Their Marriage Reunited (3 page)

“I could have helped out. Maybe lent you some money,” Lilly suggested and her mother shook her head.

“Even if you’d wanted to you couldn’t afford it and I didn’t want you to feel obligated to give us money that you didn’t have,” her mother said.

Guilt assailed Lilly at this for if she had still been with Connor then her mother wouldn’t have hesitated to ask for help. Money was the one thing she wasn’t short of in her marriage and she would willingly have parted with it.

“I still don’t understand what this has to do with now though,” Lilly said and her mother swiped away tears.

“You have to understand that we were desperate or we would never have done it,” her mother said and Lilly wanted to shake the answers she needed free until she understood what was going on.

“Done what?”

“We borrowed some money from a loan shark. It was only a little at first but then we needed more and they added all this interest on. We were keeping up with the payments but then they increased them. We were barely managing to pay them when my hours got cut back. Now we just keep owing more each month and we have no hope of being able to pay it back. David tried to talk to them, to explain. But they attacked him and left him at our door. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m so scared Lilly. I can’t lose my family,” her mother confided and Lilly couldn’t believe her ears. How could all of this have been going on without her having the faintest idea?

“Don’t worry mum. Everything will be fine. You go to the hospital and stay with David. I’ll stay with Melissa,” she said and her mother gave a strained smile as she got to her feet.

“You’re sure this is okay?” her mother asked and Lilly gave a weak smile back.

“Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take Melissa back to mine tomorrow and you can just concentrate on making sure David’s okay,” she reassured her and finally calmer her mother left.

As soon as the car engine faded Lilly slumped in the chair with her hands covering her face and she wondered what the hell they were going to do about this awful mess. First thing was first though. No point in rushing in to any hasty decisions until they knew for sure how David was and what they’d said to him.

It was a tense night for Lilly. She couldn’t have slept even if she’d wanted to as she waited for news on David’s condition. But she couldn’t just twiddle her thumbs either. Instead she cleaned the entire downstairs of the house and scrubbed every surface twice. She even organised everything alphabetically from the cd's and books to the tinned goods. And when all that was done and she was left with nothing else to take her mind off it she paced the floor and chewed her thumbnail instead.

It was six in the morning before the phone finally rang and she pounced on it immediately as she prayed that it was good news. It wasn’t. David was alive and would make it through but one of his legs was broken as well as his arm. He had a severe concussion and a body full of bruises and cuts. Not to mention the broken ribs and internal bleeding that they had finally managed to stop. It would take months for his injuries to heal and in the meantime he wouldn’t be able to work which left them in an even worse position that before. It didn’t help that the guys who had beaten him up had also threatened his family.

Lilly felt even worse by the time she hung up the phone. Although David would recover from his injuries it was obvious that they couldn’t afford to pay off these guys and the alternative was unthinkable.

Standing in the bedroom doorway Lilly silently watched Melissa sleep as thoughts raced through her head. Each thought was quickly dismissed until she could no longer ignore the only option she had ever really had though she didn’t want to face it. Instead she continued to watch Melissa sleep. She looked so peaceful and Lilly found tears springing to her eyes at the thought that anyone could hurt such an innocent child. It also made up her mind about what she was going to do. She had known all along that this was what it would come to but had hoped that there would be another way. There wasn’t.

Taking a deep steadying breath she finally left her spot and returned downstairs. Picking up the phone she dialled a number she hadn’t called in years and was surprised at how clearly she remembered it. A tense few seconds passed as it rang and she wasn’t sure what scared her more, that it might not get answered or that it would.

“Hello?”

And suddenly she was struck dumb at the sound of the voice she hadn’t heard in so long.

“Hello?” he repeated impatiently and Lilly had a sudden image of him slamming the phone down before she’d had a chance to beg him for his help.

“It’s Lilly,” she said softly and for a second she thought that he hadn’t heard or that he had and wasn’t going to answer her.

“Lilly?” he asked incredulously after what seemed an age and she winced for he had every right to sound surprised. Hadn’t she told him that hell would freeze over before she would ever call him again? And as far as she knew that hadn’t happened.

“Please Connor. I need your help,” she said quietly and could practically feel the surprise he was feeling.

“And what sort of help would warrant a call from my wife I wonder?” he mused and Lilly gritted her teeth together furiously. She should have known that he would make her work for it. Probably punishing her for all the times she’d ignored his calls. She was probably just lucky that he didn’t simply hang up on her.

“Please Connor. It’s important,” she said and wondered if he would just turn her away.

“Tell me,” he invited and she was about to answer him when there was a sound behind her and she spun around to see Melissa standing behind her rubbing tired eyes.

“Lilly? Where’s mummy and daddy?” Melissa asked and Lilly scooped the small child in to her arms aware that Connor was still waiting for an explanation, one that she couldn’t give in front of Melissa.

“Lilly!” he reminded impatiently and she winced at the harsh tone that clearly told her he was a busy man and didn’t have time to wait around all day.

“I can’t tell you over the phone,” she said as she hugged Melissa close and she heard his hiss of frustration.

“Very well then. You can meet me at my office at ten,” he told her and she frowned as she glanced at Melissa.

“I can’t,” she told him and could sense the steely determination even before he spoke.

“That’s my final offer Lilly,” he warned and she gave a defeated sigh.

“Fine!” she finally agreed knowing that he wasn’t going to give an inch and realising that she didn’t have a choice but to accept.

“I look forward to seeing you,” he said mockingly and she glared at the phone even as it went dead.

“Let’s get you some breakfast,” Lilly said faking a cheery attitude as she replaced the phone and seated her young charge at the table.

It was just after ten when they entered the lift leading to his offices. She just hoped he would still see her and wouldn’t throw her out just to be petty. She had been as quick as she could but it had taken longer than she had expected to get Melissa ready and then the bus had been delayed. She hadn’t even had time to change out of the faded jeans and comfy shirt she had been wearing since last night. She already knew what a mess she must look and it was confirmed when his secretary gave her a suspicious look as she called Connor while looking more likely to call security than to let her through. She seemed more than surprised when instead Connor came out of his office his eyes immediately narrowing on Melissa who was clutching Lilly’s hand like it was a lifeline.

“I had to bring Melissa with me,” Lilly said defensively and he shrugged off her explanation apparently not particularly interested in the reason that a child was invading his private rooms.

“My secretary will look after the child,” he stated and Lilly thought to argue but realised he was right. Melissa shouldn’t be hearing the conversation that was about to take place. She didn’t want her to worry or become upset.

“Stay here sweetie. I won’t be long,” Lilly assured her and Melissa stared nervously at Connor as though she didn’t trust him to let her go again.

“Promise?” Melissa asked and Lilly nodded as she placed a kiss against her golden curls.

“I promise,” she confirmed and Melissa seemed happy with that as she joined the secretary who was already pulling out crayons from god knew where.

Lilly wished she could be nearly as happy. Instead she steeled her spine and followed Connor as he led the way in to his office and closed the door firmly behind him. She expected him to get straight down to business and was surprised when he headed to a drinks cabinet instead.

“Drink?” he offered and she shook her head.

“I didn’t come here for drinks Connor,” she reminded him and he inclined his head in acknowledgement.

“No you didn’t. So tell me Lilly, what is so important that it dragged my wife out of hiding?” he asked mockingly and she flinched at the cold way he spoke to her though there was nothing cold about his eyes as he ran a heated gaze over her taking in the subtle changes to her. She knew what he would see of course. She had lost weight in the years since she had left him though it was no wonder with the busy schedule she kept. Her slender curves had gone from barely there to none existent and she knew that she was getting to the point of being too thin. Her hair was currently tied back in a messy bun but if she had left it loose it would have reached to her waist at least for she hadn’t cut it in forever. Her clothes were cheap and too baggy on her and no doubt she had dark smudges under her eyes from where she hadn’t slept.

Whereas he looked even better than before. At thirty he barely even resembled the young man she had fallen in love with. Gone was the wild hair that he could never completely tame and his dark hair was instead kept short and neat. His cool grey eyes were no longer inviting and smiling but positively glacial instead when they weren’t observing her body. Gone were the jeans and shirt he had tended to wear when they were together and he was dressed in an expensive suit that screamed money. She couldn’t fail to notice the tightly knotted tie that Connor had always refused to wear even when he was forced to wear a suit before. It seemed he had embraced his destiny as head of his family after all and she wasn’t even sure that she recognised anything about him anymore. He had always had a smile ready for her but now his face was stiff and unyielding giving away no hint of his mood.

“I was never in hiding. You knew where I was,” she snapped and one of his brows rose questioningly.

“Of course I knew where you were. But I doubt I would have been welcome had I stopped by,” he suggested and she fought the urge to blush. She just had to keep reminding herself that she had nothing to feel guilty for. She wasn’t the one who had broken their marriage vows.

“I didn’t come here so we could snipe at each other,” she informed him coldly and he inclined his head in response.

“Then by all means tell me what it is that you are so desperate for help with,” he said gesturing with his hand for her to continue.

“I need some money,” she admitted reluctantly and his eyes narrowed on her pale face. She could just guess what was going through his head right now. She was probably just another woman in a long line begging for a handout and the only thing she had over those women was that they happened to be technically married. It was that tiny thread that connected them she was hoping to exploit.

“How much?” he asked curiously and she named a figure that made his eyebrows rise in surprise.

“Please,” she begged him and he leant back against his desk as he observed her thoughtfully while he drank his whisky in one gulp.

“And what exactly do I get in return?” he asked.

And here it was. The hard part where she had to convince him that it would be worth giving her the money.

“I thought we could make it my divorce settlement. We could sign the papers and I’m willing to sign something saying I will never make a bigger claim against you,” she suggested and was unprepared for the brisk shake of his head at the mere suggestion. As far as she was concerned it was the perfect solution. He was worth millions if not billions which meant that technically she should be entitled to half of that but she was willing to rid them of that tiny thread that held them together for a barely noticeable amount.

“I think not,” he answered and she glared at him. How could he be so unreasonable? It was a perfectly good plan. A couple of signatures and a cheque and everything would go back to normal.

“Why not?” she demanded and he shrugged apparently unconcerned that he had thrown her whole plan out.

“Because I have no intention of getting a divorce,” he told her making her suck in a sudden shocked breath. He couldn’t be serious.

“You’re being ridiculous,” she told him furiously and he seemed interested in her answer.

“And what is so ridiculous about it?” he queried making her splutter at the absurdness of it all.

“We haven’t lived together for five years. We don’t even know each other anymore,” she pointed out and there was that damn shrug again.

“And whose fault is that?” he accused making her wince at the perfectly accurate accusation but only because he had no idea that she knew about his affair.

“Mostly yours I’d say,” she told him in disgust and he seemed interested by that as well.

“And how do you figure that?” he asked curiously and she cursed herself inwardly for she had never wanted him to find out that she knew about him and Alexis. She didn’t want to have to listen to the lies he told her in an attempt to gain her forgiveness. Didn’t want him realising that she knew what a fool he’d played her for.