Forgotten Love (Derrien Island Trilogy) (12 page)

“The man is almost eight years older than you are, already has his degree and a job. Of course he took advantage of you. This is exactly what we warned you against. Never put yourself in a position to be dependent on any man especially one as unreliable and lacking in self-control as this Marcus Nicholls character”.

Natasha felt as though she would simply scream. Ever since she told her parents about her pregnancy and they forced her to return home by cancelling her tuition she had to endure heaps of blame as they
spoke negatively about her relationship with Marcus.

Right now, it seemed as though they were warming up for the meeting that would begin in another ten minutes
by practicing on her. Her parents had summoned Marcus over and now their first meeting ever was about to take place. She blamed herself for keeping her relationship a secret because Marcus had always said that he wanted to meet her parents. But, she did not think they would approve of him and now his first meeting would be under the most negative circumstances imaginable. If only she could turn back the hands of time!

At that moment, the doorbell rang and Natasha got up to answer the door.
She opened it and standing there Marcus looked confident and as usual had a deep love for her shining in his eyes.

“
Hi Natasha, how are you feeling?” he asked as she let him come in.

“I could be better. I’m still finding it hard to keep anything in my stomach,” she replied.

Marcus wrapped an arm around her shoulder and drew her to him as he kissed her forehead. Somehow, Marcus always knew what she needed. She loved him so much already and although she felt sicker than she ever thought she would ever be in her entire life, deep inside she was happy about the fact that they had created someone special together.

“Natasha, who is it at the door?” came her father’s voice as he came around the corner to the foyer. As his vision caught sight of Marcus holding his daughter so intimately in his arms in his home he felt as though he would explode with anger.

“So you are the man who has dishonoured my daughter, this family and God!” began Rev. Mitchell. “You would do well to take your arms from around my daughter, while you are standing in my home!” his voice boomed.

Natasha recoiled in apprehension at hearing her father’s tone, but Marcus did not loosen his hold on her shoulder immediately. Instead
, he calmly turned to face Natasha’s father and then took her hand in his own, threading her fingers through his, before speaking and walking toward Rev. Mitchell with his other hand outstretched in greeting.

“Rev. Mitchell, it is a pleasure to meet you, Natasha has told me so much about you!” he said choosing to overlook the rude way in which her father had opted to address him. He was not a child and he was determined to make sure that Rev. Mitchell saw that clearly in addition to his commitment to his daughter.

Natasha’s father looked at Marcus’ outstretched hand and made no effort to grasp it with his own. Natasha looked at her father pleading with him with her eyes to be polite. But that would not be happening tonight.

“I don’t need you trying to make friends with me young man. You are here to discu
ss one thing and one thing only.  When I am satisfied by your response, I am the one who will decide if it has been a pleasure to meet you.”

With those words Rev. Mitchell turned and strode back down the hallway to the living area leaving Marcus’ hand suspended in the air.
Marcus allowed his hand to fall to his side, but he was far from daunted by the blustery nature of Rev. Mitchell. As her father, he had every right to feel he was defending his daughter. It would be a challenge, but he had a point to make here tonight too and he was determined to have his say as well.

“Marcus, I am so sorry about my father’s behaviour just now,” said Natasha totally embarrassed by the display.

“That’s okay, I’m fine. He’s just concerned about you!” said Marcus trying to reassure her.

“
You mean he wants to control me! Look, I think we should go into the living area before he gets any angrier. I don’t know how much of this I can take tonight,” said Natasha wearily.

Natasha and Marcus went into the room together and sat beneath the penetrating and disapproving glare of both of her parents. After
supplying a brief introduction to Dr. Coreen Mitchell, Natasha’s father wasted no time in getting to the point.

“This pregnancy
has brought a lot of embarrassment to this family and we need to make sure that Natasha’s reputation is not ruined any further. You two will marry before she begins to show. She is already three months along so this means that you must be married before the end of next month.”

As Marcus watched Natasha’s father speak to
both he and Natasha, he began to understand why Natasha always seemed to be running away from home. This man talked at his daughter and not to her and he lorded over his ideas and expected that whoever was within earshot would simply accept them. He never bothered to find out who he was as a person or even how he felt about Natasha. This was about him saving face as a parent and a pastor and quieting down the gossip.

“Rev. Mitchell, if I might interject here,” said Marcus cutting off Natasha’s father in mid-sentence. He could hear from the sharp intake of breath by both Natasha and her mother and by the surprised expression on Rev. Mitchell’s face that what he had just done was
totally out of the norm. Maybe someone needed to do that a bit more often, Marcus thought.

“I know that you are concerned about your reputation and that of your family, but I need you to understand something as well. I love your daughter and before all of this happened I
already knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. She means everything to me and I am willing to do anything and everything to make her happy if she would have me. So although you think that you may be forcing me to marry your daughter, nothing would make me a happier man than to call this woman Natasha Nicholls, my wife.”

Rev. Mitchell’s mouth was
still hanging open as if he couldn’t believe the audacity of this young man in interrupting him while he spoke to declare his love for Natasha.

“Love? Don’t make me laugh. You don’t love Natasha! Guys like you only know one thing and that is sex.
If you loved my daughter you would have found a way to keep your hands and the other parts of your body under control,” barked Natasha’s father in response.

Marcus was getting more than a little ticked off now by Rev. Mitchell’s attitude.
He tried to be civil but this man seemed bent on insulting him. It was getting hard to keep his own temper in check.

“I am surprised that you as a man of the cloth could be so closed-minded and downright rude to someone you don’t even know,” Marcus began.

Natasha and her mother looked at each other and knew that Marcus standing up to the Reverend meant one thing, a full scale argument was about to explode right there.

“Uh Father, Marcus, can’t we have a quiet discussion about this. I really don’t feel very well right now
,” said Natasha desperately trying to find any excuse to stop the atomic explosion of anger that was about to erupt in the living room.

Hearing the strain in Natasha’s voice Marcus sat down beside her and took her hand in his again.

“Honey, is there anything I can do for you?” he asked her.

“Yes Natasha, do you want a little tea?” asked her mother who had rem
ained silent until that moment, allowing her husband to do the talking.

“Thank you mother, I could do with a cup,” replied Natasha who was already breathing a sigh of relief that a full scale disaster had been averted
, at least temporarily.

Only Rev. Mitchell
remained battle ready but had no one to fight with. He looked at Marcus holding his daughter’s hand so openly and the more he saw, the angrier he became.

“What provisions have you put
in place for Natasha?” he asked suddenly.

“If that is your way of asking whether or not I have a job, the answer is yes and I have a good ap
artment in a safe neighbourhood where we can live.

“Apartment?” scoffed Rev. Mitchell. “Look around you and see how I raised my daughter and you hope to reduce her means to a good apartment? What about a home, do you have plans of building one?”

“Rev. Mitchell with all due respect, I will repeat this for you again. I am in love with Natasha and I am totally invested in her happiness. I will provide a life for her that she can enjoy and be proud of and you will not have to worry about that,” replied Marcus refusing to defend his plans.

“
What about the wedding plans, I spoke about? You will need to have a ring on her hand and I expect that you will be able to afford to take her on a decent honeymoon. I can’t have my congregation saying I married my daughter off to a pauper,” insisted Rev. Mitchell.

Those words stung Marcus’ pride and he swore to himself in that moment that he would prove this haughty man wrong in every expectation he had of him to fail. He would n
ever fail Natasha and he would begin by proving that right now.

Taking his focus off Rev. Mitchell, Marcus reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a square black velvet box trimmed in gold. Seeing the box in his hand, Natasha’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Natasha, I know this is a surprise for you but it’s not the least bit surprising for me. It did not take me very long to know that you are the one I want, the one I have been waiting for, the woman I want to love for the rest of my life. I know the timing is not the best and it is not the most romantic way to propose to you, but I love you and I am committed to you and to this child with my whole heart. No one needs to force me to marry you, I want to do it freely and nothing would make me happier. Natasha, will you marry me?” asked Marcus opening the box to reveal a two- carat princess cut diamond with baguettes on the sides.

“Marcus, this ring is absolutely gorgeous!” said Natasha as tears began to roll down her cheeks. “Oh, I love you too! Yes, I will marry you!” she replied and threw her arms around his neck embracing him
and he pressed a light kiss to her lips.

Marcus then drew back and placed the ring on her finger and it was a perfect fit. He knew that
she would not be able to wear it for the entire pregnancy but he wanted to make a statement tonight. He did not regret one moment of being with Natasha and it was important that not only Natasha knew that but also her parents.

March 19
th
, Present Day

Shores Restaurant

It was another busy morning at Shores and the crowds gradually swelled for the ever popular Sunday family seafood brunch. This was one of the initiatives Marcus had envisioned for the restaurant which attracted persons from all over the island every weekend. It was the busiest time at the restaurant during the week because they literally served a buffet feast that was affordably priced for the whole family.

A long table dominat
ed one wall and it was covered in platters filled with cold ham cuts, eggs, cheeses, breads, pancakes and stews, in addition to fried reef fish, shrimp, lobster salads, crab cakes, fried squid and a myriad of sauces for dipping. The atmosphere was light and filled with happiness and families were sitting and smiling around tables while others brought blankets and opted to have the food on the lawn or on the beach in front of the property. The beauty and flexibility this location offered, was the main reason why he had purchased this restaurant three years ago. It really was an excellent return on investment.

However, today
with all the crowds, this was the worst possible morning to have so much on his mind. He would soon be meeting with his friend Lucinda and her attorney’s to go over plans for purchasing her restaurant. Lucinda’s restaurant held so many memories for him and when he heard that Lucinda wanted to retire and that the restaurant would be for sale, he knew that it was exactly what he wanted to add to his portfolio. Shores and Sands were both beautiful oceanfront restaurants, but Lucinda’s would attract a different crowd mainly for lunch and breakfast. Tour buses often stopped there as they made their way through the scenic Northern range as well as many tourists and some locals. It was the perfect way to diversify his investments and to cater to a new market segment.

Since the
first day he met Natasha, they’d eaten there often whenever they had free moments. Its awe inspiring views of the landscape had even inspired a beautiful painting which Natasha hung in their great room. This restaurant was their place, their haven and he wanted to buy it and make that title official. He was going to surprise Natasha with the news for her birthday and he was going to rename it Natasha’s , renovate it  and build on an art gallery to the property to display many of the stunning art pieces she had hidden away from the world’s eyes. But, all of that was hanging on by threads now that she’d left. Was there any point going through with it all now?

As
Marcus surveyed the room everyone was laughing, talking and enjoying the meal, all except one.

Him.

Ever since he walked in that morning, a cloak of heaviness hung about him and when he’d literally forced out a weak smile at his staff, their confused facial expressions were confirmation enough that they knew that something had to be terribly wrong with him.