Complicated Love Pt. 08

Chapter 12

Rosalie sat in the small bistro, looking with distaste at the grimy tables and chairs. She would have preferred it if they had met elsewhere, but Kirk had insisted. She had had to give in, because what she wanted him to pull would be risky for him. She was also paying him a king's ransom for the job.

She was checking her watch impatiently for the thousandth time when Kirk walked in. He sat down at the table and opened the briefcase he carried. He pulled out official looking documents. Chris and Cassie's contract. It was a very well done forgery, so that it looked real.

"I go there and basically tell her to get out?" Kirk asked, expressionless grey eyes unnerving Rosalie.

"Yes," Rosalie affirmed.

"And how do you know her husband, or her sister in law wouldn't be there?"

"Chris is in Europe on official work and Ann has a lunch date with dear Sam," Rosalie said, smirking. Knowing Chris's whereabouts had been easy enough and one call to Sam's secretary had told her that he had a lunch date with Miss Ann Quentin.

"And what makes you think she's going to believe me? They would be in a relationship for all you know," Kirk countered, his voice still flat and expressionless.

"I know that, but it's a risk I want to take," Rosalie said stubbornly. What she was pulling was something that had every chance of going wrong, but she wanted to try anyway. She had no other ideas, and she knew that the appearance of legal documents would be disconcerting, to say the least.

"Give me my cash," Kirk said, his grey eyes finally coming alive. Rosalie tried to hide her sudden fear at the expression in his eyes as she handed over his money. The greed that shone in his eyes told her that he'd do anything, absolutely anything, for money.

"Just make it quick," she told him and rose, leaving the bistro and him behind.

"I will," Kirk said quietly, carefully counting the money. "I most certainly will."

---

Cassie had woken up very early that day, unable to sleep. She had lain in bed till around 8, before showering and coming down. Ann had left her a note on the dinner table informing her that she was going out to lunch, and that most of the staff had taken a day off. Cassie folded the note and put it away before getting herself a glass of orange juice. Remembering the baby, she added two slices of toast and sat down to finish it. Everything tasted dry and rubbery in her mouth, but she did not care.

When she finished breakfast, a maid informed her that someone was waiting for her in the drawing room. She nodded and went to the drawing room.

The man sitting there was tall and bald, with cold grey eyes and a heavy build.

"May I help you?" she asked politely, seating herself opposite him.

"Are you Mrs. Cassandra Quentin?" Kirk asked, looking at the beautiful woman seated before him. She was beautiful, if a bit on the plump side. He could understand why Chris had dumped Rosalie for her.

"Yes," Cassie said nervously, because this was the first time she had seen her married name after signing the papers in Chris's office months back.

"Ma'am, I'm Gerald Hayes, Mr Weller's assistant. My Weller is Mr. Quentin's lawyer." Kirk handed her his fake business card.

Cassie nodded, acknowledging the fact. She had met Rowan in the funeral too.

"Ma'am, I have come here to tell you that Mr Quentin wishes to remind you that the contract you both had is now over, and that he wishes you to vacate the premises immediately. He will start annulment proceedings very soon."

Cassie felt the breath catch in her throat. For a minute, she didn't know what to do. Chris wanted her out? And he couldn't even tell her himself?

But this explained the absences, the non-existent phone calls, everything. Chris wanted her gone.

She nodded, her emotions hidden behind a mask.

"I will leave immediately," she said. "You may leave now Mr. Hayes. Maybe you would like to check in a few hours to see if I've gone?"

"Yes, I will need to do that," Kirk answered, picking up his suitcase and leaving. He could not believe how easy this had been. Rosalie had been right. He could not come back, of course. He would stay away from Cassandra Stevens now. If she knew the scam he had pulled, and reported him, he could be behind bars for a long time.

Cassie waited for the man to leave, then rushed upstairs to pack her things and write out a note for Ann. She did not stop even once to question the situation. She had tortured herself for weeks, and did not question the fact that Chris did not want her. She let her insecurity win. She let Rosalie break her heart.

Once she was done, she got the chauffer to drive her to her house. As she stood outside the building, in the light drizzle, she didn't want to go in. Melissa had moved out a month back and moved in with Gavin, and she knew that she would be all alone. She did not want to be alone.

She hailed a taxi and gave him Gavin's address. As she drove through the streets of the city, she let her tears course silently down her cheeks. She was hurting, and for the first time, she didn't know what to do next.

---

Ann saw the note when she came in the evening, and cursed out aloud when she read it.

"Dear Ann," it read. "I'm leaving now, and well, I suppose that I was only to stay this long. Chris asked Mr. Weller to send someone to ask me to vacate the premises. He also said that the annulment was underway. I did not see the need to stay, so I have left. Goodbye."

Ann cursed and immediately called Mr Weller, who told her that he had done no such thing, nor had he received any instructions from Chris.

Ann nodded grimly. She had a faint idea who was behind all this, and would quite happily have wrung her skinny little neck. Rosalie had gone too far this time. What was worse was the fact that Cassie had gone along with it. But Ann couldn't blame her either. If only Chris hadn't run away like he usually did, this mess wouldn't have happened.

Cursing, she called Rosalie.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're pulling?" Ann practically screamed down the phone.

"Ah, darling," Rosalie's dulcet tones mocking Ann. "I did exactly what I told you I'd do. Now deal with it."

With that, Rosalie hung up and Ann was left holding her phone in her hand, fuming. She tried Cassie's number, but it was switched off. Chris wasn't picking up his cell phone either.

Sighing in frustration, she went to bed, deciding that she would tell Chris tomorrow morning, when he would be on his way home.

---

Cassie stood shivering on Gavin's doorstep, her stringy hair sticking to her face. She rang the doorbell and waited for him to open the door. Gavin opened when she rang the door bell a second time, and with one look at the state she was in, pulled her inside.

"Cassie, what's wrong?" he asked, concern evident in his eyes. He had never seen her like this. She was always calm, cool, composed.

Cassie looked up at him, her eyes large in her pale face, her hands curled protectively over her stomach, and burst into tears. She allowed Gavin to pull her close and give her a hug as she cried.

She dimly remembered Gavin pulling her out of her wet clothes and getting her into a warm pair of sweats and then tucking her up in bed. She remembered clutching his T-shirt, refusing to let him go, until he sat down beside her and stroked her hair. After that, all she remembered was blackness, as blissful oblivion engulfed her and gave her a brief respite from her misery.

Gavin looked down at the woman sleeping on his bed, her hands clutching his, tightly, as though afraid to let go. He continued stroking her hair and watched as tears seeped from beneath her eyelids. After a long time, her grip slackened, and she fell asleep, the pain on her face softening to make her look peaceful.

Melissa had come home a while back, and after seeing the state Cassie was in, had left her and Gavin alone. She was unpacking Cassie's bags instead, and putting it away in the spare bedroom. Both she and Gavin would not allow Cassie to go anywhere in the state she was in. As she unpacked, she saw the supplements and the prescriptions and her eyes widened. Folic acid, vitamins, a prescription, test results.....Cassie was pregnant.

She went to the bedroom and quietly beckoned Gavin outside.

He got up, gently detangling himself from Cassie and went to Melissa.

"Cassie's pregnant," Melissa said softly, the anger on Gavin's face upon hearing the words mirroring the anger on her face.

"That bastard," Gavin swore softly, putting an arm around Melissa. "What did he say to her?"

"I don't know," Melissa said sadly. "But all we can do now is take care of her."

"I know," Gavin said. "You sleep in with her tonight, and I'll sleep in the spare bedroom. She might wake up in the night."

Melissa nodded and Gavin went to change and get into bed. He pulled the covers up till his neck when he lay down and smouldered. All he wanted to do now was find Chris and hack him into small, tiny pieces. But he had to know what the problem was before he did that.

Sighing, he went to sleep, knowing that tomorrow was going to be a long day.

---

Cassie was drained out by 6 in the morning the next day. She had been throwing up the whole night, with Melissa helping her out, and now she chalked it down to morning sickness. She had been feeling queasy for the past week, but she had put that down to not having enough food.

Unable to stay in bed, she got up carefully and went to the living room and curled up on the couch. After making sure that Cassie was okay, Melissa went to have a few hours of much needed sleep. Alone in the house, Cassie finally had time to think.

She knew that by running away as she had, she had done something stupid. She should have left a note for Ann, or even tried to call Chris up, but she hadn't. She was sure that Ann would have known about this, and that Chris would have told her the same thing the lawyer had.

She was also wondering what to do about her pregnancy. She couldn't go back to work at her office. Seeing Chris there every day would be too much for her to bear. She decided that she would hand in her resignation today to her supervisor.

She wanted the baby that much she knew. And she didn't want Chris finding out about it. She knew that Chris would take care of the baby, and look after it like a father would, but she didn't want that. All through yesterday, she hadn't felt any anger. Now all of it came brimming up to the surface.

How could he do that? How could he pretend to love her, just so he could make sure she stayed? She had already said she would. She didn't need the extra incentive, so to speak. And how dare her send some lackey of his? Why on earth couldn't he tell her to her face?

All these thoughts and questions mulled over and over in her head until she couldn't take it anymore. She shook her head slightly and rose to get something to eat. She found some herbal tea in the fridge, which she had, and some fruit. That was all her stomach would take for now.

Sighing, she went to shower, after finding her clothes and a snoring Gavin in the spare bedroom. She looked at his sleeping for a minute, wondering if it would have been the same with him. She was sure it would not have been. Now, when she looked at him, she was looking at a dear friend. She knew that she wasn't in love with him. It was Chris, only Chris.

After her shower, she walked into the kitchen to find that both Gavin and Melissa were awake, and waiting to speak to her. She had prepared herself for this, because she knew that this was coming.

In level, calm tones that hid her pain very well, she told them of everything that had happened, right from the beginning. When she finished, a few involuntary tears had escaped and were rolling down her cheeks. Melissa was holding her and Gavin was gently stroking her hair.

"You're staying with us," Melissa said firmly to Cassie, "until you have your baby. Then we can think about moving you somewhere. As far as your apartment goes, we can just terminate the lease."

"And we'll find you some work Cassie," Gavin continued. "If you don't want him to find you, he won't."

Cassie nodded quietly, comforted. She was going to be fine.

---

Chris was on his way home from the airport when he got Ann's call.

"She what?" he asked, his voice hard and flinty.

"She packed up and left, because some guy Rosalie hired to tell her that you wanted her out of your life," Ann said grimly. She did not feel sorry for her brother. He had made his own bed, and now it was time for him to lay in it.

"How could she do that?" Chris all but yelled.

"Because you haven't called her or spoken to her since the funeral, you haven't replied to her messages and you didn't tell her that you were leaving!" Ann was also getting angry. Her brother's knack of losing the things that mattered was getting on her nerves.

"Damn it," Chris swore, clenching his teeth. "Where has she gone?"

"I don't know," Ann said, sighing. She had tried Cassie's apartment earlier, only to have the neighbour tell her that it had been shut up for more than a month now. "I think she may have gone to Gavin's place."

She held her breath for the explosion she knew would come. Chris had never taken to Gavin, on account of the fact that he had tried to take Cassie away from him.

"Fine. Just see if you can figure out who Rosalie hired," Chris said curtly before hanging up. He tried calling Cassie, but her phone was switched off. In desperation, he called up someone at the office and asked them to find Gavin's address.

A few minutes later, he was giving his driver instructions to Gavin's apartment.

When he reached there, it was already 10 in the morning, and he wasn't sure if anyone would be in. But he had to try. He raced up the stairs and knocked on the door. He waited for a while before Melissa opened the door. She saw him, and slammed it back shut in his face.

Chris groaned mentally and resumed knocking. When Gavin opened it this time, Chris placed his foot near the hinges, which would prevent the door from being slammed in his face again.

"I need to see Cassie," Chris said as Gavin stared at him angrily. "I know she's here and I want to see her. There's been a huge misunderstanding."

"No misunderstanding happened you bastard," Gavin said, snarling at Chris. "You asked her to leave and she left! She showed up here last night, soaking wet, crying. She's pregnant, and this is how you treat her?"

Chris stopped, and stared at Gavin. "She's pregnant?"

Gavin didn't know what came over him. He landed a punch in Chris's face, and Chris didn't even react. He was still reeling from what Gavin had told him.

"That's right, she's pregnant, and you asked her to leave!" Gavin said.

"I didn't ask her to fucking leave!" Chris said. "It was something Rosalie pulled. God, Gavin, you've got to believe me. I love her!"

Gavin stared at him for a second, and then said, "She's not here. She's gone to the office to hand in her resignation."

Chris nodded his thanks and was on his way down when he heard Gavin call after him.

"And if you ever hurt her again, you won't get her back!"

Chris didn't turn back. He just got into his car and told the chauffeur to take him to the office. He had too much to lose if he didn't make it there on time.

---

Cassie was packing away the contents of her desk in a small cardboard carton that someone had brought for her from one of the storage rooms. Everything that cluttered her table went into it, other than official documents. She had handed in her resignation. She had no work as such to hand over, because all that had been taken care of when Chris had asked her to marry him. Whatever little work she had been doing from home had also been handed in. She would return later to get her leaving papers, but she just wanted to get away now. Everything here reminded her of Chris. When people saw her, they asked her how Chris was, how their marriage was going. She smiled politely and waved off their questions.

People were puzzled, she knew, but that wasn't her problem. Chris could sort it out.

As she was packing, she knocked something off the desk and was bending to pick it up when she say the person standing at the doorway to her small office.

Frieda walked in, and started helping her gather things.

"You're leaving?"

Cassie knew that the question wasn't just about work. It was about her marriage.

She nodded. She was not angry with this woman, no matter how much she wanted to be. For all intents and purposes, she had done nothing wrong.

"Cassie, if this was about me and Chris, well, there was nothing there. I wished there was, but well, he did not. It would never have worked out anyway. That night, during his birthday, I seduced him. He did not come seek me out. And when I saw him the other day, he told me point blank that he was in love with you. So if you're leaving because of what happened between Chris and me, don't."

Frieda took a big breath when she finished and looked earnestly at Cassie. She was genuinely sorry for what happened, and she'd be damned if a marriage that had been going on so well broke because of her.

"No, it's not that," Cassie said quietly, pausing as she looked at Frieda. "He asked me to leave."

"He did what?" Now Frieda was surprised. Chris, asking Cassie to leave? There had to be some sort of misunderstanding.

"Cassie, he would never ask you to do that. He was so in love with you."

"Frieda, I know that when it comes to choosing between me and you, he'd always choose you. He'd choose someone like you, I'm just scared that he'll always choose the swan over the mouse, and I don't think I can bear it."

A small tear seeped from beneath tightly shut eyelids and Frieda felt the pity well up in her.

"Cassie, you're beautiful," she said, gently laying a hand on Cassie's shoulder. "And it doesn't matter either way. Chris loves you, he really loves you! He makes mistakes, I know that better than most, but trust me Cassie; don't let him make that mistake by leaving."

Cassie shook her head and resumed packing. Frieda sighed and walked out of the office, her heart heavy. Well, she had tried. As she was walking out, she saw Chris coming in, out of breath. He looked like he had actually run up 17 floors.

Frieda hid a small sad smile and walked past him.

"Don't you lose her," she said as she passed, and didn't look back to see the shocked expression on Chris's face as he stared at her retreating back.

---

Chris walked into Cassie's office, dishevelled and out of breath. His cheek was beginning to bruise where Gavin had hit him, but he did not feel anything. He felt nothing right now, but for the desperate need to get the woman in this room to stay with him, in his life forever. He wanted nothing else. He needed nothing else.

"Cassie."

That one word he said, hung in the air. Cassie turned from the desk, her white face looking stricken as she saw Chris. She just stood there, her hands shaking. The photo frame that she held in her hands fell and shattered.

The sound was loud, obscenely loud, in the silence, but no one moved. They stood there, looking at each other. Cassie's eyes filled with tears, and abruptly, she turned, her shoulders shaking as she dissolved in sobs.

"Cassie, please don't cry," Chris said softly as he moved toward her. He tried to take her in his arms but she pushed him away.

As abruptly as they had started, the tears stopped. Cassie jabbed at her tears with her hands, stopping their flow. She closed her eyes, then straightened. She looked composed now, cool. But her eyes were still red, and they still held a world of hurt.

"I'm leaving Mr Quentin, like you asked. I'll cooperate with the annulment proceedings as soon as you start them," she said, her voice breaking when she said the word "annulment".