When he walked into the room, he stopped as he saw Duke Andrew sitting on his chair and his daughter standing next to him. She looked up as he entered and even from the distance he saw the distress on her face. He wondered what was going on when Lord Andrew said "Niklaus you will marry lady Hayley tomorrow."
He thought that he didn't hear him properly so he asked politely "my lord?"
The duke looked at Hayley in disgust and said "you will marry her tonight and give the child she is carrying your name. You were appointed one job and you couldn't do that. Now you have to give this child your name."
His eyes automatically went to her stomach which at first looked flat but now that he was looking at her curiously but he didnt notice anything except for that defiant look on her face. He felt ice cold water being thrown on him. At that instance she looked up and their eyes met and he saw the same fire he had always seen, the same rebellion that he disliked from the bottom of his heart.
Before he could say anything she said "no father. I will not marry him. You cannot…"
Lord Andrew shouted "enough. I have had enough of your rebellious attitude. This chid needs a father and Niklaus will provide that for him. You will be his wife in all sense and you will give him the respect he deserves."
Hayley looked towards him and said with contempt "respect? and him? never."
Lord Andrew roared "Hayley."
She looked towards Klaus instinctively and saw him with clenched jaw. He said after a moment "my lord, may I talk to lady Hayley alone."
Lord Andrew looked at him and then at Hayley and said "yes."
Klaus walked to her and said hissed "walk with me."
When they were out of earshot he asked "what was that? Is your father telling the truth? Are you with child?"
She said angrily "if you think I want to get married to you then you are mistaken" and started to walk way when he grabbed her by her arm and asked "whose child are you carrying and how many months pregnant are you?"
Hayley said with annoyance "none of your concern."
Klaus snapped "considering that you are about to become my problem it is my concern. Tell me whose child is it."
Hayley said insolently "I don't know."
He gaped at her and said with frustration "Hayley. How could you?"
She asked sternly "it is lady Hayley to you. Why didnt you tell my father that you intend to marry Camille, your betrothal and mother of your unborn child and cannot get married to me?"
Klaus said angrily "your activities are not lady like. Pardon me if I dont call you lady. Camille and I are going to be married during my next leave next month."
Hayley felt a jump in her heart but said "here is your big chance now. Go and marry her tonight so that we can escape this fate being forced onto us"
Klaus barked "are you crazy? I cannot get married to her tonight. It is very late."
Hayley asked now getting agitated "how about tomorrow morning then?"
He stared at her feeling trapped when he noticed her expressions and said "don't even think about it?"
Hayley said with agitation "if I run away now you are off the hook too."
Klaus said forcefully "no."
Hayley stared into his worried face and recalled how happy he was when he had told her about Cami and said "I am not marrying you so you don't have to worry about it."
He looked around and spotted Emily, the maid. He said to her "escort lady Hayley to her room."
He looked at her going to the direction where he knew her room was and turned back to the room where Duke Andrew had summoned him. As he entered he said "what has she told you? Who is the father?"
Klaus said respectfully "She does not say anything. My lord I have a fiancé and she is carrying my child and we are to get married during my leave next month"
He saw anger flash through his eyes but he said after a few moments "who is she?"
Klaus said "Camille O Connell."
Duke Andrew said after a moment "you will take her and your fiancé to countryside and keep her there. You cannot get married to your fiancé until my grandchild is born. After the child is born, you will bring it to me if it is a boy and you can do whatever with Hayley after that. That boy cannot come in this world without a father's name. I will raise him as my own but until she is carrying him you will be his father."
He stared at him wondering 'what kind of father is he?'
Klaus asked controlling his bubbling temper "What if it is a girl my lord?"
Duke Andrew said with indifference "that all depends on you. You can keep her or leave her. I need a father's name for the boy."
Klaus stared at Duke Andrew feeling disappointment towards him for the first time in his life. He thought 'regardless of how much he hated Hayley she dose not deserve to be treated this way.'
He startled and shook to his core when Duke Andrew said coldly "if you are not going to marry her Niklaus then I will kill her with my own hands. She cannot bring this kind of shame to this family."
Klaus stared at him in shock and from his expressions he knew that Duke Andrew was being serious so he nodded.
Duke Andrew said "and Niklaus you are free of my services. You are debt free."
Klaus stared at him wondering 'has he just sold his daughter to him?' but before he could formulate an answer Duke Andrew got up and left.
When the door closed she slid on the floor with her hand on the stomach and cursed her father for doing this to her but she realized that she had burnt all the bridges when she had gotten pregnant with this child. There was no option other then to marry Klaus otherwise who knows what her father would do. She looked around in desperation thinking 'marrying Klaus? how will she act around him knowing well that he loves someone else, that someone who is carrying his child, that someone who is her friend. Will he accept her after what she had put him through? Will this marriage change his feeling of hatred for her and what about her own feelings? How long will she be able to hide from him how much she loves him and how much she is scared of him finding out about her secret and that is why she is so cruel to him.' She thought of the time when she realized first time that she was falling for her bodyguard whom she had hated until that point.
flashback
five years ago
He was so mad at her that she felt that he would hit her and that feeling scared her but she couldn't let him see that so she said adamantly "you wouldn't dare touch me."
Klaus grabbed her from both arms and pulled her towards him so forcefully that she bumped into his solid chest. As he glared down her a shiver ran through her body and she couldnt utter a word as she felt his chest touching hers and she looked into his angry blue eyes as he hissed "you think you are very clever lady Hayley but if you pull that again I may follow Lord Andrew's instructions and lock you in the dungeons."
Hayley controlled her racing heart and said in the same tone "like I am afraid of his instructions"
She got distracted by his pink lips inches from hers and for the first time of knowing him in the past five years she felt like touching them and that shook her to the core.
Klaus continued to look at her and then said "if you continue to do that your father's reputation…" but she cut him off by saying "he does not care about me so why should I care about him?"
Klaus said in a soothing voice "he is your father. Naturally he cares about you."
Hayley snapped "you were more of a son to him then I will ever be a daughter to him."
Klaus was so taken aback by her answer that he didnt know what to say for a minute and then he said "he just raised me and educated me because he felt sorry for me and he is a nice man. I am nothing to him except for a servant whom he requires when he needs him but you, you are his blood. Blood is always thicker than water."
The softness in his voice just caught her off guard and she started to feel uncomfortable as the knot in her stomach got tighter and tighter so she said "not if water is you" with hatred on her face.
She pushed him back from her and stormed into the castle hoping that he had not noticed how uncomfortable he had just made her. She closed the door and slid on the floor wondering what was happening and it hit her that she was falling for her protector- the person she hated most until a few minutes ago. She spend the night pacing in her room and by the time sun came out, she had decided that she will continue to hate him by any means necessary until she starts to hate him again. She couldn't fall for someone who took her father from her.
end flashback
Coming back to present she cradled herself as she realized that she had failed miserably- after five years of that incidence she still loved him regardless of the fact that his hatred for her had intensified many folds.
Her thoughts went to Camille and the child she was carrying. She started feeling guilty wondering how will she be able to face Camille who was not only her companion and friend but she also knew how much they loved each other. Wasn't it enough to see Camille grow bigger right in front of her eyes with a child who belonged to a man whom she secretly loved? Now she will have to see them together every day for she was sure that Klaus will never leave Camille and she herself had no intention of making him do so.
While she was depressed about the prospect of spending her life with him, he was having a really hard time accepting it too. He looked towards Camille looking at him in shock, walked to her and said "lets marry today."
Camille said desperately "no we cannot. Duke Andrew will kill you and her."
Klaus said indifferently "I don't care. I shouldn't have listened him."
Camille stared at him as the tears rolled down and she put her hand on her very pregnant stomach and said "no. We cannot do that. It is only a matter of few months until her baby is born and then we can get married. I still cannot believe it that she hid it from me."
Klaus grabbed her hands and said "if you think I will leave you alone at this time then you are wrong. Even if I am unable to get married to you right now, that does not mean that I will leave you. Lady Hayley will have to understand that you are the only woman in my life."
She asked "and lady Hayley?"
Klaus said dismissively "I will be her husband. I can do whatever I can."
Klaus cradled a very depressed Camille that night as he asked himself again and again 'why is he marrying that girl whose very existence makes him want to kill himself?' He thought about the past 15 years he had known her and except for the first seven years during which he saw her occasionally in the castle as he worked different tasks for her father, he had spend next eight years in hatred that he was sure could only intensify. Hayley was very different from the traditional standards society had set for women. She was rebellious so much so that her thoughts sometimes would shake him to his core. He had often admired that her father had provided her with modern education but he had also come to realize that education is what made her so liberal, arrogant and obnoxious.
He cursed the day when he had approached Duke Andrew to tell him that he was applying to become a musketeer in kings army but instead he appointed him as his daughter's guard and ever since that day it has been living hell for him living in the castle. After eight years being so protective of someone he had realized that it was second nature of him to protect her and that is why he was going through with this marriage so that her father does not kill her, he told himself but then he groaned in frustration as he realized that being his wife means that he might have to make her his wife and the very thought of that just made him disgusted. He thought in frustration if only Camille had agreed to marry him that day instead of being afraid what the duke will do to him and her, he would have escaped this marriage. He cursed the day when Duke Andrew had taken pity on an nine year old boy working in his stable and taken him in his wings, provided him with education and gotten him all sorts of training to make him the man he is now. He cursed the fact that he felt obliged to repay him for all that he had done for him but then he realized that with this marriage he was not only saving Hayley from getting killed at her fathers hand but also paying off all his debts. He thought about how his life will be changed after this marriage. He had lost his job, the source of earning and was on the way of becoming a father. Where would he keep them? He looked towards Camille sleeping next to her and then thought may be he could go to countryside and do some farming and on the side make swords, after all he was an excellent sword craftsman. He took a sigh of relief at having some plan about he was going to do and drifted off to sleep holding Camille in his arms.
Hayley spend the whole night thinking about the impending marriage and how it will change everything. She thought about running away but she was under strict guard. In the morning she was not allowed to leave her room or go anywhere without a guard present.
When the sun was about to set she stood up slowly as the door opened again and a maid came in with a dress in her hand saying "Duke Andrew wants you dress in this."
Hayley stared at the white gown as if it was all a dream and then snatched the gown from her hand and went to the changing area. She striped and put on the gown.
She stood there looking at herself in the mirror dressed in white with her hair made into a beautiful bun by some maid and then she thought of something. She walked out of her bed chamber and headed towards her father's chamber with guard following her to her annoyance. As she entered his chamber she saw that he was looking out of the window. She looked around and said to his advisers "I would like to speak to him alone."
When they left she said with contempt "I hope you compensated him well for what he is about to do for your daughter. People will look down upon you if you are giving your daughter to a commoner."
He looked towards her and said "I will. You are after all my daughter until the baby is born. Once the child is born I will have no relation with you."
She shook to the core at the aloofness on his face and said with determination "you cannot take my child away form me."
When he didnt say anything she continued "I know that you are expecting a boy and that is why you are keeping me alive until he is born. You cannot take my child away from me."
He said "I can. Now go and be ready for someone to bring you at the time of ceremony."
She said with resentment "I will pray for it to be a girl" and left the room.
Hayley looked around the house and then spotted Klaus coming towards her. Before she could say anything he said harshly "your room is down the hallway. Last room to the right."
He looked around in anger feeling cheap at accepting the house, from the duke, along with lot of land and a handful of servants in exchange for doing this for him but he knew that he had no options. He needed someplace to settle down with his pregnant fiancé and pregnant wife and find a way to earn his living, after all he was about to become a father in less then two months. He startled out of his thoughts when he heard her say "at least he paid you well for marrying me."
Hearing those word made him lose his mind and he said "la…Hayley I am warning you. One more …"
She turned to him in anger and said "and what? It is all your fault. If only you had married the girl you really loved instead of waiting for your stupid leave this would never have happened."
Klaus said through clenched teeth "and how was I to know that you will do something so immature and land me in this situation?"
Hayley said in the same tone "are you blaming me for this mess? Didnt I tell you to get married to her today. Why didnt you?"
He was so angry that words slipped out "do you even know why he really wanted me to marry you?"
Hayley looked at him for a moment quietly and then said "you mean besides punishing me?"
When he continued to look at her in anger she said with a sigh "he wants my child to have your name so that if it is boy, my father can take him from me and raise him as his own and not feel embarrassed that he is raising an illegitimate child."
Klaus got lost for words and then asked "you know?"
Hayley smirked and said "you really are ignorant. All that education he provided you with had gone wasted. Yes I know. He would have killed me if he were not hopeful that I am carrying a boy. A son that he so desperately wants. I know my father really well. Why do you think he paid so much attention to you? What a disappointment you must have been for him to force you to marry me."
Klaus who was just starting to feel sorry for her lost his temper again and shouted "I don't work for you or your father Hayley. You are my wife and as my wife you will give me due respect."
Hayley walked to him and said "if you think that I will do what you want me to do then you are wrong. You really don't know me. You think that girls of my status get knocked up that easily. If I can manage to do that and may I remind you right under you nose then I can manage anything."
He looked at her angrily as she turned to leave and then his gaze fell on Camille who was staring at both of them with exasperation.
She walked to her and said "lady Hayley, you should not talk to your husband that way."
Hayley asked softly "how should I talk to him then?"
Camille said "a wife's purpose is to serve and pleasure her husband."
Hayley controlled the laughter trying to bubble out of her and said with a straight face which didn't deceive Klaus who knew her like the back of his hand "for serving he can hire someone Camille. I can take up the job for pleasuring him if he wants to get that."
She looked towards his stunned face and said "whenever you want to have that pleasure from me or exercise your husbandly rights you know where to find me" and left the hall.
Camille stared at her leaving the room and turned just in time to see Klaus heading after her but she put her hand on his chest saying "let her go. She is angry."
Klaus said angrily "I loathe her!" and stormed out of the hall.
As soon as she was out of earshot, she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart knowing well that what she said about husbandly rights was inappropriate but what was done was done and she hoped that he does not come to her. The thought that he can make her his wife with that much hatred in his heart was too depressing to entertain. She went to her room in depression and closed the door behind her.
While Klaus was out, Camille selected the room adjoining Hayley's with a door between them thinking that lady Hayley might need her assistance at any time. In the next few hours she settled her stuff in it. She tucked herself in her bed and cried herself to sleep. She was sleeping in her bed when she felt him next to her. She turned to him and asked surprised "Niklaus what are you doing here? You need to go to you wife."
Klaus said "I dont need to go to her. I want you. You are the love of my life."
Camille said "but lady Hayley…."
Klaus said "dont call her that Camille. She is not a lady anymore. She is a wife of a commoner and you are not to serve her anymore. She is my wife and she needs to know her place in this house."
He brought her close to him and kissed her hard on her lips as he put his hand on her stomach. He felt relieved as she leaned into him and put her arms around his torso and they both drifted off to sleep.
For the next week, things were a bit hazy for him. He wanted to move from that room, not wanting to have a room connecting to hers through that door but Camille insisted which he didnt understand why she was doing so but at last he had agreed to it. The more he tried to control Hayley, more she was becoming insolent and with each passing day his feeling of sympathy for her was changing to intense feeling of hatred and he actually started wishing that he should have let Duke Andrew kill her. He just felt relieved that she didnt insult him in front of servants and strangers, at most it happened once in front of Camille. After eight years being around him he had noticed that she had been like that since the beginning- insulting him just when they were alone. For some reason she behaved very properly with him in front of others. He thought that perhaps that was the reason he had stuck with her for the past eight years, not that he had a choice in this matter. Once or twice a maid hesitantly showed her desire to assist him with the bath which took him by surprise and then it hit him that it was because of his marriage to the daughter of the duke and his anger at Hayley double folded and he politely refused the offer. With each passing day Camille was getting more and more distressed which he knew was not good for her considering she was nearing the end of her pregnancy and Hayley was as insolent as ever. Her having to calm him down to sometimes stop him from doing something un-regretable to Hayley was not helping her stress level. To prevent her from more stress he employed the services of a maid he found in the village, being able to afford one now.
Within the first two day of her moving into this house, she had realized that he and Camille were still sharing the same room- in fact the one next to hers. Her heart ached but she knew her place in his life so she didnt interfere not wanting him to know that she knows. She thought in distress that ever since her marriage to Klaus, hers and Camille's relationship had changed. What once was friendship and respect was lost somewhere and she couldn't help but feel extremely guilty. It was after all her mess that created that problem. A maid she presumed he appointed to her helped her with her bath, stocked up the logs in the hearth and took care of lamps. After she realized that he was sleeping with Camille she told the maid to stop servicing her not wanting her to know that they were not sharing beds at all.
Klaus left the house early in the morning to look at his lands and help with farming. But he soon realized that he didnt have to do a lot. He had been given servants to do that job. Duke Andrew had compensated him well for his services, he thought bitterly.
Soon two weeks went by, during which they tried to avoid to each other. The littler interaction she would have with Klaus, she would make sure to insult him someway earning his disapproval and anger. She noticed that although she had forbidden the maid to come to her room someone was still stocking up the logs in the hearth and lightening the lamp and then one day she saw Camille leaving her room and knew it was her. They only sat together for a quiet dinner and then went to their rooms. One night during the dinner, Hayley looked up and saw him laughing at something Camille had said and that just made the guilt in her heart intensify. She finished her food quietly and took the plates to the small kitchen ignoring the maid who tried to take the plate from her hand, not knowing that his eyes were following her.
She looked at the maid who took the plate from her hand and went to her room. As she entered she noticed the lamps were on and fire was burning and the smile appeared on her lips knowing that Camille had come to her room again. That gesture just made her heart heavy with guilt an she went to the bed, fell on it and went to sleep. She still couldn't believe that she had been in this house for two weeks. Suddenly she realized that he had not come to her room once. She congratulated herself at mastering her aching feelings at seeing him spending night after night with Camille.
flashback
Two weeks ago: after the wedding on reaching the house in country side
He looked towards her as the carriage stopped "I want to make it clear that Camille is the only woman in my life. And we love each other. She is carrying my child. We cannot get married until your baby is born but that does not mean that I will change our living arrangement. She lives with me, shares my bed and house and it will continue that way."
Hayley stared at him and then said "see if I care. I would rather you dont touch me with your dirty hands."
Before he could say anything she went inside the house.
end flashback.
As Klaus walked into his and Camille's room she asked "have you been to her?"
He said "no" and started to kiss her when she stepped back and said "she is your wife. She has a right on you."
Klaus said "no I have right on her. You have right on me Camille. She does not have any right on me."
Camille said with the softest of smiles that he loved so much "I wish that were true Niklaus. As a wife she deserves your attention. She is pregnant and lonely. You are all she has."
Klaus said "are you telling me to go to her."
Camille said "yes I am. I am not happy about it but yes I am telling you to go to her. You need to make her your wife. I feel guilty that you are giving me what she deserves."
Klaus snapped "she does not deserve anything."
Camille touched his cheek and said "yes my love she does. She deserves to be cared for by her husband especially in her state."
Klaus said with irritation "I hate her."
Camille said "you hated her but now you have to protect her like you have been doing it for the past eight years. Go to lady Hayley. It has been two weeks since your marriage. She must be waiting for you."
Klaus stared at her, said angrily "no" and left the room in anger not seeing the frustration on Camille's face. After pacing in the grounds for long time he went inside in anger.
Hayley was lying on the bed thinking about her father's real plan for her child and she put her hand on her stomach praying that it is a girl and not a boy when she sensed someone. She jumped but then she relaxed a bit when she saw him standing over her in the dim light from the lamp. Seeing him in her room at night time in the dim light of lamp for the first time ever while she was just in her Shift just made her nervous but she sat up and asked boldly "what do you want?"
Hearing her arrogant voice, he started to get angry again and said grinding his teeth "I am here to exercise those husbandly rights that you were talking about."
It took all her will power to hide the surprise but she patted the bed saying "get in then."
Klaus looked at her in shock but then got in thinking that she will not go through with it. She wouldn't want me to touch her with my dirty hands as he recalled her sentence.
She asked "where is Camille?"
Klaus snapped "sleeping and although she send me to you, you will keep your mouth shut about what is about to happen between us. She is already stressed out because of this stupid marriage. I dont need to see her more distressed."
Hayley recovered from the shock that Camille would send him to her and smiled even though her mind was racing why would she do that. He could see the smile on her face and that irritated him to no bound. He pushed her back on the bed and got on her but then he remembered that she was carrying a baby who was not his and that just made him very uncomfortable. He started to get up but she linked her arms around his neck to his surprise and brought him close to her until their lips were touching. He looked into those hazel brown eyes which was shinning in a way that irritated him and felt weird as he felt her body touching his- never ever imagining him and her together like this. After all they both loathed each other. He continued to look into her eyes but she didnt do anything other then keeping her lips on his lips which were making him really weird. Klaus could feel the softness of her lips and then he felt her feet slide up his left leg bringing his breeches up and her other leg wrapped around his legs so that now he was in between her legs.
Hayley felt relieved as his body weight shifted from her stomach to between her legs at the same time her stomach muscles tightened at the feel of his body against hers. She slowly brushed her lips against his and felt him getting hard all at once taking him and her by surprise.
Klaus felt a jolt through his body as he felt himself getting hard never ever being aroused by Camille like that and before he knew it he was kissing her forgetting that he had no intention of going through with it and to his surprise she was returning it and then her tongue parted his lips and started to explore his mouth to his surprise. He realized that Camille had never dared to do anything like that with him unless he initiated it. He was still recovering from the shock at her boldness when he felt her hands on the trim of his shirt and lifting it snapping him out of his shock completely. He pushed himself away from her breaking the contact and said harshly "no. You cannot control me in the bed Hayley."
Hayley looked into his eyes which had gone angry and said "alright then you control me."
he hissed "if you think that I am here to provide you pleasure then you are wrong. You are my wife and it is your job to provide me pleasure and the only way of doing that is to let me in."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized what he had said but he couldnt take them back now, his ego wouldnt let him.
Hayley asked "let you in?"
Klaus snapped "perhaps all that fancy education has ruined my mind too! I am not going to force myself on you."
Hayley said "who said you have to force yourself on me? I am always willing to give you pleasure" knowing well that her sentence was going to irritate him. She pulled her Shift up and opened her legs when he snapped "stop behaving like a whore!"
Hayley asked insolently "whore? Is pleasing my husband equivalent to being a whore?"
Klaus stared at her face before he shifted and snapped open his breeches. While his heart was full of disgust at the prospect of making her his wife, her heart was racing at the prospect of feeling the person she had been in love with for the past five years in her but she dared not show any emotions on her face. When he at last slipped into her, she was all ready for him to his surprise and it took all her willpower to hide her emotions from him.
She felt like touching him, taking his shirt off but dared not and let him have full control over her. And then she realized that he was almost there she grabbed his back and tighten her pelvic muscles arounds him causing a shocked look appear on his face. She saw surprise in his eyes and continued to do so as he released himself. She felt a satisfaction at seeing that she had managed to show him something which apparently he had never felt. He hissed as he finished "you couldn't resist!"
Hayley said, still enjoying him in her "of course not. Old habits die hard" with a soft smile on her lips. Klaus looked at her angrily and then kissed her hard taking her breath away. He broke the kiss before he could respond. Hayley asked "happy?"
He pushed himself in a sitting position, pulled his breeches up and to his annoyance caught her staring at him. As he got up from her bed she said "that was really nice. I never imagined you would be capable of doing it so nicely. Camille is lucky to have you. When will you come next time?" as she pulled the Shift down covering her legs hoping he didn't notice her shaking hands in the dim lamp light.
Klaus looked at her for a moment before he knelt down near her and said "Hayley if you think that this crude style of yours is something I would grow into I assure you I will not. I hated you because of this obnoxious and controlling nature of yours and if you dont change yourself I will continue to do so which will make both our lives miserable seeing that we are married now for however months for."
Hayley stared into his face and hoped that he was not seeing through her and said "I will never change Klaus. If to be loved or accepted a person has to change then I dont want that love or acceptance."
Klaus stared at her and the left angrily.
Hayley stared at him leaving and then as the door closed she turned away from the door surprised at her own boldness but with a smile on her lips as she brushed her fingers on her lips and got lost in the past.
flashback
7 months ago
She asked him as she saw him patting the horse"you seemed happy? Have you found some treasure to improve you miserable life?"
Klaus looked up at her and said "yes I have."
Hayley asked looking at him wanting to touch the soft curls "and might I ask what is that?"
Klaus said "I asked someone to marry me"
She felt as if someone whipped her, the pain was unbearable. She thanked her luck that he was looking in the opposite direction and totally missed her reaction.
He looked up when he didnt hear anything and asked "why? no insult? why lady Hayley? I am impressed."
Hayley snapped "I am thinking which poor girl decided to spend her life with your miserable being. Who is she?"
Klaus's expression changed to that of anger and then he let the reigns go and said "You can leave now. I am busy."
Hayley glared at him and then said "yes you are starting to smell too so I should go."
And walked away not seeing the angry fist he had made.
As soon as she entered her chamber, she fell on the bed and started crying- crying for the first time in her life over a man.
She startled when she heard a voice asking "Lady Hayley, what happened?"
She looked up and saw Camille, smiled sadly and said "nothing Camille. Just never ever fall in love."
Camille smiled touching her flat stomach "too late lady Hayley."
Hayley immediately forgot about her loss and asked excitedly "who is he?"
She smiled and said "Niklaus. He asked me to marry him."
She felt as if Camille threw cold water on her but said with a smile on her face "this is wonderful. Are you carrying his child?"
Camille smiled and said "yes my lady. We will get married during his next leave."
She asked after a few moments "are you alright my lady?"
Hayley said "yes, just want to take a bath."
Camille said "let me prepare it for you. Who broke your heart?"
But Hayley didnt answer so she got quiet.
end flashback
She sighed, looked towards the dying fire and the lamp still burning, curled up as the memories flashed through her mind and she recalled all those times she had made fun of him. All those times when she had felt great annoying him and for some reason he would get ticked off very easily. She just had to lift one finger and he would be in flames. She put her hand on her stomach thinking of the future of her child. She cursed lord Winslow for walking out on her leaving her with this baby and hence landing her in this situation - living with a man she loved but could never tell. She had vowed herself the day he had told her about Camille that she will never let him find out how she really feels about him and she had vowed herself when Lord Winslow has walked out on her that she would never tell anyone what really happened and show her deepest fears to them. The secret that he left her for another woman the moment he found out that he was about to become a father would always be her secret. She whispered "I will take care of you even if no one else." Saying that she drifted off to sleep.
— continued —-