Twelve Days The Beginning - By Jade Reyner Page 0,160
to hear those kinds of suggestions.” Vaughn was deadly serious and Elise punched him lightly in the ribs to break the moment.
“Relax, I was teasing.” she said, somewhat overwhelmed by the depth of his reaction; particularly as they had yet to define what this thing was between them. “It was a joke, Vaughn. I couldn’t bear the thought of you being with anyone else – it’s bad enough contending with the knowledge that Olivia has intimate knowledge of you. Bitch.” she muttered under her breath.
Vaughn looked completely perplexed. “I don’t understand what it is about Olivia. You keep referring to her and her ‘intimate’ knowledge of me but I have no idea what you are talking about. She seems to be the only person that ever causes us to argue and I am at a total loss to understand why.”
Elise looked at Vaughn as if he was a complete idiot. Seriously? He didn’t get it? So the fact that he had left the Christmas party with her meant nothing? Oh, and the small matter of her waiting behind for him at the office when they got back from the conference. He didn’t think that either of those warranted concern on her part?
She was about to reply when his phone on the bedside table chimed, indicating that he had a text message and he reached across to read it. She watched as his expression changed to one of pure anger as he opened and read the message. Once he had finished, he closed it down and threw his phone back onto the table none too gently.
“Everything okay?” she asked concerned, “Who was that?”
“Nothing.” He replied and she knew that he was lying. “Just work.” Still lying.
“It didn’t look like work to me.” She countered and regarded him carefully as a shuttered expression came across his face and she knew that she wasn’t going to get any more information.
“Just drop it, Elise.” The mood had been broken, the damage done by a simple text message and Elise could feel unwelcome anger and frustration rising to the surface.
The day had started off so perfectly and for the first time in ages she felt better. She had some energy, the pain had largely subsided and she wanted to get out and about and explore the world again. She had spent far too long cooped up in the bedroom with the seriously bad wallpaper and now, after one of the most intense experiences of her life, all of that had been ruined by one simple text message. A message about whose contents she had absolutely no idea.
“Okay.” she said reluctantly. It wasn’t as if she had a choice.
Vaughn reached across the bed and took her hand. “Listen, baby. I know that things are – complicated – right now but I want you to know that for me this is real. As far as I am concerned we are together, you and me. Maybe it’s not a relationship in the traditional sense but I really need you to know that we will be properly together one day. Once all of this mess is sorted out it will just be you and me against the world, I promise you. You have no idea how much you mean to me angel, and how much I would love to tear your husband into tiny pieces for what he has put you through. No one will ever hurt you again – I promise you that.”
At the mention of Dale, she immediately experienced a familiar sense of panic as reality intruded and she remembered that there were still so many hurdles to jump and a bumpy road up ahead. The road had to be walked though, and now that she had some strength back, she needed to put one foot in front of the other and take the next steps towards the future and rest of her life.
“Vaughn. I think I should see him.” She said referring to Dale. “I need to tell him that it’s over and that we both need to move on.”
She felt Vaughn’s hand tighten almost painfully on hers and was glad that it was her right rather than her left hand – she wasn’t sure that her left hand and wrist could take another crushing.
Vaughn’s voice when he spoke was cold and his eyes as he looked at her were devoid of any emotion.
“You will not see that man ever again.” He said with finality, his words taking on a slightly menacing edge and she visibly