Deadly Deception - By Andrea Johnson Beck Page 0,20
over to Adam. You did that.”
The veins in his neck were roaring with venom but he knew the words she spoke were true. Anne had nothing more to say as her heart crumbled inside her chest. Turning her back to him, she hurried out of the barn. Her senses were ablaze but yet she felt so defenseless. No amount of medication would correct what she was feeling at this moment.
“Anneliese!”
She could hear that Carter was running by the pounding of his footsteps on the thawing earth. She hesitantly turned to face him.
“Please, Carter, I need to go.”
“Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.”
Anne turned her gaze to the bare cornfield off to the other side of the road, seeing exposed dirt fighting the elements of the unforgiving season—oh, how she could relate. He was exposing her to a corrupt world she was unaware existed here. Carter’s quote from Pride & Prejudice did not move her emotionally or otherwise. In fact, she felt insulted, as if one charming quote would entice her back in to his arms. At one time it would have, but things were now different.
“How can I let them bring me pleasure if they were nothing but fallacies?” She opened her car door. “And that is directly from me.”
Carter stood there in defeat with his hands tucked inside the pockets of his jeans. Taking one last look in her rear view mirror, the scene of their rendezvous became smaller in dimension and then was no longer visible. Her mind was on auto pilot. She reached the cabin in what seemed to be mere seconds.
Anne wandered down the marked stone path that lay silent on the side of the cabin fortress and opened up to the cobbled beach. The bitter wind pushed the ungracious waves toward her. Guilt ran over her like the waves did the tiny stones beneath her feet; slowly eroding away her entire being. She grabbed a handful and tossed them into the gray waters, watching the peppered ripples. She unleashed an un-earthly scream that had lain dormant since late last night.
If Carter thought she was going to sit idly by and let her future be determined by lies and deceit, he was sadly mistaken. They were strangers to one another; it was not the reunion she had dreamt about so many times before. Becoming eerily aware of being stalked, she looked down the beach, assuming Carter was nearby, watching her. Walking back to the cabin, she went inside and secured all the doors and windows.
***
It was mid-afternoon; the winds brought thick dreary clouds that skirted deep in the sky. Anne sat in the club chair next to the fireplace with both legs draped over the arm, staring out into the colorless atmosphere. She knew confronting Adam would be haphazard, but what other options did she have. Taking off the diamond ring, she looked at it as a small smile brushed across her mouth. Adam’s proposal was so beautiful; how could it all have been a lie?
On one knee he had knelt down, taking her hand in his. The room was aglow with candlelight and the scent of fresh roses filled the air around them.
“Anne Corinne Jamison, I have loved you from the second I saw you in that ballroom. You opened your mouth and a symphony poured from your lips. I will spend the rest of my days on this earth bringing you nothing but happiness and love—that is, if you will let me. Anne, will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Without hesitation, she had accepted his proposal.
Sorrow crept in once the memory faded. She placed the ring on the side table next to the chair. How could she continue to wear a ring that promises love and devotion when she didn’t know if his heart had been in it at all? Was she just a pawn in this lethal chess game?
Anne heard the lock to the front door unlatch. Adam was home. She watched him walk into the foyer and place his brown leather briefcase on the floor. Her hands fidgeted.
“Hey there…what’s going on?” He asked placing his black knit scarf around the base of the railing, feeling the intensity surround them.
“We have to talk. Please, come sit down.”
His steps were slow and curious. He sat down on the couch across from her and noticed the ring sitting on the table.
“Why is your ring off?” Adam asked with urgency.
“Why are you with me?”
“What’s this about?”
“Answer the question, Adam. Why are you with