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This time there had been no stopping him as Darius spun around, grabbing Nigel by the lapels and propelling him none too gently against the wall. Around them, people gasped as the younger man cowered. “W...what are you doing? Just a friendly warning...she’s a slut” Sara felt mortification fill every part of her, her eyes staring in horror at the scene before her. Darius was furious as he towered over the man who she once called her husband.
“You never know when to be quiet, do you Nigel?” Darius’ voice carried over the room. “You might have persuaded Sara not to say what really happened...but she told me everything and if there is one thing I cannot abide...it is a man who thinks it is OK to use a woman as a punching bag” Nigel’s eyes flicked from the man holding him so tightly to his party who had moved forward, his voice becoming so whiny.
“S...she is lying...she is a damn liar” Darius snarled at the now terrified Nigel. “No...I saw the pictures Nigel...and I know other women who say the same thing” Sara’s mouth opened in shock. How could he have seen the pictures, they had only been taken for the police report? Feeling the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach she knew that somehow Darius had got hold of the report, realisation hitting her. That was why he recognised Nigel, her eyes filling with tears.
Still holding Nigel, Darius was talking, “And while we are on the subject of who was being unfaithful to who...perhaps you should tell Sara about Jessica Winters, or Rebecca Saunders”, satisfied to see the colour drain from the other man’s features. “It wasn’t Sara messing around on your marriage...it was you. So a ‘friendly’ warning Nigel: If you persist in spreading these slanderous rumours about her then I will come after you ... and believe me you do not want me coming after you”
With that he released him, Nigel falling further down the wall as he flicked terrified looks at Darius and then his friends. They now stood with shocked open mouths, no longer laughing with him as they had moments before, many looking at Sara, their expressions full of apology. Seeing this was more than she could take as she spun around, the tears sliding down her cheeks she fled the hotel, only stopping outside as Darius’s arm grabbed her and turned her to him, his hands grabbing both of her wrists. Sara felt hurt and betrayed, her anger aimed solely at him as she tried to pull free the pain stamped so clearly on her features.
“Y...you had no right. This had nothing to do with you. I hate you!” He hauled her harder to him, “Tough. It is done and from now on the rumours will stop. The lies will stop. Tell me that you don’t want that Sara...because I know that I damn well do” A loud sob left her, taking with it all the fight, as her head dropped, tears falling unchecked down her beautiful face. “Y...you don’t understand”, her voice full of misery, “Now all the gossip will start again...all of the finger-pointing; only now he has the whole situation with Nick to throw in. People will take sides, and they are going to look at the fact that less than a month after divorcing him I am the latest plaything for a man who has made it very clear that I am just in his bed till he returns to Italy”, her voice scathing, “a disposable sex toy”
Her eyes finally rose to hold his, “This will destroy any reputation I had left...only this time it will do it publically...you have no idea what you have done” Frowning, not understanding a word she was saying he lifted her chin, his look searching, “Then tell me Sara...why won’t you tell me?” He saw as hardness once more filled her lovely blue eyes, Sara pulling her head back moving to the car, her whole body resigned, “You did exactly what you wanted to do Darius. You destroyed me...more completely than you can ever know”
The return journey to his home was spent in silence, Darius scowling at the way she ignored him, her eyes full of sadness and desperation, staring blankly out of the window. That night they had not made love, Sara sliding as far away from him as possible as he stared at the dark ceiling, his insides churning with anger.
He had tried to help her, he defended her and she turned on him, her theatrics angering him as he tried to understand how he could have become the bad person in the scenario. Nigel was out of order, and if Sara was not prepared to put him in his place then she should have been thankful, not attacking him. Flicking a look at her stiff back turned away from him he wanted to turn her, to make her pay for her words. However, the desperation in her eyes had been real and again he cursed giving her the one-secret concession. Frowning, he again pondered her words “He had destroyed her”, turning over as he punched the pillow into shape. This had been his plan all along had it not? So why then did his stomach feel so cold, why did he care?
The next morning he blinked and groaned, his eyes falling on the clock reading 8:30. “Sara”, he mumbled sleepily, rolling over and frowning seeing the empty space he expected to see her lying in. The movement by the window drew his eye, Sara standing already dressed, staring out of the window, her countenance sad, resigned.
The memory of the previous night returned to him, as Darius frowned once more. “Sara?” his voice had been louder. She gave a small jump before turning to face him, the anger from the previous evening gone as she moved to the bed, sitting on the edge. “I’m sorry Darius”, her voice was low, gentle as he turned on his side to look at her. “What is going on Sara? There is more that you are not telling me”
She did not even try to lie, nodding her head softly, sadness filling her beautiful eyes. “Yes...yes there is, and Nigel knows everything. He wants me to go back to him...to be his wife again” Darius’ eyes widened in stunned shock as she shuddered. “Are you going to?” His voice was calm, steeliness within it, feeling the relief fill him as she shook her head “No...Never. That is one thing I can never do...though it might cost me everything”
He reached out a hand, his fingers trailing down her arm, his tone softer, “What is it he knows that you can’t tell me Sara?” For a moment he thought that she was going to speak, her eyes staring intently at her clasped hands, before she gave a sad sigh, her head shaking. “I can’t...please don’t ask”, her eyes moving to his. “But I am sorry. I know that you thought you were helping, and I appreciate what you did...I just...” Darius wrapped his fingers around her arms, pulling her down beside him; his face so serious.
“OK Sara...You say you can’t tell me...we will work on that ...but what if I can make sure that he doesn’t speak a word of anything he knows?” Her eyes widened in surprise, hope rising within her. “Y...you can?” Darius nodded his expression grim, “Yeah. I can make sure he never speaks a word of whatever it is he knows”, adding ruefully, “that I am not allowed to know”
Tears sprung up into her eyes, her mouth quivering into a smile. “Thank you”, she finally managed, before her hands moved to caress his cheeks, her head rising to kiss him. With a small groan he kissed her back, his need to know what secret she kept disappearing as the need to possess her swamped him.
That afternoon Darius told her he would be out for most of the day, Sara smiling at him, the warmth in her eyes and sincerity in her thanks once more making him question why it meant anything to him. Sara laid out the files, carefully splitting them into two piles. One for those she knew to be genuine customers or suppliers and another for those she was unsure or unfamiliar with. For hours she phoned the unknowns, meticulously making notes on each and every one.
When Darius moved back into his home later that night, he found her sprawled on her belly in his study. Smiling as he entered, he made a low whistling sound a sparkle in his eyes. “So...how did you do?” Her grimace was answer enough; as Sara stood pulling the paperwork together, before joining him on the couch he threw himself onto with a loud tired sigh. “Well...I think that I may have ruined both of our days”
He gave a loud groan before smiling. “In that case I should go first” Sara nodding, “Oh if you have good news, then you should definitely go first” Darius laughed softly. “One of the contracts I have ongoing is one your ex’s in-laws have been trying to bid for. I spoke with Nigel’s father today and explained that they were ahead of the pack at the moment ...but if his son was to open his mouth then they could find themselves right at the back”
Sara stared up at him in stunned surprise “Y...you did?” Darius pulled her in closer as he dropped a small kiss on her head. “His father informed me that Nigel was being sent away for a month...and that he personally guaranteed that he would not be opening his mouth either now or in the near future” The look on Sara’s face made Darius smile, her eyes wide and full of wonder. “I...I don’t know what to say...how to thank you”, she spluttered, sincerity in every syllable.
Giving a large heart-flipping smile, he looked at the pad she held in her hand. “Well ...you could tell me that the news is not as bad as we first feared” Sara’s sigh saw him laugh adding, “Or not”, as she curled her legs up and opened the pad.
“I am afraid that my news is not as good as yours”, she replied with a more sombre expression on her features. “I found five customers who do not seem to exist”, her mouth curled in anger, “Also ten fake suppliers...all used to buy stock for the customers”
