Page 64 of Where She Is
He attempts to take me in his arms, but I can’t stand his touch right now. I rest my palms against his chest, keeping him at bay, while the memories of London and finding Rob with another woman flood my brain. How dare Daniel do the same thing to Candy. I may not like her, but nobody deserves to be treated so badly. I stare into his pleading hazel eyes while he waits for my reaction. I realise how he needs me to see the real him, so as much as I could run away, I know in my heart of hearts, he is nothing like Rob.
“I’m choosing to believe you were going through an awfultime, and you will never treat a woman like that again. Not any woman.”
He smiles, leaning in to kiss me, but I place my finger across his mouth to stop him in his tracks. “I haven’t finished,” I breathe, “If you are ever cruel to me, I won’t hang around. I will leave.”
Closing his eyes briefly, he nods his acceptance before removing my finger from his mouth, kissing my hand gently before pressing his lips to mine. I don’t close my eyes to accept him completely. I’m still disgusted by what he’s said and I need time to digest it.
Despite my horrified reaction, I think Daniel is relieved to share this secret. Surely there can’t be anymore he needs to expose.
The ballroom to this venue is enormous and full to capacity. Considering it’s in the middle of nowhere, the attendance level is impressive. Most people here seem to know the Grants, and Diana introduces me to nearly every other person in the room. Daniel is polite and his introductions formal, but I note his lack of eye contact to the very few he’s talked to. If we could leave right now, we would, but Daniel has a sense of loyalty to his parents. He hasn’t been to any function, other than family, in such a long time so I’m honoured to be the one at his side tonight.
I can tell Daniel is itching to get away as soon as dinner is over. He’s done everything possible to please his parents and has made significant steps back into the social scene, even though he would rather leave it behind. It doesn’t interest him anymore. He leans in and whispers, “Shall we go home?”
“That’s sounds good. I just need to go to the ladies.” I don’t. All I need is to gather my thoughts before we return to the farm.Daniel stands and pulls my chair out for me. “I’ll meet you back here before we say our goodbyes.”
I nod and stand from the table, heading towards the foyer and the ladies’ room. It’s empty, so I take advantage of the luxurious hand cream next to the washbasin. The door opens, and the sound of heel to marble catches my attention. Candy’s intense glare reflects back at me through the mirror. Initially, I want to be kind. Whatever she did, Daniel shouldn’t have retaliated and although her whole persona screams first-class bitch, I can’t help but feel sorry for her.
“If you think you’re special to him, you’re as stupid as you look.”
Okay, so I expected this, but not with quite so much hatred in her tone.
“Look Candy—”
“He’s using you, you know,” she chokes out on a huff and bravery builds inside me with each ugly word that leaves her collagen-filled mouth. Despite all this, I’ll try to be reasonable at least. “Our relationship is none of your business, so if you don’t mind.” As I move forward, she catches my arm with a firm grip.
“Let me tell you about that bastard out there. He used me and spat me out. You will listen to me while I give you all the sordid details of what he did to me.”
That’s it. Daniel was right to a certain degree. She’s unreasonable, venomous and still gunning for him. The thing is, I’m in love with him and I always fight for the people I love. I will not let her win, and I will protect him with every fibre of my being. Before she takes another breath, I cut her off.
“There’s nothing I don’t already know.”
She looks a little surprised but soon shakes it off, stepping closer to me while still gripping my arm. Her plump lips are a whisper from mine.
“Well, this should be interesting. Did he tell you we had arelationship, that he cheated on me with another woman, and forced me to watch them having sex?”
She thinks she has me. I stay silent for only a second because I want to give her a flicker of glory before I wipe that wicked smile from her face. Now it is my turn. I grab her hand from my arm and remove it with force. I’m so close she feels compelled to take a step back. I want her to feel intimidated because this is the battle we are in and I will win it. I clench my teeth, “He told me everything about you, Candy. You are an irritant to him and now to me. Go away, he doesn’t want you. He never has.”
I turn away as if to leave and she steps forward to block my exit. “Do you really think he wants you? Some stupid pomme bitch who—”
“Yes, he does, Candy, and for several reasons. I’m not a manipulative, stalking, lying, bitch like you are. When you chose to meet him in that hotel room, you could have easily opted to walk away, but you didn’t. You thought he had feelings for you so you stood and watched him have sex with that girl, in the hope he would come to his senses. How long did you have to stand there? Wake up, love.” I poke my finger into her shoulder with every single word while she stands silently.
“Never approach Daniel or his family again. Do you understand me?” She stares blankly, so I raise my voice. “Do you understand me?!”
Her face suddenly screws up and she storms past me and spits out another sentence. “Good luck, bitch. You’ll need it.”
As the door closes behind her, I hear her mumble, “Fucking slag.”
Initially exhilarated; I’m unsure of where my courage came from. Then the realisation of what happened dawns on me, the shakes kick-in and my temperature rises. I splash cold water on my face and take the time to calm my nerves. I straighten myself out, take a deep breath and leave the ladies' room. When I get into the foyer, Daniel is waiting.
“What took you so long? Or do I need to ask.”
I shrug my shoulders with complete innocence. His slanted mouth huffs out a laugh. “Don’t look at me like that. Candy came by to give me a lecture on how to keep a lead on my Rottweiler. What the fuck went on in there?”
I feel a little embarrassed, but I have to tell him the truth. “I was sticking up for us.”
“For us?”
“Let’s just say I’m glad you’d told me everything about Candy before she opened her nasty mouth. I’d probably be making my way to the nearest hotel otherwise, and I wouldn’t have said goodbye.”
