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Chapter 9
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The Ultimate Loser Chapter 10
Elena could not recall afterwards how she had succeeded in garaging her car without a mishap when she arrived at her cottage. She was shaken to the core, and she had entered her bedroom like an automaton to lie face-down on her bed. It had taken a long time for those terrible tremors to subside inside her, and afterwards she had been left with an uneasy feeling that she had not seen the last of Stephan Lynch. She had know that meeting him again after all this time might be an ordeal, but the shock of their near collision in the lane had shattered her calm, and it had very nearly snapped her rigid control. She forced herself to eat and drink something before she went to bed, but she slept very little that night, and she awoke the following day with a head that felt twice it’s normal size. She had wondered for weeks how she would feel if she had to see Stephan again, but when she analyzed her feelings that morning she could recall only the shock and the near-hysteria.‘You’ve been look
The Ultimate Loser Chapter 11
My grandmother died three years ago,’ Elena informed him matter-of-factly, stepping past him to walk along the concrete path to her front door, and her nerves coiled into a knot at the pit of her stomach at the knowledge that he was following her.‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ he was saying. ‘I remember her as a strong, robust woman who was seldom ill, and I find it difficult to believe that she isn’t still alive.Elena’s thoughts were chaotic to speak, and she needed those few moments to control her features as well as her erratic heart-beats while she unlocked the door, but Stephan was observing her with a faintly sardonic expression in his blue eyes when she turned to face him.May I come in, Elena?She hesitated nervously. She did not welcome the thought of being alone with him, but common sense warned that he might suspect she was afraid of him, so she pushed open the door, entering the small cottage ahead of him with a cool, ‘ You may come in, if you wish.’Elena led the way into he
The Ultimate Loser Chapter 12
What could she say in her own defense? He was searching for whatever whip he could lay his hands on in order to thrash her, and she could not blame him entirely.‘I’ve had a tough day, Stephan,’ she said coolly, her glance unwavering even while her hands clutched at the backrest of the chair in front of her to steady her trembling body. ‘Do you think you could explain the reason for this visit?He hooked his thumbs in the pocket of his denims, and he came closer to her, giving her the almost forgotten feeling that she had shrunk from average height to the size of a dwarf. Her eyes were almost on a level with the deep V of his polo where the dark hair curled against his chest. It evoked haunting memories of leisure picnics at Sweet Water River, and of lying in his arms with her cheek resting against his warm skin.Dear God! She must not think about the past! And above all, she must not think about what this man had once meant to her!‘I want to know why you left Sea City,’ he demanded
The Ultimate Loser Chapter 13
Elena drew aside the curtains at the window, and she filled the electric kettle under the tap before she plugged it on the wall and switched it on. She was functioning automatically, taking down two cups and saucers out of the wall cupboard and spooning Instant coffee into them. Her thoughts were in a turmoil, and her feelings were in an equally chaotic state. She clenched her hands where they rested on the cupboard, and she clamped her jaw so tightly that the muscles of her cheeks ached. Stephan was free to live his life as he wished, and so was she! What did it matter to her that he and Aura were lovers?Her nerves jarred violently at the sound of a step behind her, and she took a moment to control her features before she turned to find Stephan observing her from no more than a pace away. There was a gleam of mockery in his eyes, and it sent an embarrassing warmth rushing into her cheeks.‘Have I shocked your puritanical little mind?’ He demanded, the deep timbre of his voice ringi
The Ultimate Loser Chapter 14
Elena expected this, but his query still had the power to shake her, and she had to take a few moments to gather her scattered wits about her. She was painfully aware of the fact that she would have to exercise extreme caution. One carelessly chosen word could set him on the trail of his quest for the truth, but the truth would no longer serve a purpose and, for her sake, it had to remain hidden from him.‘I believe I said everything there was to say in my letter to you,’ she answered him calmly, with a calmness which was the opposite of how she felt inside, but she averted her gaze for fear of what he might see should he look into her eyes.‘Ah, yes…your letter.’ There was a sneer in his voice when he rose to his feet and crossed the room to stand in front of the window with his broad, formidable back turned towards her. ‘Your letter told me everything, and yet it told me nothing!’Oh, goodness, how could he know that it was the most agonizing letter I have ever had to write in my en
The Ultimate Loser Chapter 15
‘That’s what you said in your letter, and I refuse to believe it then!’His eyes were like twin flames searing her, and she felt herself shrinking away from their probing intensity.‘Why, Elena?’ he demanded ominously, towering over her as the shadowy fingers of dusk reached into the room. ‘What happened to make you change your mind about marrying me? Was it the thought that the chase would end for you with our marriage, and that you wanted to start the exciting ritual all over again with someone else?’‘Stop this ridiculous interrogation!’ she pleaded, not sure how much more of this she could take before she cracked, and she was desperately afraid that she might reveal the truth. ‘I didn’t love you enough to marry you and go away with you, and there’s nothing more to it than that!’ she lied.‘You’re lying!’ he accused her harshly, taking her shoulders in a crushing grip. ‘You’re lying to me, Elena!’For one fraction of a second Elena actually toyed with the idea of telling him what h
The Ultimate Loser Chapter 16
Elena started to shake like someone in post-operative shock, and her hands clenched spasmodically at her sides until her nails bit savagely into her palms.‘Goodbye, Stephan,’ she said through her teeth, and she could not have made it any clearer that she wanted him to go.‘Not goodbye, Elena,’ he contradicted her mockingly, coming up behind her and standing so close to her that she could almost feel the heat of his body against her back. ‘We shall meet again, but until then I suggest you do some serious thinking. You owe me the truth, and I want nothing less from you.’There was a threatening note in his voice, and it sent a shiver racing up her spine, when he walked out of the cottage and closed the front door firmly behind him. Moments later she heard him drive away, and only then did she relax the rigid hold on herself to collapse on to the cane bench in a shuddering, sobbing heap.The past and present had collided viciously to expose her as an emotional fraud. Oh, she had been so
The Ultimate Loser Chapter 17
It rained all day Friday as if to match her dismal mood, and it was still raining the Monday of the following week when she went to work in the morning. The weather did not keep the patients away, and dripping raincoats and umbrellas left puddles of water on the tiled floor in the reception area. The waiting room was packed when Dr Cleave from his early morning rounds at the hospital, and it took almost three chaotic hours before the waiting room started clearing.It was during the course of that morning that Theo Allen telephoned to invite Elena to dine with him at his restaurant in town.A refusal sprang to her lips, and then she thought, why not? She had not seen Theo for some weeks, and having dinner with him would be preferable to spending another evening alone at home with nothing but her miserable thoughts for company.She accepted his invitation and, knowing that she was busy,he ended their brief conversation with an abrupt, "I’ll pick you up at seven."Elena did not question
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