Chapter Fourteen
Hours later, Sydney and Sark went back to SD-6. Sloane had left for the night and all they had to deal with was a bit of light security. They took out the few guards and Sydney made sure that Marshall had disabled the surveillance cameras right. She looked into it and she heard Marshall's voice come into her ear.
"All clear," he said. She smiled.
"Thanks," she whispered.
Sark fiddled with the key ring and found the one to Vaughn's cell. He unlocked it and Sydney tossed him the bag with the clothes in it. He changed into a casual outfit with jeans and a t-shirt and added sunglasses and a hat. Sark chuckled and said to Sydney, "Are you going to comment?"
"Nah, I saved that one for you. It was a one-time only thing though," she smiled.
"Did I miss something?" asked Vaughn.
"No," Sark said quickly. "Let's go."
As soon as they were out the door, Sydney said to Marshall, "Go ahead and put them back on. Sark sawed off the bars so that it looks like someone from the outside helped him."
"Okay. Good luck, Sydney," she heard the click, signaling that the connection was broken.
The three of them got in the car. Sark pulled over at Francie's restaurant, which was doing extremely well.
"I'll pick you up about.10:30?" he asked.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Sydney replied as she and Vaughn got out.
Francie greeted them warmly and led them to a table near the back, far away from the mindless chatter of the evening crowd.
"What is it, Syd?" asked Vaughn, staring at his menu, refusing to meet her eye.
"I wanted to talk.that's all."
"Without your husband?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Andrew understands that you and I have some."
"Unresolved conflicts?"
"Yeah..." her voice trailed off.
"What did you want to say?"
"I just wanted to apologize, for what's happened over these last two years. I know that things will never be the way that they were before, but I don't want us to still have these conflicts between us that may affect our business relationship."
He lowered his eyes. "Sydney, it's my fault. I should have told you about Josh.my son. After I had heard that you'd been killed."
She moved her finger to his lips, silencing him. "It's all right. It's over now." Part of her wanted to lean across the small table and kiss him, but the other part stopped her. No, she told herself. You have a husband and a daughter; he has an ex-girlfriend that he will probably end up getting back together with and a son.
"Syd, I want to explain." The waitress cut him off. "Good evening, and what can I get you to start off with?"
"Just a coke," said Sydney.
"I'll have the same," replied Vaughn.
"Thank you," she said, flashing Vaughn a smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your drinks."
"Somebody's flirting with you," muttered Sydney.
"I know," he smiled at her. "Sydney, just let me continue."
"Vaughn, it's over."
"Sydney, I want to tell you. You of all people should know. After I had heard that you'd been killed, I blamed myself. I went crazy," he looked at her and she raised her eyebrows, "okay, I went nuts. I started having thoughts of committing suicide, and then I went down the path of no return, the whole "let's go out and get drunk so that I can't feel anything" road."
"Vaughn." Sydney said, realizing the rest.
"Syd, let me finish. I saw Alice at the bar that I just happened to be at that night. She was as drunk as I was, and sort of."
"Vaughn, you don't have to go into details. I can figure out the rest." "About three months later, I got a call from Alice. We.hadn't talked much since that night, and I knew something was wrong. That's when she told me that she was pregnant. Well, you know Alice.she begged me to get back together with her, that her parents would kill her if she had this baby without her boyfriend/fiancé and so.I said yes. We got back together that night."
Sydney looked at him, speechless.
"There's more. Last month, we broke up again. She had rushed me into an engagement and sort of.how would you say it? Revealed her true colors."
Sydney smiled. "The spoiled brat?"
"Yeah," Vaughn said quietly.
She stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to call Andrew. I want to get home to Ambria."
"You don't want to stay?" he sounded upset.
"Vaughn, what we had two years ago is now completely gone," she said, voicing what her mind was thinking and repeating over and over to her. "I'm married, I have a daughter. You have a son. We both went our separate ways." She picked up her coat and left the money for her untouched drink.
"Sydney." he followed her out.
"Vaughn, it's over." She dialed Sark's cell phone. "Andrew?" she asked. "I'm ready." She nodded at his response and hung up.
"Sydney, why can't we just talk about this? We're always walking out on each other."
"Vaughn," she reasoned. "We did talk." She looked up and kissed him, something that she had wanted to do the whole time that she had been sitting across from him at the table. Just then Sark pulled up. He tried hiding the hurt in his eyes as he watched Sydney pull away from Vaughn, her eyes shining.
She got into the car and purposely avoided Sark's eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Yeah." her voice trailed off.
"If you're wondering."
"Andrew, don't go there. I don't really want to talk about it."
He nodded and they drove in silence. When they pulled into the driveway, Sydney tore out of the car and through the front door. Sark heard the bedroom door slam as he let himself into the house. He knew that she needed to be alone, to sort out her feelings for Vaughn. He sat out on the deck, overlooking Irina's pool.
You always knew this day would come, he told himself. The day that she and Vaughn made up, the day that they would want to get back together with the only thing stopping them.you.
***
"Sydney?" Irina gently knocked on the door, then took out a bobby pin and picked the lock. One thing about Sydney these days, she thought to herself. Always have a bobby pin handy.
"Go away," she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to Irina.
"Sydney, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting next to her.
She looked at Irina, her eyes puffy and her face blotchy from crying. "I kissed Vaughn," she said, dissolving into more tears and turning away.
"You've kissed Vaughn dozens of times. What's wrong with you kissing him when you were going out and why are you worrying about it now?"
"You don't get it, I kissed him, at the restaurant, and Andrew saw me."
"You're cheating on your husband?" Irina looked curious.
"No!" Sydney ran from the room and sat outside on the front stoop. Irina calmly followed her.
"Sydney, just hear me out, all right?"
She nodded.
"Your marriage with Sark is exactly like mine was with your father's. Cuvee "selected" your father as my husband. I had no choice in the matter, and I went along with it. After you were born, I really grew to love him. I dreaded the day that I would get the call from Cuvee telling me to come back to Russia. I loved it here in America, with you and your father. I didn't have a choice though in going. Sydney, you do. You may have been pulled into a marriage that you didn't want, but you have the choice to decide whether you want it to continue or whether you want to end it."
"I can't leave my daughter."
"You don't have to. You and Sark can have joint custody."
"I don't want her to grow up like I did. I don't want her to be shuffled from house to house because her mother has to work and her father is nonexistent."
"So you're staying with Sark because of Ambria?"
Sydney nodded. "She deserves a better childhood than I got."
"Have you told Sark this?"
"He's mad enough at me for tonight. I can't face him."
"Sydney, he knows that you still love Vaughn. You can look at him when he sees you two together and know it."
"But it still hurts me as much as it hurts him!"
"Sydney, you're the only one who can make the choice in this matter. You're the one who's stuck in the middle here, not Vaughn, not Sark, you." She stood up and went back inside, shutting the door behind her.
Sydney thought for a while. If I leave Andrew.I can't leave Andrew. He's put up with me over these last two years while I wished that it was Vaughn that I was married to, not him. He's Ambria's father, she loves him. Hell, I love him.
"Can I join you, or is this a private party?" came the familiar British accent.
"You can join me," she felt herself smiling.
"Sydney.I."
"Andrew, you don't need to explain anything. I never should have done what I did tonight, and if I could go back in time and change it."
"Sydney, love."
"Andrew, let me finish. I shouldn't have kissed Vaughn.I." He silenced her by covering her lips with his. Her eyes lit up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her to him and they broke apart, her head resting on his chest.
"Sydney, you don't have to explain," he said quietly, his fingers running through her hair.
She nodded and leaned quietly into his embrace, both enjoying the quiet of the night.
Hours later, Sydney and Sark went back to SD-6. Sloane had left for the night and all they had to deal with was a bit of light security. They took out the few guards and Sydney made sure that Marshall had disabled the surveillance cameras right. She looked into it and she heard Marshall's voice come into her ear.
"All clear," he said. She smiled.
"Thanks," she whispered.
Sark fiddled with the key ring and found the one to Vaughn's cell. He unlocked it and Sydney tossed him the bag with the clothes in it. He changed into a casual outfit with jeans and a t-shirt and added sunglasses and a hat. Sark chuckled and said to Sydney, "Are you going to comment?"
"Nah, I saved that one for you. It was a one-time only thing though," she smiled.
"Did I miss something?" asked Vaughn.
"No," Sark said quickly. "Let's go."
As soon as they were out the door, Sydney said to Marshall, "Go ahead and put them back on. Sark sawed off the bars so that it looks like someone from the outside helped him."
"Okay. Good luck, Sydney," she heard the click, signaling that the connection was broken.
The three of them got in the car. Sark pulled over at Francie's restaurant, which was doing extremely well.
"I'll pick you up about.10:30?" he asked.
"Yeah, that sounds good," Sydney replied as she and Vaughn got out.
Francie greeted them warmly and led them to a table near the back, far away from the mindless chatter of the evening crowd.
"What is it, Syd?" asked Vaughn, staring at his menu, refusing to meet her eye.
"I wanted to talk.that's all."
"Without your husband?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Andrew understands that you and I have some."
"Unresolved conflicts?"
"Yeah..." her voice trailed off.
"What did you want to say?"
"I just wanted to apologize, for what's happened over these last two years. I know that things will never be the way that they were before, but I don't want us to still have these conflicts between us that may affect our business relationship."
He lowered his eyes. "Sydney, it's my fault. I should have told you about Josh.my son. After I had heard that you'd been killed."
She moved her finger to his lips, silencing him. "It's all right. It's over now." Part of her wanted to lean across the small table and kiss him, but the other part stopped her. No, she told herself. You have a husband and a daughter; he has an ex-girlfriend that he will probably end up getting back together with and a son.
"Syd, I want to explain." The waitress cut him off. "Good evening, and what can I get you to start off with?"
"Just a coke," said Sydney.
"I'll have the same," replied Vaughn.
"Thank you," she said, flashing Vaughn a smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your drinks."
"Somebody's flirting with you," muttered Sydney.
"I know," he smiled at her. "Sydney, just let me continue."
"Vaughn, it's over."
"Sydney, I want to tell you. You of all people should know. After I had heard that you'd been killed, I blamed myself. I went crazy," he looked at her and she raised her eyebrows, "okay, I went nuts. I started having thoughts of committing suicide, and then I went down the path of no return, the whole "let's go out and get drunk so that I can't feel anything" road."
"Vaughn." Sydney said, realizing the rest.
"Syd, let me finish. I saw Alice at the bar that I just happened to be at that night. She was as drunk as I was, and sort of."
"Vaughn, you don't have to go into details. I can figure out the rest." "About three months later, I got a call from Alice. We.hadn't talked much since that night, and I knew something was wrong. That's when she told me that she was pregnant. Well, you know Alice.she begged me to get back together with her, that her parents would kill her if she had this baby without her boyfriend/fiancé and so.I said yes. We got back together that night."
Sydney looked at him, speechless.
"There's more. Last month, we broke up again. She had rushed me into an engagement and sort of.how would you say it? Revealed her true colors."
Sydney smiled. "The spoiled brat?"
"Yeah," Vaughn said quietly.
She stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to call Andrew. I want to get home to Ambria."
"You don't want to stay?" he sounded upset.
"Vaughn, what we had two years ago is now completely gone," she said, voicing what her mind was thinking and repeating over and over to her. "I'm married, I have a daughter. You have a son. We both went our separate ways." She picked up her coat and left the money for her untouched drink.
"Sydney." he followed her out.
"Vaughn, it's over." She dialed Sark's cell phone. "Andrew?" she asked. "I'm ready." She nodded at his response and hung up.
"Sydney, why can't we just talk about this? We're always walking out on each other."
"Vaughn," she reasoned. "We did talk." She looked up and kissed him, something that she had wanted to do the whole time that she had been sitting across from him at the table. Just then Sark pulled up. He tried hiding the hurt in his eyes as he watched Sydney pull away from Vaughn, her eyes shining.
She got into the car and purposely avoided Sark's eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Yeah." her voice trailed off.
"If you're wondering."
"Andrew, don't go there. I don't really want to talk about it."
He nodded and they drove in silence. When they pulled into the driveway, Sydney tore out of the car and through the front door. Sark heard the bedroom door slam as he let himself into the house. He knew that she needed to be alone, to sort out her feelings for Vaughn. He sat out on the deck, overlooking Irina's pool.
You always knew this day would come, he told himself. The day that she and Vaughn made up, the day that they would want to get back together with the only thing stopping them.you.
***
"Sydney?" Irina gently knocked on the door, then took out a bobby pin and picked the lock. One thing about Sydney these days, she thought to herself. Always have a bobby pin handy.
"Go away," she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to Irina.
"Sydney, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting next to her.
She looked at Irina, her eyes puffy and her face blotchy from crying. "I kissed Vaughn," she said, dissolving into more tears and turning away.
"You've kissed Vaughn dozens of times. What's wrong with you kissing him when you were going out and why are you worrying about it now?"
"You don't get it, I kissed him, at the restaurant, and Andrew saw me."
"You're cheating on your husband?" Irina looked curious.
"No!" Sydney ran from the room and sat outside on the front stoop. Irina calmly followed her.
"Sydney, just hear me out, all right?"
She nodded.
"Your marriage with Sark is exactly like mine was with your father's. Cuvee "selected" your father as my husband. I had no choice in the matter, and I went along with it. After you were born, I really grew to love him. I dreaded the day that I would get the call from Cuvee telling me to come back to Russia. I loved it here in America, with you and your father. I didn't have a choice though in going. Sydney, you do. You may have been pulled into a marriage that you didn't want, but you have the choice to decide whether you want it to continue or whether you want to end it."
"I can't leave my daughter."
"You don't have to. You and Sark can have joint custody."
"I don't want her to grow up like I did. I don't want her to be shuffled from house to house because her mother has to work and her father is nonexistent."
"So you're staying with Sark because of Ambria?"
Sydney nodded. "She deserves a better childhood than I got."
"Have you told Sark this?"
"He's mad enough at me for tonight. I can't face him."
"Sydney, he knows that you still love Vaughn. You can look at him when he sees you two together and know it."
"But it still hurts me as much as it hurts him!"
"Sydney, you're the only one who can make the choice in this matter. You're the one who's stuck in the middle here, not Vaughn, not Sark, you." She stood up and went back inside, shutting the door behind her.
Sydney thought for a while. If I leave Andrew.I can't leave Andrew. He's put up with me over these last two years while I wished that it was Vaughn that I was married to, not him. He's Ambria's father, she loves him. Hell, I love him.
"Can I join you, or is this a private party?" came the familiar British accent.
"You can join me," she felt herself smiling.
"Sydney.I."
"Andrew, you don't need to explain anything. I never should have done what I did tonight, and if I could go back in time and change it."
"Sydney, love."
"Andrew, let me finish. I shouldn't have kissed Vaughn.I." He silenced her by covering her lips with his. Her eyes lit up and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her to him and they broke apart, her head resting on his chest.
"Sydney, you don't have to explain," he said quietly, his fingers running through her hair.
She nodded and leaned quietly into his embrace, both enjoying the quiet of the night.