A Betraying of the Heart
Reborn...1899
~~~
There are two of us
It's the cycle of our souls
~~~
Daniel sat at the grand piano, his fingers moving effortlessly across the keys; music filling the ears of the many guests that had gathered in the manor. He searched the room for his wife, scanning through every perceivable gap for any sign of her. She would disappear for hours, talking amongst her friends or busying herself with preparing dishes to serve. Then she would rush to Daniel, kiss his cheek and compliment his performance before again, slipping into the crowds. Some would dare to place scepticism in Daniel's mind; filling his ears with suspicious gossip about Piper and the mysterious, blond haired stranger. But Daniel refused to believe such idle rumours, insisting firmly that he trusted his wife and would know if she had been unfaithful. He was content to watch the celebrations continue, sitting to the side and letting his fingers do the talking as they created the music echoing through the room.
Oblivious to Daniel, Piper and Leo, the mysterious stranger, had met outside the manor, hidden from any prying eyes by thick bushes. "That music is hideous." Leo commented quickly when he first spotted Piper, weaving through the plants.
"Only to your ears." Piper grinned, allowing Leo to pull her into his body and meet her lips with his.
"I've missed you." He whispered to her ear. "Where have you been? You've missed our last two meetings."
Piper eyes fell downcast and her stomach churned, before Leo tipped her chin up with his index finger. "I'm sorry." Piper murmured, reaching for his hands and gripping them.
"What is it Piper? Don't tell me your idiotic husband has finally discovered your extra curricular activities?" Leo pressed, unable to keep a smile from his face.
"Leo don't, please. This is serious." Piper stated, waiting for his eyes to meet hers.
"I'm sorry, I'm listening. What is it?" His words were full of sincerity and only made the words she dreaded to say even more difficult to form
"We can't keep doing this Leo." Piper began, taking a deep hesitant breath.
"Yes we can." Leo interrupted, breaking into a grin again, assuming this was a joke of some kind.
"No. We can't do this any more. I can't keep doing this."
"I don't understand Piper. What's happened to change your mind?" Leo finally questioned after a few moments of silence, feeling his life being drawn away as she pulled back, her eyes wavering from his, not daring to meet them for fear she'd change her mind
"Nothing has happened. I just don't want to be living a lie."
"I love you. You know that right? This isn't just an affair Piper, you're meant to be with me, not Daniel." Leo pleaded.
"And that's the exact reason why we can't do this. I love you Leo. Tens times more than I love my husband, but I will not leave him. If things were different...a separate time, altered circumstances...we could be together." Piper answered, tears welling in her eyes and threatening to fall.
"You'll never be happy."
"I know." Single tears slipped down her cheeks and she leant her forehead to rest on his chest.
~~~
Let me touch you
Put my hands on you
I'll kiss you
And we'll see things through
~~~
Leo took a deep breath and allowed her words to sink in, accepting she was saying them for herself and not to hurt him, forcing himself to accept this new reality where she would no longer be his. Finally words came to him. "Just once more Piper. Let me give you my all, just one more time."
"Leo?"
"When we see each other across the street or in the city or wherever we may be, I want to remember you Piper, not this moment. I want to remember what it felt like to hold you in my arms and make love to you; I want to remember how love could give me more than just the pain of losing you." Leo's voice wavered and Piper choked on a sob, reaching up to wrap her hands around his neck and crying into his shoulder.
"Yes." She gasped simply. "Just one more time."
The tears were still falling down Piper's cheeks as they slipped away unnoticed, tracing the familiar route to Leo's small home. Leo slowly and deliberately kissed and caressed his love, purposely delaying the inevitable, trying to remember her every touch, the feel of her body beneath his. They eventually succumbed and joined together as one for the final time, and
allowed these memories, perfect in each other's arms, to replace the ones of sadness and heartache. Minutes passed, neither one wanting to break apart for a final time, knowing when it happened that the perfection they had found would be lost, and two hearts would be broken. Eventually Piper withdrew herself from the comfort of Leo's safe hold, redressed and silently left, not needing words to ruin the memory that would be forever theirs.
***
The days and weeks that followed were ones of eternal pain and heartache, Piper being forced to suffer in silence amid a one-sided marriage. She convinced Daniel that she was unwell, insisting she needed rest and not a doctor. It gave her an excuse not to be intimate with Daniel as she came to accept the decision she knew was right but one she would never forgive herself for.
The weeks dragged into months and Piper returned to her marital duties, absent-mindedly providing for Daniel's needs, her mind always straying to Leo. It was four months before Piper finally accepted what she'd known for at least two and tearfully began to tell Daniel.
"Dan. I need to speak with you about something." She stated quietly, walking into his office and interrupting his work.
"Of course Piper. What is it?" Daniel immediately stopped working and turned his full attention to Piper.
"You're going to be happy." She forced a smile despite the lump that persisted in her throat.
"I am?"
"Yes." Piper whispered nodding, taking a deep breath. "You will, after all, soon have that child you desire so much."
Daniel's eyes widened and his face broke into a grin. "You're pregnant?"
"Yes." Piper nodded, squeezing her eyes shut when he rushed to embrace her.
"Finally Piper. This is such good news." He stated, kneeling to place a kiss to her ever so slightly swollen abdomen. "I love you so much."
"I love you too." Piper replied automatically, the word love no longer carrying any meaning.
"How far along are you?" Daniel asked innocently.
"About four months." Piper answered, holding her breath as Daniel looked up at her.
"This is incredible." He smiled, standing to hug and kiss her again.
"I know." Piper agreed, sharing the same amazement, but for far different reasons.
***
Just days later, Piper stood nervously at the front door to Leo's, her heart racing and mind in chaos. She didn't know the reason why she was standing there; she just had to see Leo. To look into his eyes and search for some meaning to this life she'd created for herself.
"Hello." Piper said shyly, Leo answering the door and staring at her, shocked and literally speechless.
"Piper." He muttered a few seconds later, reaching out with his fingers to touch her cheeks as if convincing himself that she was real. He had seen her a few times in town, walking down the street her hand always resting on Daniel's arm. They had shared a brief glance before deliberately avoiding each other or pretending that they hadn't made eye contact. "What are you doing here?" He finally asked, noticing Piper's trembling hands out of the corner of his eye.
"I just...I don't know Leo. I wanted to see you."
"Is anything wrong? Are you okay?" Leo switched in protective mode, noticing for the first time the dark rings that shadowed her eyes and the redness that rimmed them.
"Yes." Piper replied hesitantly, but she was anything but convincing.
Stepping back from the door, Leo held it open and silently invited her in. Piper gave a sheepish glance back at the road and slipped inside, overcome with the familiar house and the strong feelings that accompanied it. "Are you sure you're alright Piper?" Leo asked again, resting his hand on her back when she stared tearfully at a collage of photo's Leo had created of them.
Sighing deeply and pausing for what seemed an eternity, Piper finally stared at her feet and whispered. "No."
"What is it? Has Daniel hurt you?" Leo pressed, pulling her around to face him and tipping her chin up. "Piper please? You're scaring me." He added, when tears began to fall down her cheeks.
"You have no idea of what we've done." Piper shook her head, resisting his touch and pulling away. "I'm pregnant Leo. With your baby."
"Are you sure?" Leo questioned, his eyes widened in complete shock.
"I'm certain Leo and it's definitely yours."
Leo stared back at her, letting his eyes drift to her stomach. "I don't know what you want me to say Piper. Will I be a part of this child's life?"
"No. I wanted you to know Leo, but I have to raise this baby as Daniel's." Piper hung her head, suddenly ridden with guilt.
"Does he know?"
"Yes." Piper nodded.
"He thinks that it is his?"
"Yes."
"I don't know why you came here Piper. You tell me that I have fathered a child and then you want me to hand all privileges over to a man I despise? I think you should leave."
Piper took a few steps towards the door and turned back to him, forcing herself to speak with a hesitant voice. "I'm sorry." She murmured softly, her heavy heart exposing how genuine her words were.
Leo shook his head sadly. "If you wanted to hurt me Piper..." He trailed off as his voice broke, pausing a few seconds before continuing. "Then you've more than succeeded."
He walked away then, back into his house where loneliness stared back at him from every angle. The walls held no framed pictures of family members and the many rooms would never hear children play. The other side of his bed would always be empty and his tender heart would never heal.
~~~
I am here now
You've got the best of me
So go ahead now
Take the rest of me
~~~
Months passed slowly and painfully, Piper becoming weaker and more miserable with every passing hour. Daniel catered her few desires, a little water, a warm room and countless hours to herself. They didn't bask in the beauty of pregnancy and Daniel's attempts at comfort were barely acknowledged let alone accepted.
At 36 weeks, Piper was laying in bed by the window, watching intently for the daily sign of her true love when a contraction tore through her body and shuddered her soul. It wasn't a small introduction to a long labour, more a sudden and determined scream for release. With the second one just a few minutes later, Daniel rushed into their room in reaction to Piper's deathly call.
"Are you alright Piper? What's happening?" Daniel questioned in a rush, his haste ignoring the obvious.
"The baby...coming..." Piper gasped out between tears and clenched teeth.
"It's too early."
"It doesn't know that!" Piper screamed back, her pale face flushing with heat as a wave of nausea overcame her.
"I'll call the midwife." Daniel muttered, rushing out of the room; leaving Piper frantically struggling to force air in and out of her lungs.
In the few minutes it took him to order someone to retrieve the midwife, Piper had fallen deeper into a state of no return. Her vision had clouded and she stared out the window in a silent plea for repentance from her sins. God was punishing her for boring the illegitimate child of a scandalous love affair. "Piper?" Daniel's words couldn't penetrate the world that Piper had retreated to, a place where agonising physical and emotional pain would never reach her.
Daniel continued to do everything in his power to bring Piper back, whispering words of love and gently touching her. His innocent actions did nothing but force Piper further away, the abandoned streets providing more comfort than her husband. Amongst the blur of events, the midwife arrived, ignoring Piper's condition and letting nature force her to push the baby into the world. Slipping between consciousness and unconsciousness, the child appeared, undeveloped, deformed and lifeless. Out on the street, Piper's eyes met Leo's where he stood staring up at the window, his heart bleeding for what his soul knew was happening. Inside of him, his heart ached and his limbs felt lifeless - his soul mate was dying. Painfully, slowly and with her entire body racked with guilt - she submitted to the inevitable and let the angels carry her and her daughter to the heavens.
Barely an hour later, in a dirty and debris filled river, Leo's body was found. Washed up on the shore with his skin wrinkled and body limp; he was carried away. Two broken hearts lay together in the morgue, side by side, two halves finally making a whole through tragedy. Their child, whose soul would forever dance in the heaven's, having been borne of such love; lay atop her mother's chest.
~~~
There are two of us
It's the cycle of our souls
~~~
It ended...1924