Chapter 21

Secrets, Secrets, and More Secrets

Here it is everyone. We're getting closer and closer to the talk and then to the meeting. And ericplenty, I promise. You'll find out just how Eric was unable to locate Sookie in those ten years. I give you my word. It won't happen just yet but it's a' comin.

S/N: I have to go out of the state for a few days and I may not be able to post anymore past tonight. My flight leaves first thing in the morning. And I won't be back until Saturday. So what I'll do, is post chapters 22 and 23 if time permits, tonight. I can't promise anything but I will try. I hope that y'all enjoy.

S/N2: As I was reading over chapter 25, I realized that I made a huge mistake with the time that Eric and Freyda were married. I've since corrected it so that the story will fall in line.

While I was getting the things that I needed to work on the Merlotte case tonight from my office, I could feel someone watching me. That was a woman standing at the door and she was looking at me. I stood upright and stared back at her. She was a tall, beautiful woman of about twenty-five. She had flawless, porcelain like skin that made her green eyes really stand out. Her red hair was like a fiery sunset. She was quite beautiful … outside of the angry look that was on her face.

Instantly, I knew who she was.

She is the spoiled, talentless No Town brat that Eric is dating. Her name is Freyda Madden. Now that I see her up close, I realize that I have seen her on the TV a couple of times. I'd also seen her on the cover of a couple of magazines … in the lower corner … and off in the background standing behind a real celebrity. Anyway, as far as the TV goes, she wasn't a major player. She was an extra. She was probably an extra because she's not that great of an actress. From what I've seen, she was horrible if you want to the truth about it. Anyway, I'd seen her on a couple of the gossip mags and as of last night, I saw her on YouTube and it was quite funny, though the role was supposed to have been a dramatic one. I think she's played a corpse or two on a couple of Law & Order episodes. At least that's what Google said.

Now, here she is in my office. Today, she didn't look like an extra. She looked quite nice in her expensive clothes and tons of gaudy jewelry.

When I looked at her, I could tell that she comes from money. That's what she wanted me to see. I could also tell that she hasn't worked a single day in her young life. But that didn't matter to me. I didn't care who she was or what she did for a living. She entered my office uninvited and had the gall to stare me down.

I could tell by the too long nails and the too tall heels that she was no match for me. She was a Miss. Prissy and I can handle a Miss. Prissy. Hell, I can handle anyone. I can take her.

"You are Sookie Stackhouse," she said.

"I know who I am."

She had the nerve to look appalled by my answer.

"And you are?" I asked.

Before she spoke, she took in every inch of me. She walked in the direction of my desk and sat on my sofa. She crossed her legs and daintily placed her perfectly manicured hands on her knees. "I'm Freyda."

"And that means what to me?"

Once again, she looked horrified. She couldn't believe that someone didn't recognize her. Well, as far as she knew, I've never even heard her. I wasn't about to give that bitch the pleasure of knowing that I know who she is. I'd choke myself until I passed out before I'd tell her that I Googled her. She continued to stare while I continued to pretend not to know who she is.

"I don't know you. I've never met you. I have no pending appointments with any potential clients so you shouldn't be here. And as far as I know, I certainly didn't invite you into my office so you can leave." I closed my briefcase and snapped it closed. I took it from my desk and I stood there and stared at her for a moment.

She didn't move. She only stared.

Fuck her; I wasn't obliged to keep her company. I continued on my way out. I had better things to do than to grace her with my presence. I began to leave. I had better things to do.

When she realized that I wasn't going to participate in her game of dramatics, she finally spoke up. "I came here today because I wanted to meet the woman that thinks that she can take Eric away from me."

When I turned to face her, she was still looking in the direction of my desk. Did she think that I was still there? I shrugged my shoulders. Maybe she's an idiot. I don't know or care. I was leaving.

When I didn't acknowledge her comment, she stood up from the couch and walked to where I stood. "I knew that would get your attention," she said. With her perfectly manicured fingers, she brushed a single strand of red hair from her face. "I saw you with him last night. You know; at that quaint little café. You seemed to be quite enamored with him. You were really throwing yourself at him. I'd never seen a woman make such a spectacle of herself. Pleading with him to come back with you to your home? Pathetic," she said.

I almost frowned as I stared at her and then it dawned on me. It wasn't Eric's car that was following us. It was her. She knew that he was with me but did nothing about it. It made me giddy with joy. "You were the one that was following us last night?"

"I was," she said. She almost sounded humiliated but was too stupid to realize that she should've been.

"Are you calling me pathetic?" I had to look around the room to be sure that she was speaking to me and she was. I laughed at her. "Let me get this right. You came here to size me up because I think that I can take Eric away from you. If anything," I said. "You are making a spectacle of yourself. You were the one that was following us. Is it because he didn't want to be with you and you were wondering where he was? Oh, I see it clearly now. But maybe you don't. Let me break it down for you."

I started walking around her; looking her up and down; letting her know that she was not going to intimidate me. I knew for sure that I could take her. When I was standing in front of her again, I had an amused smile on my face.

"You go on to say that you saw me with him last night. You failed to mention that I was already at the café. He walked me home. The sad part is that you're following him and you saw him holding my hand. He went upstairs with me. Don't get it twisted, sweetheart. Eric has always been mine. Even thousands of miles away, he belonged to me. He still belongs to me. So the next time that you decide to confront me, think good, long and hard before you speak. I can't take what you never had."

Freyda stood tall and glared at me. "You don't want to fuck with me, Sookie. I will win every time. This is a battle that you will lose. I always get what I want."

I shook my head at her. "You don't scare me. I'm not going to play these games with you, Freyda. Go and find something else to do. You bore me. I have to go. I actually work for a living." I turned my back to her and I was going to leave.

"I live with him."

Well, shit.

"I am always with him for his corporate functions. I am the one that he takes on vacations. I share his days and nights with him. I am everything to him. Who do you think he made love to while he was in Sweden?"

That was a lie. Eric would have never made love to her. "He has never made love to you. You are someone that he has fucked and nothing more. You are …"

She started talking over me and what she said was more than I could handle. "Who do you think was by his side when he found out the reason that his mother committed suicide? Who do you think was with him when he needed comfort?"

He told her why his mom killed herself? Why didn't he share that with me?

Freyda had an 'I gotcha' look on her face.

And she got me. He never told me but he told her.

"When he needed someone, I was the one that was with him … not you," she continued. "I'm always there. When he cried because she didn't love him enough to live, I held him in my arms and wiped away his tears. When he finally learned the truth about her, you weren't there. I was. Where you were you? You didn't know, did you? Do you want to know why? He didn't want you to know! He didn't want you with him. He had me."

And what could I say? He had told her and not me.

"Eric and I come from the same world," she said. "I can give him what you can't. I am his equal where you were just some years ago fling. You need to let him go and leave him alone."

I looked up at her and said, "I've always been good enough for him. He loves me. He has always loved me."

"You were just good enough until the right girl came along," she said. "Have you ever wondered why he never came back for you? Have you ever wondered why he just let you leave after your very short visit? He was over you. He is his own man and he can do whatever he wants but he stayed in Sweden … with me. Let him go, Sookie. He's mine now."

Five years and he was free of his dad. Five years and he never came for me. But why didn't he come for me? Maybe he couldn't. His obligations could've kept him away. I'm not going to take her at her word when it comes to me and Eric. She's a stranger. Which in turn means that I don't trust her.

As she continued to rant about their relationship, realization hit me and it hit me hard. I held tightly to my briefcase as I stared into space. She was everything that I'm not. She's the right breeding. She comes from very old money. Everything that she said is right … as far as not being like her. I don't fit into their world. I don't want to fit into their world. It's not who I am. But I tell you one thing, I'm not going to lie down and give him to her. I don't care what world we live in. I'm not giving him up without a fight. He's mine and he's always been mine. She'll just have to get used to it.

Freyda stood in front of me and was smiling triumphantly. She thought that her words were causing me pain. "If you love him, prove it. You need to let him go. I'm better for him. You're his past and I'm his future."

I stepped in closer to her and stared her in her cold, dead eyes. "You're a pitiable creature. What you've said to me means nothing. I don't need status or money to be in his life and you know that. That's what scares you. I know Eric and it means nothing that he didn't tell me why his mom took her life. That has nothing to do with what he feels for me. He never pushed me away, Freyda. I stayed away because it's what was best. And even after not seeing me for ten years, he still came looking for me. That only means one thing. It means that he loves me. He'll always love me. Since I'm here now, you can go away."

Her green eyes were practically black from anger. And it pleased me.

I then sighed as I smiled at her. "So, since I'm no longer going to entertain your nonsense, I'm going home. You should do the same. You need to go to whatever place you came from and leave me alone." This time when I turned away, I kept walking. I only stopped long enough to get my briefcase.

"I mean it, Sookie Stackhouse!" she said. "You stay away from my husband!"

I stopped dead in my tracks. "What did you say?"

This time she was the one that was smiling. "We are married. Eric is my husband."

I could see in her dead, green eyes that she was telling me the truth but I didn't want to believe it. "He wouldn't marry you. He proposed to me," I whispered.

"Years ago, Sookie," she replied snidely. "You are not going to ruin what Eric and I have. We love each other. We are married and I am not letting him go."

I squeezed my eyes closed as her words saturated my heart and soul. He is married. I thought of the engagement ring that was at home in my jewelry box … waiting for me to wear it … waiting for him to come back so that I could wear it. I looked at her; not trying to hide the surprise on my face. "He married you?"

"Yes," she said. "He married me." She lifted her pale white hand and showed me the most beautiful engagement and wedding ring set that I'd ever seen in my life. The diamond was the biggest diamond I'd ever seen. It was lot bigger than my blue raspberry ring pop ring … and probably cost a lot more too.

My confidence from earlier was gone. I couldn't take Miss. Prissy because she'd taken me with the most heartbreaking words to have ever graced my ears. "Congratulations," I choked out. "Congratulations, Freyda," I repeated.

"Don't give me that shit, Sookie. I am not going to let anyone take him away from me," she said. "I love him and he loves me. He is my husband and I am not going to let him go."

"Sookie," Eric said from the door.

I turned around and looked at him. I didn't try and hide my pain from him. I let him see. "Freyda just told me that you two are married. Is it true? Are married to her?"

He swallowed deeply. "Sookie, I …"

My mind instantly went to last night and how happy he'd made me. How good he'd made me feel. All of that and he's married. "I'm so stupid," I whispered as I looked at him. "I'm so fucking stupid. I thought that she was just a girlfriend. I'm so stupid," I repeated.

How could I be so stupid? How could I not know that she's his wife? I Google searched her and found nothing about her being married to Eric. I found nothing about them dating. I believed that she was nothing more than a girlfriend and I was wrong. I was so wrong.

"Is it true?" I asked him.

Freyda answered my question when she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "We've been married for almost five years." She rested her head on his back as she smiled at me.

Five years.

I chuckled. "Secrets don't stay hidden, do they?"

"Please, listen to me," he begged. He then looked at Freyda and said, "Take your hands off of me."

An embarrassed smile appeared on her face. "But I'm your ..."

He pried her arms from around his waist and came to me. "I was going to tell you," he said.

"As I said before, congratulations," I said as I looked them in the eyes. "I wish you two the very best."

"Sookie," Eric began. "I don't want your congratulations. I don't need them because marrying her was not a happy occasion." He shook his head no as he spoke. "It's not what you think. I don't want to spend my life with her. I don't love her. I've never loved her. I had no choice. I would never have purposely married her. She's not you."

Freyda looked as if her entire world had imploded. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

But I could. I believed him. The pain that was on his face and the strain in his voice alerted me to the truth of his words. And then I remembered the word he'd uttered to me the night that I'd discovered that he was leaving. "Obligations?" I asked.

He dropped his head and nodded.

I went to him and wrapped him in the comfort of my arms. "I'm sorry that they've done this to you."

He looked at me and kissed me and it was a kiss of desperation. He was afraid that I'd turn my back on him just as everyone else has done. I won't do that. Not again. I broke the kiss as he rested his forehead to mine. "I'm sorry. I didn't have a choice."

I kissed his cheek and told that I know that it wasn't his doing. "I understand. I don't blame you. I'd never blame you. I'm not upset with you. This is the way of your world. I know that now," I assured him. I understand the reason for the marriage but why would he share his life with her, his home, his secrets? Has he grown to at least care for her? And then I looked at them.

I looked at her and saw an obligation. Not a lover. Not a friend. She's not his type. She's doesn't look as if she likes to hear his stories or laughs as his jokes. She doesn't know that he used to have a bubble gum collection. She'll never know because he'll never tell her. She doesn't know him as I do. She'll never love him the way that he deserves to be loved. She can't because she doesn't know him. Not like I do. Then I looked at him.

When I looked at Eric, I saw everything that I've always loved and wanted. In him, I see forever. He was staring at me and I could tell that nothing between us would ever change. We could go twenty years and not see each other and nothing would ever change. As he looked at me, I melted inside. He looked as he always looks when he's looking at me. He looks at me as if I'm flawless and his most perfect partner. When he sees me, he sees his friend, his lover. He looks as if he loves me.

I looked at him and smiled. Our love story will never be over. Hell, it's just getting to the good part.

Freyda ran to his side and tried once again to wrap her arms around his.

And once again, he denied her that pleasure. "Don't," he warned her. "Don't touch me." He then looked at her and glared. He looked as if he wanted to kill her.

She dropped her arms to her side and glared at me. A sneer suddenly appeared on her face. "Do you believe that you've won?" She began to shake her head no. "Well, you haven't won, Sookie Stackhouse. You'll never win because you'll never have him. I'm never going to let him go."

The smile never wavered from my face. "And you shouldn't let him go," I agreed. "You'd be a fool to let him go but you won't have to let him go. You'll lose him all on your own. I can promise you that you won't keep him because he's mine. And I'm his."

The corner of Eric's mouth twitched into a smile.

"He may have told you about his mom but so what? That doesn't mean that he loves you. Maybe he told you in a moment of despair. Maybe he just needed to get it off of his chest and lucky for you, you just so happened to be there. It doesn't matter because we all know the truth. We know that he didn't tell you because he loves you. He's never loved you and he'll never love you." I stepped closer to her and said, "You're not me."

She reached out and slapped me hard across the face.

I'd never seen Eric move so fast. He pushed her away from me and watched her as she fell onto the couch. Her eyes and mouth were wide with surprise.

"You will never touch her again," Eric warned.

I looked at her and said, "It's okay. That's what I wanted. Now I can go to the police station and file a restraining order against her. It'll keep her away from me and this office building." I then shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe I can even use some of my connections to get her out of the city." I nodded my head. "That's exactly what I'm going to do."

He looked down at me and chuckled.

"I'm your wife, Eric," she groaned. "You can't let her do that to me. You aren't going to protect me from her?"

"Only on paper," he said. He then shook his head no. "I'm not. You're the one that attacked her. It's quite apparent that she needs protecting from you."

I stood by Eric's side and said, "See? He's mine." I caressed his back as I stood next to him.

He growled as he looked at me. "Yes," he confirmed.

"Will you still come to my home tonight so that we can talk? I have a lot to tell you," I said as I gazed longingly into his eyes. "I don't want there to be any more secrets between us. I want you to know everything … from the very beginning to now. Can you come?"

Freyda took it upon herself to answer for him. Standing up from the couch, she said, "No, he's not. We are having dinner with my parents tonight. It'll probably be a late dinner and he won't be able to attend."

"You don't answer for me," he snarled at her.

She looked up at him and said, "But, darling, we have plans with my parents. We are to …"

"I'll be there, Sookie. Nothing's going to keep me away," he promised me.

"Okay," I said. "We should be at home by 7:30. I'll be waiting for you."

Freyda wrapped her arm around Eric's again and held onto him as if he was going to float away. He tried to shake her off but she had the death grip on him. Both of her arms were wrapped around his. She eyed me with hate and contempt. I just knew that she wanted to taste my blood. I wanted to deck that bitch in the face but I didn't do that. I remained the lady that I am.

Instead of responding to her in kind, I offered her my hand. "May the best woman win."

She stepped away from Eric and stood in front of me. She took my hand in hers and said, "I will. You'll see."

I laughed at her before giving my attention to Eric. "I'll see you tonight."

"Yes," he said as he leaned down and kissed me.

I happily returned it.

Freyda jerked him away from me but not before I got a sweet nip of his bottom lip.

Without saying another word, I left my office. The man from yesterday was standing at the door and he looked at me and smiled. He gave me deep nod as I walked past him. I returned it. Everyone else was still in the meeting and knew nothing of what had just transpired in my office.

Thank goodness, I thought as I walked to the elevator. That's all I need. I don't want to be the center of office gossip.

When I reached the elevator, I pulled out my cell phone and called, Pam. She answered on the first ring.

"Pam," I said.

"Hold on, Sook. Let me go outside so that I can hear you," she yelled into the phone. "We're at the Pavilion and it's extremely loud in here." After a few seconds of silence, she came back onto the line and asked, "What's up?"

"He's married," I said.

Pam didn't say anything.

"You knew," I said.

She remained quiet.

"God," I whispered.

"How'd you find out?" she asked.

"His wife told me."

"Freyda Madden," she said. "The spoiled bitch of Sweden."

I closed my eyes and nodded. "That's her. Why didn't you tell me?"

"He asked me not to," she whispered. I can almost see her shrugging her shoulders. "I'm good at keeping secrets."

I dropped my hand to my side and looked up at the ceiling and cried. Though I know that he doesn't love her, the fact that he had to marry another woman breaks my heart.

"All of these secrets," I said to no one. My life is nothing but secrets. I'm sick and fucking tired of secrets. Secrets have destroyed my life. I'm done with secrets.

I lifted the phone back to my ear just as Pam asked, "Are you mad at me?"

I laughed at her. "How can you ask me such a question? You're my girl. You're the peas to my carrots. The eggs to my bacon."

"The light of your world?" she added.

I laughed at the words that my best friend had spoken to me. "You are one of the lights of my world. I love you, Pam. I could never be mad at you. What kind of hypocrite would that make me? You've done nothing but love me. Now, when you and Flynn return, call me, okay? Flynn and I are going out to dinner. It will be the highlight of my otherwise shitty day."

"I will," Pam said. "Sookie, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you have to find out like this. I was going to tell you if he didn't. I give you my word."

The elevator door slid open. "You don't have to justify anything to me. You've always looked out for me … for us. Don't worry about it."

"You're not upset?" she asked.

Shaking my head, I said, "Not at all."

"What did you do?" she whispered.

"Nothing yet, but I'm not going to give him to her," I declared. "She won't get him without a fight. We belong together and we're going to be together."

"Fuck, yeah!" Pam yelled. "That's what I like to hear. So, do I call daddy and get him to knock her off?"

I laughed as I pressed the button to the elevator. "No, Pamela! I'm on my way home. I'll see you later. And Pam?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you," I said.

"I love you, too, Sookie."

As I stepped onto the elevator, reality hit me square in the gut. Tonight he learns the truth. Tonight he's going to finally meet his daughter. After ten years of not knowing that she exists, will he forgive me? Will he still be mine?