Betty's First Trip to Rome the Prequel - Chapter 14 – A story never before told
Claire was about to tell Betty a story about herself that no one else alive knew. She swore Betty to secrecy. She told Betty she could never to reveal the story to anyone. Not anyone. Not even Daniel.
Claire's story started decades ago when she was a young society debutante. It was an exciting time in her life. She came from a privileged family with many connections. Her life was filled with ease, comfort and enjoyable parties.
It was during this time that Claire met Bradford Meade. She was instantly attracted to him. It was a case of love at first sight. She had met many young gentlemen before but this was different. She was smitten.
Bradford was a handsome young man. He came from a wealthy family. He had the best background. He had the best education. He was ambitious. He was smart. He showed all the signs of his future success. He was her ideal beau.
It didn't take long for Bradford to notice Claire. She was always at the right parties. She was beautiful. She was always dressed elegantly. She always made sure that he noticed her. She was chasing Bradford but she didn't let him or anyone else know she was.
Soon the couple became an item. They were seen together. Their friends noticed. And their parents noticed.
During this time an unfortunate event happened. Because of an indiscretion with Bradford Claire became pregnant by him. She was pregnant but she didn't tell Bradford.
As a woman of high social standing getting pregnant was a huge mistake. She alone was responsible. It was her duty to prevent it and she failed.
The only person she told was her father. He did not allow her to tell anyone else. It was intolerable to him to allow her to have a baby out of wedlock. It simply could not be allowed to happen.
Her father gave her two choices. One was to beg Bradford or someone else to marry her immediately and the other was to terminate the pregnancy. As a well connected man he could procure this procedure for her and no one would ever know of it.
Claire was torn.
She was just in the beginning stages of her relationship with Bradford. She did not know him well. She sincerely hoped to marry him but she was not at all convinced he wanted to marry her. She was afraid that if she revealed the truth to him he would not marry her.
She thought he would think that she was trying to trap him into marriage. She thought he would despise and scorn her. She was very afraid he would have this reaction to the news. She was sure his family would. She was convinced he would leave her if she told him. And she certainly could not imagine marrying anyone else. No, marriage was not a viable option.
But the other option was horrible. She loved Bradford and this was his baby. It was inconceivable that she could choose to get rid of it. How could she bring herself to kill Bradford's baby? It was impossible.
She considered both options. She agonized over them. She begged her father for other options. Her father was unyielding. The choice was hers but there were only two choices.
Claire was worried that if she spoke to Bradford and he rejected her she would have to terminate the pregnancy anyway. She became convinced that the loss of the baby was inevitable.
Claire chose termination. Once she had made her choice it happened quickly. It was done. There was no going back. Only her father knew of it.
After a few days of feigned illness Claire continued on as before. No one suspected anything, not even Bradford.
One year later Bradford proposed to Claire. She was ecstatic. It was the answer to her prayers. She loved Bradford and he loved her. Everything was right. Everything was perfect.
After an engagement of a year they were married. It was a huge wedding. It was the best of the best. All the prominent members of society were there. Both families had a high standing in the community and they both equally celebrated the joining of the perfect young couple in holy matrimony.
The day after the wedding Claire confessed to Bradford about the incident from two years prior. She did not want to have any secrets between them. She often thought about it and she felt she had to reveal it to him. It was a weight that she could not continue to carry alone. She had to tell him because she needed his sympathy.
Bradford was devastated to hear of it. He was angry. He felt she had betrayed him by not sharing the news with him when it happened. He felt betrayed because she didn't ask him for help. And he was angry that she kept the news from him for two more years after that.
He said he had loved her then and he would have married her if he had known.
They had a terrible fight that day. They had never fought with such ferocity before. It was a horrible shock to Bradford. The fight occurred on the first day of their honeymoon. It occurred exactly on the day that he had anticipated eagerly and for which he had such high expectations.
Bradford was devastated. Claire was devastated. They were both intensely unhappy. And this tragic event pried them apart rather than bound them together.
Claire was to blame. Claire blamed herself. Bradford blamed her too.
Bradford and Claire never told anyone. Their relationship was taken from a solid happy one to the brink of failure in one day but no one ever knew the truth.
The bitter feelings between them, the feeling of loss and the longing for the missing child, the regrets and recriminations seemed to build over the years rather than lessen. Even the birth of their two healthy and much loved sons did not end their private sorrow.
Later the cracks in their relationship appeared publicly. Bradford began a long term affair with Fey Sommers. Claire suffered from depression and she took to drink and pills to survive.
They both had unhappy lives.
Claire was never the wife to Bradford that she wanted to be. She knew that their relationship was never what Bradford had hoped it would be. It never was what she had hoped it would be either. But she never stopped loving Bradford.
She would always live with the regret and the remorse. She would always feel the same deep sadness. They would always have a tragic secret to conceal.
Then Claire murdered Fey.
When Claire confessed to murdering Fey both of them were painfully aware of her past action.
Claire had murdered before.
Claire always loved Bradford. At the end of his life she sacrificed her freedom to spend a few minutes with him. She did not hesitate to do this. She forgave him everything. She forgave him his affair with Fey. She still loved him even when she knew he planned to marry Wilhelmina Slater.
Claire explained all this to Betty.
By the time she was finished her story Betty and Claire were both standing and hugging each other. They were both crying.
Betty was profoundly moved by Claire's story of a lifetime of suffering stemming from a single mistake.
Claire asked Betty to think about her life. She asked Betty if she was making a mistake about Gio. Claire asked her to think about whether it was possible.
Claire suggested that Betty talk to Gio. Claire said she could call Daniel and tell him to bring Gio. Daniel could bring him right now. Claire explained that she could stay with Betty if she wanted. She suggested that no harm could come from her deciding to talk to Gio. Claire suggested what she might want to say to Gio.
Betty turned and walked to the windows. She closed her eyes and did as Claire asked. Betty thought about Gio. She thought about him in a new light.
She considered the possibility that she was making a mistake.
Her anger had subsided over the days since their fight. She wasn't as angry at Gio as she had been before. And she had fresh in her mind all the good times they shared from talking about them with Hilda. What she was feeling now was that she missed Gio. She missed his friendship. She missed him deeply.
Betty knew Gio loved her. She knew he loved her with a passion that scared her. She knew she liked him. She had thought she was falling in love with him. She thought it was possible that the feelings she had for him would grow into love. She wondered whether she was avoiding him because she was a coward.
She wondered why he had been insistent on going to Rome next week. She realized that she had never asked him why he wanted to go then. She wondered about it. She thought that she should have asked him if there was a reason his trip couldn't be delayed.
She remembered how she had screamed at him during their fight. She remembered that she'd tried to think of the meanest cruelest thing she could say to him and then screamed it at him. The meanest thing she could think of to say to him was that they had never been a couple. That was the meanest thing she could think of to say. And it wasn't even true. It was a lie.
She had lied intentionally because she wanted to hurt Gio. And he was severely hurt by it. She could see that. She was sorry that she hurt him. It was very unkind. It was unlike her. She didn't want to hurt anyone. She didn't ever want to hurt a friend.
She realized that even when he was hurt so deeply by her words Gio never raised his voice. She remembered that he had left when she asked him to. She realized that when she asked him to leave her alone he did. She hadn't seen or heard from him since the fight. He did everything she asked. He did this even after she had been as mean and unfair to him as she could be.
She realized he had been good. She had not. She felt guilty. Betty thought it over and she decided Claire was right. She had made a mistake and she needed to talk to Gio.
She realized she should ask him for forgiveness. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry she had hurt him.
She started to worry that he might not want to talk to her. She worried that he might have left for Rome already. She was suddenly desperate to see him.
Betty opened her eyes and turned towards Claire. She said in an urgent tone "Call Daniel."