You Belong To Me

Chapter 11 – So, Do You Forgive Him?

Darien arrived at Grace Nursing Home with a very hyper active nerve. His hair uncombed and the nervousness was making him nearly dizzy.

"Chill Dude." A familiar voice said from the passenger front side window. He turned sharply to it.

"Andrew!"

"That's my name don't wear it out." he said with a cheeky smile before opening the door and climbing in.

"What are you doing here?"

"To keep you together since I knew you would show up looking like this."

"Like how?" he adjusted the mirror, saw his uncombed hair. He looked down and saw that his shirt was not even tucked in properly, half out and half in. he moaned pitifully.

"See, rushing didn't do you any good."

"I can't go in looking like this!? She might hide and pretend she doesn't know me when they are all giving me the weird look!"

"I might too but that is not the issue. Look, not even you can always be looking suave and as long as you are here, let's just go in. Besides…seeing how the need you had to find her had made you like this might soften her heart." Andrew advised.

"Did you tell her I was looking for her?" Darien asked.

"Not exactly. She wouldn't let me mention your name after I told her that I knew her through you." Darien groaned again, really…Serena had to give him another chance!

"Look Darien, it would be much easier to get this over with. Come on, let's go."

"Easy for you to say." Andrew chuckled. The got out of the car and Darien smiled a little looking at the place. This establishment had been little more than garbage, it was his donation and charity that had made it as prestigious as it was now.

Andrew was very troubled. It had been very odd the way he met Serena. After digging through all the information given to him by Darien, he began asking around and finally found out that she was working at Grace Nursing Home. To make sure so that he wouldn't set his friend up for disappointment, he had drove from his home to the nursing home. From Darien's description that hadn't been Shakespeare, she had extremely long blond hair with blue eyes and legs that went on forever. Walking around the nursing home trying not to be suspicious, he checked out every blond he saw to see if they fit the description, earning many looks.

"Andrew?" From behind him a gentle and soft voice called his name. He didn't remember anyone he knew having such a melodious voice so he had turn around only to come face to face with a goddess! A real life goddess!

Damn! She's smoking hot! He had thought, loosing his composure.

"What are you doing here of all places!?" she seemed genuinely shock as she approached him. He just stared at her and she looked at him with the same shock expression.

"Well?" she asked when he still said nothing. It snapped him out of his daze.

"I'm sorry but do I know you?" he asked timidly, flipping through his memories and trying to find a face that matched hers. Hurt briefly flashed across her face before disappearing behind a mask of cold indifference. Had he done something wrong?

"I suppose not. Well then excuse me." she said with a bow of her head and turn to leave.

"Wait please. I really don't know you. How do you know me?" he asked.

"Enough! If you are going to pretend not to know me so am I." she said and walked away from him. He stared after her with a pained expression. Somehow she suddenly looked familiar.

Long blond hair, blue eyes and legs that went on for miles!

"Serena wait!" He called after her. She stopped and slowly turned to him. He jogged up to her.

"Your memory suddenly works?" she asked with a raised brow.

"So you are Serena. I am sorry but you and I don't know each other. Darien may have told you a bit about..."

"Wait, what!?" she demanded.

"Darien and I are friends and he…"

"You don't know me but you know him?"

"Yes." She looked at him strangely.

"A good day to you Sir, I have to be getting back to work." She said, rounded the corner and disappeared. When he followed her around the corner, he lost her.

Damn! What the heck is going on?!

He had stepped outside then and called Darien about finding Serena. The real reason he had stayed was to get some answers.

"Darien?" he asked now.

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever tell Serena about me?" Darien stopped walking.

"Look Man, I am very sorry. The circumstance of her arrival to my house and our sudden need to go to the UK sort of messed everything up for me." Darien explained.

"Did you ever tell her about me?" he asked again.

Darien sighed. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah?" Darien looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Andrew stayed quiet. At the door of the home, Darien rang the door bell and tried to compose himself. He couldn't' do anything about his hair without a brush but his messed up clothing he could. While trying to compose himself, he noticed that Andrew had a contemplative look on his face, very deep in thoughts.

"Is something the matter?" he asked. Andrew looked up at him in confusion before sighing and running his hand through his hair.

"Well…it's just that when I came he…" the door opened.

"Yes, may I help you?" a woman in blue nursing outfit asked.

"Yes, my name is Darien Endymion Shields, I am looking for Serena." He answered her. The woman's eyes went wide. This was the famous Darien Shields!? The founder and president of Shields Company!? Wow, she was standing right in front of one of Romania or the world's influential man. The rumors were true; he was hot and sexy but about his impeccable dressing...this man did not match the neat business man she had seen on the cover of magazines. And what would such a big man be doing with little miss perfect who can do no wrong? She thought bitterly. She was about to lie when she saw Andrew and recognized him as the man who she had seen talking to Serena about 30 minutes ago. Could she lie and get away with it?

"Mercy who is it?" her supervisors voice came right from behind her.

No, she could never get away with lying now that her supervisor, the leader of Serena's fan club was present. She opened the door wide for the old woman to take a look at the visitors.

"Oh, Darien! So good to see you again!" the old woman said with an excitement that for an instant hid her look and made her appear like any teenager in love with a celebrity. Mercy blinked, that old woman knew this big shot?

"Hello Molly, how are you?" Darien asked warmly, taking the old woman's hand in his own and kissing the back. He kissed both cheeks too.

"Oh I'm well thanks. Come in." she said and Mercy led the way to the living room for visitors.

"Mercy, please bring us some tea." Molly said.

"Oh, no thanks. We are good." Darien interrupted.

"Surely a cup of tea would do no harm. Or maybe coffee. Please, let us serve you a little something." The old woman persisted and both Darien and Andrew found it rather hard to resist her. they gave in.

"Black coffee will be nice thank you." Darien said.

"I will have green tea if you don't mind." Andrew also said his preference.

"Mercy, please I will like to have some hot chocolate."

"Yes Mam." She left; gagging that Darien of all people would drink that bitter liquid.

"So Darien, what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"My apologies for not calling you beforehand Molly, it was an emergency."

"It is alright. And Andrew, it has been a rather long time since I last saw you." she said, turning her attention on the blond man.

"Yes, my job has been keeping me out of the country lately."

"I see. Well I hope all is well."

"All is well." Andrew assured her.

"So are you married now? Both of you?" she asked.

"You know you will be at our wedding if we were getting married." Andrew chuckled.

"Well you know me; it's all about the kids! Get married and give me grand children!" she said, her eyes vibrant. Sometimes Molly acted much younger than her 70 years. She had been an athlete in her younger days as well as a model. Even at 70, she looked like she was in her 50s or 60. She still had her lean figure and red hair with slight graying here and there, the only sign that she really was her age. She was strong and had none of those old women problems except forgetfulness. Sometimes he could forget an entire week or month in her life, other times she remembers things such as smells and feel from whence she was a year or two years old.

"Well Molly, it is the marriage we are working on now." Darien said, he found Molly quite endearing.

"Oh, tell me all about it." Her excitement was contagious!

"Well, I did have a fiancé…" Darien began.

"Did?"

"Yes did and I am hoping I still do. But I made an ass of myself and she ran away from me."

"I see. What kind of an ass did you make of yourself?"

"A very bad one."

"How so?"

"I accused her of being with me only for my money and she was no better than a prostitute." He said, with his head falling into his hands.

Molly and Andrew gasped!

"You did what!?" They both asked at the same time and Darien moaned pathetically.

"Hold your horses blond boy, why the heck are you so surprise. Didn't you know?" Molly asked him.

"Not at all. Actually I found out about Serena from Rita."

"Wait what? Serena?"

"he name of Darien's fiancé."

"Wait…you couldn't possibly mean my Serena could you?" the old woman asked, her eyes sparkling. She had already been planning on taking Serena to go see Darien and make him fall for her, to think fate had already done so was miraculous!

"Yup, that's the one." Andrew said.

"And you called her, this hard working, kind and affectionate woman a prostitute?" Molly asked him, her brow raise in surprise.

"I'm sorry! I was upset and I didn't mean it!"

"What gave you that impression about her?"

"Well you see…" Darien explained everything from when he met Serena to when they went to the UK. He paused when Mercy came in and they took their drinks. When the worker returned to work, hating the fact that she couldn't listen in on the conversation, Darien continued. Telling them from what happened in the UK to why he was sitting talking to them. Of course he made sure to give a little background story about his first encounter with Serena and what had split them up in the first place when they were kids.

"Wow, that is one crazy story." Andrew said.

"Men, they always like to jump into conclusion!"

"And women are so complicated!" Andrew said in defense of men.

"Comes with the territory Darling, live with it." Molly replied. Andrew sigh, there was no hope of defending men to Molly. Her husband, Melvin, had left her for another woman when they found out that she couldn't birth a child. He understood her pain but that incident had made her doubt all men. She had been 25 when he left her, she had never been with another ever since.

"Darien I understand why you were angry or made you think of her as a prostitute but to call her that was still a little too much." Molly said.

"I know and I am very sorry for it. That is why I am here to apologize and pray she takes me back." He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Serena came begging for a job. She explained the circumstance of the sick people and I thought she was making up the story since Dialand is not on the map. Even still, she seemed so innocent, so desperate so I hired her. She proved to be a very hard worker. From morning to night she works none stop, and she is always kind and helpful. The patience loves her a lot and she always manage to find time to read to them or play the piano for them. People like her are very rare indeed so if you have someone like that in your life, it is very advisable to cherish such a person." Molly advised.

"I just learned that the hard way." Darien said.

"Sure did. Well I will call Serena in here. I can talk to her on your behalf but I can't force her to marry you. And if she wishes to stay here and keep working, that is a blessing to me and I cannot turn her away."

"I understand."

"Do you?" her eyes were serious.

"Yes."

"Very well, hold on a second." She got up and left the room to the communicating room where she could page Serena.

Inside the room, there was silence.

"Oh, that's right, what were you going to say to me at the door?" Darien asked his friend.

"Serena knows me, and she thinks I am supposed to know her."

"What?" Darien sat up.

"Well when I came here, I didn't find her. She found me. I was walking when she called my name. She asked what I was doing here but when I told her I didn't know her, she seemed to be hurt about that." Andrew explained.

"Weird."

"Don't I know."

"Well maybe you look like someone she knows?"

"And have the same name?" Andrew questioned skeptically.

"It is possible."

"Highly unlikely." Andrew shot that idea down. Darien stared at him, then blinked and stared at him more.

"Stop checking me out!" he said, half joking half scared. Darien blinked, his expression in confusion. He looked away and looked back at him and his jaw dropped.

"Oh my freaking God!" Darien thundered, jumping to his feet.

"What?!" Andrew asked in alarm.

"I am so stupid! Or very blind."

"Well that is a first."

"No wonder Serena thinks you are supposed to know and she knows you."

"Care to fill me in?"

"You look exactly like her brother! And his name is also Andrew!" Darien said, very unbelieving of the situation.

"What?"

"Come to think of it, you and Serena do look alike. I mean your facial expressions are a bit similar and the proportions of your face." Darien said, running through the similarities in his head.

"Are you sure you know what you are talking about?" Andrew asked, having a hard time digesting the information for if it was true then he would have found out what he had always been searching for.

"Of course I'm sure! Tell me, was she cold to you when you told her that you didn't know her?" he asked.

"Yes. Actually her face became devoid of emotion."

"Exactly! She never got along with her family, they always abused her. Andrew, her brother didn't treat her bad but he never stood up for her either and watched his family hurt her. He is very sorry for that and is trying to make amends but he is very timid when it comes to Serena. For years she had believed that none of her family members cared for her but Andrew, her brother, did care. When we went to the capital, he actually tried to make amends and it made Serena very happy though she won't admit it."

"So when I said I didn't know her…she took it the wrong way!' Andrew finished and Darien nodded. He sat back down.

"And you call my story crazy."

"Darien…do you think they could be my family?" Andrew asked.

"I suppose, anything is possible at this point." They were both silent, lost in thoughts. Andrew had been raised by the Hansford family, a middle class family who had loved and cared for him since his birth. From what they had told him, they found him under a tree in the UK when they went to visit years ago when he was still a baby. They searched for his parents extensively but came up empty. Then having no child of their own, they decided to adopt him. They had put him through the best schools, and it was at Harvard that he had met Darien. He had been searching for his parents since he was told of his adoption when he graduated out of high school but all his search were futile, especially since he had to keep a low profile so his current parents wouldn't feel hurt.

Molly walked into the room and Darien sat up straighter.

"She will be here in a minute." He sighed.

"So what were you two talking about?" Molly asked and the two sighed, there was no use trying to hide things from Molly, her keen eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

"Nothing really. Just some things that are puzzling me." Andrew answered vaguely.

"This like what."

Doesn't this old woman know when to let things go?!

"No actually I don't." she answered, reading Andrew's thought. He blinked and Darien laughed.

"If you don't want to talk about something, then say you don't want to talk about it. Going around it will make me more interested in it and most people too." Molly advised.

"You're the opposite of Darien, you say you don't want to talk about is when he really wants to know. When you go around it he gets bored and leaves it up to you."

"Hey!" Darien said indignantly.

"I suppose we are all different one way or other. You just have to know who you are talking to and how their minds operate." Molly said thoughtfully.

A knock came at the door and Darien felt lie hiding behind the couch.

"Serena come in." Molly said.

Inside Serena walked dressed in a pink nurse outfit with black flat almost ballerina shoes. Her long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. She had never looked so beautiful to Darien in his life! Or just a few days of absence makes the heart fonder?

"Mrs. Molly, Sir and Mr. Shields, greetings." She said.

"Serena, sit down." Molly said and Serena sat by her side.

"I'm I in trouble for something?" she asked.

"Cut the crap Serena, you know exactly why Darien is here." Molly said, rolling her eyes.

"On the contrary, I don't. If it's about the money out of the bank I wrote him a letter saying I would pay him back .apart from that he has no business with me." Serena answered evenly, her emotions totally hidden. Panic began to set in on Darien.

"Look Serena, in life we all make mistakes. I am not perfect and neither are you. He made a mistake and upon realizing it, he ahs come to apologize and we have come to beg on his behalf that you accept his apologies because he is very regretful of what he said to you." Andrew simplified their presence in the nursing home.

"I don't think I accused anyone of being imperfect. Nor did I say that I am holding a grudge in regards to his words to me. I had forgiven and forgotten so there was no need to come here. With that said, I do have patience to attend." She said, rising to her feet and living the room.

Quickly Darien stood up and grabbed her hand. She stopped and turned to him with a raised brow.

"Serena please, don't walk out. There is more to say." He begged.

"Please make it quick, there are some patience who needs to take their medication." She said, withdrawing her hand from his. She turned and sat back where she had been sitting and Darien returned to his seat.

"I am so sorry for not letting you explain things to me and for calling you such horrible names, especially when you have gotten me off the hook of becoming UK's king. And I am especially sorry for any pain you felt because of me. I don't have any reasonable excuse for what I did; all the same a little explanation I think is in order. Serena, I have had so many girls ambush me at every turn I take. They want my money, they want my power but none had ever wanted to know the real me. Or when they get to know the real me and realize that I am sympathetic towards the poor and spent my wealth on helping people, they become upset. As soon as you mentioned my wealth in your explanation of why you wanted to be married to me, I sort of flipped. My defenses came up high and before I knew it I was lashing out. I was really hurt because you are actually the first girl I had come to love, so thinking that you only needed me for my money cause me to be ruder to you than I have been with any other. And for that I am very sorry. I came to apologize yes, but I also came to ask for a second chance. Please, don't turn me down. Serena I love you, I really do." Darien confessed, bearing his heart out for her. And if his words did not speak truthfully enough, his desperate eyes gave way to his feelings more than anything else.

She did not reply. They watched her anxiously.

"Serena, please consider his words. He did make a mistake but he has been a man enough to come and apologize and trust me that takes a lot for a man to accept he was wrong." Molly said. Still Serena didn't say anything.

"Please Serena, I know Darien from his head to his toes and I know he is very sorry for the wrong he has done against you." Andrew added.

She was still silent. Molly sighed.

"You know, I have not told you this but listen to me will you. I married Melvin when I was 16. Why did we marry that early? His parents were going to force him to marry another girl but he loved me and I loved him. So we eloped and got married. Very romantic? Yes but the end result tells its true flavor. When his parents heard he was married to me and would return unless they accept me, they agreed on his condition and we returned. For two years the family did accept me and through their help I became a model. But at the age of 18, married for two years without a baby began to open a gap between me and them. By twenty and I was still childless, at this point they hated me and accused me of bewitching him. We saw several different doctors and they all pronounced me Barren. The spite, the hate and anger I received from my husband's family was heart breaking. They tried t persuade him to take a second wife and Melvin was against that idea. On my 24th birthday, we were holding a great big party for me. Perks of being a model. At the party my sister, younger by two years burst into the house and knelt at the feet of my husband and in front of everyone announced she was pregnant. By my husband none the less." As she told her story, tears leaked out of her eyes, her eyes a whirl pool of pain and sorrow.

"You can imagine my shock. In front of all my co-workers and the media, my own flesh and blood announces that she is pregnant with my husband. If that wasn't hurtful enough, my mother in law got up immediately and held her, the family joining in congratulating and celebrating her. The birthday girl was taken out of the spotlight. The party was immediately dissolved and when all had left, the family sat down to talk about this. Even from all the pain he had just caused me, I was willing to accept him being a father to my sister's child so long as he stays married to me alone! He agreed on the condition and for 9 months we awaited the birth of the child and I tried to live my life as if it hadn't been destroyed. The media did not let me live it down, every front page they wrote the story, I did not go a single place without facing the pitying and sympathetic eyes of people but I endured it all. But when the baby was born, I was not even allowed to get close to him. Melvin decided then that his baby needed to grow up in an environment where he knows his mom and dad were legally married so he divorced me." They could all tell she was trying to keep a brave front as she told her story but such raw pain was hard to hide behind a façade.

"On my 25th birthday, the anniversary for the beginning of the ending of my life, I was walked out of my husband's house. I returned back to stay with my parent's house for a month, but they too were busy talking about the beautiful child my sister had birthed with my husband. It didn't help that she looked down on me. I could only stay there for a month and finally moved. I didn't' want any part of their world so I moved from Japan to the US and then moved from there to Romania and I've been here since. The truth is that I have been dreaming of him finding me and apologizing to me, for him to realize his mistake but that hadn't happen and it never will. Tomorrow is the 45th anniversary of the day my marriage ended. I have never married since and believe me; I have had my share of proposals. Serena, people are not perfect especially men, but if you find the one man who is willing to apologize for his mistakes, then you have found a good man. And Darien with all his flaws and charms is a good man." Molly finished her story, picked up a tissue and dried her tears.

"So, do you forgive him?" her peppy personality came into surface but it was easy for them to tell she was trying to hide from the memories she had just shared with them. Serena hugged her, got up and left the room.

"If that story cannot change her mind, nothing else can." Andrew said and Darien sighed.

"Give her time to think and make the right decision." Molly said softly. Looking at the dejected Darien, they both felt sorry for him.

"Well Molly, we will go for today. If any changes occur, please inform us immediately." Andrew said.

"I will. Darien, get some rest and calm down. Maybe all she needs is time to think." Molly said.

Hopefully. She and Andrew thought.

They left the home with Molly waving them off, her eyes sad for the young man she had come to love and adore as her own.

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The car ride was very silent. Darien just looked straight ahead while Andrew cast worried glances at his friend.

"Darien, please cheer up. She didn't say no or yes so there is still hope." Andrew said. When he looked up he saw tears trailing down his face. He was shocked!

Darien NEVER cries!

"I'm sorry, I cant' help myself." he said, dropping his head on the steering wheel and accidentally pressing the accelerator.

"Darien!" Andrew screamed. His frantic screamed scared Darien little, causing him to loose control. He held the steering wheel but the car decided I want to dance in circles on the rode. Gritting his teeth he tried to correct the car and Andrew gripped his chair, praying to God for dear life. In his head Darien learned to so 'Oh God' 100 times per minute.

Finally at one corner, using all his strength, Darien turned the car roughly, and hit the break…a few inches feet later he came to a complete stop. No one was hurt and no accident occurred. Though Andrew threw up quite a lot. They both stumbled out of the car, each thanking God haven seen their lives flash before their eyes.

Taking deep breaths to restore his nerves, Darien leaned against the car. Andrew on the other side was throwing up all his morning breakfast and last night dinner.

The police showed up.

"Is everybody ok?" a man with a stomach as big as a woman pregnant with triplets dressed n police outfit of blue and black asked.

"Yeah." Darien gasped out.

"What happened?"

"Lost control of the car."

"Any particular reason?" the fat police asked. From the corner of his eyes, Darien saw another police man come up behind the first, this one the exact opposite. As skinny as the number one written on a board with half of it erased.

"Carelessness." Darien answered truthfully. Both police blinked, people shouldn't be that honest, especially when it might get them in trouble.

"Well no one was hurt and no accident and for your honesty all you get is a ticket. Come to the office and talk with them and they won't put it on your drivers license." The fat police said when the skinny one pulled away since the fat was on the case. There was a badge at his left breast pocket that read Bob.

"Thanks officer Bob." Darien said.

"No problem. Drive safely son." He said and left.

A while later they returned back into the car and drove off. Only then did the officer realized that the man he had been talking to was none other than the CEO of shields industry. He cursed his messy memories.

After returning home, Darien pretended to fall asleep so Andrew would stop worrying. 30 minutes later Darien's butler drove Andrew home with a promise to have his car be delivered to his house from the nursing home.

At the house, Darien decided that for the first time in a long time decided he would get drunk. So taking a wine, he drank the whole bottle and fell asleep on the dinning table. So deep in sleep he was that he didn't here the doorbell ring, or that his house guards allowed someone in, someone who found him asleep on the dinning table and took a picture.

She sighed.

"What am I going to do with you." she shook her head and went to call one of the guards. Together they lifted him up and into his room and on his bed.

"Thank you Rafael." She thanked him.

"Your welcome my lady." He left her in the room. Taking a bucket of cold water and a towel, she began to towel the sweat off of his body.

He woke up when she was toweling around his ears, his most sensitive place. First his eyes were blurry but then they opened fully and fell on a familiar missed face.

"Serena." He crocked, praying to God to help him not to awaken from his dream.

"Shhh." She kissed him on the forehead. He tried to sit up but his head was killing him.

"My head hurts so badly." He moaned

"That is what you get for drinking a full bottle of alcohol, are you insane!?" she chided him.

"But you wouldn't come back."

"I am here now aren't I?" he looked at her, took her in his arms.

"Yes, yes you are." They hugged for a minute before she drew back.

"Now go take a shower and come into the kitchen for something to eat."

"Hey, don't I get a kiss?!"

"With your breathe smelling like that? I don't think so." She teased then gave him a peck on the lips.

"If you don't hurry up I will start eating without you." She said and left the room.

"You…YOU TEASER!" He screamed from outside she laughed. Things will definitely get better.

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