I am SO sorry about how long it took me to update this story. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait.
Chapter Six- The Truth Revealed
Chloe sat at her vanity, gently running a brush through her hair as she got ready for bed. She was alone in the room, Derrick was on the phone with one of the managers of his restaurant, and was grateful for the reprieve from the tension.
The car ride home from her parents' had been filled with uncomfortable silence. A silence that even Paris, who was usually very talkative, felt.
Footsteps sounded in the doorway, and Chloe watched Derrick's reflection come into the room. She dared not look at him directly, afraid that the tension that was between them would finally come to the surface. He wanted to ask questions, Chloe could sense it, but she was afraid to answer whatever he asked. She couldn't lie to her husband, she never had in the five years that they had been married. But she couldn't tell him the truth.
Derrick sat on the bed and sighed. Chloe closed her eyes, trying to block out the hurt she knew she was causing him. She watched as his reflection dropped his head in his hands and rubbed his face wearily. Nervously, Chloe toyed with the ring that rested at the base of her throat. She slipped her finger in and out of it, trying not to focus on the obvious hurt and confusion that rested on her husband's shoulders.
"Who is he, Chloe?" Derrick's voice rang in the silent room.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Chloe shook her head, trying to appear busy as she hastily applied lotion to her hands.
"Don't you lie to me!" He roared, standing up and marching over to Chloe. He grabbed her arm and forced her to her feet. When she wouldn't look at him, Derrick forced her chin up so that her eyes connected with his.
"There is something that you're not telling me." He whispered, his voice low and dangerous, "I don't like to be lied to Chloe."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Chloe repeated, her voice eerily calm.
"Julian Sark!" Derrick cried, tightening his hold on her arm, "Who is he?"
Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, but Chloe held them at bay, knowing that if she cried it would only enrage her husband further.
"Tell me!" He shook her forcefully. She bit her lip and stared up into his enraged eyes.
"You…you're going to wake Paris up." She whispered in a waterlogged voice. It was difficult to speak around the lump in her throat.
"I don't care." Derrick said harshly, but he lowered his voice all the same.
Chloe had never seen him like this, never seen him so angry. It frightened her. His eyes were blazing and a vein in his neck stood out against his tanned skin. They had never fought before, at least not like this, and Chloe was afraid, with as angry as he appeared, that he would strike her.
Let him hit me, she thought, it'll give me an excuse to leave this marriage. But as soon as the words entered her head, Chloe knew them to be a lie. She didn't want to leave Derrick, she loved him. Sometimes it seemed as if her life was one big lie, that she was just idling away the time until Sark returned, but more often than that Chloe was happy and content with her little family. It was true that she had lost some of her feelings for him, but she knew that she would never completely stop loving Derrick.
His green eyes bore into hers, staring her down. Chloe drew in a deep breath, forcing away the tears that threatened to spill over.
"He's her father." she whispered. Derrick's hand dropped from her arm as if it had burnt him. He stepped away from her, his eyes wide. Chloe dropped her head down, afraid to meet his hopeless stare.
"You're going to leave me, aren't you?" He sounded so hurt, so sad. It was all Chloe could do not to cry. She looked up and met his eyes.
"No," she shook her head and reached out a hand to touch Derrick's arm. He shied away from her touch. The action hurt her, but Chloe wasn't going to give up on making her husband understand.
"I would never leave you." She continued. "Julian was a part of my life ten years ago and, for ten years, I haven't heard a word from him. He never sent me any letters or anything."
But he did write you, the annoying voice in the back of Chloe's mind reminded her, he did write you, but your mother kept his letters from you. Chloe didn't think that little bit of information needed to be spoken aloud. She didn't think Derrick needed to hear it, so she pushed it aside.
"I love you, Derrick. It was you that I married, not Julian Sark." Chloe reached out for him once more and, this time, Derrick let her hand rest on his arm. His eyes flickered from her hand to her eyes.
"I love you Chloe, but if you have feelings for this Julian, then this marriage is a sham."
"No, I made a vow to you. For better or worse till death do us part. I'm sticking to that vow Derrick, it's you that I want in my life."
That isn't what you would have said if you knew that Julian were still in love with you, the voice persisted. Chloe closed her eyes, trying to block out the voice. She didn't need anymore complications in her life, not now, not ever.
Clouds blanketed the sky, covering the stars and blocking their light. Sark stared out the window of the plane, his chin resting on a closed fist. The world was dark beneath him, leaving Sark to guess at where they were.
He closed his eyes. There was nothing for him to do on the plane, so, why not try to sleep. But sleep wouldn't come. Instead, an image of Chloe wrapped in her husband's arms floated just behind Sark's closed eyes. He felt his stomach churn whenever he pictured them together, and he had to fight to keep the bile from rising to his throat.
Sark rubbed a weary hand over his face and settled back into the cushioned airplane seat. They would be landing soon, and he would be expected to act as if nothing had happened in the last ten years.
The CIA had made sure to keep his arrest quiet, just in case he were to be needed someday in the future, thus making sure that nobody knew who he was working for.
Turning his head towards the darkened window, Sark sighed and thought back to the events of that night. A smile found his lips as he thought of the little girl, Paris, his daughter. She had to be the most beautiful child he had ever lain eyes on. Chloe's spirit shone through her. She may have looked like Sark, but she was Chloe's child through and through.
Guilt suddenly washed through him. He should have been a part of Paris's life, he should have watched her grow up, heard her first words, seen her first step. He should have been there for all of that. Damn Sydney for keeping his letters from Chloe. If it hadn't been for her Chloe would have come to see him in prison, she would have told him about her pregnancy, and she would have brought Paris to see him throughout his stay in prison.
He bit his lip and rubbed his chin. If only he could have met Chloe under different circumstances. If only he hadn't been wanted by the CIA. If only, if only, if only. There were so many if-onlys and what-ifs, too many to count.
Shaking his head to clear it of all thought, Sark closed his eyes and, once more, attempted to fall asleep.
They were whispering quietly, locked behind the closed door of their bedroom. Paris stood in the hall, her ear pressed tightly against their door. She had heard every single word that had been screamed that night, and now she wanted to hear the ones that were whispered.
Her father, the man who had come to her grandparents' that night, Julian, he was her father. It hadn't surprised Paris to hear that, not really. She had known there was something about him when she'd first laid eyes on him. He was…special. She could feel it in the tug of her heart when her eyes had first met his. He was her father, the man who had created her, with her mother's help of course.
All her life Pairs had wondered about the man who had helped to create her, and now she knew who he was. She had seen his face, she had spoken with him. He seemed nice, gentle, and, at the same time, tortured. His eyes had watered slightly when he ducked down to speak with her, and Paris could see the hurt that he was trying to hide.
Footsteps sounded in her parents' bedroom, and she could hear the springs settling in the bed as they laid down on it. Quickly, she scurried back to her own bedroom and buried herself beneath the pale pink comforter. Closing her eyes, she easily fell asleep, her dreams full of her father, her real father.
Well, I hope this was worth the wait. I know it was kinda short, but I kinda got stuck and couldn't figure out where to take it. Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought.
le Citron: Thank you so much for the amazing review. It's compliment enough for me when people take the time to actually write a review. Thank you for enjoying this story and thinking that I am a good writer.
Marie: AWOL is a military term meaning Absent Without Leave. Meaning basically that somebody leaves the military without being legally discharged. I hope I helped you to better understand the term.
Triple Agent, csk8-20, Sarks-Girl-89, freakygirl, and Eyghon: Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and review this story, it really means a lot to me.