Stuck | 18+

Chapter 54

Tara did not know how she had managed to stretch her cheeks into an acceptable smile.  Her face hurt as she politely bid goodbyes to their unusually joyful guests. Regardless of how the night had turned out for Tara and Donavan, French had had the blast, the night had just become brighter and brighter with music and drinks. It wasn't until midnight that everyone had realised it was time to call it a night.  Tara had retracted herself from the crowd far earlier, sitting in the corner watching the blur world from wine glass as it moved in a rhythm, taunting her tumult within. 

Withdrawn from a reality she went into trance, revisiting her seemingly careless actions that still and all had felt necessary at the time. Even when she knew he wouldn't harm her, the world she was born and brought up in, her actions had aligned with punishments far cruel, worse than death ever could be.

In the realest moment she felt grateful for having Donavan, and more importantly so, his endless love, it had defended her like impregnable shield, protecting her from Donavan himself.

As she stood at the door, greeting guests as they left, she gave a brief glance to where he stood- leaning over Nicolas' black Jaguar. Their immersing discussion not yet reaching an end. The cloud of smoke dissolved in cold air as Nicolas took anther puff of his cigarette, carelessly crushing the stubble under his boot when it was time to leave. Nicolas' gaze intentionally lingered on where she stood- slightly shivering in cold as her narrow gaze watched Donavan's back. He gave a firm handshake to Donavan before jumping in his driving seat with panache.

As soon as Nicolas's car revved out of the mansion, Donavan entered in, as stoic as he was, he passed by her side, not giving her presence a speck of attention. 

She knew she had to talk him out of it. There was no way around. The longer she remained silent, the intensely he'd embrace his assumptions as truth, it was too risky to give him the privacy of thought. Although it was late to earn his trust back, she didn't need it, at least not anymore. He had left no room to doubt that he loved her, and that, devastatingly or not, was enough.

She couldn't help but sniffle her tears back as he made his way straight to the elevator, his ignorance getting on her heart. Even when she knew it wasn't the time for a break down, she couldn't forget the way he had so guilelessly confronted his emotions, it was clear he was going to meet the ruins one day, deprived and heart-broken, alone and miserable. As much as she tried convince herself that he did not deserve her, he had touched her soul with his candid confession. 

It was unbelievable how he had found strength to forgive and move on, as if he hadn't realised the potential his wife carried beneath her soft skin. Had it been a woman he married but did not love, she would be rotting six feet. If not him, his family to the least would have made sure she suffered.

It was painfully obvious how love drove his wrath, and with Tara, it rode far away, as far from her as it could be. And goodness he gated it, he hated it with everything within.

He knew it wouldn't last long, his quietness. She had bewitched him beyond repair. The moment he knew, she would display a speck of affection he would melt like cotton candy on wet tongue, embracing her in his arms, worshipping her like queen. 

Even under the spell, he had told himself things, things that could not be taken for granted, things that he needed to remind himself constantly of,

She is a woman of danger. 

The way she had pulled the façade of being shocked at the bastard's dead body had almost fooled him, thinking that he shouldn't have killed in front of her. He had wondered for a brief moment, confused as why she held the glass with such strength and yet didn't plunge it inside. It all uncloaked itself when his men found papers in Dominic's room. At first, the test report depicting the sample drug as contraceptive seemed insensible, but as Donavan dug deeper, he had found out the exact sequence of events. The bottle of pills in her drawer only corroborating his suspicions. 

Fortunately for Tara, by the time he had discovered the truth, there left no reason to pounce, she was already pregnant. And so he had kept quiet. Thinking may be she had stopped taking them, may be she wanted this too, maybe and only may be she had loved him back, but all that it was was a façade- unadulterated, malicious and selfish pretense. 

There wasn't a doubt that the intruder of that night was Dominic. Donavan wondered was that why she had become more eager to get rid of him. Her actions then, made complete sense, probably more than he had given them a thought, but what crawled on his nerves was the risk. She had walked on sizzling coals only to pour water on it, quenching the fire but not before getting scorched from the sea of flames. She could have been the victim before becoming an assailant, prey before predator.

His fists tightened at the thought, his anger yet again boiling for her stupid stupid actions. 

Alone in the majestic hall she watched the dazzling room that now only lightened with few candles, rest leaving the adhering remnants of wax behind. Only the whispers of laughter lingered in air, the odour of alcohol prominent. 

"You'll need help with the dress" 

Tara gasped at the sudden whisper behind her ear, eyeing in shock to the direction of voice. 

"I am sorry there" Venetia muttered in her usual guilt tone, far too familiar with using it. 

"Uhh, yes" Tara stuttered, still not fully out of her trance, "I'll...I'll go to my room. Would you come in thirty minutes?" 

"Yes, sure" The cheer in Venetia's voice at this hour of night was staggering, making Tara forget her own torment to wonder about Venetia's secret to energy.  

She walked back to room, not minding the elevator, delaying what had to be done. With a slow creek when she opened the door, his neck turned to gaze at the peeper, only slightly before realizing it was her. His body faced the French window that now remained open, allowing the coldness to freely seep through, carrying the acrid smell of his cigarette away. It had to be the first time she had seen him smoking, and just like she had imagined, he looked nothing less than god, letting the soft paper touch his lips, inhaling the toxin before billowing it in air. 

At the realization that she stood gawking at him, another realization hit. He stubbed out the cigarette on the surface outside window, discarding it there. It was hard to forget she was pregnant. 

It took her seconds to realize the meaning of gesture. As she walked towards him, he didn't turn. 

"I...I want to talk to you"

"I don't"

She didn't know she could be shut up this easily, standing dumbfounded, she watched his sturdy back, unable to  find words before saying, 

"I had a friend in school" Her soft voice hung in still air, bereft of response what so ever. Not knowing what else to do, she continued with her blabber, fiddling with her ring, hoping at some point he would care to respond, 

"And he...he spoke good French" she muttered, now watching her own feet that hurt from wearing the unnecessarily tall heels. 

"Probably his father was French...or wait...was it his mother?" Her eyes narrowed in thought, not reminiscing, "I...I don't remember but one of them were French" 

For a brief moment she wondered whether she looked like a complete fool, but now that she had begun, she had to take it to end, 

"He taught me some words that...that included-" Her breathe cut off when he suddenly turned, clasping her neck in snaking grip, his sharp gaze enough to shut her mouth. She stumbled when he pulled her impossibly closer, colliding with his chest, as she all but tried to inhale through fear. 

.

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Author's note: I am eager to know what happens next, probably just as much you are. And so I wrote this when I should absolutely do nothing but study. Ahem.... so, I'll get back to it!! *aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

bye bye, see you back in...idk...two weeks?