in their eyes. Then they take each other in a tight hug, giving no attention to the loud applause and whoops of the guests, who show their happiness in all possible ways. But the newlyweds do not forget about them, and a little later, after stepping back, turn on everybody and give all of them a wide smile when seeing how happy these people are because two loving people concluded their marriage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Mr. and Mrs. Cameron to you,” the judge says solemnly with his head proudly raised, who, however, nobody hears due to the loud applause.
Now, when Jackson and Elizabeth have become husband and wife, all the guests will go to celebrate such a wonderful event, which will last until the evening, and then the young people will stay alone and spend their first marriage night together. Nobody hides their happiness. Everybody is ready to share the joy with the newlyweds, who adore each other with all their hearts. Who are starting a new stage in their lives, which is undoubtedly going to be full of unforgettable emotions and bright memories.
***
“By the way, you said you knew my father well,” Raquelle notices.
“Yeah, your dad and I were good friends.”
“But how did you meet him? You lived in different countries and weren’t supposed to meet!”
“He often arrived in London for his work. So, somehow, I met him on the street. He asked me to show him a way to one place as he got lost in the city. And I helped him with pleasure and talked to Jackson a little. At the end of the meeting, we actually shared our numbers and often called each other.”
“So, did you meet him later again?”
“Right. We talked every time he came here. Jackson told me about life in the USA, and I helped him get used to this place. I showed him the whole city. And we eventually became friends.”
“Weren’t you in love with him?”
“No, c’mon!” Alicia laughs shyly. “Of course, your father was a very attractive man, but for me, he was just a friend.”
“How long had you known him before Mother met him?”
“Almost since the same moment I met Gilbert.”
“That’s how!”
“They didn’t know each other, but the people of Eleanor’s father caught me talking with Jackson two or three times and told him that. And then Gilbert started a scandal because of that. Because, as you know, he thought I had no right to talk to men. Gilbert was supposed to be the only one in my life. And he didn’t care about my explanations about Jackson being just a friend of mine, who came here for some business.”
“So, as I understand, did Father meet Mother after you ran away from Gilbert?”
“Yes, that’s true. Two years were gone after that… Somehow, Lizzy and I went to the USA at the invitation of your father. The truth is, he invited only me, but I took my sister with me. Father and Mother paid for our trip that we had been waiting for too long.”
“Did Mother want to go to the USA?”
“Yes, when I said where I was going, my sister persuaded me to take her with me and asked Father and Mother to pay for her ticket.”
“That’s how…”
“She was afraid to go to another country. So, Elizabeth and I went together. Even if I also came to the USA for the first time and knew nothing.”
“And then, as I understand, did Dad and Mom meet?”
“They did,” Alicia smiles mysteriously. “I called Jackson after I came to Kingston, where you were living when you were a child, and we agreed about a meeting. And your mom decided to go because of curiosity. She wanted to meet the one, who invited me to the USA. And…”
Alicia shrugs.
“Since it happened, I used a moment and introduced your mother to your father,” Alicia adds. “And I noticed they had chemistry literally shortly after.”
***
July 14th, 1989.
“Oh, hello, Alicia!” the sympathetic hazel-eyed man with dark hair, who is wearing clothes of the 80s, says amicably with a slight smile. “Finally, you’ve come!”
“Hello, Jackson,” the young girl with long brown hair and gray eyes named Alicia replies with a shy smile. “It’s been a while.”
Two seconds later, Alicia steps back from the man named Jackson after an amicable hug.
“I already missed you,” Alicia confesses.
“I missed you, too,” Jackson says confidently. “You disappeared and weren’t almost calling me.”
“Oh, don’t be mad, please,” Alicia waves her hand. “I had so many things to do and was super busy…”
“I get it… I was lately very busy as well.”
“Much work?”
“Yes. I just got a chance to have a good rest.”
“Just like I did. I wanted to go to Kingston a long time ago but managed to do this now.”
“The important thing is that you finally came.”
“Yeah.”
Jackson and Alicia shyly smile at each other, while a young girl is near them, whom the friend of this man came with. It seems like the girls are sisters because they have some similar things about their faces. Because the unfamiliar girl never met this man before, she is now shyly standing aside and looking around, bending her hands at elbows, and patiently waiting for the girl to accompany her to talk to her friend.
“By the way, how was your flight?” Jackson shows interest. “Was the flight exhausting?”
“Thank God, good,” Alicia replies confidently. “Yes, the flight was long, but I already had a rest after that…”
“Living in a hotel?”
“Yes, I found a cheap one and stopped there.”
“Alright…”
“Well, how are you doing here?”
“I’m doing fine. My business is good.”
“How’s your father? Is he feeling well?”
“Father is doing fine, as well. His health is just incredible, and he still cannot sit in the same place.”
“Yeah, he’s a very active man,” Alicia laughs shyly.
“Agree. He really hates doing nothing. It’s like torture to him.”
“There’s a type of person like him.”
“His favorite phrase is, ‘Life is a movement!’”
“I think he’s kinda right.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds.
“Well, what has changed in your life?” Alicia asks.
“What could happen?” Jackson asks.
“Well… Erm… Maybe, something I don’t know about happened?”
“Well, nope, nothing has happened…” Jackson shrugs. “I’m still working hard, earning money, and having dates with girls in my free time.”
“Don’t girls still leave you alone? Do they still fight for your heart?”
“Yup, but none of them got my heart. All my affairs are very short.”
“You leave? Or you get your heart broken?”
“Differently. But I mainly leave them.”
“That’s how!”
“I get sick of them! So, that’s why I leave them.”
“I get it.”
“I’m not upset or worried about failures in relationships. But my father is nervous.”
“Why?”
“He’s worried I might stay alone. He’s hurrying me up with marrying and saying he wanna be babysitting with grandchildren as soon as possible.”
“But do you want it?”
“Of course, I do! There’s not a good girl!”
“It’s alright, you’ll meet the only one and give grandchildren to your father,” Alicia smiles shyly. “You’re a handsome guy… Early or late, you’ll meet the girl that will make you happy.”
“Someday…” Jackson shrugs. “But now getting married is not my important thing to do. Now I want to stand on my feet and build my career to start earning good money.”
“That’s right. A man should earn money because he must provide for his wife and children.”
“That’s why I’ve gotta be ready. My woman should live in wealth and not have to count every cent and think of buying one or another thing.”
“You’re a wise man, buddy,” Alicia notices confidently.
“Dad would teach everything. He’s a very smart man, who would never advise a bad thing.”
“That’s right.”
Jackson glances aside with a slight smile and sees the young, tall girl with black hair standing aside and thinking about something. And the fact that he does not see her face makes him suddenly get curious and wish to find out how this girl looks.
“Listen, Alicia, did you come here with that girl…” Jackson says thoughtfully.
“What girl?” Alicia frowns slightly.
“That one!” Jackson points at the young girl.
“Ah, yeah, I came with her,” Alicia smiles shyly.
“Why’s she standing aside?” Jackson wonders.
“I think she’s shy.” Alicia raises her hand, looking at the girl, who is standing aside. “Lizzy, come to us! Why are you standing there and looking sad?”
The girl quickly puts her thoughts aside and comes to Alicia, who hugs her around the shoulders.
“I’m here,” the girl pronounces shyly, smiling slightly at Alicia.
“Jackson, let me introduce my younger sissy Elizabeth,” Alicia says softly.
“This is your sister?” Jackson rounds his eyes.
“Yes, my beloved sister, Lizzy.”
“Wow…” Alicia moves her eyes to the girl named Elizabeth. “Lizzy, this is Jackson Cameron. My good friend, who I told you about.”
Elizabeth moves her eyes to Jackson for the first time in a long time and then realizes she cannot move them off. This man gets her attracted and makes the tender girl’s heart beat much faster. This tall, handsome man with a charming smile, dark, luxuriant hair, and charming gray eyes strikes her down almost at once.
However, Jackson himself cannot move his eyes off this gray-eyed girl, who makes him pay attention to her. The young girl with the most beautiful face of those he has ever seen instantly strikes him down. She does differ from all his ex-girlfriends, who were different but similar to some extent! But Elizabeth has nothing from what they had. And it’s very good for her! Jackson realizes he would not mind talking to such a cute girl, who is the sister of his good friend.
Alicia watches the two with interest and notices that some kind of chemistry is getting stronger between her sister and her friend, and they cannot move their charming looks off each other. Of course, the girl did not plan to get Elizabeth and Jackson together, but she would be happy to see them as a couple. In her opinion, they would look very good if they were together. The two are young, handsome, and not in love yet. The man is not in a rush to start a relationship and is looking for his only one. And the girl closely watches all her admirers, but she has not found the one, whom she would get sympathy for. So… Alicia is even glad her younger sister went to the meeting with Jackson and just introduced them to each other.
And because the silence in the air lasts too long, the older from the Thompson sisters has to be the first one to start speaking, because Jackson and Elizabeth are busy looking at each other and are not probably going to do that.
“Erm, guys, are you okay?” Alicia asks a little hesitantly, looking at Jackson and Elizabeth. “Tell me something!”
Alicia waves her hand in front of Elizabeth and Jackson’s faces.
“Guys, can you hear me?” Alicia asks a little louder. “I’m still here!”
Two seconds later, Jackson is the first one to come to himself and finds the courage to move his eyes off Elizabeth, who keeps looking at him, getting little blush, feeling shy and kind of afraid of talking to such a cute, as she thinks, man, who is really good-looking.
“Erm, yes, it’s okay…” Jackson says thoughtfully, cleaning his throat quietly. “Sorry, Alicia… Thought about something…”
“It's okay,” Alicia smiles shyly.
“Listen, Alicia… You never told me you got such a beautiful and cute sissy.”
“But now you know it.”
“But why did I know nothing about her?”
“Sorry, Jackson. Had no moment to do.”
“You must have told me about such a sympathetic girl.”
“Hey, I’m sorry about not telling you I’d come here with her.”
“Gosh, Alicia, how could you apologize?”
“Wouldn’t you mind if Elizabeth joined our party?”
“Of course, no! I’d be really happy to meet a new person. Get this girl to know better.”
“She’s afraid to stay here alone.”
“Afraid?”
“Yes, my sister came here for the first time and doesn’t know the city or the USA at all. Lizzy asked me to take her with me, and I couldn’t refuse. She didn’t care that I was gonna meet my friend.”
“I believe you get on very well.”
“Oh, we do!” Alicia smiles shyly. “Yes, Elizabeth and I fight at times, but we keep being the best friends anyway.”
“That’s right…” Elizabeth pronounces shyly, quietly, nodding with a slight smile. “Alicia and I have always been very close and helped each other with everything.”
“I love my little sis with all my heart and am ready to tear anyone to dare to hurt her.”
“I am not going to hurt her,” Jackson replies confidently.
“I don’t doubt!”
“That’s probably great to have a sissy or bro,” Jackson assumes with a light smile.
“Sometimes it’s hard, but it’s wonderful,” Elizabeth replies shyly, folding her hands in front of her.
“I’ve got no brothers and sisters.”
“No?”
“Yes, I don’t even have cousins. But when I was a child, I sometimes wanted to have someone to play with and talk about something personal with…”
“Your parents did not want to?”
“No, sadly, my mother died when I was just a child.”
“Died?” Elizabeth rounds her eyes. “Oh, I’m so sorry…”
“And Father did not want to get married for the second time. So… That’s why I have no one. No sister, no brother.”
“I see.”
“Well, I’ve got such a good sissy that I really love,” Alicia says softly, hugging Elizabeth and pressing her to herself.
“Great,” Jackson smiles slightly.
Silence settles in the air for two seconds.
“Yeah, it seems like we haven’t met each other yet…” Elizabeth says thoughtfully, putting a finger on her lips.
“Something like this,” Jackson shrugs.
“Is your name Jackson? Did I hear that right?”
“Yes, yes, my name is Jackson. Jackson Cameron.”
“And I’m Elizabeth… Elizabeth Thompson…”
Elizabeth cracks a slight smile, moving her eyes down for a moment.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth…” Jackson says a little hesitantly. “Erm, sorry… Ms. Thompson…”
“Me too…” Elizabeth pronounces amicably. “Mr. Cameron…”
With these words, Elizabeth and Jackson shyly shake each other by the hand to greet each other, feeling some heat that spreads out of their hands and over their bodies and feeling a little awkward. However, despite this fact, the two would like to keep talking and find at least a stupid reason to talk a little.
“So…” Jackson pronounces a little hesitantly. “Did you… Come here along with Alicia?”
“Yes, we came here for a couple of weeks,” Elizabeth shrugs with a shy smile. “To have a rest and watch the city.”
“As I understand, did you come here for the first time?”
“Yup, this is my first trip abroad.”
“I got it.”
“My sister and I decided to spend time together. Somewhere far from our parents.”
“That’s how!”
“Besides, some time ago, Alicia came back home after having a hurtful breakup with her boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend? Alicia had someone?”
“Yeah, one man. She lived with him for a few years, but they recently broke up.”
“And she’s upset by the breakup?”
“Yes, to her, it was a hurtful moment. So… I’m trying to support her as much as possible. And Mom and Dad do their best. They were the ones to suggest she go somewhere and have fun. So, Alicia and I thought, talked, and decided to go somewhere together.”
“Wow…” Jackson moves his eyes to Alicia. “I didn’t know you dated someone.”
“Erm, yeah…” Alicia pronounces hesitantly with sadness in her eyes. “I was in a relationship with that man for quite long… And really lived with him.”
“He was a rich man?”
“Yeah, my former boyfriend was a provided man. He could get anything.”
“I barely saw him but never talked to him,” Elizabeth confesses. “But Mom and Dad often talked to him and thought he was a very good man after they met for the first time. And they were very happy that my sister met that man.”
“Every day, I was making more sure I was about to get married,” Alicia adds. “But no… At some moment, our relationship got worse, and we broke up… With a scandal, I must confess.”
“Oh, gosh…” Jackson shakes his head, looking at Alicia with sympathy in the eyes, and softly caresses her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Alicia…”
“Thanks, but now I feel a little better,” Alicia smiles shyly. “He is not the last man in my life.”
“How long did you date him?”
“Very long. Since my university times.”
“Wow…”
“Yes, but, luckily, I’ve got the support of my family that helps me get through it and forget that breakup. My parents always tell me I shouldn't lose hope and would meet a good man.”
“Hold on, darling,” Jackson says confidently. “And remember that someday you’d meet a man that would deserve you and your hand and heart.”
“With God’s help, Jackson,” Alicia shrugs. “I don’t lose hope yet. But I’m not going to impose on anyone.”
“Don’t worry, you’re a young and beautiful girl! You would meet your beloved man.”
“C’mon, buddy, it’s okay. Now I prefer not thinking about it and enjoying spending time in America with my sister.”
“You like being here?”
“Very much. At least, I really like this city.”
“M-m-m, you haven’t been somewhere in New York or Miami. You know how great it is there!”
“Have you been?”
“Nope, but I heard it’s great to be there.”
“I wish I got a chance to go there someday.”
“Who knows, but you’d meet your destiny in this country. And then move here, and you and I would meet and talk more often.”
“No, Jackson, I don’t want to start a new relationship… Because… The wound is too strong and hasn’t been gone yet.”
“So, as you want! I completely understand it.”
“You know, because of the breakup, I got depressed and didn’t want to leave home at all. But now I understand I should start going out and having fun.”
“You’re thinking of good things!” Jackson nods in approval. “You should keep living! Yes, a breakup is always hurt, but remember that you may have multiple breaks like this in your whole life.”
“That’s right. So, I decided to enjoy my life and spend time with wonderful people.”
“If you want to, I would be happy to become a guide for you and Ms. Thompson and show you some good places to have fun, eat tasty food and listen to good music for little money.”
“Oh, it would be great…” Elizabeth gets great interest. “Alicia has already been in the USA before, but I came here for the first time and know nothing. Maybe, you show us the city? We could talk and get to know each other better?”
“With great pleasure. Alicia and I wanted to walk down the city, talk, and find out how we were doing after she came. But since she came with you, it would be an honor for me to show the city to such a cute and charming girl like you.”
Elizabeth moves her eyes down with a wide smile, instantly getting blushed, while Jackson looks at the young girl with interest.
“C’mon, Cameron, stop,” Alicia says funnily, hugging Elizabeth. “Don’t make my Lizzy blush! She’s a too shy girl.”
“Did I say something bad?” Jackson throws his hands up with an innocent smile. “I just noticed you’ve got a very beautiful sister.”
“Hey, let’s better walk down the city and see what there is here.”
“So… In this case, I’m suggesting we forget all the bad things and start our unforgettable tour on the streets of this city right now.”
“We agree,” Elizabeth smiles shyly.
“Guide us, captain!” Alicia exclaims.
“Let’s go then!” Jackson pronounces with his head proudly raised, pointing somewhere on the side. “Go, girls.”
Alicia and Elizabeth look at each other with a slight smile and go somewhere after Jackson. The man gets the pleasure of telling the girls about the best places in the city, where everything looks quite modern for the eighties of the twentieth century.
It’s impossible not to notice that the dark-haired, handsome man started to show off a little after he saw the younger sister of his friend and realized she had something that he liked. Sometimes he might openly talk about his dignity and not be shy about saying he is the most attractive guy in this small city to show off for the one he likes. While Alicia shyly laughs and sometimes tries to bring her friend to the earth, Elizabeth does not stop smiling truly and keeps listening to this attractive, confident man with interest, sometimes watching him like charmed and asking some questions.
***
“M-m-m, wow…” Raquelle smiles shyly.
“I even wanted to leave those lovebirds alone, so they could talk a little. But instead of that, Jackson organized an excursion in the city and showed some amazing places.” Alicia laughs shyly. “But these two definitely dreamed of staying alone and telling me to go as far as possible not to stop them from looking at each other and talking.”
“That was love at first sight?”
“I think so. Your parents shared their numbers and started often meeting after that event.” Alicia chuckles kindly. “And I joked that I started getting jealous because those two forgot that I was existing.”
“Sorry that Dad didn’t have a friend you could shorten time with,” Raquelle says thoughtfully.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, they thought of me sometimes. But they talked about each other more. Especially my sister. She could be talking about your father for hours, and she aimed to find out as much about him as possible.” Alicia shakes her head. “The girl felt in love… And she showed it very openly and excitedly. She could tell about every single date of her.”
“I hope she didn’t get you exhausted?” Raquelle asks funnily.
“No, I was happy to listen to her. With whom Elizabeth could talk about what was happening to her so openly. You can’t tell Father and Mother all the secrets. But telling a sister about something like that is fine. So, we, girls, talked about your dad.”
“Did you always get on well with my mother and call each other friends before you fought?”
“Yes, Elizabeth and I were always very close, shared all the secrets, and helped each other. But my sister and I had quite different characters: your mother was more romantic and sentimental and very shy, and I was more talkative, more active, and stronger. I was likely a realist and rated everything soberly, not through pink glasses.”
“Okay…”
“Maybe, it’s the reason we often fought and argued about something when we were kids.”
“You fought?”
“Yes, we did. But despite nothing, she was always the dearest person to me. My sibling that I always loved with all my heart.”
“I think it’s rarely possible to find brothers and sisters, who never ever argued and fought with each other,” Raquelle assumes with a slight smile.
“Right, but even if your mother and I were arguing and fighting because of toys, clothes, and cosmetics that we couldn’t share, we loved each other anyway and were ready to tear anyone, who wished to hurt us. Just like any sisters would do.”
“A merit of Grandpa and Grandma?”
“Maybe. They always tried to do everything, so we could get on well. Father and Mother never gave all their attention to one of us and were happy about us reaching all our goals. They never underestimated something or someone. They always made us remember that we were sisters. And I personally never forgot it. Even when Elizabeth blamed me for all the sins and kicked me out.”
“I always wondered why she suddenly got mad at everybody and fought with you, Dad, her parent, and Grandpa Frederick…”
“Who knows, sweetie…” Alicia sighs heavily. “We paid all our attention to you. You were little and needed love and care. So, we didn’t pay much attention to the situation in their family. We noticed it only when my sister crossed all the lines. My brother-in-law started to often complain about her. But alas, we could do nothing.”
“And had you or Mother tried to meet and talk at least once before she died?”
“No, I didn’t meet Elizabeth after our last fight. But if I’d known she would’ve died in such a tragic way, I would’ve done my best to make my relationship with her better and let her know I would’ve always loved her and never forgotten she was my younger sister.”
“I’m sorry it happened. Really sorry.”
“Ah, sweetie…” Alicia gives a hard sign with sadness in her eyes. “I miss her so much… It’s been as many years as it’s been since the murder of Gilbert. Sixteen years… I’ve been missing my sister as much as I miss my husband for all the past years.”
***
March 7th, 1998.
A few minutes ago, the coffins with the bodies of the dead Jackson and Elizabeth were buried next to one another right before the eyes of their family members and closest friends. Now, black headstones, on which their full names are written, and there are different signatures. The man’s one is “Beloved son, caring husband and amazing father.” And the woman’s one is “Adored daughter, wonderful wife and caring mother.” Much earlier, they were blessed in the crunch placed not far from the cemetery, in which the Camerons were buried.
Those, who came to say farewell to Elizabeth and Jackson, took little bouquets of flowers. All the guests are wearing black clothes as a symbol of grief for two wonderful people. Dresses, pants, skirts, shirts, jackets… And some women are even wearing little hats or headbands on their heads. They have nude makeup or do not have it, have their hair gathered in buns or tales, small purses, and little handkerchiefs. That’s what all the women being here look like, and that’s what they brought here.
It’s easy to see a great sadness on the faces of every single one. They all feel absolutely emptied, and some of them do not believe such young and wonderful people ended their lives in this horrible way. Maybe, some of them would like to tell about their unbearable pain at the top of their lungs, but everybody tries to fight it back somehow.
Even though Elizabeth was born in London and was an English woman, she and Jackson were buried in the cemetery in Kingston, a small town in the United States of America where this couple lived for a long time. All the relatives of the dead woman and man and many of their closest friends came here, being shocked by the deaths of these wonderful people and leaving all their business to say farewell to the spouses. Who were going to get divorced…
Yes, some time before their deaths, Elizabeth and Jackson had wanted to get divorced and had been fighting because of the residence of their daughter Raquelle with one of her parents. But they did not start the divorcing process because they died when they got into a car accident. Of course, the fact that the people, who really hated each other, ended up in the same car is weird and raises questions about how it could happen. But now nobody cares about it. All the thoughts of the people being at the funeral are only about the fact that they are dead. Elizabeth and Jackson are gone.
“Gosh, they were so young…” Tiffany, the mother of the late Elizabeth, says sorrowfully with tears in her eyes, hugging her husband and the father of her younger daughter, Timothy. “Why did they do it? Why?”
“I would’ve never thought someday I’d be at the funeral of my own child,” Timothy confesses in a low, depressed voice with sadness in his eyes.
“Gosh, I can’t believe it… What’s happening seems like a nightmare to me,” Tiffany sniffs quietly. “I want to wake up, but I can’t do it. My heart is breaking while standing in front of the grave of my child.”
“Elizabeth is dead… My younger daughter is dead…” Timothy shakes his head. “Gosh, I still can’t take it…”
“I was holding her in my arms some time ago when she was a baby… When she was born… But now I’m standing in front of her grave and can’t believe it’s happening…”
“Why did we get this punishment? Did we commit a sin and have to pay to God by losing our daughter?”
“I don’t also understand how we made God mad that He took our girl from us.”
Tiffany snuggles her nose in Timothy’s shoulder and starts crying quietly while he is hugging her tightly and softly caressing her head with the hope of calming his wife down somehow, even If he needs someone to comfort him.
“Lizzy, my little girl…” Tiffany pronounces in a shaking voice. “Why? Why did you leave us?”
“Elizabeth, daughter…” Timothy pronounces quietly, barely holding tears down and tightly pressing Tiffany to himself. “Why did you do this to me and your mother? Why?”
Meanwhile, Alicia is standing next to her parents and comforting Tiffany and Timothy as she can, wiping tears under her eyes at times.
“I remember her being a little baby…” Alicia says with sadness in her eyes, sniffs quietly, and cracks a smile. “Remember us fighting for dolls, clothes, and other things we couldn’t share…”
“We remember that well, too…” Tiffany says thoughtfully.
“And I saw her growing up and becoming more beautiful every day. She was a little girl, but then became a wonderful woman.”
“Yeah, daughter…” Timothy sighs heavily, hugging Alicia around the shoulders and cutely kissing her on the temple. “Your sister was becoming more beautiful every day.”
“Not surprised that boys always paid attention to her.”
“Yeah… She always had admirers. Tall, slim, beautiful…”
“Always was shy and educated… Smart…”
“Right…”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Tiffany and Alicia tightly press closer to Timothy and are quietly crying on his shoulders.
“I remember your mother and me getting tender feelings when Elizabeth said her first words,” Timothy confesses. “How she was learning to walk… I remember everything she did for the first time and then proudly showed her results to us.”
“I also remember a lot…” Alicia sighs quietly.
“I still have all the paints that she drew when she was a little girl…” Tiffany says in a little shaking voice, fixing her little black hat with a veil. “And when I viewed them some time ago, I got much worse. My heart was squeezing from thinking my daughter was dead. My Lizzy was gone…”
“Of course, she was making us very sad for some time, but we didn’t stop loving her anyway,” Timothy says with sadness in his eyes. “Lizzy was just an angel that I will always love…”
“Gosh, how my heart hurts when we talk about our daughter in the past time…” Tiffany makes a quiet sob and hugs Timothy much tighter. “It’s really insane!”
“I know, Tiffany, I know. I can’t believe it, either.”
“I’m so sorry that I didn’t make my relationship with her better…” Alicia sighs heavily, moving a sad look on the headstone with Elizabeth’s name. “Was angry ‘cause she thought I was nothing… I delayed a moment of reconciliation… And I didn’t do that. Because my sissy is dead…”
“Ah, Alicia, we’re also regretting doing that to your sister,” Tiffany says quietly. “We shouldn’t have listened to her… Shouldn't have forgotten her and let her live as she wanted. We should’ve done our best to wake Elizabeth up and let her know she was behaving badly. Towards her husband and daughter…”
“If I’d known she would’ve died some time before her funeral, I would’ve immediately gone to her and talked about everything. No matter if she’d forgive me or not! I would’ve felt relief anyway. And I wouldn’t have sworn at myself for what happened to me and Lizzy.”
“Anyway, we forgave her for everything, and we hope she will rest in peace,” Timothy replies with sadness in his eyes. “May God forgive all the sins of her.”
“I wish it happened.”
“I think she can see and hear us somewhere in heaven and knows how much we love her,” Tiffany sighs heavily.
“And she knows we forgave Lizzy for everything she did,” Alicia adds.
“I hope our angel feels good where her soul is now. I hope she got peace somewhere in heaven.”
“Rest in peace, sis,” Alicia says softly with a slight smile. “We all love you so much, despite nothing. And we will never forget you. You will always be in our hearts.”
After signing hard again and wiping off tears under their eyes with a little handkerchief, Alicia, Timothy, and Tiffany hug each other to give them the support they all need so badly. After that, they put a flower bouquet they are holding next to the headstones of Elizabeth and Jackson, who were buried next to one another.
By this moment, there are already quite many different flowers on their graves that those, who came here, are saying farewell to the dead people and talking to each other about something to try to comfort each other or distract themselves from sad thoughts not to go crazy from worrying, took.
And a little later, Frederick Cameron, a father of the dead Jackson, comes to the Thompsons, nervously pulling a button on his black jacket and being not less depressed. The man, who recently got much gray hair on his head, is taking the deaths of his son and daughter-in-law not easier than they are. To be clear, it's much harder for him. Because the man had already buried his wife Rosella some time before the wedding of the late Camerons, and he can now see her only in photos he has at home. After the death of his only son, he has only his little granddaughter, Raquelle, who became an orphan due to the death of her parents.
“My heart is squeezing while looking at these graves…” Frederick confesses with sadness in his eyes. “I can’t believe I don’t almost have anyone. I buried my wife many years ago, and now I came to the cemetery to say goodbye to my son. I am now standing in front of his grave.”
“We’re shocked by the death of our daughter not less than you are shocked by the death of your son,” Timothy says with the same sadness in his eyes.
“I wouldn’t wish anyone to know about the death of a child. It’s the worst punishment that could ever exist.”
“We will probably not accept the fact that our daughter died,” Tiffany makes a quiet sob. “I still think it’s just our nightmare. It seems like I’m about to wake up, and my Lizzy would be fine.”
“Ah, Mrs. Thompson, I also want to know it’s a dream and see Jackson alive…” Frederick sighs quietly. “I want to talk to him… Remember some moments of his childhood… View his baby photos…”
“Now viewing photos of our children is going to hurt us, knowing that they are in the grave.”
“I still can’t forget the shock I felt on the day I got a call from the police and was told Jackson died in a car accident. Everything even went black before my eyes for a moment… And then I got a high blood pressure…”
“Tiffany almost fainted when we went to the identification procedure and saw Elizabeth’s body and personal things,” Timothy confesses.
“I understand,” Frederick nods.
“I’ve experienced many things in my life. But nothing could make me cry. I was always holding on. But after finding out about Elizabeth’s death, I broke down. I was crying and couldn’t stop.”
“Oh, I’ve been crying every time I view photos of my son since the day I was told he was gone.”
“And I still swear at myself for not reconciling with Elizabeth and persuading her to stop torturing Jackson,” Alicia confesses, hugging herself with both hands. “I swear on me because I couldn’t find the courage to try to talk to her.”
“But you kept speaking to Jackson.”
“Yeah, but some time before his death, we didn’t almost talk. And we talked only about Raquelle. But I surely knew Jackson was confident about his wish to get divorced. He said he didn’t want to live with that woman and couldn’t take her hysterics.”
“But he didn’t want it because he loved your sister deep inside.”
“He would’ve given Elizabeth a chance if she’d understood her mistakes and gotten better. But it’s clear my sister wanted to change nothing.”
“And honestly, I’m still surprised they ended up in the same car on the day of the car accident,” Frederick confesses.
“Me too, but as far as I know, Elizabeth lived in the apartment of your son and wasn’t going to leave anywhere. At least, at that time.”
“Did they go to file for divorce together?”
“Who knows, Mr. Cameron.”
“It’s so weird… Jackson and Elizabeth always fought like a cat and a dog but got in the same car and went somewhere together.”
“Oh, Mr. Cameron, we will never get an answer for this question,” Tiffany sighs heavily. “Only Jackson and Elizabeth could say what happened to them some time before their death, and why they ended up in the same car.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t make sense now…” Alicia says with sadness in her eyes, hugging herself with her arms. “We would hardly feel better if we heard the truth. Elizabeth and Jackson are dead anyway. What could we change? Nothing!”
“Yes, Alicia, you’re right,” Timothy says thoughtfully. “Now there’s no need to guess why it happened. As you said, they’re dead, and we can change nothing.”
“Bitten true…” Frederick agrees quietly, sighing hard.
All the members of the Thompson family and Frederick throw a quick look at some visitors, who are standing in front of Elizabeth and Jackson’s graves with tears in their eyes and putting fresh flowers on them, and one of them even runs their hand softly over a headstone.
“What’s going to happen?” Tiffany asks herself, nervously pulling the black purse she is holding in her hands. “After the death of my daughter and son-in-law… How are we going to live without our sweeties?”
“I don’t know…” Frederick shakes his head.
“This wound is too deep. You're right that you noticed that the death of your own child is the worst thing that might happen to a person.”
“Yeah, what’s going to happen to baby Raquelle?” Frederick asks with horror in his eyes. “The girl did stay all alone and doesn’t know her father and mother died.”
“We better say nothing to her for a while,” Alicia says with sadness in her eyes.
“But we can’t hide it forever!”
“Raquelle is too little to know such a shocking piece of news.”
“Early or late, we’ll have to tell her that her mother and father did not leave for their business.”
“I know, but if she knows everything, it might lead to terrible consequences.”
“When my wife Rosella died, I told Jackson about it at once and didn’t think up anything. Yes, he was very little, but I thought it would’ve been better.”
“How did he react?” Tiffany asks.
“He didn’t believe and cried much for some time. But later, he learned to live without a mother. And I tried to give him much attention and be a mother and a father at the same time.”
“So, do you think we should explain everything to Raquelle?”
“Raquelle has already asked me why I always cry, look so sad, and don't smile multiple times. She definitely understands something terrible is happening and is thinking up some horrible things.”
“You know, I think we better consult with a psychologist and ask how to tell Raquelle that terrible piece of news,” Timothy says thoughtfully. “And the important thing is when…”
“I’m afraid…” Alicia pronounces thoughtfully.
“We are, too, but agree that my granddaughter has a right to know her parents died. And we can’t always say her mother and father left for a long time or something like that. Raquelle might wish to call them or send a letter.”
“But how do we do that? Her reaction might be unpredictable!”
“The important thing is to say, and then we will see,” Frederick says quietly.
“We need to talk about everything.”
“Don’t forget that we also need to decide who she will live with,” Tiffany notices confidently. “Either Timothy, Alicia, and I can take Raquelle away to London, and you, Mr. Cameron, can visit her at any time and take her with you. Or vice versa: you’re here, and we visit and help you raise our granddaughter.”
“Anyway, I will not leave my granddaughter and will be raising her,” Frederick says confidently.
“Nobody is going to leave her, Mr. Cameron.”
“I love Raquelle very much and will be doing my best to give her everything she needs. At least, try. Because I’m not a rich man and can’t raise her like a princess.”
“The important thing is to give her love and care. Let her know we will always be by her side and do everything for her to feel good.”
“Besides, she is the only one I have from my family. My granddaughter is the meaning of my life. I will live only for her.”
“Maybe, it would be better for her to stay with you?” Alicia asks. “You wouldn’t be bored to live and would get a reason to live.”
“As you want, my dears. If you decide to educate her, I will not mind it.”
“I’m afraid if Mother and Father take Raquelle away to London, you will be grieving here and not be able to live alone. You have got no wife and son…”
“Yes, Mr. Cameron, Alicia is saying the right things,” Timothy agrees confidently. “May Raquelle live with you, and Tiffany, Alicia, and I will often visit our granddaughter, give her gifts and take her with us to London at times.”
“I would have the pleasure to take her with me,” Frederick replies quietly. “I promise to do my best to make her a wonderful person and give her everything she needs.”
“We will also help you with everything we can. Buy something, give money, take the girl with us…”
“Thanks a lot, Mr. Thompson.”
“And it actually would be great if we had a chance to move to America,” Tiffany confesses. “We would be much closer to Raquelle and not spend much money on fights.”
“Do you want to move here?”
“At least for a while. Until my granddaughter grows up and makes her life better.”
“Yeah, but unfortunately, we’ve got no chance to,” Alicia says with sadness. “Father’s got a job, and to buy an apartment here, we need very much money.”
“I know, but I would like it.”
“Sadly, we aren’t so rich to leave everything so easily and move here. Sometimes we barely have got money for flights and have to cancel some trips.”
“Of course, I’m not rich, too, but I shall help you pay for a flight if you want to come here and visit Raquelle,” Frederick says amicably. “Give you as much as I can… If I have to, I will borrow money from someone. I’ve got good friends, who would not refuse to help me.”
“You’ve always been very nice to us, Mr. Cameron,” Tiffany cracks a slight smile.
“Don't worry, if you have problems, I shall help you pay for a flight and a room in a hotel.”
“Oh, you’re the best man!”
“Nice to hear it!”
“And yeah, thank you so much for organizing the funeral. For letting us pay only half of the money. And not think about a place in the cemetery.”
“Yes, Mr. Cameron, thank you so much,” Timothy thanks amicably. “Since our daughter lived in America with her husband, may she be buried here, in Kingston. And we will come here at times and check her grave.”
“We aren’t strangers to each other, Mr. Thompson,” Frederick replies confidently. “Maybe, our children died, unfortunately, but we will keep being a family. We will always be connected by Raquelle. The little, innocent girl that needs our love so much.”
“You’re right,” Alicia agrees. “We’ve always got on well and never conflicted with each other for some reason.”
“All this time, we’ve been together and helped each other get through this grief. And I’m personally grateful to you for that. Because it would be much harder for me to accept the deaths of my son and daughter-in-law on my own.”
“Agree!” Timothy exclaims. “So, we should keep being together and raising Raquelle and try to give her everything. My granddaughter should get all the love she will not get from her dead father and mother.”
“My little girl is the only reason that can make me smile and keep living,” Tiffany makes a quiet sob.
“For all of us, she’s a reason to remember that life continues,” Frederick says thoughtfully. “We should keep moving on… Even despite such a great loss. At least, for Raquelle. For our little girl, who, sadly, will never get the love of her mother and father.”
Alicia sighs heavily and throws a look at some friends and familiars of Jackson and Elizabeth along with her parents and Frederick, who slowly leave the cemetery after they show their condolences to the families of the late people. And when nobody but them stays near the graves of the two people, who died because of the tragic accident, Frederick, Alicia, Timothy, and Tiffany stay here for some time, letting themselves cry quietly and talking to the dead people with the hope that they will hear them and with a wish to show their emotions they do not want to keep somewhere deep inside.
***
“That year was definitely the hardest one for you,” Raquelle notices with sadness in her eyes. “Mother and Father died, Gilbert was killed, and you almost went to prison…”
“Right… That year was literally cursed.”
“Yeah…”
“I’m so sorry it happened. Sorry that my sister left us…” Alicia swallows up nervously. “Sometimes I miss talking with her. But I am afraid she would’ve judged me for all my sins that Elizabeth never knew about.”
“I understand you, Aunt,” Raquelle pronounces softly, holding Alicia’s hands, and sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes. “It's always hard to lose your close people… I know what is that very well…”
“That’s why your grandfather and I always say you should appreciate the moments you spend with your close people. Because when they die, you will start regretting not giving them much more attention.”
“I know. And I also wish my parents were by my side now…” Raquelle glances aside. “Sometimes I wish our family was together. My mom and dad, you and Grandpa Frederick, me… Grandma Rosella, who my grandfather told me much about… Grandpa Tiffany and Grandpa Timothy… And your husband Dominick, who would’ve surely been an amazing man and gotten on well with me…”
“Me too, sunshine,” Alicia sighs heavily. “I want it, as well. But, alas, we stayed alone. You, me, and Mr. Cameron. That’s our family.”
“And it’s very sad… Talks about those, who died, always make me sad. Even if I don’t almost know or can’t remember them.”
“Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to meet your grandmother, Rosella. But your dad said she was an amazing woman, who loved your grandfather so much. Just like he did.”
“I know.”
“Mr. Cameron still loves her so much and keeps loyalty to her as well as I keep mine to my late husband.”
“I often see him sitting in his room and viewing old photos of her in the evenings,” Raquelle says with a slight smile but with sadness in her eyes.
“I understand him. I often view photos of Dominick, as well. And I cry. Cry because he is not near me.”
“As far as I know, Grandmother died from an illness… I mean, the fact that the moment of getting therapy was missed…” Raquelle shakes her head. “She kind got a very serious infection. Which wasn’t examined fully… A friend of hers brought it from abroad. The doctors didn’t kind of know what to do to her, and therapy from all the unknown illness didn’t help her. Everybody thought that it was just a cold, but the virus spread throughout her whole body too fast. That’s why Grandma could fell into a coma and couldn’t breathe. And later, it was decided to turn off her life support.”
“I heard she was a very beautiful woman…” Alicia says quietly.
“And kind, judging by her look. I saw photos of her. Grandpa showed them to me.”
“And I saw them. But briefly.”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Alicia shakes her head with sadness in her eyes.
“Ah, it’s all unfair…” Alicia sighs heavily. “Unfair… Why did fate deprive us of the closest people? I’ve been trying to find an answer to this question for many years but still can’t get why…”
Alicia swallows up nervously.
“No…” Alicia pronounces thoughtfully. “Maybe, it’s clear about me, ‘cause God punishes me for my sins and hasn’t forgiven me. But why did He deprive you of your parents? You were an innocent child! A baby that did nothing bad!”
“Ah, if I could answer you…” Raquelle sighs heavily and throws a second look at the window. “But thank God, I still have you and Grandpa. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have one of you. Or both of you.”
“That’s why you should have someone close to be your wall when Mr. Cameron and I die. That’s why we want you to get married and give birth to children as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, but you’re lonely in some way. Grandpa Frederick lost Grandma Rosella and his son, and you lost Dominick and your sister and… You didn’t become a mother…”
“Maybe… But you know, honey…” Alicia caresses Raquelle’s cheek softly with a slight smile, fixing her hair a little. “Sometimes I think about adopting a child from a home for orphans.”
“Home of orphans?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“Since I’m not able to give birth to a baby because I’m old and have no man, I can always adopt someone.”
“What about IVF?”
“I’d need much money for IVF, and sometimes something might go wrong. You may give lots of money and get through many tests, but not get pregnant even in this way.”
“Then you could hire a surrogate. She would carry and give birth to your baby. And you would be the biological mother of that one.”
“I should pay a lot of money to a surrogate. I would have to provide for her and drive her to the hospital for examinations. But I’m not so rich to let myself do it. But trying to take a child from a home of orphans is my chance to discover what motherhood is.”
“But a child requires much money, as well.”
“I know. But I’m not afraid of it.”
“Anyway, you’d be a wonderful mother,” Raquelle says with a slight smile. “Any baby would be lucky if he or she lived with you.”
“Yeah, but I’m not quite ready for that yet.”
“Afraid?”
“It’s a very responsible thing you should be ready for.”
“But you wanna be a mother.”
“Maybe, I’ll do it later, but not now. Now I need to come to myself a little.”
“I get it.”
“Moreover, I’d have to get lots of documents. So, it might take a lot of time and probably money. And there is a possibility that I might not get permission to adopt a child. I don’t know… What if they don’t like something? I don’t know how to do that!”
“But the result would be worth it. You’d choose a child you’d like more and take the one with you some time later.”
“I shall think about it,” Alicia promises with a slight smile. “I will do it when I come to myself a little.”
“Now nothing prevents you from doing it.”
“Yeah, my problems have been solved due to the death of Eleanor. So, I am finally able to breathe in without problems. Of course, it would be great to find Ines and her family somehow and apologize to them for what happened. But, sadly, I don’t have a chance to do it. So, I will just try to forget it. Being happy that she stayed alive, after all.”
“I think it’s time to end your vacation and start to go to work again.”
“Now there’s no meaning in going to work because the Christmas holidays are getting closer. If I go to work, I will do it after the holidays, in January.”
“Excuse me, why did you actually decide to take a vacation?”
“I just couldn’t focus on my work because of worrying. But I must confess that I wanted to get fired first. And then I thought and decided that it would be a great mistake. There was a little chance that I would persuade my boss to give me a job again.”
“I’m sure they’ll admit you if you get fired. You said all your colleagues had a very good opinion of you. For respect for your merits, they would let you be back.”
“Maybe, sweetie. Anyway, I will start working after the holidays. Now I want to get busy with myself and my apartment. Furthermore, I’ve planned to clean it for a long time and…” Alicia bites her lip slightly. “Get rid of everything that has to do with Gilbert, his family, and my past.”
“Do you wanna throw everything off?” Raquelle asks.
“Yes, I wanna throw everything off. All the things I have. Everything I have in the storeroom now. Clothes, jewelry, bought awards, and all the gifts from Gilbert.”
“You could sell some especially expensive things to a pawn shop and get money. In this case, you would have money for a rainy day.”
“I don’t know, I will think. But I’ve decided that I will not leave anything that reminds me of my past. My youth that I am still terribly ashamed of.”
“That’s the right decision.”
“I should’ve actually done that a long time ago, but I delayed it and couldn’t find the courage to do it. But now it’s time to get rid of that stuff. I don’t need it.”
“Supporting.”
“And I will also get rid of the awards that were bought by Gilbert. When he made me the owner of my own fashion business. I don't need them, and they just take place on shelves. I don’t know why I didn’t get rid of them before.”
“That’s right! If something makes you have bad associations, you should get rid of it as soon as possible.”
“I will have nothing that could remind me of the period of life that I would be happy to strike out of my life.”
“No matter how terrible it was, you should move on and do your best to live the rest of your life in peace and calm.”
“You’re right, my sweetheart. So, I have something to do while I am on the vacation.”
“Now you can relax,” Raquelle replies confidently with a shy smile.
“And I hope you will have a rest and get enough strength before you come back to the USA.”
“Now I’m gonna be enjoying my unplanned holidays. And getting ready for Christmas.”
“Of course,” Alicia nods confidently. “Tomorrow I shall solve some of my problems, and then you and I will go to buy everything and decorate my apartment a little. To get a Christmas spirit.”
“With pleasure.”
“The holidays are getting closer, but I haven’t even decorated my tree. While other people already did it and are now going to shops and searching for gifts for their close people.”
“I shall help you decorate it and buy everything you need. To celebrate Christmas together.”
“Yeah! We could also watch some movies that I love watching every Christmas.”
“Sure!”
Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which Alicia and Raquelle shyly smile at each other.
“Nevertheless, listen to my advice about creating your own family,” Alicia insists confidently.
“Auntie…” Raquelle pronounces softly.
“You should not have the same fate as mine and have no children or husband. I don't want you to live the life I lived. I missed a moment somehow and have no husband or children now. But if I had behaved differently, I would’ve had everything. I wouldn’t have had to get old all alone.”
“Don’t worry. When it’s my time, I will surely create my family and become very happy.”
“So, my girl, I literally insist that you start to pay attention to young men and go on dates with them. Well, or try to talk to that actor and make your relationship with him better.”
“I’ve already told you there could be nothing between me and Terrence,” Raquelle finds an excuse shyly. “Forget about him.”
“Anyway, I want you to get someone to be a candidate for the role of your husband and the father of your children at the nearest time.”
“I know.”
“Don’t delay it for later. If you put your career in first place, it will be too late when you wish to create your own family. Don’t count on your youth, because it’s not infinite. Don’t also count on your beauty. You should take measures now and be determined. And stop finally rejecting all the men that want just to go on a date with you.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie. Your grandfather and I would always come for you. We would help you choose a decent husband and educate your babies. Teach everything and do our best for your children to become decent people.”
“I know, Aunt…” Raquelle nods with a slight smile. “I know I could always count on your help, support and care.”
“Never forget it.”
“I shall not. And I shall always say you’re my best and favorite one.”
“Thank you so much, Raquelle… Thanks a lot for existing in my life. I shall never find a way to thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.”
“Everything for love. Because I love you with all my heart.”
“And yeah.” Alicia takes Raquelle's hand with both hands and grips it slightly. “I’m solemnly promising that I will not hide my problems from you anymore.”
“Really?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.
“I shall always share what I worry about with you. Now, you’re an adult and would understand many things if I wanted to say something to you.”
“I'm glad you trust me,” Raquelle replies with a slight smile. “And I promise I will always listen to you and help you with everything I can do. And, of course, I would undoubtedly ask you for help if I needed it.”
“Aw, my sunshine!” Alicia smiles widely. “How much I adore you… You’re just a gem.”
Alicia takes Raquelle, in a touching hug, which the girl accepts with great pleasure, hugging her aunt tightly with a wide smile on her face and kissing her cutely on the cheek at some moment. When they step away from each other a few seconds later, they keep talking about life, old good times, and some memories for a long time.
After what happened, Alicia made absolutely sure Raquelle had already grown up and stopped being a child. Now she is an adult girl, who completely understands everything. Whom she could tell something very important and even ask her for help and a piece of advice. The woman does not doubt that this kind and sweet girl would not refuse to help her close person and would do her best to help them. She took a much greater pride in her niece, who has never forgotten who raised and educated her and is now giving them the same love and care that she got from these people somehow a long time ago when she was a child.
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