Chapter 41

Tess, what is it? What's wrong. You've turned as pale as ghost. Tell me. What is the matter? What has come over you?"

That bad voodoo she had spoken of earlier, it permeated the room. It had swooped in and taken all of the joy and happiness out of it. The room wasn't any longer warm and cozy. They may as well have been outside in the Boston chill. She was freezing and her heart had nearly stopped when she realized that she wouldn't have days or weeks to prepare James for the truth of Olivia's parentage. It was her secret. A secret that at the most vulnerable point in her life she had decided never to share with anyone. If she was going to stay in her marriage to Thomas Pope it would have to remain a secret.

Tessa was in full panic mode. Her thoughts were all over the place. She didn't want to go there! Her mind had involuntarily flashed back to her life after she had left Jimmy that night and returned to Overton Place. It had caused her such sheer misery to return to that place. Thomas' face held pure malice when he opened the door to let her in. Right away she was told that he was allowing her back into the family with stipulations. No housekeeper, no cook, no money of her own, and most of all no hope of happiness. What could she do but try to make the best of her wretched life?

When she was no longer feeling sorry for herself for having to give up Jimmy; she finally stopped moping around the house. It wasn't fair to her son. She got back into a similar pattern, only now she was preparing all of Thomas' meals, preparing his clothes for work, and cleaning the house. When Tommy came home from school she put on a happy face. As continuing punishment her husband didn't really acknowledge her. He treated her with disdain even though she waited on him hand and foot.

She was fixing his breakfast the first morning that she noticed the nausea. It became stronger as the morning when on. Once Thomas and Tommy had left the house she gave in to the sensation to vomit. After that, most of her mornings were filled with nausea or vomiting. Luckily her symptoms were gone by evening. She'd had the exact same symptoms five years ago when she became pregnant with Tommy. Tessa didn't want to lay claim to her condition. This couldn't be happening!

Every morning she got up with the same thought. No way she could be pregnant from that single night. That was the lie she told herself. Her last cycle was more than six weeks ago. She had been banned from Overton Place because she had refused her husband. Since her return he hadn't approached her. Plus, she had never planned to have another child with Thomas Pope. She had obtained a spermicide. On the nights he decided to use her as a vessel for his lust, she placed the square disc as high as she could within her. Within minutes it would dissolve into a protective gel and barrier against pregnancy.

Without fail on the few nights that Thomas would say in some variation, "Prepare yourself for your husband Tessa. I will come to you shortly." She would promptly use the spermicide. She had been successful in her endeavor for the last five years. Her method of birth control worked. Thomas in his medical wisdom said she hadn't conceived again because she was frigid and unable to respond to her husband. No, that wasn't the case. It was Nonoxynol-9. The spermicidal barrier was effective for three hours. Three hours were more than sufficient time because Thomas Pope was a three-minute man at the most and the ritual was over. Before the night she had been with Jimmy, Thomas hadn't been near her for at least a month.

Disillusioned and sad about having made the decision to return to Overton Place Tessa had summarily forgotten about her period. Suddenly the light turned on above her head. She had unprotected sex with Jimmy for hours. Unlike their encounters of years ago, he had come inside of her body several times during that night. She had missed one cycle and would soon miss another. She and Jimmy had made a baby! So many things ran through her head after the realization of her condition. Would Jimmy even believe the baby was his? After all she was a married woman with a husband. He had no idea of the true nature of what was going on at Overton Place.

Presently things had begun to calm down and return to "normal." Thomas was back to complimenting her. She was "proving" to him that she was capable of being a doctor's wife. He dangled before her the possibility of getting the cook and housekeeper back. He had taken her to shop for groceries and had given her much more money than she needed. The devil had returned to his workshop!

She should have run to Jimmy and told him that she was pregnant with his child but she was like a well-trained puppy. The master petted her on the head and she smiled and went back to tail-wagging! She knew that Thomas would turn back to her to slake his lust at some point. If she were staying in the marriage it would have to be sooner rather than later. She was having nausea and vomiting daily. Almost as soon as Thomas went out of the door, she found herself with her head hanging over the toilet. She was truly pregnant with another man's child. Her husband was a doctor. Would she be able to foist another man's child onto him without him knowing?

She was able to, and he never seemed to suspect her at all. Tessa Pope had initiated sexual encounters before. They all had been with James Lockheed. If she intended for her husband to lay claim to her child, she would have to initiate a sexual encounter with him. She wasn't some naïve young girl. She had two college degrees gathering dust on a shelf. She had been married for almost six years to a man that she despised. That man used her like a blow-up doll to satisfy his needs only as a last resort. He told her to her face that he once thought she would be an ideal bedmate until he found out she was a "cold kitty."

"I'm glad that you sent me out into the street, Tessa. Your coldness is a complete turnoff. A man likes his pussy hot!"

She withstood all of his sexist barbs, the comments of degradation, and bouts of occasional violence because she deserved all of it. She loved another man. She had stood before God and swore to love Thomas Pope and she couldn't. Right from the first night of their marriage, she couldn't even fake a response to his touch. Nothing he did created a sexual spark. He wasn't Jimmy. Apparently, he could tell she wasn't going to respond. She was hoping he would realize that they were wrong for each other. That wasn't the case. He got on top of her and proceeded to consummate the marriage. She was dry as a bone because she didn't want what was happening.

"Tommy, you're hurting me. Please, could we wait a few minutes. Maybe some kind of lubricant would make this easier."

"Tessa, I'm well-endowed. You're a virgin. This is supposed to hurt. I tried to ready you up but you're too uptight. You're the one making this hard. Be a good wife. Relax and accept me. I've waited long enough to have you."

Technically she was a virgin, a penis had ever been inside her vagina. She didn't know if the resistance to his entry was hymen or just natural resistance. Thomas was on a mission to deflower her and he wouldn't be denied. He was a brute, thinking only of himself. She tried to divorce herself from what was happening. She closed her eyes and suffered in silence. He didn't care, he needed release. So, for five tortuous minutes he banged into her and then collapsed on top of her. He withdrew and lay on his side. For the longest time he was just looking at her. Finally, he shook his head in obvious disappointment.

"Tessa, I imagine you expected more. I know I did. Forgive my eagerness but I have wanted to fuck you for the longest time. Sorry your first time couldn't have been gentler. You will learn the ways of men. We aren't sweet and gentle during the sex act. The main purpose of the sex act is to provide a man with release of his sexual tension and then there's the biblical purpose of procreation.

I tried to ready you. I spent many minutes trying to unthaw you. Real women make their own lubrication Tessa. You didn't. That's why this first time was painful. You are full of lubricant now. The rest of the wedding night will be much easier. And hopefully more enjoyable for us both. We will take a little breather and I shall come to you again."

Within minutes he was snoring. That was the gist of her wedding night. Twice more she experienced the ways of men. In all the years that followed he never had sex with her more than once during an encounter. She still didn't respond to him "readying her" and it annoyed him. After about six months of occasional sex with her, he told her that sex with her was too mechanical. "Fucking virgins is pure hype. You seem unable to grasp the concept of satisfying a man. You're simply no good in bed Tessa."

"Tommy, you and I both know you're unfaithful. Why come to me at all? Why not take all your lust elsewhere, I don't care. I don't want any of it!"

"No, you don't do you? Believe you me, I don't either! It's no fun fucking a woman lying there like a board. Thanks for your blessings. I shall do just that."

His adultery began in earnest then. His wife had given him a license to fuck indiscriminately. He took it and used it effectively. In no time the rumors were all over the island. They weren't rumors. Thomas Pope was doing anyone that said yes. Tessa took it all in stride. His adultery meant she was spared from his ritual. She had to assume that at times pussy was scarce on the island. When it was, she was informed that he had a need of his wife.

"Prepare yourself for me tonight, Tessa." That meant to go to their bedroom, leave on a bright light, get naked on the bed, with her legs open so he could look at her. He apparently got a sick thrill from looking at her that way. He would come in the bedroom at his leisure. Sometimes she would lie there for an hour or more waiting. The foreplay he performed was all for him. First, he looked at her while stimulating himself. Next, he put a finger or two inside her for a few minutes. Then he would suck on her breasts very forcefully to the point of pain. Once she responded to the pain, he would push inside of her and do the deed. Thankfully he was quick. Wham, bam, thank-you ma'am and it was over. He'd collapse on top of her.

She would lie there willing him to move. When he did, she would turn on her side waiting for him to cover them so she could sleep and drown in her sorrow. How he impregnated her wasn't a mystery. The man occasionally fucked his wife. They had been married for 457 days when she realized she was pregnant. She'd only had sex with her husband for 36 of those days. Those were extraordinary statistics but they were true. She welcomed them. What she and Thomas shared in their bed wasn't normal and she knew it. Tessa had resigned herself to her fate.

When she realized she was pregnant with Tommy, she told her husband that she wanted to be seen by an OBGYN. He said he was a doctor and he could confirm her pregnancy. She insisted that she would find her own doctor. "Family members shouldn't treat family members." Reluctantly he agreed. Her pregnancy was confirmed and she went on to deliver a healthy baby boy. It was 160 days before he touched her sexually again. Tessa was prepared. She had her spermicide highly recommended by her Aunt Naomi! Thomas Pope would never impregnate her again during his sexual rituals.

The night she had gone to Jimmy, birth control was the farthest thing from her mind. She hadn't planned to commit adultery but she had. She had wanted to be away from Thomas Pope and his demeaning and horrible way of life. She was running. With nowhere else to go, she had gone to James Lockheed. Subconsciously she'd known she would wind up in his bed. She had dreamed of being with him, giving herself to him completely for years. Keeping him from assaulting Thomas was the excuse she had used. She had wanted to know what it felt like to lie beneath him loving him as she did. She had laid down with him willingly and unprotected. For hour after hour, they loved one another furiously as if there was no tomorrow. And there hadn't been. So, she had given everything she had. They both had given love and received it. On top of the exquisite pleasure, he had given her; Jimmy had given her a baby. Now her chickens had come home to roost.

James Lockheed had a daughter! He should've been told about Olivia from the very first. Tessa documented her life with Thomas Pope. Every sexual encounter with him was in her journal including their last one before she found herself pregnant. She had used the spermicide and she had bled after that encounter. What was significant at this point was that she hadn't bled since having sexual relations with but one man, James Lockheed.

She knew that he was Olivia's father. Olivia very much resembled Tessa but there were so many things about her daughter that was pure James Lockheed. If it became necessary, she had biological proof of Olivia's paternity. She wasn't expecting Jimmy to doubt her so much as he would be angry at her for denying him his child. His only child. Without a doubt he would have raised her as a cherished daughter. Her plot to stay married to Thomas Pope took that away from him.

And there had been a plot. She intended to seduce Thomas Pope into a sexual encounter and she had done so. Tessa verified her pregnancy with a home test. If Thomas Pope was to be the father, she had to have sex with him. During her marriage Tessa's body was well covered for many reasons. At times when Thomas punished her with a twists of her arms, mauled her breasts, administered harsh pinches to her body and occasionally even kicked her, she would have bruises. She wore long sleeves, long dresses, and pants to cover them. Thomas had insisted that she wear them. To cover his abuse was one reason. Another was that he didn't want to be sexually attracted to her.

She had told him she had no sexual interest in him or the marital bed. He sought to punish her for her indifference by making her wear matron-like clothing. He claimed he found her unattractive and sexually unappealing. He was lying. He would bang anything that gave his dick a rise. Most times when he approached her sexually it was when he came upon her exiting her bath or after a swim in the pool. Those were the few times that her body was exposed to him. Her body was still well-formed after Tommy's birth. Her waist was still tiny and her breasts were ample. Thomas had a peculiar attraction to her breasts.

She kept her body covered and stayed away from him when it wasn't. Tommy loved the pool on Overton Place. They spent many a day in the pool once he learned to swim. Some days her husband would be at home during their outings in the pool. Tessa believed it had become purposeful. He would watch her in the pool like a lecher. Or he would ''mistakenly" enter the bathroom knowing she was finishing her bath. After fondling and mauling her, working himself into a sexual state; it eventually lead to him summoning her into the bedroom.

Once she realized the correlation; she and Tommy swam less and only did so if she knew Thomas would be away from the house. The Overton Place pool and a swim suit or the lack of one became her genesis for deception. She called Thomas home under the pretext that she was worried about Tommy. She relayed that he had become ill in the pool. Suddenly Tommy began vomiting and couldn't keep anything on his stomach. She was worried the child may have picked up a virus at school and was dehydrated. Plus, she thought he had a fever. She had dosed him with Tylenol but she remained worried. Would he come home and take a look at him?

All of it was bald-faced lies. To her shame she had bathed her son, given him paregoric to make him sleep, and put him in the bed. She pretended to be over anxious with worry. She was crying, really crying. She had placed her son in the middle of this thing. She had used her son to help manipulate her husband.

Thomas came home right away. He checked on the child. He assured her that Tommy was fine. Still emotionally on edge knowing where she planned for this to go, she continued to cry. Her husband uncharacteristically took her in his arms and told her not to worry. Her husband after all was a doctor and the child was asleep with normal vital signs.

There weren't many times that she found herself in her husband's arms. He never offered her comfort and she never sought it. Usually, her hair was tightly pulled back into a bun. Tonight, it draped long, curly, and wet on her shoulders. She also had on a pool wrap. It was thin and stopped above her knees. It didn't take Thomas Pope long to realize that his wife was in his arms cloaked only in a thin wrap. He pushed her back from his embrace to look at the nearly diaphanous material covering her breasts. She knew what he would see. And she knew what his reaction would be. Her wet hair had dampened the front on the wrap.

"Tessa, what are you wearing? Why are you dressed only in a pool wrap?"

"Tommy was playing in the shallow water when he became ill. He barfed all over my swim suit. I cleaned him up first and got him settled before I realized I was in still in my puked-on one piece. I called you right away because I was so worried. You know Tommy never gets sick. I only pulled off the offending garment a little while ago. I threw it in the washing machine, hit the shower and hurried back to Tommy. I didn't want to leave him alone. I had grabbed this wrap that was hanging in the bathroom. I'm sorry. I had forgotten I was only wearing it. I was terribly worried about Tommy. If I have offended you, I'm sorry. Let me go and properly cover myself"

Tessa turned and started to walk slowly away from her husband.

"Tessa!"

She stopped walking but she didn't speak nor turn around.

"You have nothing on under that robe. You're naked!"

"I am Thomas. As I said, I was worried for our son. I wasn't thinking clearly."

Once again she started to walk away from him. He reached out and stopped her. He came up behind her as she knew he would. He pulled her back against his body. The lecher was already hard. His hands reached in front of her and untied her sash. Then his hands, the hands that she had come to dread, grabbed her breasts. With both hands he squeezed, pulled, and pinched until she cried out. He moved his body suggestively against her buttocks. One hand continued to maul her breasts while the other hand dropped down to her crotch to prod between her legs. He found what he was seeking. His fingers began to move within her. He didn't say a word as the ritual progressed. Finally, he whispered into her ear.

"You play the temptress, Tessa. You parade around naked before your husband. You've made me want to stay home and fuck you tonight. The last time I wanted you, you refused me. Will you refuse me this time Tessa?"

"No, Thomas. I will not."

"Go then and ready yourself for me."

She left him feeling ashamed of what she was about to do. She should have run from the place like the hounds of hell were behind her. Instead, she went into a bedroom, lay naked upon a bed, and waited for one. Just as Tessa imagined one day this particular sin would return to haunt her.

Her husband came into the bedroom and discarded his clothing. Tessa didn't have to wait long for him to join her on the bed. His lust was already at full mast. On his knees he looked down at her exposed body and started to fondle himself. He had already performed his foreplay in Tommy's bedroom. He rubbed himself on her a time or two before he pushed himself inside her body. He immediately completed the sex act and fell on top of her braying like the animal he was. He rolled off of her and promptly went to sleep.

So, it began. Her web of deception. She was pregnant with another man's child that she intended to pass off as her husband's. Would it work? She prayed that it would. She hadn't any doubt about her conception date. It was still vivid in her mind the night she had spent with Tommy. It had been a little more than six weeks ago. She would soon miss another period and her baby would arrive after seven months.

As soon as she missed her second period, she decided to openly display her morning sickness. Thomas Pope suggested that she see her OBGYN because the last time she had morning sickness she was pregnant. Tessa promptly scheduled an appointment. Her husband even volunteered to take the morning off and drive her to the appointment. After a pregnancy test and examination, the doctor returned to tell them the happy news, she was pregnant!

Thomas seemed proud of the fact that he had impregnated his wife again. Having lied to her doctor about her last menstrual cycle, she had a late February, early March due day. The doctor had informed them both that due dates weren't exact science. Every due date can always turn out to be before or after the expectation. Tessa was counting on that information to explain an early arrival of "their" baby. It never came to that! Her daughter Olivia, helped to perpetuate her lie by arriving the last day of January weighing in at only four pounds and four ounces. She was declared a Preemie. How convenient was that?

Preening peacock Thomas Pope had a daughter! She had been born pre-term. As he was a hot shot at the hospital, she and Olivia received very special care. The scenario played out perfectly. Though small, all of Olivia's vital organs appeared to be functioning well. However, she would stay in the hospital under observation and until she had an acceptable birth weight. The OBGYN suggested privately to Tessa that maybe she had gotten her last menstrual cycle confused and Olivia was just a small full-term baby. Her comments to her doctor were well rehearsed. She had always without fail recorded the beginning and ending of her periods. She had done so since her very first period at age thirteen. No, her daughter had arrived early!

As it turned out, Thomas Pope had never even considered anything at all was amiss with the early arrival of his daughter. After all, his wife was under his complete control and dominance. It never even occurred to him that he wasn't the father. He proudly accepted all the congratulations from his friends and colleagues. Feeling omnipotent and prolific, Thomas Pope basked in fatherhood for the second time. After her premature baby gained the required weight to be released from the hospital; Tessa returned to Overton Place to continue her twisted life and the occasional sexual ritual.

Over the years Tessa debated with herself on whether to tell Olivia the truth. She had withdrawn Jimmy from the equation. They were over and done. Why rock the boat? Thomas Pope aka "The world's most wise and brilliant man" had been duped. She decided to let well enough alone. On her own she secured DNA testing of Olivia and Thomas. The hair samples were sent out of the country to one of the most renown paternity testing centers in the United States. The results arrived back to her sister's home. According to a 99.9% accuracy; specimen A, Thomas Pope was not the father of specimen B, Olivia Carolyn Pope. She knew that of course but legitimate proof made her rest easy. When the time was right, she would tell Olivia! Over the years the time never seemed right.

She once thought to tell Olivia when she first went off to Harvard. Thomas was being such a dick about Jimmy being so generous to Olivia. He wanted her to "learn to survive on her own" the way he had when he was in medical school. He had done little to nothing for her the four years she was in Atlanta and she fully expected him to do little in Boston. He didn't like Jimmy's interference with Olivia. Jimmy had just bought Olivia her second house. She would never learn to do anything on her own with Lockheed spoiling her rotten!

Once again, Thomas had threatened cut Jimmy off from the children at one point. She pointed out to Thomas that he was the one that had chosen James Lockheed to be godfather to his children. It would be rude and unseemly to not allow him access at this point. She also reminded Thomas Pope that if he severed the ties between James Lockheed and his godchildren that he would become the one solely responsible for their extra monetary needs. That shut the greedy bastard down. He wanted to spend as little of his money as possible on his "own" children.

This flash back of those moments in her life had shaken her. She knew that all of this was going to happen one day. Truth always comes out. She had simply wanted more time. She obviously didn't have it. Today she would have to come clean and tell Jimmy the story she had just relived in her mind. What brought her back to the present was Jimmy calling her name.

"Tessa! Tessa! What on earth is wrong. Your skin resembles porcelain and your hands are cold as ice. Do we need to call for a doctor? Are you ill? You're frightening me. Please tell me what is wrong?

They had been apart for thirty years. In between that time, they had a one-night stand twenty-five years ago and were only now reunited. Surely the woman is not suffering from some malady that would take her from him again. He couldn't bear it. He couldn't lose her again.

"Talk to me Tessa!"

Jimmy was right. She felt so cold. That bad voodoo was swirling all around her. The happiness she had felt only minutes ago had evaporated into the cold air. She was surprised there wasn't frost coming from their mouths when they spoke. Jimmy was demanding answers and she would give them to him. She could feel the warmth coming back into her body. Her sense of self was returning to her. Reliving portions of her life with Thomas Pope were always terrible experiences. And she had remembered the worst of them minutes ago except for the birth of her daughter. That was a wonderful event. It was a cherished event for her. She had created one child at least from a bond of love.

She looked up at Jimmy and she smiled. He still held on to her hand tightly as if he would never let it go. If only that were to still be the case after she reiterated the tale she had just relived to Jimmy. He had a daughter and that daughter had been deliberately kept from knowing her birthright. And he James Lockheed, had been deprived of his rights as a father. Sure, he had played the part of godfather and he had played it well. That wasn't the issue. He was Olivia's father from conception and he should've been told! Tessa now held her head up regally and faced the man that she loved.

"Jimmy, I love you. I think I have always loved you even as a green girl. I had wanted you to notice me but you never did. I fell into the hands of a terrible man because I was foolish and thought he could provide me with a fairy tale. Instead, I experienced mostly nightmares, one after another. I have to share with you some of my experience with Thomas Pope this morning before we can move forward or backwards, whichever the case may be. I do not know what will happen to us Jimmy but I must tell you something."

She proceeded to tell him the tale basically as it unfolded in her mind minutes ago. She told him much of the story of her life with Thomas Pope and how it ended on Overton Place. She had lied to two men. One she regretted the other she did not. She ended her tale with the truth from her own mouth. It felt good to say the truth out loud.

"Olivia, she's yours Jimmy. I have undisputable proof that she is yours in a safe at my sister's house. I had planned on taking my secret to my grave. Then I walked away from Thomas. In my dreams I saw us together again. In those dreams I found hope that we could be mended. I was praying you would still love and want me once you knew the truth. Please believe that I fully intended to tell you! What I've done is a very horrible thing. Even the deliberate deception to Thomas was horrible. However, I never professed that I loved him with all my heart. My actions toward you are unforgivable. I can see that right now in your eyes. And I understand it. You deserved better from me Jimmy. I failed you once again."

James Lockheed's head was reeling! Olivia was his own flesh and blood? Why would Tessa not come to him? If not him, why not return to her family? Why had she done this? She had used Thomas Pope as a beard? The two of them used each other? The way she had been used by Thomas Pope was unconscionable. The man that he thought he knew was truly a monster. And for Tessa to resort to such deception? The totality of what Tessa had done was finally sinking in! The Pope marriage had been a vile and wicked thing. And he had let it go on!

His issue with Thomas Pope was something he could and would place on a back burner. The two of them would one day have a day of reckoning! The revelations about Thomas Pope could wait. The revelation about his daughter he could not. Olivia was his daughter! Tessa had held this secret all these years. She had deprived him of what should have been the best moments of his life, knowing that he had a child. How could she have done such a thing? He was shaking his head in disbelief.

Tessa had finished her tale expressing her sorrow for her duplicity. She had lied to Thomas Pope and James Lockheed. She was no longer sharing her secret alone. She found that she felt a huge sense of relief. James hadn't removed his hand from hers but nor had he spoken a word from the moment that she said that she must tell him something. Things didn't look good for her. She saw the anger back in his eyes. It was same anger she had seen when she sought to dismiss him and not talk to him tonight. Of course, she expected anger, a lot of it. Her deception was grave.

That was the reason she was ready and willing to jump back into a sexual liaison without delay. They had been so good together even before their perfect night when Olivia was conceived. Good sex and love were a powerful combination. If Jimmy could be made to remember all that they had shared and how glorious it had been perhaps he would have hesitated to walk away from her. But he was going to! She could feel it in her bones. Her deception was too deep, too scarring, to a relationship that was already destroyed once before by her. She had spent a lifetime disappointing this man. He would be right to walk away from her.

What of Olivia? He already loved her as his own. Would he turn to his daughter and shun her mother for her part in this debacle? Tessa had decided she would accept what surely was to come. No more tears. At least not tonight. She wasn't going to beg either. When he dismissed her from his life, she would bear it. She had experienced a great love and great passion in her lifetime. Once would have to be enough!

"James, I'm going to bed. I think you have made a decision about us. I know you are hurt and angry. You have a daughter that doesn't know you are her father. I have deceived and disappointed you one time too many. I believe you cannot forgive me. I must accept that with grace. As for Olivia, I want her to know the truth. It is I, that have deceived her. I believe that I should be the one to tell her the truth. As I have said there is proof back in the islands that unequivocally declares that Thomas Pope isn't her father. You are her father, Jimmy. I believe that Olivia may be relieved to know that fact.

If you would like to be there when I tell her I haven't any objection to that. In fact, I believe she would want you there. Her Mr. Grant as well. She deeply loves the man. There's a possibility that Olivia may turn me away me also because of my deception. I know she will welcome you with open arms, Jimmy. If she should turn away from me because of this deception and betrayal, promise me you will watch over her. Will you at least promise that to me?"

Tessa looked down after asking Jimmy the question. They were still holding hands. She started to pull her entwined hand from his. He held fast and wouldn't allow it. She tugged slightly again. Maybe she was imagining the grip he had upon her hand. No, she wasn't imagining it. He held her fast!

"So, you think to run from me again, Tessa. Why are you always running from me? You have told your story and I have sat patiently until you finished. Most of it is a harrowing tale, especially the parts concerning your abuse and sexual degradation. You deserved so much better. Your ex-husband is a degenerate and a man without honor. As for our daughter, I have loved her since the first time I saw her swaddled in a hospital bassinette. I have watched over her for all of her life. Nothing will change.

Thomas Pope has much to answer for in this life. He will answer to his crimes in due time. We should get this clear before we continue. If he comes near you again in my presence there will be retribution for his crimes against you Tessa. And Tessa, sex nor anything else in this world will stop me exacting it. I hope I do not have to impart that knowledge to you again. Now back to us."

"Did you hear my story? Did you hear the things that I said? Did you not hear what I did? Did you not hear how I foisted our child onto Thomas Pope? I got into to bed purposely with a man that abused me on so many levels, emotionally and physically. I decided to use him as ruthlessly as he had used me without qualm. I lied and pretended that a baby that you and I made together was his! I deprived you of your rightful daughter. There is no us, Jimmy."

This woman, his woman. No matter that she had been married to someone else for thirty years with only one unforgettable night between them. No matter that she still doesn't understand the depth of his love for her. Today is their new beginning. He can see it clearly. Tessa would come to see it too.

He had allowed her to stay in a marriage where she was manipulated and abused from day one. He should have seen through the facade much earlier. He was a fool for not speaking up the day of the wedding. He knew the wrongness of that day and everyday after it! Tessa did make the bed she lay in for thirty years but the fault wasn't all hers. The majority of all of this ugliness starts with him not manning up and claiming Tessa himself. He should have told Thomas the truth as soon as Tessa did not. Her suffering, her pain, the use of deception to survive in her bleak world with Thomas Pope; all of it lies at his feet.

"I love you, Tessa Adderley. I suspect that I always will. Within all of this unsavory shit that has been said here this morning there are two things, two very special things that have made me smile and look toward the future. Number one you have come back to me and number two you have given me a daughter. You had best believe me, there is an us!"

Olivia Pope lay in Fitzgerald Grant's arms totally sated. Every sexual desire she had at the moment, fulfilled. It was hard to imagine that it wouldn't always be this way. These last seven months had been heavenly. She had listened to Darcie talk about how wonderful sex could be. She had always shrugged it off as Darcie's overwhelming libido. Her friend had been absolutely right. Sex with the person you loved was a so right and so beautiful. It didn't hurt that the man that you loved was enormously skilled in the sexual realm. She looked up at him. She loved him so much!

"Are you alright Sweet Baby? Those were marathon-like rounds we just shared. We've been at it since you knelt at my feet at the door of this place for round one. You started a delightful morning, Olivia. You were wonderful. Thank you for being such an incredible partner. I haven't any words to say how much you please me. And now we only have two hours before you have to meet your guests and send them off to various parts of the world. You have to be exhausted. Graduation, the Harvard reception, your party, and ending with a scandalous night of sex with your fiancé. You should have been asleep hours ago. Rest now. I will make sure that you get up for breakfast."

"I simply adore scandalous nights of sex with you Fitz. They're the best. Aren't you exhausted as well? I can't say I hung from the chandelier. However the foyer, the kitchen counter, that huge four-poster bed, and the bathroom shower were all excellent backdrops this morning. You were absolutely amazing Fitz. You left me breathless so many times. My heart is still beating fast! The count seems terribly unfair."

Fitz laughed out loud while putting sweet little kisses all over her face. His Sweet Baby and all this counting of orgasms. How many did he have? Was it two or three? To be honest he wasn't completely sure. His very first one of the night had nearly unmanned him. Goodness, Olivia was incredible! He was experiencing the best sex of his life at age thirty-six with the woman in his arms!

"Livvie, don't you dare give me an orgasm count. Numbers are all immaterial for us. I live to make you happy. That includes giving you what you want or need, always. I assure you that I'm well satisfied and you were quite amazing yourself. I love you so much, girl. I can't wait to marry you."

"I love you too and I'm happy that I make you happy. I can't wait to set a wedding date. Will you hold me while I sleep. I love it when you do that."

Fitzgerald Grant gathered Olivia Pope securely in his arms and sighed. He was a very lucky man and he knew it. Olivia was fast asleep in what seemed to be seconds. The love of his life could fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow or his chest. He on the other hand was wide awake. Marathon sex with Olivia left him humming. Their wake-up call wasn't for almost two hours. He supposed he could try and sleep as well. He took a deep breath. Olivia's scent, mingled with the aromatics of their sexual endeavors for the last three hours, filled his nostrils. Fitz had thought her scent intoxicatingly magical that first night she had sat with him and he had inhaled it. His last thought as he drifted into slumber was that the scent of her was still magic!