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Chapter 6

  • Chapter Six
  • Damien sat on the love seat opposite Dale and Ellie on the couch and just stared at the object of his five-year obsession. He couldn’t believe he found her at last, and in his cousin’s home no less. The anger of knowing that she shared Dale’s bed almost overshadowed the joy of seeing her again—almost. But how could he be angry as he stared into those lovely brown eyes that were wide with alarm? The pink glossed lips—the lower one being worried between her teeth—that he remembered so vividly kissing until there were swollen. They were red then, full and red and ever so seductive. The chewing of the lower lip was new though. She used to roll it inside her mouth when she was nervous and also when she was thinking. But it had been five years and she was bound to change. He certainly had, though not for the best.
  • His gaze dropped to her lap, where her hands lay—the right one palm to palm with Dale’s and the left sitting atop the joined ones, two rings on her third finger, the diamonds glittering against the sun rays coming through the window behind him. It irked him seeing his cousin’s mark of possession on her hand, but he wouldn’t dwell on that. He stared at her face again and noticed her hair though still in curls was short, reaching right above her shoulders.
  • With a shaky smile he said, “You cut your hair.”
  • She exchanged a frightened look with Dale before she nodded slowly. “Yes. It’s much easier to handle with two toddlers.”
  • His body went rigid and he bit down on his jaw in an effort to calm himself. Exploding in a jealous rage would be the wrong way to handle this situation. He needed to be patient. To get her alone and… and what? He hadn’t really thought past finding her and now that he had her right in front of him… He sat up straight with a new resolve. Now that he had her he was determined to have her back in his arms. She was his first!
  • He caught Dale’s eyes, narrowed in warning. Damien could practically feel his rage radiate off him in large waves toward him, but he didn’t care. He’d searched for so long, lost so much along the way including part of his sanity to just wish them a happy life and walk away.
  • Turning fully to Ellie, he asked, “How old are they?”
  • Swiping her lips twice with her tongue—another new nervous habit—she answered, “Stacey-Ann is two and a half and Third—Dale James—is one and a half. Their birthdays are two weeks apart.”
  • Though she was smiling, Damien caught a spark of hurt in her eyes. Why would the dates of their birth cause her pain? Dale too had that look for only a second before he drew his wife closer for a comforting hug. It took all that was inside him not to rip them apart.
  • “Ellie, could I speak to you for a minute—in private?” Damien stressed the last part.
  • Dale slowly pulled away from her and rose off the couch, seething. “No way in hell is that happening!”
  • Damien stood too, his anger getting the best of him. “What’s the matter little D? Scared, she’ll come back to me?”
  • “I was never with you,” her voice though soft was strong. She stood, taking Dale’s hand in hers in a show of solidarity as she stared at him with pity in her eyes. “I’m sorry but I think you have me confused with someone else.”
  • He slashed his hand through the air. “No, I’m not confusing you with anyone else!”
  • With sad eyes, Ellie looked up at Dale before turning back to him. “I do have an identical twin sister. People were always confusing us for each other all the time. You’re probably—probably thinking about Ellsa.”
  • “Hell no! I’ve heard what Ellsa is like and she’s definitely not my Victoria Secret. But you are. I know I’m not wrong!”
  • He took a desperate step towards her, but Dale quickly shifted her behind him, shielding her with his body. He then held his hand out to Damien to keep him from moving any closer.
  • “Listen middle D, we’ve already gone through and survived one psycho relative and it’s not an experience I’m willing to repeat. Nor is it one I’m willing to permit my family to endure again. Do you understand me?”
  • Damien stared down his cousin, the threat and the outstretched arm the only things keeping him where he stood. He understood alright, and he couldn’t say he blamed Dale. If it were his family, he would do the same but…
  • “She’s mine—”
  • “No she’s not!” Dale cut him off sternly. Then gently without taking his eyes off Damien he said, “Honey, when was the last time you were in Miami?”
  • Ellie didn’t bother stepping out from behind Dale when she answered, “Right before college graduation, we both went including Kris—my best friend—and some of Ellsa’s girlfriends.”
  • “And six years ago?” Damien asked frantically.
  • “No. I was in Rome with my first art class that summer. The rest of the year I was here teaching.”
  • “Teaching?” Damien echoed. He thought she was an escort? “Have you ever worked as an escort?”
  • “What?” she stepped out then, clearly offended by the look on her face. Her fists on her hips, she exclaimed, “I am not a prostitute! Never have been one in my life. My parents left us enough money to stay on our feet until we could support ourselves. I still have some left.”
  • That also didn’t make any sense. VS was an escort—not the prostitute type, she made that clear—for money. None of this made any sense. Even her eyes didn’t have that spark when she was angry. Yes, it was there just not the same as VS. Then this dread filled him as he stared at Ellie and he suddenly began to see the little differences between her and VS.
  • “Your—your sister, what exactly did she do before—before—”
  • Ellis shrugged slightly. “She was a stylist of some sort. She travelled all over the world buying clothes for the boutiques here in the States and also for some wealthy women who she referred to as having the money but no sense of style. And that it was a good thing they could afford someone who had it aplenty,” she smiled sadly as her eyes flooded. “She always got herself, me and even Kris clothes on her clients.”
  • “Did she ever tell you where she went?”
  • She shook her head. “No. But she always called or texted right before she jetted off then dropped by when she came back. She would be gone weeks even months at a time. Once she was gone a full year, I missed her. I miss her now.” A tear rolled down her cheek unchecked and Dale quickly gathered her to him in a fierce hug—exactly what Damien wanted to do.
  • Clenching his fists at his side he stared at them and admitted whether or not she was VS, she wasn’t his anymore. That hurt more than he ever thought possible.
  • Could it be that he really had fallen for VS? Did he really love her? Was love what drove him to find her all these years or was it just his obsession to protect her? Either way, he needed to leave, he couldn’t stay here being haunted by her face and not be able to touch or kiss her like he wanted to.
  • “I need to leave,” he blurted out, turning around the room looking for his travel bag.
  • “Damien, you don’t have to.”
  • He heard the worry in Dale’s voice and turned to them. They were still clutched in each others arms and he knew for sure he needed to leave or Ellsa wouldn’t be the only relative who went psycho.
  • “Where is my bag?”
  • “Still in the car,” Dale answered disentangling himself from Ellie.
  • “Good, drop me off at the train station. I need to leave, I need to—” Find VS. He hoped that she was still out there because he was sure he wouldn’t be able to handle it if Ellie was lying about who she really was.
  • “Damien, listen. If Ellsa is your Victoria Secret, then nothing has changed except that we’re looking for the same woman now. We need to find her for all our sakes, and soon.”
  • He scoffed. “There is no way finding her would benefit me. I’ve wasted enough time, I need—”
  • “To find VS,” Dale finished, “What if Ellsa is VS? You need to find out, and once we find her, you can decide what to do next. You need to put this obsession to rest Damien, it’s ruining you. You need to go back to your normal life, to who you used to be before VS happened to you.”
  • To go back to his normal life? To his only concern being himself? He couldn’t remember what that was like. VS had commanded everything in his life for the last five years. It had been all about her. He stared at Ellie for a long while. Her eyelashes were wet with tears, dread etched in her face, her arms wrapped around herself. If VS was psycho Ellsa, yeah it was about time he put her hold on his life to rest.