Chapter 1

It has been 12 years. 12 years of hiding, of intense hurt, of pain, of insane jealousy…he couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't wait for her any longer, he couldn't bear one more insult. Yes, he was a servant, as she so nicely called him, but he was also a man and she a woman. Why, why did he had to fall in love with her? From all the women in this world why her? The most arrogant, selfish, cruel, bitch of Broadway? He would have give almost anything to not feel what he was feeling, to not stay awake all night wondering how long till she will found another rich, handsome, young man, who would pass her family standards? How long till Mr. Sheffield will give in to her constant flirting, how long until he would lose her forever? He couldn't do this anymore.

He turned his had and looked at the clock on his night stand, it was 2:30 am. Another night wasted, another night of pitying himself, another night wondering why him? And even though her constant rejection hurt like hell, deep in his heart he knew that if he had to choose between never meeting her and this situation, he would pick the latter. Because he couldn't even imagine his life without her in it. It would have been such a lonely, sad place.

And this past days have drive him almost nuts. Usually, he could live with the fact that she was so taken with Mr. Sheffield, but he really hated the trips that they had to make together. He knew that were business trips, that Mr. Sheffield had no feelings for her…but still. They were two single people, with no obligation, with no spouses and if they wanted to they could take things further. And than a series of images with cross his mind so vividly … his hand, brushing her soft skin, his lips, kissing her full, red lips, his eyes admiring her nakedness. And with each image, something inside him flinch and the jealousy he was feeling consumed him like nothing ever did. Besides, there was more to it than thinking about the possibility of her and Mr. Sheffield getting together. It was the way she would behave herself before this trips. He felt purely nauseated by her behavior… her desperation to have him all for herself, the preparation she made before the trips, all the planning, all the effort she put in her plan to finally have him. He didn't understand why a woman so beautiful as her had to stoop so low. Ok, so she didn't love or want him, but she could find a lot of people out there willing to cherish the ground she walked on, why did she want Mr. Sheffield so bad? From all the men in the world, why Mr. Sheffield?

There were moments when he almost hated him and at the same time he would have given everything to be him just for an hour… to feel her desire, her love, her need.

In the morning, they would live to Boston. She wanted so bad to go with Mr. Sheffield alone that he got scared that something might really happen between them this time. He hated this insecurity, sometimes he hated her, for causing it, sometimes he hated himself, for letting himself feel it. So he had to do something, he had to stop her. In a way, he still hoped that she had some feelings for him, the fact that she engaged in all the pranks and zingers that he throw her way, made him feel somehow special. He knew that she felt something for him, not just indifference, he only hoped that there was something more under all that hate that she parade every day.

So he came up with a plan…if he convinced Mr. Sheffield to take the children with him, she didn't have a chance in hell to come near him.