Betrayed Page 5
“Please just listen to me without interrupting!”
“Why? Why should I?”
“I want you to understand, and I want you to accept my apology.”
“Sure. You are forgiven. Water under the bridge. If there is nothing else, you may go.”
“Regan, please.”
“You broke my heart, Rick. Don’t expect me to forget. We never dated, or were together, or had sex but there was something special, and you blew it by with your lies and betrayal. End of story. I don’t give a damn anymore. So leave or I’ll call security.”
“I wish you would give me a chance but I won’t beg. This isn’t over, Regan.”
As soon as the door shut behind him, Regan let go of her breath, and the world melted in her eyes. She wanted to call him back but she also wanted to forget him. He was the first man in a long time that she had felt different around, and she had built a trust around him that even she wasn’t aware of until the moment he disclosed his true intention. She knew she had forgiven him the minute he entered the room but there were too many wounds still fresh.
****
The doorbell rang, and Rick groaned. He put the glass of rum back on the table and walked towards the door. It was late in the afternoon. After meeting Regan in the morning, he didn’t have the heart to go to work so he had spent the day drinking and thinking about her.
“Dad! What are you doing here?”
“My son fails to visit me so I thought I’d show up myself and tell you that I’m alive.”
“Aw, dad, I’m sorry. It’s been pretty rough.”
“I know son, and that’s exactly why I wanted to talk to you but you won’t pick up the phone.”
“Oh, it must be in silent mode.”
“Damn your technology. Anyway, what’s going on?” He picked up the bottle of rum and poured some into a glass for himself. “Did you hear from Tracy?”
“Yes, I talked to her a few days ago. She’s doing fine.”
“I still don’t understand why you two decided to split.”
“It’s complicated, dad. Let’s just say, we weren’t right for each other.”
“Yeah, and you realize that after over three years of being together? Why don’t you just come right out and tell me there is another woman.”
“It’s not like that! For once will someone please listen to what I have to say and not judge me!”
“Alright. Tell me. I won’t interrupt you.”
“Thank you. After I gave the Green brothers their money and brought Tracy home, there was something different about her. But I let it go and two months later, she made me realize that what we had was a loveless relationship. I mean, I guess we loved each other but not in the way you are supposed to love a life partner. It made me furious initially but then I understood what she meant because when I met Regan, the connection I felt towards her was something out of this world and so . . .”
“So it did have something to do with another woman.”
“Dad! It’s not like that!”
It took Rick an hour of deep surfaced words to make his father understand and in the process he understood a lot more about what it was that he felt towards Regan. He told his father everything about the blackmail and the morning visit.
“You really like her, huh?”
“I do. I really do. But she won’t listen to me.”
“How can you expect her to listen to you after what you did to her?”
“But if she won’t listen how am I supposed to explain myself? I was hopelessly desperate, and I couldn’t see any other way.”
“Did it occur to you that all you had to do was come clean with her? You said you had a nice bonding going on so why didn’t you trust her with the truth?”
Rick stumbled for an answer he didn’t have. He knew his father was right, and he had no right to blame Regan.
“I guess I was scared, scared that if I told her about Tracy she would run out of my life.”
“Do you realize Rick that this very thought proves you were cheating on Tracy? Not directly but you get my point.”
“I guess. But dad, doesn’t it also say that I actually love Regan? I didn’t want to lose her!”
“Blackmailing her wasn’t such a great idea either, Rick,” he said, shaking his head in disgust.
“I know, I know, I know! I hate myself! I feel so stupid. I tore our relationship apart even before it started.”
“If you really want her back then you should talk to her, tell her you were wrong - that you were a selfish bastard – and beg for her forgiveness. I honestly don’t see how she could ever trust you again.”
“I know that. But talk to her how? She won’t talk to me. I tried.”
“Giving up is not going to get you anywhere in life. And when it comes to women and love, giving up is sure as hell not an option.”
“What can I do? She won’t talk to me or see me. I’m certain she won’t answer my calls.”
“You know, once when I had a fight with your mother, I wrote a letter to her telling her how I felt and left it by her bedside with a single rose on top of it.”
“Did it work?”
“You were not brought up by divorced parents now, were you?”
****
The same pair of turquoise eyes bore into her. Tracy was seated on a bench at the central park. Every evening she took a walk at the park and sat by the cotton candy stand watching the kids play in front of her. Today, she was distracted by a man who stood at a short distance from her, smoking a cigarette and watching her. After a quiet game of eyes meeting eyes he approached her.
“Tracy, god I’ve missed you. I didn’t think I could get through the kidnapping. You know I’m not a good actor.”
“Yeah, me, too, but we pulled it off. Three long years of lies and pretending to love Rick is finally over. We’re free to be together; we don’t have to sneak around anymore. God, I hated that.”
Charles shook his head in agreement then laughed. “Three years ago when you told me what you wanted to do, I thought you were crazy. Hell, I wasn’t going to let my woman be with another man. But when you told me what he did and how he was loaded, well money sure as hell does talk doesn’t it?”
“Yep. It was pure luck that I literally ran into him in the grocery store parking lot. That expensive sports car of his started my mind spinning, and you know there’s no stopping me once I get an idea in my head, honey.”
He pulled out $20,000, his cut for kidnapping and watching Tracy. She held up a credit card. “I sweet talked Rick into a new card with a higher limit. Antigua here we come!” She gave him a passionate kiss on the lips.
“So we pulled it off,” she said, smiling.
Holding hands, they got into the Mercedes, driving to Charles's house along the lake to pack and catch their international flight.
****
It was now or never. Rick held the pen over the sheet of paper, strumming it and biting his lips. How was he to begin? What should he tell her? Was it going to work? What if she disposed of it before reading? Every possible question struck his mind making his head ache. He crumpled the empty paper and threw it into the waste basket. Giving up is sure as hell not an option. His father’s words rang in his ears and finally he knew just what he had to do - write exactly what he felt.
Dear Regan,
Have you ever had the feeling of butterflies in your stomach when you talked to someone? Have you ever wanted to stare at someone all day long? Have you ever wanted to touch someone, hold someone and never let them go? Have you ever wanted someone so bad that you didn’t want to give up? That is how I feel about you.
My love lies with you.
Yes, I was engaged but not in my heart or soul. Blackmailing you was the worst thing I have ever done in my life. I should have talked to you and let you know what was going on. But I did it out of pressure, fear, anxiety and a death threat over someone I cared for. Regan, all I want is a second chance. I love you, and I’m not giving up. I’ll wait
as long as it takes. I’ll pay you all your money back.
Please give me a chance. Please. When I’m with you, I feel alive, complete and happy. I want to be with you for the rest of my life.
Forever,
Rick
EPILOGUE
It was spring, the sun shone nice and bright over the city, lighting up everything in its path. Rick was running late for work, gulped his coffee and dashed for the door. He threw his briefcase in the back seat of his car and got into the driver’s seat. Just when he was about to put his car in reverse, he saw a flash of red in the side mirror, making him freeze. He stuck his head out of the window, and his eyes fixed on a slender figure standing three feet away from his car. He managed to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car, afraid to blink in case the figure flitted away. He stared at the red streak fluttering over her face. A breeze from the opposite direction blew the fringe out of her face, and her soft brown eyes stared back at Rick. It had been four months since he last saw them at the congressman’s office.
“Hey.” Regan’s voice broke the static electricity buzzing between them.
“Hi! How are . . .”
She flew into his arms and kissed him taking away all the words and his breath. Losing track of time, forgetting the world around them, they kissed each other in passion and love, making up for all the months they had been apart.
“I love you”, she said. “That’s it. I may be crazy, but I understand why you did what you did. I forgive you, and I never want there to be any secrets between us again.”
Rick smiled, the first time in four months. His new job had afforded him more money than he had made before, and he had sent a $30,000 check to Regan four weeks ago. He had waited to hear from her and finally, here she was.
“Hi, I’m Rick”, he said, extending his hand.
“And, I’m Regan. Can I buy you a coffee then spend the rest of my life with you?”
“I think that can be arranged”, Rick said, helping her into the car and driving away.
The End
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