Chapter 2
2009
He sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for her, head lowered in shame. He knew she would come to him. She always did. His room was the bubble where they led their secret second life. It had been for nearly four years now. Never hers.
His room was the farthest away from Renee's, Ella's live-in nanny; there was less risk of her walking in on them at the least opportune moment. Unfortunately, Ella's room was right next to his. She was barely a toddler when their covert affair started. But she was older now; perfectly capable of turning the doorknob and walking into his room if she felt the need for comfort after a nightmare or being awoken by mysterious noises coming from her father's room.
It was increasingly becoming a matter of concern for them. They had to be extra careful and quiet so as not to wake Ella in the middle of the night. It made him feel sadly inadequate to have to press his palm over Bella's mouth to prevent her moans of lust from escaping. There was so little he could give her. He couldn't give her his name, he couldn't hold her hand in a room full of people, and he couldn't even allow her a moment or two of unbridled, post-coital bliss.
He felt like a cad. He was a cad for shamelessly taking and never giving anything back.
She never complained though.
Bella.
His salvation. His soul. His secret.
She played her part with flawless perfection, unreservedly giving him everything he ever needed or asked for, never demanding anything in return.
Until now.
He recalled her stilted words, her hesitancy. She was apologetic almost. He could tell that she had raged a battle within before verbalizing her plea to him. It was time. In fact, it was long overdue. He knew it as well as she did. She had served her time in purgatory as his dirty little secret. She needed to be able to live again; she needed to be able to breathe in the clean air and laugh in the sun - with him. Was it too much to ask?
Apparently, yes.
How would he tell her that he failed in his mission? That on top of being a greedy, selfish bastard, he was a spineless coward too?
AN: Thank you for kindly checking it out. I am blessed and honored. Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx. Thank you goldenstorm21 for the surprise gift. I will cherish it. Thank you everyone who stood up for me today. You know who you are. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
AN2: Sorry about the late ad-on, but there's something I need to share. Someone from a FB group has asked me to join something called "The Drabble War". I am still not too clear what it entails, but basically it means the participants will all launch their drabble on the same day (next Friday). They have asked that I not post anymore chapters until then. So, in the spirit of camaraderie, I will wait till then to post ch 3. I sincerely hope you won't be too angry about this.