Of Love and Deception (26 page)

The light blinked. She watched it for several seconds before clicking on the line. “This is Danie—”

“We need to talk.”

I can’t do this. Why can’t he leave me alone?

“Daniella, are you hearing—”

“NO. NO TALKING. WE’RE—”

“GODDAMIT. WE WILL—”

She ended the call and put her phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’.

The following week nothing had changed. Cruz would call—Daniella would hang up. And then, out of the blue, Cruz showed up at the office at the same time a black and red rose bouquet was delivered.

“I see nothing has changed,” Cruz said as he stepped in and twisted the vase in circles. “Who are they from? Blake… or another boyfriend?”

“Get. OUT. Get out, get out, get out!” Daniella screamed and then covered her ears, not wanting to hear any more of his insults and accusations, but he kept on going.

“You know…” he tried to speak, but she hummed. He continued. She hummed louder. He went up several octaves. “… I’ll get to the bottom of this!”

Overwhelmed and furious, Daniella shoved the bouquet off her desk, where the glass vase shattered at Cruz’s feet.

It was Parker who’d ended her torment by forcing Cruz to leave.

“This isn’t over! If there’s any chance that baby’s mine, I promise you won’t get custody.” Security pushed Cruz out the door.

In a messy fit of sobs, Daniella managed to explain the deliveries and her current and previous situation to her boss, including her ex, Blake, whom she knew was back to torment her, as if she needed any more torment.

Parker attempted to trace back all the deliveries, which floral shop the flowers were coming from, but had no success. Finally, he put a stop to any further deliveries.

Then, about a week later, Cruz had the audacity to show up again, but Parker refused to let him get past the main entrance. Security escorted him out of the building. Daniella felt a morsel of satisfaction, like she’d dug a small claw and ripped him of some of his pride.

The satisfaction didn’t last long. It only tugged at her heart and dropped her into the bottomless pit of depression. She could barely contain her emotions at work.

Parker stood with his head arched into Daniella’s office. “May I?”

“Come in,” she said, her voice crackled.

Parker took a seat next to her. He cleared his throat. “I know you didn’t tell me every detail about you and Cruz, but I have a pretty good idea. You’re heartbroken. Cruz. He’s done the unthinkable?”

“Yeah. He—” Her throat clogged. “Is it... is it that obvious?” she chuckled lightly.

“All the blinds are turned down, your door is always closed, you come and go without a word or a smile to your fellow employees, one of which is your best friend. Cruz calls and you’re on the attack. He shows up and a war breaks out in your office. Your home address has changed. Yes. I think it’s fair to say it’s obvious. You’re depressed. I’ve come to offer my support, a shoulder, and an ear anytime you need to talk, Daniella. I’ve also come to offer you a temporary leave of absence.” Parker reached for her hand and held it between his own.

She whimpered, and then sobbed. “Are… are you letting—”

“No. No, no. I’d never let you go, Daniella. You’re a huge asset to the company. Clients love you, and they love your talents. Employees love you because you’re a great manager. How could I possibly afford to give you up? I’m offering a leave of absence, with pay. You can still have paid leave when the little one comes along.” He squeezed her hand.

“Really?” She swiped at the tears tickling her cheeks. She wanted to tell him she didn’t want to keep the baby, but shied away.

“Take six weeks. If you find you need more time, just give me a holler. You can always work from home if you’d like, but take the leave. I’ve been there, Daniella. I know my words will mean nothing right now, but the pain does decrease and you’ll find happiness once again. You have so much going for you and you’re remarkably beautiful. Why, the man is a fool to let you go.” He shook his head.

“I can’t believe any of this. What they’ve all done to me. Forget about what he did, it’s what they’ve all done. And the lies they came up with… why, it’s too grand to forget about… or believe. I. I hate him. I hate THEM.” She pulled her hands away from Parker’s grip and dropped her head into her palms. Deep burns of raw emotion crowded the back of her throat. “BB-but I love him,” she whispered.

Parker patted her shoulder and drew her into a hug. “You’re strong, Daniella. You’ll pull through this. Now go on, get out of here.”

She whispered, “Thank you, Parker. You’re… you’re—” she started, but broke into a fit of sobs.

“Call when you’re ready. Right now, just take care of yourself and that baby.” He kissed her on the cheek and went on his way.

As Daniella walked out of Designers, Inc. with Lori, filling her in on all that had happened, her eyes shifted toward her car and she halted. Her breath hitched and her chest tightened. Dozens of black roses were dumped on her car. She couldn’t breathe.

“Daniella? Daniella… Daniella!” Lori screamed and shook her. “Breathe! Come on, dammit! Breathe!”

Breathe in… Breathe out.
The tightness in her chest eased and she could finally breathe again. Fear quickly replaced with rage, Daniella stormed toward her car and shoved the black roses off. She’d barely felt the sting of the thorns scratching her skin because she was too angry to care.

As she drove home, she had an eerie feeling someone was following her. She’d sensed it all week when she spotted a black SUV with heavy tinted windows following too closely—for the last five days. Daring to glance in the rearview mirror, her eyes froze on the SUV tailing right behind her. She slammed on the brakes, practically rear-ending the car in front of her. It took a few seconds to control her breathing and calm her pounding heart down. When she craned her neck to look over her shoulder, the SUV was no longer there. Other than some blaring horns and dirty looks, the rest of her drive went without a hitch.

~~~

Maybe working from home wasn’t the best idea. Daniella spent the first three weeks in a deep depression, barely getting out of bed to eat or shower, not answering her cell phone, and finally letting the battery die. She’d gathered that her mother would probably be frantic, but she’d sent a few emails explaining she’d be okay,
eventually.

Listening to depressing music didn’t help. When ‘Lost Without Your Love’ by Bread played, Daniella was certain she couldn’t take it any longer. Thoughts of suicide were suddenly becoming an option. Death welcomed her. It offered mercy, an end to the pain she couldn’t shake.

She stood at the window watching the rain trickle down. She was lost and alone. How could she do this on her own? To be a single mother to a baby who was created out of some sick woman’s revenge? It was so unfair. She never asked for this, not in this way. And what would she tell the baby when it was old enough to ask questions about its daddy?

Daniella had stared out of the window for hours before she finally broke down and collapsed on the floor in a heap of tears. Come morning, she woke, still lying on the floor.

She pushed herself up, grabbed her purse and keys, and headed out the front door.

Driving along a stretch of road, Daniella decided to pull over at a secluded area in the rocky regions surrounding the ocean, and parked the car. She stepped out into the crisp air with a slight bite and wrapped her white shawl over her bare shoulders. The breeze carried the tang of salt water and assaulted her nostrils. Walking along the jagged edge, she stopped to watch the whitecaps of rumbling waves crash against the rocky wall below. If she took a few steps forward, she’d fall to her death. It was an idea, but she quickly retreated and took a seat on a flatter surface. She watched the seagulls float along the breeze far above the ocean with an occasional gust of wind swooping in and sending them tumbling backward, but they quickly recovered. The sight of that would have caused her to chuckle, but not today.

“Why oh why?” she screamed. “What did I do to deserve any of this? Why, God, do I have to lose Cruz? And why Blake? Is this some test of faith? Because I have no faith right now. None. NONE! Do you hear me up there? Do you!” She crumbled to the ground, laying on her side and sobbed.

Turmoil. Complete and utter turmoil. Daniella had never known such pain. Sure, she went through relationships with one horrible break-up, this one made two, but never knew heartache and pain at this level. The loneliness of heart, abandonment of soul—her life was a wasteland of hopes and dreams, and if it were not for the child within her, she might just roll forward and fall to her death.

~~~

The drive did nothing to boost her mood. When Daniella arrived home, she fell into the chair, but slid off and slumped to the floor. Would the pain ever end? She shriveled into her tucked-up legs.

Her struggles seemed endless. She had to force herself to eat. The baby demanded nutrition, otherwise she’d go without.

The baby.
“Poor, poor, baby. How could he? How could she!” Daniella lashed out. She grabbed the box of pictures from the floor, stood and then dumped them on the table. “You cunning little whore.” She cut up pictures of Meg. “Disgusting, piece of...” She cut up Cruz’s pictures. “Why... you don’t deserve him, Meg.” Daniella hesitated as she observed Falcon’s face staring back at her on the picture she was about to shred. “He’s a beautiful man. How could you do this to him? How, Meg? And Cruz. This man was your best friend. Some friend, eh Falcon?” It dawned on her, at that very moment, the words she just spoke of Falcon. In her heart, she couldn’t be certain he played a part in any of this. Maybe he, too, was a victim of Meg’s sickness.

Daniella cut up all the pictures of Meg and Cruz. She kept the halves with Falcon in them. She didn’t have the heart to cut him up too. She grasped a photo of him between two fingers. “You poor man. How awful it must be to have a wife like Meg. Bettcha didn’t know how evil she was when you said, ‘I do.’” Thoughts of Falcon toyed with her emotions. She had always liked the man. He was simply too nice, too kind, pleasant to the eyes, and too damn good for Meg. She envisioned herself with...

“Shit!” She dropped the photo. “No. Never.”

Daniella’s cell phone rang. All she saw was Meg’s aka Blake’s number attached to the call. “What a fucking coincidence.” She hesitated before she decided to answer. “What do you want... you... you bloody fucking whore! Don’t call me, don’t ever call me again. You got that, Meg? You... you lying crazy—” She threw the cell phone at the wall. It bounced off and the backlight still lit, a muffled voice streamed through, though barely audible. Daniella sniffled a few times before she broke out in another round of sobs.

21 - Ultimatum

The leather couch was cool against Daniella’s skin. She stared at the textures on the ceiling swirling in undecided directions. Kind of like her life. Misguided and left to figure out which way to go.

The buzzer went off in a string of long buzzes followed by shorter ones, startling Daniella.

Who could possibly be buzzing? Some neighborhood kids playing games, perhaps? She depressed the intercom. “If you’re a solicitor, I’m not interested.”

“Oh, but I think you’ll like what I have to offer. One hot night with your favorite hunky Hollywood… or is it Bollywood, hunk? Come on, Hussy, let us in!”

If anyone could make her laugh, it was the two arses outside. She buzzed them pass the gates and waited with the door wide open for her best friend’s.

“Oh my gosh! Look at that cute belly.” Lori placed both hands on Daniella’s baby bump and rubbed it.

Jill gave her a hug and said, “Don’t ever leave without telling me. I thought you quit. And do you know your husband has been bugging us, asking what we know, where you are, where you live, and why hadn’t you been to work?”

“It’s… it’s a disaster… my life is. I’m sorry I scared you, but I knew Lori would tell you what went down.” Daniella filled three glasses with chilled green tea and handed one to each of them. She sat at the kitchen table, Jill and Lori on either side of her. “It doesn’t seem to be getting any better for me.”

“You have a lawyer, don’t you?” Lori asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, what has he said about the… you know, about the baby? The sperm switch?” Lori waited, tapping her perfect French nails against the hard surface of the table.

“He said there isn’t a whole lot anyone can do because they can’t prove I-I.” Daniella shrugged her shoulders. “Even though my lawyer believes me, they can’t prove whether I did or didn’t sleep with
him—
with Blake. Unless…”

“Unless what?” Jill asked.

“Unless I opt to do amniocentesis. I’ve talked to my new OB-GYN and I could have had it done weeks ago, but he recommended I wait because of some minor risks. He said it would be safe to proceed so we’ve agreed to go ahead and do it when I’m twenty-eight weeks, which will be at my next visit.” Daniella placed her hands on the little round bump of her belly.

“I don’t care what they tell you, I went into labor after that procedure. They had to let me deliver because an infection set in and would have killed us both. I was twenty-three weeks when she was born. She lived only three weeks before a lung infection took her away.” Jill rubbed Daniella’s hand. “Is it worth that kind of a risk? Are you willing to go through what I endured; hours, days, nights spent in the NICU begging and praying she’d survive. Stroking and touching each precious foot, hand, chest and cheeks, careful not to injure her delicate skin. Watching her struggle to breathe was hard, but when no breath came, I knew she was gone and it nearly killed me.” Jill brushed her cheek, swiping the tears away.

Daniella swallowed hard at the lump growing in her throat, but gave up at holding her own tears back. They wept together. “No,” Daniella finally said. “I’m not willing to jeopardize this little life just to see who the father is. And it doesn’t even matter anyway. Even if it were Cruz’s—odds being a fraction of a percent—I don’t know. It will only satisfy Cruz and his effing lawyer—how I’d love to see the rage on his face when his lawyer finds out and tells him I’m not going through with it. And if it is his, I’m sure he’d threaten to fight me for custody. He’s got a lot more money than I do.”