Fighting Destiny

by Annalisa Simon

  Candasee knew her words were hurting Darius but making love to him like this would be a mistake. She had to think this all through carefully first. This time simply following her emotions without first clearing up the grey areas would be a colossal mistake.

  “Darius, this isn’t fair, I need the time to think about what I am doing! This is all happening so fast!”

  “Candee, we are divorced on paper but feel this energy between us and you know there are things not even ink can erase!” he replied tracing her bottom lip with his thumb.

  There was no point denying what he said because even though their bodies were slightly separated, a strong current was still pulsing between them making it hard to concentrate even then on making this decision. She’d never even felt this degree of connectedness with Nathan, not even close. But sexual attraction wasn’t enough to build a relationship. Both people needed to be able to be completely open and real with each other. Trust, communication and compatibility were important too. Could she really open up to Darius as she did before? How did she know that something else she did wouldn’t trigger another problem between them in the future? Darius had the power like no other to reduce her to a quivering mess of tears and depression and she wasn’t prepared to accept that fate again. How could she, when it almost destroyed her the first time?

  “Give our marriage a second chance Candee,” said Darius insistently stroking a finger down her neck and between her luscious cleavage before running his thumb along the sides of her breasts.

  “Candasee, I love you!” Darius whispered against her neck as he pulled her close against him and held her trembling frame. She felt so tongue-tied that she couldn’t even speak. Pulsating waves of pleasure were rolling throughout her body filling her with warmth and a desire to be closer to Darius.

  She felt so good in his arms and now that the taste of her was firmly imprinted on his tongue, he never wanted to taste anyone else again. She was still his, whether or not she was willing to acknowledge that right now. He was so aroused that it hurt but he would restrain himself until later. Taking her against the wall in this room would have probably satisfied them both in the moment, but he did not want their first time together in two years to be like that. He’d prepared a romantic evening for both of them that he knew she would enjoy if she would let herself do so.

  As Candasee’s eyes opened and to help herself refocus her thoughts again, she glanced at the clock on the wall. Just how long had she been in this room with Darius? It was almost two in the morning. Marianne and Francis must be out there waiting for them to come out to go home at this incredibly late hour. Not to mention Nathan back at the hotel. He must be wondering where she was as well.

  “Oh my God Darius look at the time,” Candasee exclaimed, stepping out of his embrace, holding her head in her hands. “Nathan must be back at the hotel going crazy. Who am I? I was never this loose before!”

  “Candee you aren’t being loose now and we haven’t done anything wrong here. Stop fighting against yourself! Both you and I can see that this is right for us and it’s real. The problem is that you are allowing your mind to get in the way! Stop hiding behind the excuse of Nathan and this relationship of yours!”

  “My mind isn’t getting in the way; it’s helping me to focus on what’s important. I can’t just go around following my heart or my body! Doing that is exactly what get’s people hurt.”

  “Listening to your heart is the only thing that makes sense here. I am not afraid to say that mine is telling me something very clearly and now that I know it; I won’t rest until you and I are one again!” swore Darius.

  “I have a fiancé, and that complicates everything!”

  “You had a fiancé Candee! How long have you known him in this way? A few months maybe? He’ll get over this! You have me, the man you married and chose to be with for the rest of your life, who wants to be that and more to you again. What we share goes deeper than anything Nathan has ever offered to you.”

  “No, your mom was right; I need to think this through very carefully. I have been all over the place with my emotions ever since I landed here on Derrien Island. I came here hoping that I would never see you again and I was content being with Nathan. Now in three days everything I thought I knew has been turned upside down again. Let me sleep on all of this tonight. I need some time and some space to think all of this through. I can’t keep doing this to Nathan; I at least owe him my loyalty.”

  “We aren’t returning to the hotel tonight! said Darius calmly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “All of the helicopters would be gone by now with the guests. The house should be empty by now.”

  “So let’s drive back then!”

  “Candasee, I know you are going to be mad at me but hear me out. We aren’t even on Derrien Island right now so we are stuck here for the night!”

  Candasee’s eyes widened as she considered what she was hearing carefully.

  “We aren’t in the Northern range? Where the hell are we Darius? Just call back one of the choppers then!” she shrieked with panic in her voice.

  “I guess you missed it all when you were flying with your eyes closed all the way here. We are on a private island called Krispin. It belongs to a business partner of mine by the name of Russell Thorne. It is about fifteen minutes to the west of Derrien Island! My mother thought it would be a unique way to celebrate her engagement seeing that it was travel that brought her and Francis together in the first instance.”

  Candasee was speechless!

  “So how are we going to get back? I have the intensive later today and the performance in the evening or have you forgotten the travel show is tonight! Nathan is going to be more than upset when I don’t come back tonight! I can’t stay here with you Darius! You have to take me back immediately.”

  “Candasee, why are you even working for that guy? You don’t need to work for anyone. Does he even know how wealthy you really are? You should have your own studio by now. I made sure that you had more than enough in the divorce settlement,” expressed Darius throwing his hands in the air and pacing now in front of her.

  “And I probably would have too if you hadn’t crushed my spirit so terribly Darius!” she said quietly.

  After hearing her pained words, Darius regarded her silently before walking away from her and sitting on the couch once again. Neither said anything for a few minutes and finally Darius spoke, with his voice now less enthusiastic than before.

  “My yacht is moored in the bay and my captain will fly out in the morning to sail us back. I just wanted us to have this time away with you without the possibility of any interference from anyone! ”

  “You could have said something to me!” challenged Candasee angrily. “You are still the same; always trying to manipulate me.”

  “I’m not manipulating you. I didn’t count on you having your eyes closed all the way here. I wanted to tell you about this much earlier in the evening, but the right moment never came,” he replied.

  “I can’t believe I just got on a helicopter with you without even asking where we were going. Who even does that? ” said Candasee shaking her head in disbelief at her reckless behaviour.

  Darius stood up and walked toward her and held her shoulders in his hands.

  “You did it because you trust me and you trust your family just as you did before and now that I know that you do I don’t want to ever do anything that will break that trust again,” said Darius.

  “Darius, I can’t let my students down. It was bad enough that I wasn’t there for them tonight at the grand rehearsals. I don’t want to let them down again. Is there a phone I can use to call the hotel? ”

  “No, there isn’t and I left my mobile on Derrien Island. It’s all arranged, my staff know what to do! I also asked the front desk to deliver a note to Nathan in room 510 about your absence so there is no need to be alarmed. He knows when you will be returning by now!”

  “Oh no! Darius, Nathan is not staying in 510, h
e’s ...”

  Darius stepped back and gave Candasee a hard look as what she was saying sank in. He knew Nathan was always underfoot but he’d assumed he was merely visiting Candasee’s room! Were they sleeping together right there in the hotel?

  “He is staying in my room. This is a huge mess Darius. I love working with the intensive! It’s going to be more than hard to explain when I don’t show up on time.”

  Darius leaned forward and held the bridge of his nose in his hand. He still hadn’t gotten past the revelation that Candasee was sleeping with Nathan right there in the hotel! He’d again pridefully assumed that she was still his. You know what they say, pride comes before a fall and he just hit the ground hard. Not even he had crossed that line in all the time they were apart with anyone else and his Candee was making love to someone else right there in the hotel? The thought filled him with incredible anger but not at her, but himself. She had every right to move on in her life and it was now becoming clear that he’d allowed himself to get stuck in a fantasy that probably would never be. Ramon had warned him about this and about taking too long to tell Candasee how he felt. He just wanted everything to be perfect when he did, and he hadn’t even shown her what he’d built for her as yet!

  Candasee wished in the moment that she saw the hard facade close over Darius’ features that she could take back those words.

  “Darius ...”

  Darius walked away from her not wanting to hear another word if it would have Nathan’s name in it again!

  “I arranged a change of clothes for you, so don’t worry and a room was prepared in case we would have been staying overnight!” he said quickly, his voice now hard and cold.

  “In case...?”

  “Well if you’d turned me down for the dance or this conversation, I guess you would have already been on a flight back to Derrien Island tonight!”

  “Darius, there must be some way to make contact back at the hotel! Think!”

  “We will have to spend the night here!” insisted Darius continuing to watch his plans disintegrate. He would have to let her use another room besides the one he had prepared for them. Having a bed strewn with rose petals would surely be seen as an unwelcome gesture right now. Even the thought of them spending the night here in this house in separate rooms while she shared one with Nathan was now like an acid burn in his heart. No he couldn’t stay here tonight, he realized with sudden clarity.

  “I will take you back tonight myself!” said Darius changing mind quickly.

  “You will, but how?” Candasee asked.

  “I will sail the yacht back, I know how to do it! I asked my captain to assist in the morning because I was hoping that we would’ve been together again by then and we would have been enjoying the sail back to the island!” he confessed feeling real pain which he knew was registering by now in his expression.

  “Darius, I am sorry, I am not trying to hurt you, please understand the position this is putting me in!”

  “No, I’m not going to try to understand it Candasee, and before we say anything more, let’s go!” With those words he strode outside and made his way back into the deserted ball room. All that was left were the tables, chairs and settings. Even the catering team had packed up the dirty china and left food in the refrigerator as planned.

  Darius sensed that somehow he was beginning to lose Candasee and that feeling was all too familiar. He simply didn’t lose and certainly didn’t lose the most important relationship in his life, not twice! He made it as far as the centre of the dance floor before turning around unable to contain his thoughts any longer!

  Candasee knew that he was hurt and angry by the speed at which he’d left the room and she followed him out as well.

  “I’m not taking you back because I’m giving up, and I am certainly not returning you to Nathan. Let me make this clear! I am doing it because of your love for your dancing and the fact that my message might not be received in time to ensure that you will be allowed to continue doing your job here this week! I meant every single word I said to you Candasee and I am not giving up not tonight, not ever!”

  Candasee sensed a chill pass down her spine as the intensity of those words passed through her! When Darius promised something he usually followed up on it with determined aggression until he owned it. Sometimes she’d called him “the force to be reckoned with” to herself as she observed him at work but now that his focus was being directed at her, she wondered if she would survive it.

  Darius held out his hand for her to take it when suddenly they both heard a phone ring!

  There was a phone here! Wait a minute, she thought, that was her ring tone. It must be coming from the closet where she’d left her wrap and her bag! She completely forgot that she brought her phone with her! She ran to the closet trying desperately not to entangle her dress with her shoe heels.

  By the time she got there it stopped ringing! She took it out of her bag and true to her expectations there were ten missed calls from Nathan!

  She was about to press redial when she looked behind her and saw that Darius was no longer standing there anymore. She’d left his outstretched hand hanging to come and answer this phone! What was she running from? She knew she cared deeply for Nathan but compared to what she’d always felt for Darius, it wasn’t even comparable. Nine months compared to six years was inconceivable.

  Just being with Darius caused her to feel so nervous and out of control and she just didn’t like that feeling anymore. Her mind wasn’t in charge and she acted too much on how her heart felt. She’d done that once before and look where it got her. She became blind and way too trusting.

  She pressed the dial on her touchscreen and leaned against the wall in the closet and waited as it dialled. She did not have to wait long because Nathan answered on the second ring.

  “Candasee, where are you? It’s after two in the morning? I was so worried when I couldn’t get through to you!”

  “I’m still at the party and I am okay, don’t worry about me!”

  “How can I not, I am going out of my mind missing you terribly here in our bed and I don’t like how we left things between us this evening. Has Darius been on his best behaviour? Candasee I need you!”

  “Yes, I’m fine look, get some rest and I will be back in a few hours okay!” she said, struggling not to cry. She was lying again and she hated herself for having to do that.

  “A few hours? It will be sun up by then! What kind of engagement party for senior citizen’s lasts till sunrise?” asked Nathan harshly.

  “I guess this one is kind of unique! Look I will be back before you know it, okay!”

  “I can’t wait to see you! Should I order in breakfast for us in the room?”

  “Sure, you decide, I have to go!”

  She disconnected the call and once again looked behind her for Darius. He was still nowhere in sight!

  “Darius?” she called out. She waited another minute before going back to the room they were in before but there was still no sign of him there. This was a really big house and she didn’t want to get lost. She thought about waiting for him in the ballroom but she was curious about what he’d prepared for them upstairs. She decided to take a look wondering if he went up there to retrieve something. At the top of the staircase she saw six doors surrounding a sitting area in a hexagonal shape with a banister which overlooked the great room below.

  She tried the first door and it was locked. Then she noticed a sliver of light emanating from beneath the door at the other end of the sitting room. She turned the knob and this time the door swung open revealing a room reminiscent of her honeymoon in Bali with Darius. The large four-poster king-sized bed was covered in red rose petals and the lamps on either side of the bed cast a warm glow on the room. There were flowers and even soft Polynesian music playing in the background!

  “Oh my God!” exclaimed Candasee recognizing what Darius hoped would be between them tonight. Her mouth hung open and her heart clutched painfully in her chest as she ga
ped at the sheer beauty of the room.

  Quick footfalls behind her told her that she wasn’t alone anymore but she was so transfixed that turning around was impossible.

  “I didn’t want you to see that! Please close the door!” said Darius in a cold tone.

  “I had no idea!” she said looking over her shoulder and then back into the room.

  “Yes how could you know, right? Did you get to make your all important call?” he asked with a touch of sarcasm.

  Darius stepped around her and went inside to turn off the lamps and the music and after doing so he closed the door.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Well let’s go, I went to retrieve the golf cart from the garage. It will be about a ten minute drive to the bay where the yacht is moored!” he said barely looking at her.

  How many nights did she dream that Darius would come to her and sweep her off her feet with an apology, saying that he couldn’t live without her, that it was all a huge mistake? How many nights did she dream of making love to him in a room just like this one again, missing being with him with every fibre of her being? Now that she had what she wanted, why she was running in the opposite direction? Obligation?

  The trip back to Derrien Island was uneventful and Darius hardly said anything to her at all. They docked at the marina in the city around six o’clock and got a taxi back to the hotel. Darius bid her a stiff goodbye before taking a separate elevator up to his quarters.

  Chapter 12

  It was strange seeing how the sky changed from the purplish blue of night to the fiery orange and gold in the morning, thought Nathan, now totally exhausted in his vigil on the balcony, waiting for Candasee.

  He would be tired today, of all days when they needed to be at their sharpest for the recording of the performance night at the hotel. It was worth it though, to know that Candasee had returned to him safe and sound.

  The lock sounded its characteristic click and the soft thud indicated the door was closed. She was back.