Author's note: Okay, so this chapter is long... I hope you'll enjoy it anyways. :)
Two weeks had passed and still there was no sign of Victoria and Daniel.
The Grayson's head of security Frank Stevens had just informed Conrad that they had found David Clarke's abandoned car on a parking lot in Boston. However, the following investigation of the surrounding area and hotels in and outside of the city had been without success. Just like all the other previous investigations.
When Frank had left Conrad's office in New York about 10 minutes ago, Conrad had been struck by disappointment. He was already tired of the various false reports about his wife visiting a bar in California or David Clarke being seen at a bank in Nebraska. Every time there was a new hint, Conrad gained hope that they would finally find his family, but at the end of the day all of hose hints had been revealed as completely fictional or they would only lead to new questions and confusion about how his wife and son could just disappear without a single trace.
Even the police had acknowledged that it was almost impossible to track them down without their credit cards, phones or a car.
In addition to that feeling of powerlessness, which drove Conrad mad, he had also found Victoria's wedding ring in her dressing room 6 days ago. She had obviously left it there on the vanity with the intention of her husband finding it. Together with the expensive ring, Conrad had also discovered a folded piece of paper with Victoria's personal handwriting on it.
My dearest Conrad,
Take this ring as a memory of our doomed marriage for I won't be fulfilling my duties as your wife anymore.
You gave me the choice to either save my son or to be with my lover.
However, I chose not to be controlled by your threats anymore and created a different option for my son's and my own future.
Be sure that Daniel is save and happy with David and me, but do not expect us to visit you in prison.
My son needs a role model he can look up to and not one to teach him about how to get into league with terrorists.
I cannot wait to see you in court and witness you taking the fall for your despicable actions, making me a free woman again.
Victoria
P.S. It is funny to think that even after years of marriage, you can still be deceived so easily. One might assume that you haven't learnt anything about me.
After reading those admittedly clever lines of his wife, Conrad had been more than just frantic causing him to pull all of Victoria's clothes out of her closet and tearing them apart like a psychopath. Afterwards he had fallen onto his knees between the now ruined exclusive fabrics and had buried his face in pieces of dresses or blouses since Victoria's scent had still been lingering in the room.
Yes, he was angry at his wife and would definitely make her pay for what she had done to him, but now that she was gone, his undying love for her became painfully clear. He needed her and the constant challenge to make their marriage work and he even felt a bit guilty for not spending enough time with her and Daniel.
Exhausted from his unusual emotional outburst, he had fallen asleep on the floor that evening dreaming about his wife coming back to him, her hands gently caressing his face and her lips touching his in an apologetic kiss.
All of that could have come true if he had only taken the plans to repair their relationship more seriously. Conrad had thought about booking a flight to Aruba so that they could take a break from all the trouble in the Hamptons and he could show Victoria how much she still meant to him.
Nevertheless, he had been too slow and as only his wife could, she had taken care of the problem herself.
Low-spirited from the unsatisfying results of the day, Conrad walked over to the cupboard with the intention of pouring himself a drink.
"Mr Grayson?" A female voice interrupted him from taking his night cap.
"Why are you still here, Mrs Davis?" Conrad returned eyeing the blonde woman standing in his door frame.
"There was still a lot of work for me to do. I had to file the new information about Mr Clarke's family, so that Mr Stevens can begin tracking them down tomorrow. Plus, I printed out my final press statement concerning the case." She cleared her throat. "And I actually wanted to ask if I could go home now?"
"Yes, of course you can. I didn't even expect you to still be here. Good night." Conrad filled a glass with the brown liquid and brought it to his lips. When he turned to the door again, David Clarke's secretary was still standing there nervously scratching her head.
"Are you okay, Mr Grayson?" She finally found the courage to ask.
Bewildered by the usually quiet woman's question, Conrad took a step in her direction. "Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"
"It's just that… I mean…" Lydia Davis felt her hands getting sweaty as her boss suddenly stood so close in front of her. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was messier than usual, but she couldn't deny that she felt more attracted to him than ever.
"Come on, tell me. I'm interested now." Conrad smiled shyly studying the young woman's face. He had never taken a closer look at her, but he had to admit that she was pretty, nothing compared to his wife's beauty of course, but there was this innocence about the blonde woman, which he really liked.
"I don't want to sound too personal, but you're going through a hard time. Mr Clarke took your family away from you."
Although Lydia Davis didn't know the whole truth, she definitely knew enough to not to refer to Conrad as the victim of the whole affair.
Thus, Conrad understood her affection, whether it was fake or not, as a welcome change from the increasing self-pity he felt.
"Well, you are probably right about that, Mrs Davis." He sighed. "If you don't mind I would like to invite you to have a drink with me. I could really need some company."
Lydia flashed him a surprised smile and gladly accepted his offer seating herself on one of the chairs in Conrad's office.
Victoria wiped a sweaty streak of hair out of her face and laid her head on David's shirtless chest. He still had his arm wrapped around her body and let his hand slowly roam up and down her bare back. She sighed with pleasure enjoying his gesture as she remembered how they had ended up in this intimate position…
It had taken one week until Victoria's wish to have David all to herself had been granted.
During that time, Victoria had slowly began to feel more comfortable with the change her body was going through and actually enjoyed having meals together with her new family. She loved that feeling of cohension and tried her best to strengthen her relationship with Amanda.
David was constantly telling her how beautiful she looked and that she didn't need to worry about putting on weight, so that their wish to have some privacy together became a more and more pressing matter.
In the end it had been Charlotte, who had given them some space by taking out the kids to explore more of the property. About one and a half hour ago she had left the house giving the two of them an obvious wink.
At first, Victoria was foolish enough to try and start a conversation with David, but very quickly it became apparent that he had other things in mind when he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom they were now sharing.
By the time he started sucking at the flesh of her inner thighs Victoria had already forgotten about the topics she wanted to talk to him about, because the only thing she was able to focus on in that moment were his hands and lips at the exact spots that would send her into a frenzy.
"David." She purred as he unexpectedly stopped removing her black lace panties from her hips. "Don't stop, please."
Seconds later his face appeared directly above hers. Victoria reluctantly opened her eyes and met his worried expression. "What is it?" She asked irritated.
"I was just wondering if you are alright." David sounded seriously concerned.
"I was in a state of ecstasy a few moments ago, but unfortunately you had to pull me out of it to ask me this stupid question." Victoria freed herself from her already opened bra wrapping her legs around David's body to encourage him to go on. As he didn't respond the way she had expected, she voiced her confusion. "What's the matter with you?! You were crazy for me only some minutes ago!"
"I still am. Just answer my question. Are you alright with this?" David calmly repeated concentrating on not giving in to his desire.
"I think it's really cute that you care about my feelings and I love you for being so gentle with me but please, David, I need you now." In order to underline her statement Victoria grabbed David's boxers and pulled them down his legs without hesitation. However, he still didn't move and Victoria grew impatient. That was when she finally figured out what might be holding him back. "Okay, is this about the pregnancy? Because if it is, you're being ridiculous. David, trust me, you cannot hurt our child. Just make me happy, alright?" She pulled him down into a kiss and eventually felt him giving in to her and returning to his previous pattern. He moved downwards her body leaving a trace of kisses on her smooth skin. He took extra care when he reached her abdomen placing his hands at her waist and pressing a long kiss onto the small bump that had become visible over the course of the last two weeks. He then looked up into Victoria's smiling face.
"I love you." She whispered reaching down to entwine her fingers with his.
"I love you, too." He answered before he finally helped his lover to get rid of her panties and started teasing her at her most intimate spots eliciting several loud moans from her mouth.
"David…, I…" Victoria almost growled after some minutes under ragged breathing, but before she could finish her sentence, he had already sent her over the edge.
"I missed you." David placed his face over hers again. He smiled as he noticed her glowing, pink cheeks and the way her chest quickly rose and fell causing her to breathe through her opened red lips.
"You're incredibly sexy, I hope you know that." He let his hands wander up her bare sides sending shivers through her whole body. Victoria was still unable to say something so she simply returned David's smile.
"You're welcome, Vic." He laughed and slowly let his lips sink onto hers in a demanding kiss.
It was certainly enough encouragement for Victoria to welcome him between her legs, while he was careful not to let too much weight rest on her stomach. Instinctively, she clung closer to David as he soon moved in a rhythm, which they both enjoyed. She gripped his hair and arched her back, because she couldn't take it anymore. She needed him so much.
With a scream coming deep from her throat she voiced her release and soon David followed her and lay down next to her wrapping his arm around her slim body.
"You're amazing." He said exhaustedly giving Victoria another kiss.
"And you're done already?" She giggled relaxing in his embrace.
"I don't want to stress you. I know how important cuddling is to you." He explained keeping her pressed tightly to his body.
And that was how, 30 minutes later, Victoria still found herself lying in bed next to David, who was obviously drifting off to sleep since his hand had stopped moving on her back.
In contrast to him, Victoria felt anything but ready to fall asleep with her mind wandering off to her conversation with Charlotte from one week ago. On the one hand, she didn't want to ruin their time together, but on the other hand, she couldn't calm down until she would hear the whole truth coming from his lips.
Therefore, Victoria started kissing her lover's chest and face with the intention of carefully waking him. Her plan worked and David's eyelids fluttered open at the loving gesture.
"Veee…" He whispered drowsily. "Does this mean you're ready for another round?" He smiled mischievously and pulled her on top of him.
"David, I actually thought that we could talk."
"Talk? We can do that when Charlotte is back with the kids. We have to use our time wisely." He began softly massaging her sensitive breasts in order to distract her from whatever was going on in her head, but this time Victoria was strong enough to resist.
"David, please this is important to me. I really need to talk to you." She grabbed his hands and kept them at a distance from her body.
"What could possibly be so important?" He sat up now and leant against the headboard of the bed while Victoria remained sitting on his lap.
"I was thinking about my family and the past for a lot of reasons lately." She cautiously addressed the topic looking David into his blue eyes.
"You think too much, Vic. I thought we agreed to enjoy the time we have here at the farm as long as possible." He let his nails roam over her upper thighs feeling her inching closer to him and her legs pressing onto his hips.
"And I'd really like to do that, but I can't help it: This place reminds me so much of our family, your family." Victoria had a hard time resisting the urge to let herself go thanks to David's advances.
"Wait, what is this about?" He suddenly became precautious at the mention of his family.
"I was just wondering if you think more about your family now that you're here, at the place where you grew up. Doesn't it remind you of your parents?"
"I told you a million times that I don't like talking or even thinking about my parents, Victoria." His tone became serious in an instant and the soft expression faded from his face.
"But you never told me why, David! Why did you never tell me how your parents died and what it was like being raised by your aunt?"
"Does it matter? I don't get why this is so important to you!" He raised his voice and put his hands off of Victoria's body.
"Because, David, because your father killed himself after your mother had died in that car accident! It's a very traumatic experience!" In her angry state Victoria didn't care about breaking her promise to Charlotte. She was completely focused on David and his reaction.
"How do you know that?" David muttered through clenched teeth, his body tensing in an instant.
"I talked to Charlotte because I found an old photo of you and your mother."
"She told you about our family?" David screamed furiously with a shocked expression on his face.
"Yes, because I want to understand your relationship." She tried to calm him down by stroking his hair.
"What is wrong with you, Victoria?" He was now seething with rage jumping up from the bed. His quick movement threw Victoria on her back, so that her head hit the mattress in an unfortunate angle causing her to feel sore when she tried to sit up again.
"Why is it so hard for you to stay out of other people's business? You definitely crossed a line." David slid on his underwear glaring at Victoria, who suddenly felt embarrassed and covered her bare body with the sheets.
"So you think you're just other people's business to me?" She desperately wanted to hold the tears back but her eyes were getting more watery every second. "I may have gone too far by pulling Charlotte into this, but I only did that because you never talked to me about your past! And it does matter to me, because I thought that our relationship had reached a point where there are no secrets anymore. I guess I was wrong." At the end of the sentence her voice cracked and she reached for her head in pain while David remained silent and began to understand the whole situation.
"And you know what hurts me the most?" Victoria decided to let out everything at once, now that she had the perfect chance to do so. "I told you everything about me. Every single detail, every degrading fact and now you treat me like I'm just some acquaintance of yours, who only wants to gossip about you? I wanted to hear you say the truth, so that there wouldn't be anything in this world that could tear us apart again, but you only seem to be interested in using our time together to find pleasure." She felt the silent tears streaming down her face before she closed her eyes in embarrassment.
As for David, he finally figured that he might have overacted due to Victoria addressing a very sensitive topic. He was stupid enough for throwing those accusations at her and he did not only hurt her mentally but also physically. He felt like a complete idiot.
"I'm so sorry, Vic." He was at her side within the next second. "You're right about everything. But you have to understand that even after so many years talking about my past is still very difficult to me."
"Do you believe that it is anything but difficult to me as well?!" Victoria shot open her red eyes. "It took me so much courage to talk to you. I don't understand how you can judge me for wanting you to do the same. I thought our relationship was based on equality."
David met her hurt gaze making him regret everything he had said or done within the last 5 minutes. The mere sight of her in pain made his heart sink.
"We are equal, Vic. I get your point." He gently pulled her into his arms again. "Did I hurt you?"
"I've got a headache because you carelessly threw me on the mattress like a piece of trash or something." Victoria replied drily, torn between crying her eyes out on his shoulder and slapping him. Before he could even attempt to apologize, she had decided for the latter option her flat hand hitting his cheek at full speed, which left him with a dumbfounded expression. David hadn't expected her slap to be strong enough to actually hurt, but like so many times before he had been wrong, and his cheek was now turning red.
"Message received. I deserved that one."
"Yes, you did." Victoria shot him an angry look. "You made me feel worthless and used. And that's exactly how I felt so many timed before I met you. I don't want to go back to that."
"Oh, Vic, that was never my intention. I didn't mean to be so harsh on you. I was out of my mind and I am deeply sorry for that." David laid a hand on her back and guided her to rest against his chest. "You mean the world to me. You're my precious Victoria."
After that she laid flat on her back with her head in his lap while she lovingly caressed the cheek she had hit only a few moments ago. "So you have to tell me now, David. What was it like living with your parents and what did you feel when you suddenly lost both of them?"
David inhaled and let out a deep breath. "Alright, then. But trust me, I wasn't as strong as you were during the hardest time of my life and I don't want you to think less of me because of that."
"There's nothing that could make me change my opinion about you, David. Just be honest with me."
It was then that David began to talk.
And never stopped.
At least not for the next 40 minutes until he felt his mouth getting dry and noticed that his story was coming to an end.
"So, you know what happened next, right?" He asked squeezing Victoria's hand which she pressed against his chest.
"You moved away with Kara?"
"Exactly, and I think that's where we need to stop." He kissed her palm meeting her wandering eyes. His ex-wife was definitely a topic he didn't want to discuss with Victoria, not until it was absolutely necessary.
"I might want to hear about that in another bedtime story." Victoria smiled slowly moving into an upright position.
"This was hardly a bedtime story. It's not even 5pm." David chuckled while the fact that Victoria was still naked under the thin bed sheets pulled him back to reality. It was a very beautiful reality though.
"Thank you, David. This meant a lot to me." She leant forward and pressed a soft kiss onto his mouth causing the linen material to reveal her bare body.
"You were right, Vic. It really helped. I'm grateful for you pushing me." David never wanted to let her go from their embrace; he wanted to feel her smooth skin on his own forever.
"I cannot believe that you were an outsider at school. You're such a nice person."
"Well, I didn't talk much when I first moved here after my parents' death and the other kids thought I was strange, so I never really fitted in."
"I'm glad you didn't give up back then." Victoria began to straddle him again and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I don't know what I would've done without you." She moaned into his ear, so that David couldn't help himself and grabbed her behind.
"I'm glad, too, you know. Every second in pain, every self-destructive thought, and every minute spent in isolation, it was all worth the fight so that I can be with you now and know that we created a new life together." He brought his lips onto hers with a passion he was sure he had never felt before.
But before he could free himself of his pants, they heard voices approaching the house through the half opened window.
"This can't be Charlotte already." David breathed heavily since Victoria was doing delicious things to him.
She looked up, her long hair dangling just above David's body and listened more carefully her eyes suddenly widening.
"That's definitely Daniel." She climbed off of David and searched for her clothing which was spread across the whole room.
"Oh, Veee, you can't do this to me. Maybe they're staying in the garden. Please, come back." He practically begged, but Victoria was already slipping on the plain white top she had been wearing.
"Sorry." She stepped into her jeans shorts as they both heard the front door opening and a loud noise filling the house. "Oh, God." Victoria tried erasing all traces of their previous activities as quickly as possible when she recognized the cries of her son. She stormed down the stairs and found an exhausted looking Charlotte standing in the kitchen and right next to her Daniel, who was sobbing in pain.
"Danny." Victoria kneeled down in front of her son and pulled him into her arms feeling his small hands gripping her shirt.
"What happened?" She asked worriedly as her son wouldn't stop crying and she detected his bloody knees.
"He…" Charlotte was out of breath and steadied herself against the kitchen counter. "He made a race with Amanda and he fell… and…" Victoria noticed the paleness of Charlotte's usually tanned skin and how she struggled to keep her eyes opened. "He fell and grazed his knee on a stone… I had to carry him the way back… I…"
"Charlotte, are you okay?" David also came rushing down the stairs, concerned at the sight of his aunt.
"Yeah, I just need some water." She explained. "There's dirt in Daniel's wound, we need to clean that, it'll hurt but it's nothing dangerous."
"I'll do that." Victoria confirmed observing her son's damaged knee. In the Hamptons he had never been able to play outside in such a carefree way and unintentionally Victoria had to think of Conrad blaming her for Daniel's pain because she didn't watch out for him enough. Guilt was beginning to possess her mind.
"Call me, if you need help, I'll take care of Charlotte." David guided his aunt to sit down onto a chair and nodded towards Victoria.
This was their reality after all. Their family needed them and they both knew that moments like they had enjoyed during the last few hours would become rarer considering the facts that they were still hiding from the police, trying to keep a family together and expecting a baby at the same time.
Things would get really difficult, especially in terms of their relationship.
"Come on, Danny, I'll take care of you." Victoria kissed her son's forehead and took him to the bathroom while he still didn't stop crying hysterically.
In the meantime David handed his aunt a glass of water which she drowned with almost one sip.
All of a sudden, he noticed a small figure standing in the corner of the room.
"Amanda!" How could he have forgotten about his own daughter? He rushed over to her and grabbed her hands.
"I'm fine, Dad." She shrugged off her father and headed towards her room.
"I'm sorry, Amanda! Don't run away now." He hadn't meant to hurt her, but there were too many things going on in his mind at the moment.
"I just need some space." Amanda explained before she turned and left the room.
"It's not your fault." Charlotte said as she noticed David burying his face in his hands. "It's hard for all of us and you're doing your best. Amanda will understand that eventually, she's one tough girl."
David sat down next to his aunt and leant his head against her shoulder.
"Are you on good terms with Victoria?"
"Yes, I told her about me." He lifted his head again and looked his aunt into the eyes. "I know you were the reason why she became so curious in the first place."
"I wouldn't say that. She naturally seems to be curious." Charlotte tried to suppress a smile.
"Yeah and you used that."
"But you said you were on good terms now, right?"
"Yes, in a way it brought us together even closer."
"And that was exactly my intention behind it." Now she let the triumphant smile show on her face and patted her nephew's shoulder. "You two need to stick together now, no matter what the future holds. You can only handle this crisis as a team."
David was speechless. His aunt had played both, Victoria and him, and her plan had worked out perfectly fine.
"Two weeks ago you were telling me to break up with Victoria and now this."
"Well, I guess you were right, I shouldn't have judged her so harshly. She's definitely gained my approval." Charlotte replied proudly looking at her nephew. "Maybe you should check on her and Daniel, I know how boys can be at that age." She gave him a teasing wink and David rose from the sofa.
"And you're sure you're alright? You really seem to be exhausted."
"Don't worry about your old aunt, David. I can handle myself. Now go and help your woman." She motioned for him to leave the room and put her feet up on the free space next to her.
"Thank you, Charlotte." He said before he headed into the direction of the bathroom.
More than ever, he wished that things could stay as simple as they were right there in that house.
However, he realized that the simplest thing of all was his love for Victoria. And, unlike safety or comfort, that love didn't only exist in the four walls they were living in at the moment. No, the love he held for her was everywhere he went and it was irrevocably imprinted in his heart.
As soon as that realization had hit him, David Clarke decided that it was time to show Victoria once and for all what she truly meant to him, so that she wouldn't have a reason to question the basis of their relationship ever again.
Opening the bathroom door, a brilliant idea popped up in his mind.
I decided to stay in Vivid's fluffy, lovebird world a little longer, but be sure that there'll be more drama as the story progresses.
Conrad will not disappoint you! I've some great things planned for the future chapters. ;)
As always, please review xx