Real Love 7 (Love Knows No Bounds)

by H. H. Fowler

  Love Knows No Bounds

  (Real Love Series – Book 7)

  Christian Novella

  H. H. Fowler

  Copyright © 2015 H. H. Fowler

  Smashwords Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  All characters, names, descriptions, and traits are products of the author’s imagination. Similarities of actual people – living or dead are purely coincidental.

  ****

  Connect with H.H. Fowler on Twitter:

  @fowlerguy1

  Blog: www.churchboyz.org

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/www.churchboyz.org

  Dear Reader,

  Off the coast of the Bahama Islands, there is a fictional place called Devin’s Cay. The series consists of seven books, which could be considered standalones, but are intricately tied to each other. My hope is that you will be entertained, inspired and illuminated.

  If Only You Were Mine (Book 1)

  Second Chances (Book 2)

  Hungry Hearts (Book 3)

  If Loving You is Wrong (Book 4)

  Love the One You’re With (Book 5)

  I’m Still in Love With You (Book 6)

  Love Knows No Bounds (Book7)

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapteen Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Character Updates

  From the Desk of H.H. Fowler

  Love knows no reason, no boundaries, no distance. It has a sole intention of bringing people together to a time called forever.

  Unknown

  Chapter One

  “Honey, I need to tell you something.”

  The gravity Drake detected in his wife’s voice brought his hurried strides to a pause. He rotated his body so that his gaze could settle upon her. Usually after a lengthy prayer, Drake rarely said anything until the spiritual tide began to recede. Or in other words, he preferred to bask in quiet meditation as long as the Holy Spirit was flowing. However, the way Sasha had edged the bed with her head bowed and her hands clasped in her lap was cause enough for Drake to break his reverential silence. His only thought at the moment was: What was his wife doing home from work at ten thirty in the morning?

  “This sounds serious,” he said.

  “It is…” She looked up and met his gaze. “If you were on your way to the bathroom, you should go and come back.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well…okay. I’ll be right back.”

  Drake walked off to relieve himself. When he returned, he positioned his body next to Sasha and placed a supportive arm around her shoulders. Sasha took it as her cue to begin one of the most difficult conversations she’d ever had to have with her husband.

  “I –I walked off my job today,” she sputtered.

  Drake raised his brows, though he should have seen it coming. They’d recently inherited over three million dollars, in addition to quarterly royalty earnings of thirty-one thousand dollars. So Sasha hadn’t any reason to be employed by a regular nine to five, other than because she wanted to. However, Drake sensed that this wasn’t the reason at all why Sasha had resigned from Xavier High.

  “I can tell this is heavy for you,” he tried to encourage her. “Take all the time you need.”

  Sasha nodded her appreciation, but she wondered if Drake would be singing the same tune when she began to pour out her heart to him. If he only knew the mess she’d gotten herself into he would have thought twice about putting his arm around her. Because truly, she didn’t deserve his loving, tender affection. She managed a small smile, but inside, her next set of words felt like sandpaper against her throat.

  “I quit my job because…because…” She broke her gaze away from her husband and dropped it toward her lap. “I was being blackmailed by Mrs. O’Grady.”

  The gentle massage that Drake had been applying to Sasha’s shoulders came to an abrupt stop. Sasha took it as a negative sign and began to rush through her explanation.

  “She set the whole thing up,” she tried to elucidate. “Exploiting students’ trust and using it for her own benefit. I wasn’t gonna let her gloat and go on thinking that she’d won…I knew she didn’t like me, but I hadn’t any idea how much. What a devil she’s turned out to be!”

  Drake scratched his head, clearly overwhelmed by the information coming at him. “This is the principal you’re referring to, right?”

  “Yes and in my book, she doesn’t deserve to be in that position.”

  “Well, start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened.”

  Sasha opted to give Drake the abridged version or rather the Jerry Springer version, so that she could acquire more time to build up to the parts she really needed to tell him. “I slapped her and walked out of her office.”

  Drake stared at his wife with a new level of interest. “You slapped the principal?”

  “I did…so hard that her and her swivel chair went flying to one side of the room.”

  Drake swallowed his smile. “Wow…I can’t believe you did that. But knowing you, this must have been a very intense situation for you to get to that point.”

  “It was…and I would probably do it again. Mrs. O’Grady deserved it. My only regret is not getting the chance to tell my students goodbye.”

  A five-second silence ensued before Drake cautiously asked the next obvious question – one that Sasha was anticipating but still wasn’t prepared to answer. “What reason did Mrs. O’Grady give for wanting to blackmail you?”

  Here goes the end of my marriage, but you have to know the truth. “Because of Levi’s resignation –”

  “Hold up! Levi walked off the job too? When did this happen?”

  “I don’t really know…a few days ago, I guess. But –”

  “You never mention that to me.”

  Sasha shrugged, hating how Drake kept interrupting her. “Because I didn’t think it was important, all things considered.”

  “But honey, Levi is not a stranger.”

  Sasha bristled at Drake’s statement. “He’s not, but he’s certainly someone we don’t need to be concerned about. He’s part of the reason why our marriage went through the hell it did.”

  “I have forgiven Levi and so should you.” Drake moved his arm away from Sasha’s shoulders to grasp her hands that were fidgeting in her lap. “Now I don’t see how Levi’s resignation has anything to do with Mrs. O’Grady blackmailing you…”

  Because you keep interrupting me from telling you the complete story, Sasha answered internally. Though I doubt you’d be able to handle the truth.

  “…but holding this grudge against Levi won’t make you feel any better,” Drake droned on. “In fact, it will make you increasingly bitter in the long run. I’ve taught many times in bible study that unforgiveness is like a cancerous disease –”

  “You
don’t have to explain to me what unforgiveness is like,” Sasha suddenly lashed out, knowing that Drake was about to grace her with a mini sermon. “I know the dangers of it and how it affects the heart. But I’m trying to say to you, it is best that Levi keeps his distance away from us.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m trying to explain.” Sasha stood up and put some separation between her and her husband. “But I don’t understand why you would ask that, because you know why! It’s quite obvious that having Levi as a friend means more to you than keeping our marriage intact.”

  “It’s not even about me wanting Levi to be my friend,” Drake refuted. “I just don’t see why we can’t put the past behind us and move forward with our lives.”

  “We can’t move forward if Levi is always hanging around,” Sasha snapped. “Moving forward doesn’t mean we should pretend as if Levi isn’t a threat to our marriage. Because he is! What part of that are you not understanding?”

  I do understand…but what I don’t understand is why you’re getting so riled up about keeping your distance from Levi when I should be the one who’s upset. Unless something else happened between you two.

  Drake silenced his mental diatribe and said firmly, “I don’t care to fight with you over Levi.”

  Sasha folded her arms and restrained him with a forceful gaze. “Do you really want to know what went down between me and Mrs. O’Grady or not? Because it looks as if you’re intentionally avoiding hearing the full story.”

  Drake shook his head, visibly injured by the way his wife spoke down to him at times. “I can see that you’re offended by what I’d said,” he replied. “So, no. I don’t want to know. Your explanation will not come out the way you intend.”

  “I’m not offended. I’m simply amazed over how much Levi still means to you – even after all the foolishness he’s done to tear us apart.”

  “There you go again,” Drake said. “Speaking out of a heart of unforgiveness.”

  Sasha swallowed her retort for the simple fact that their argument was defeating the real purpose of why she wanted to talk to him in the first place. It was ironic how quickly a conversation could get off track. But with so much to lose, Sasha wondered how she could have allowed herself to become so angry in the first place. How stupid of me, she thought.

  “Fine,” she said in a calmer tone. “If you don’t want to know, I won’t tell you.”

  “Maybe it’s best I don’t know,” Drake said.

  “Whatever, Drake. You always make me feel as if I’m overacting or my opinions are not that important.”

  Drake slid off the bed and was about to respond to his wife’s invalid views of his intents, but was hindered by Hunter’s jubilant cries.

  “Hello! Sasha? Drake? Is anyone home?”

  Sasha gave her husband a long look before she left to greet Hunter in the hallway. Drake followed, dropping back a few steps behind.

  “I saw your car was still parked in the driveway,” Hunter said, pulling Sasha into a warm embrace, “so I figured one of you guys were here. I need your opinion on something.”

  Sasha was relieved that Hunter hadn’t pushed to know why she was at home and not at work. “I assumed you were at the office.”

  “I was,” Hunter replied. “But I only stayed long enough to see if the expansion to the store was going as planned. Granted, the grand opening has been pushed back another three weeks, but I’m not perturbed at all by it. I’m learning that God’s timing takes preeminence above all.”

  Sasha smiled, thoroughly impressed by her friend’s new outlook on life. “Look at you, talking about the Lord in such wonderful ways.”

  “It’s because He is wonderful,” Hunter asserted. “How else can I explain the blessings in my life?”

  “You’re beaming,” Drake chimed in. “And I concur that God has been mighty good to you, especially as it relates to your engagement to my brother.”

  Hunter blushed, her blue eyes alive with unspoken exhilaration. “I’m trying not to be too excited,” she said, “but I can’t help it…I’m going to be a married woman soon. I was afraid that Suanne might have said that Kevin and I were rushing things, but she stunned me when she pulled me into a bear hug and welcomed me into the family.”

  Drake laughed. “My mother is known to be very opinionated about her sons’ choices in women. But if she says she likes you, she usually means it. Congratulations on winning her affection.”

  “That is why I want to do something special for her,” Hunter said, opening a jewelry box for Drake and Hunter to inspect. “Do you think Suanne will like it?”

  A perfectly-cut ruby hung from a 14 carat gold necklace. Small diamond studs surrounded it, which glimmered as Drake gingerly turned it around in his hand.

  “My mother will fall in love with it the moment she sees it,” he said.

  Hunter stared at Drake for confirmation. “You really think so? It’s from my Precious Stones collection.”

  “I agree with Drake,” Sasha said. “I won’t be surprised if Mrs. Beckford takes off down the hall, speaking in tongues.”

  All of three of them tossed their heads back and laughed, because it was exactly what Suanne had done when she realized that Kevin’s children were going to be half-white.

  “Well, then, I’d better be on my way,” Hunter said, “so I can give my welders the go ahead to craft an original for Suanne, especially if I want this piece to ready in time for the engagement party next week. Do you two desire any special piece to be made? I can have it done at the same time.”

  Both Drake and Sasha shook their heads and answered firmly, “No, we’re good.”

  Hunter smiled slyly. “I was only asking out of courtesy. Because whether you want it or not, I’ve already design something for you both.”

  Hunter spun on her heel and walked hastily through the front door. She knew Drake and Sasha would protest and she didn’t care to hear any of it.

  Drake shook his head, a smirk pulling his lips to the side. “Do you believe that woman?”

  “That is why I’m convinced she is going to make a great wife for Kevin,” Sasha said. “She is so beautiful in the way she accommodates the people around her.”

  Without warning, Drake reached out and pulled his wife into his chest, kissed her on top of the head and said, “I love you more than you will ever know and I believe we are that much stronger than we were nine months ago. Let’s talk about this situation another time. There’s somewhere I have to be in thirty minutes.”

  Sasha wasn’t so sure they should put off the conversation, for fear of losing her resolve. But for the moment she allowed herself to get lost in Drake’s loving embrace, even though it had revived the guilt of what she’d done.

  Chapter Two

  The Smithson Hotel

  Annalise stared in the bathroom mirror at her haggard appearance, her once supple skin tone now a shadow of its former self. She’d aged horribly in a matter of days, looking more than her pilgrimage of forty-three years. The bags under her eyes and the gauntness of her jaw were prevalent signs of her failing strength. She blamed Armando – no – she blamed both Armando and Rena for the rapid decline in her health and her appearance. They’d conspired to send her out of her mind – with their sneaking around behind her back to fulfill their burgeoning lust.

  If Annalise hadn’t thought her life would be useless without Armando, she would have stuck a knife in his throat last night and taken the next flight back to Trinidad. Where the hell was her husband anyway, leaving her alone to nurse the worst tragedy of her life? Did he not remember that her womb had been ravaged – no – utterly dismantled by the cruelty of pushing out their stillborn baby? How impervious of Armando to show so little concern when she’d sacrificed the pangs of her lesbian desires, just to be with him. She didn’t sign up for this nonsense.

  If Annalise wanted, she could have worked her way back into Sabrina Wheelie’s life and resumed their torrid love affair. Sabrina loved Annalise and would have forgi
ven Annalise without a second thought. In fact, Sabrina had contacted Annalise several weeks after their big brawl at Sabrina’s father’s inauguration party, begging for Annalise to accept her apology. But Annalise had been too hurt to give Sabrina the reconciliation she craved. Moreover, Armando had inserted himself into her life by that time and even though Annalise had initially pushed against Armando’s show of affection, she eventually grew accustomed to it and convinced herself that she did not need Sabrina.

  Now Annalise wished she’d chosen differently, because the way that Armando was currently treating her in their one-month marriage, capitalized on the pain she’d suffered from Sabrina’s betrayal. At least, Annalise thought, she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant by Armando and lost both his love and their baby at the same time. However, she was not one to throw in the towel so easily, as consequences must be met for those who’d contributed to her downfall –beginning with Rena Henderson. It was the only way the anguish in her soul would be mitigated.

  She pulled out a bottle of painkillers from her traveling kit, shook out four capsules and washed them down with some water from the bathroom faucet. If she fell out from an overdose, at least it would have happened while she was en route to exacting her revenge. With the faucet still running, she splashed some cold water on her face, and then proceeded to put on a pair of jogging pants, along with a halter top T-shirt. She swiped from the bathroom surface Rena’s .357 Magnum, wrapping it in a towel before venturing out of her hotel room.

  With Armando probably spending time with Ms. Hive and the band, Annalise knew she had more than enough time to do what she needed to do and be back in the room before he missed her. Okay, maybe he wouldn’t miss her, but at least she could try her hand at seducing him one last time, in an attempt to save the vestiges of their marital bed. She had to beg the man to kiss her now, thus proving to Annalise that whatever he felt for Rena was not just a fleeting fad of unbridled lust. It was something much stronger.