by Pamela Ann
I knew he wasn’t Reiss, although my heart didn’t seem to cooperate with that pertinent fact. My eyes had seen Reiss, and that was what my heart was acknowledging, nothing more.
Coming back to my nicely shaken up reality, the soft sound of my phone made me forget about Craig and Reiss altogether. While I reached for it, I saw my husband was calling me. I sat myself down, leaning back against the softly feathered cushions as I closed my eyes and pretended to sound normal.
“Hello.”
“Did I get you at a wrong time? You sound knackered,” Ashton mused, sounding rather happy, the exact opposite to the stressed out man I had to live with for months on end due to his newly appointed position in the company.
“I actually just got in. I was out in Park Lane with Allie and her new bloke.” Guilt ate at me as I contemplated if I should mention how embarrassingly my night had ended. We had been married for almost nine years; he knew about those random acts I did. Usually, I was quite honest and open with him. However, for some odd reason, I wanted to keep Craig Chambers hidden for the time being. There were a lot of questions and unresolved things I needed to ponder through before I decided to tell him about this uncanny chance.
“How are things at the office? You sound well.”
The stress from his promotion had him on pins and needles to the point of being beyond neurotic at times. For all the years I had known him, never had I seen him in such a state. Try though I did to soothe his ego and boost his confidence and esteem, the gesture always backfired on me. I became his walking and breathing rubbish bin, the person he could freely and openly unload on about all of his frustrations from work. Ranging from people he didn’t like working with, business transactions that were dealt with in a wrong fashion, company decisions that weren’t approached with care and ended with a lot of baffled and aggravated employees—I heard it all. Being a wife already gave him the right to “bitch” about his work life; however, what ticked me off more than anything was the damning man wouldn’t let me give an opinion about it.
Whatever he had just unburdened on me, he solely expected me to simply nod and forget about it, which wasn’t always the case with me. I liked voicing my opinions, and at times, he didn’t appreciate it, most especially when I pointed out what his role was and how he’d become at fault in the process. This resulted in arguments and tiny, befuddled fights that mostly ended up with him begging for my forgiveness and showering me with his usual love and attention. When Ashton got into this love mode, it was quite impossible not to thaw and forgive his dour attitude.
Tonight, he had simply called without the intentions of venting out anything at all. He only wanted to make sure I was quite all right while also mildly inquiring when I would be back in New York since he was getting lonely without me in the three-bedroom apartment we had in the Upper East Side.
I admit, talking to him made my tension ease a bit. I suppose there was something in his voice that calmed me. After all, it was only him who could soothe me after I confessed what I had done with Reiss and how awful I was to him after I rejected his proposal and what had transpired after the incident, although I still wasn’t certain when I would tell him about all that.
Seeing Reiss’s doppelganger had brought intense emotions out of me. It felt like I had fallen into a darkened cave where I was attacked by thousands of bats all at the same time, leaving me breathless, defenseless, mindless, all at a speedy rate. In seconds, it felt like I was in a time warp, transported back to the summer that had changed my life.
The summer that had taught me the grandest lesson of all …
And that was to never underestimate the power of love. It yielded such incapacitating power it could easily blind even the strongest and bravest kind amongst us beings. We were its muse and its victims, gambling our fates as it chose its next mark.
I was one of the lucky lot chosen to be doomed by it.
Chapter 4
Craig
“Have the car ready, will you, Emily?” I directed my PA through the speakerphone, readying to leave the office.
I was about to close the lid on my laptop when Emily’s clipped, refined voice came through the device. “There’s an Ava Westwood who refuses to leave, even though I insisted she make an appointment before being allowed to see you, Mr. Chambers.”
Bollocks! “Why the hell did I have to give her my name,” I hissed, knowing well enough that the last thing I needed was to be polite at the end of this strenuous day. If Ava could surpass Emily’s glacial glares and dismissive attitude, it meant that she truly wasn’t going anywhere. Emily was a secret weapon, most handy when I didn’t want to deal with uninvited visitors.
Resigned, I thought it better I deal with this right this moment. “Send her in, and you can take your leave right after. That will be all. Thank you, Emily.”
“Thank you. Have a lovely evening, Mr. Chambers.” She sounded appreciative. I was almost certain she was relieved I didn’t ask it of her to stay in the office while I took care of this unexpected visitor.
Reaching to squeeze the back of my neck, I closed my eyes for a brief moment to release some tension. I listened to the sound of high heels echoing down the hall before I heard the soft opening and closing click of the door then silence.
“Ava,” I rasped out, unsure if I should open my eyes and admire her beauty or if I should keep them shut so she’d know she wasn’t welcome and couldn’t stay for long. In the end, my eyes opened when I heard her sweet voice.
“Sorry. I’m not usually a bugger, but I had this random urge to make you something. It’s my way of apologizing,” she nervously said as she bit her lip and shifted her feet, gazing upon me with an expectant look. She held a gift box with a black bow, lifting it a little to indicate the purpose of her visit.
There was something about her tone that made me thaw a little. Her random gesture touched something in me. When was the last time anyone had gone out of their way to do anything for me, may it be simple or complicated? And she had done it without expecting anything in return. Lovers, girlfriends—they all did things to accomplish something. Most times, those “gifts” showed up in the credit card bill at the end of the month.
I hadn’t thought I’d be truly touched by this, yet I was.
With my curiosity piqued, I gestured her forwards to see what she meant by ‘made something.’
A shy smile played about her lips as she came forward, heading to where I stood frozen, watching her every move. She wore a sleeveless, fitted, powder blue dress with pearls on her ears. She appeared demure, beguiling, and completely irresistible.
“Here.” She shyly handed me the box, seeming quite pleased with herself. “I hope you like chocolate.”
I’d devour anything you want me to eat, my wicked mind enlightened me just as my cock surged forth, clearly thinking of a different agenda, with chocolate icing and a lot of nipping and sucking.
“This is very kind of you,” I rasped out, sounding a little rough. “Thank you for going out of your way to do so.”
“Not quite going out of my way. I took your advice and Googled you, and since your office is just a walking distance from the hotel, I thought an edible treat would be a marvelous way to apologize for my behavior three nights ago.” She had a cute way of saying things, and I found myself smiling down at her.
“The hotel let you use their kitchens?” I teased, finding it hard to resist when she blushed with her eyes sparking like it was Christmas morning. There was an air of gullibility about her, yet her coming here spontaneously had proved she didn’t follow the rules, even though she wore class and elegance with apparent ease.
“My friend Allie took pity on me and let me use her kitchen for a few hours. It’s nothing much, just a small chocolate torte.” Ava openly stared at my face, seeming lost in thought as she gazed at me with longing in her eyes before I cleared my throat to snap her out of her trance-like state. “Sorry. I’m not usually odd like this. I’m quite easy to be around, I promise,” she apo
logized, blushing ten times harder than the last time.
Smirking, I didn’t want to argue her statement. I was almost positive she was a lot of things. “I don’t doubt it.”
“I swear … really.” Biting her lip, she seemed to ponder for a moment before she opened her mouth as her eyes sought mine, and she finally blurted out, “How about if you let me take you out for coffee? Perhaps even for a quick nibble?” I was about to decline when she interrupted me. “I understand if you’re busy tonight with prior engagements already, but I feel like I must explain myself fully or even just a fraction so you could have a better understanding about all of this. I swear I won’t bore you to tears.”
Ava was right. I did have reservations for dinner tonight with Hilary, my current lover. She adored the process of beautifying herself so much she’d start to get ready about three hours prior to when I was due to get her. She was a stunning, sweet woman who sometimes had a tendency of being overly clingy. Apart from that, however, Hilary was compliant and didn’t make it a habit to know the ins and outs of my business life. The last thing I needed was to take my work with me when I was out playing and de-stressing my worries away.
Declining Ava’s invitation didn’t seem appropriate, because she was the sort you didn’t want to disappoint. As much as I wanted to say no, my mouth had a mind of its own.
“Would half an hour do?”
“Yeah, half an hour is lovely!” She beamed, sounding breathless at my acquiescence.
My left hand itched to run through my hair, which usually helped ease me when I was confronted with something I wasn’t so sure about. Instead of following my instincts, I resorted to slipping my hand inside the pocket of my trousers while the other hand held the box with her handmade dessert in it.
“With coffee and your chocolate pastry, one could never go wrong.”
There was a coffee shop across the street we ended up going to. Ava kept me entertained for the short distance from the office to the shop with stories about her childhood memories and how she’d first started baking. I could tell from the bright look she had and how animated she became that this was one of her passions in life. What other interests did she have?
I frowned as I caught myself wondering about things I shouldn’t have even allowed to cross my mind. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the gold band on her ring finger meant she belonged to some other man. The thought made me frown further. Where was the husband, anyhow? How could a man possible leave this lovely, beautiful woman to her own devices to seek out a complete stranger and invite him for coffee? I was convinced, wherever he was, it surely wasn’t any of my business one way or the other.
Disengaging from my train of thought as we sat across from each other, I flagged the waiter just as I pulled out my phone and texted Hilary that I would be running a tad late for dinner. After the message, I immediately switched the mode to silent, not wanting to be interrupted since Hilary had this unfortunate tendency of being quite the annoying one sentence text message sender.
Where are you?
What time will you come?
Hurry?
Please?
This was merely a small anomaly from the stunning package altogether, one I hadn’t minded much until tonight. As much as I didn’t want to openly admit it, I was curious about what Ava had to say. After hearing her tonight, though, I made myself vow I wouldn’t see her or be cajoled by her pretty smiles again. She spelt trouble, and I certainly didn’t need to introduce useless drama into my well put-together life.
“You have such an uncanny resemblance that I find it more disturbing as the day goes on.”
Her words took me by surprise. She hadn’t even waited until we’d ordered before she had started getting down to business.
“I don’t want to seem rude, but I feel obligated to tell you that maybe you need to seek a therapist.” Shrugging, I gave her a retreated look. “With your past and this man in particular, maybe it would do you the world and lift all the guilt away. You seem to be quite bent about what happened in your old life.”
Ava was far from offended. Surprisingly, she seemed unperturbed.
“The thought did occur to me, but seeking help would clearly prove a lot of things I don’t think I’m ready to hear,” she said just as the waiter came. She looked upwards to acknowledge the pleasant, young man with her heart-stopping smile. “Hi, there. We’d love two hot cappuccinos please.”
For a moment, the waiter seemed struck before he shook himself back to functioning and took note of the order. The second he left, I didn’t waste a beat.
“You didn’t even give me the curtsey to order for myself.”
She raised her brow, her long, sooty lashes flickering at me, challenging me. “Sorry, did I make a mistake in presuming you’d adore a hot cappuccino?”
Sass. I liked that in women. “You didn’t make a mistake,” I murmured, observing her. “Though, one might wonder what else you may have read online with your little quest on me.”
She made the most unexpected gesture by bunching her nose, appearing less composed, more relaxed, and quite at ease in my company. “This and that …” she trailed off, biting her lip. “A lot of things yet a lot of nothings.”
“Anything I can help you with?” The moment the question slipped out of my lips, I wished to somehow undo it.
Blowing out a small breath, she started with what she had found. “There’s quite a list of organizations and foundations you support. I admit, I was wholly impressed.” Just then, the waiter returned with our order. We both murmured our thanks before we took a moment to drop sugar cubes and stir the steaming java concoction. “I don’t mean to pry, but how come there isn’t much history about you? I could only find information from your University days, nothing about your childhood …”
My, quite the handy little Miss Investigator she had turned out to be. “I don’t deem it necessary for the world to know about my past. What matters is what I have accomplished thus far and what I aim to achieve in the future. Being in business, whatever information I put out there gives competitors and my enemies more fuel to use against me. Why in God’s name would I do that?” I never meant to take a jab at her, but I caught her flinching. Regardless, my past was no one’s concern. I had paid a hefty sum for it to be hidden. Furthermore, it would remain that way for as long as I was alive.
“You’re right,” she reluctantly said. “I sort of got carried away …” Pressing her lips together, she took a cautious sip of her coffee before carefully placing it back on the white, stoneware saucer.
Mine remained untouched as I noted her every move, fascinated yet watchful.
“Reiss was a gardener’s son,” she started, sounding unlike her usual voice. There seemed to be a catch to her tone, as if she was having a tough time with it. “It was the beginning of summer, and I had just gotten back from boarding school.” She paused before she plucked one brown sugar cube from the tiny bowl, placing it on the old wooden table and restlessly toying with it as she pondered about the past. “I went to an exclusive all-girls school, and with the manor full of older people, it didn’t take long for him to get my attention.
“At first, I observed him from afar, but as the days went on and he didn’t even take notice of me, I changed my antics and became bolder. He wasn’t necessarily shy, but I think he did have reservations about me in the beginning…
“Each day, the more we conversed, the more I wanted to know him, and Reiss went so far as to fall in love with me. It think I was starting to feel the same, but by then, my parents had found out my secret, and they were completely against it.”
“Her face contorted with abhorrence before she carried on, “Then, before the summer ended, Ashton—who was my on again, off again boyfriend and one of my father’s friend’s sons—actually came to visit, and I failed to disclose that to Reiss. This resulted with the both of us fighting before I broke things off with him, stating that it was simply a fling, nothing more.
“Reiss
took this to heart. Being so upset, he shouldn’t have been drinking that night, but he did. He was obliterated—all four of his friends were before they decided to drive him home …” Wrapping her arms around her, she rubbed her shoulders as though she felt a chilling shiver. “The car crashed into another vehicle, causing a fire, and the authorities pronounced them all dead at the scene.”
“You felt responsible for his death.” It was a statement, not a question.
Fresh tears glassed her beautiful eyes. “Of course. I hurt him. I broke his heart, which led him to his death.”
Chapter 5
Ava
“We all make mistakes. There’s no need for you to carry a torch for this long. You just have to accept that.” Craig’s unabashed words struck deep into my core.
I appreciated his words of concern, I truly did. However, guilt wasn’t the only thing I held onto. There were so many factors that came into play that it was hard to even think about or discuss with a stranger who simply wouldn’t understand what I was going through, especially a stranger who could be his long-lost twin.
Swiping the tears that threatened to spill down the sides of my face, I tried to hold my composure as I braved a smile. “I understand what you’re saying—of course I do—but there were a lot of things that are quite difficult to put into words. Sometimes”—I paused, shaking my head as I attempted to utter the next few words—“sometimes I dream of him.” Gazing towards the man sitting across from me, I pushed my worries away. “These dreams are of him alive … somewhere.” Holding my breath, I softly blew it out as I prepared myself to say the next difficult words. “You see, once they put out the fire, they never found his body.”
“And … this makes you believe that he’s alive?” He pressed his lips together, eyeing me warily. “I see.”
Though Craig was the mirror of Reiss, I’d have hardly thought Reiss would ever have been as successful as Craig, because Reiss didn’t plan on going to school or doing anything with his life other than working for his dad. Once his father retired, his goal had been to take over his father’s position. He hadn’t held any wild notions of what his future would bring; he had been a simple man—uncomplicated—and had enjoyed the little things in life that most people took for granted.
