Tied to You

by Bibi Paterson

  “What’s up?” I ask.

  “That was my mum. She’s in a cab, on her way from the airport. She thought she would surprise us.”

  “Okaayyyy….” I say. Oh shit, I think to myself, as I try to banish the emotions I am feeling regarding my deadbeat father. I attempt to get out of Alex’s lap, but he pulls me back into his embrace, placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

  “Liv, seriously. I am here for you, okay?” Alex says, looking into my eyes.

  “I know,” I say softly. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” I ask stroking Alex’s cheek lightly. With that, Alex brings his mouth down onto my mine, kissing me gently as he runs his hands through my hair.

  “Alex…” I eventually say against his mouth.

  “Hmm?” he responds.

  “I need to sort my face out before your mum arrives. Otherwise, she will know something is going on, and I don’t want to worry her.” I pull away from Alex regretfully and he gives me a rueful grin.

  He stands and then helps me up in one fluid movement. I give him a quick peck on the cheek before running up the stairs so that I can assess the damage. Once in the bathroom, I splash cold water over my face before vigorously towelling it dry. My eyes are still red-rimmed, but my complexion is no longer pasty. I am just about to dig out some powder when I hear the doorbell go and the muffled sounds of what appears to be an argument. Dropping my powder brush, I quickly hurry onto the landing to see that Sheila has arrived and Alex is standing next to her, his posture tense. I am about to call out to her when she spots me, her body tensing immediately, and I can see the anger rolling off her. For a moment, I wonder if maybe I am projecting my own feelings onto her, but I quickly dismiss this thought; Sheila is hopping mad.

  “Both of you, kitchen now!” Sheila spits out, taking off in that direction, everything about her demeanour letting me know that she means business. I glance down at Alex wide-eyed, but he simply shrugs his shoulders, obviously more used to his mother’s temper. I skip down the stairs quickly, my heart hammering and a sick feeling in my stomach. This is so not going to be good.

  Alex grabs my hand in a reassuring gesture and we make our way in silence to the kitchen, where we find Sheila pacing restlessly. “Sit down,” she says, pointing to the breakfast bar, and we both comply immediately. Somehow it feels like I am fifteen again, being told off by my mother, and I have to shake my head to try to dispel the image in my head.

  “Righto, so which one of you would like to explain this?” Sheila asks, her tone of voice snippy and hostile as she slips a document in front of us. I blanch as I take in the prenuptial agreement that both Alex and I signed. Even normally cool-as-a-cucumber Alex has visibly paled. Before either of us has a chance to say anything, though, Sheila suddenly fixes me with a stare and asks, “So how long did you know my son before you married him?”

  Oh. Fuck. Before my brain can engage, my mouth suddenly blurts out, “Two weeks.” ‘Oh fuck’ is right and I find my hand slapped across my mouth in an unconscious effort to silence myself. I daren’t look at Alex, so terrified am I that I have let him down in this crucial moment. But a second later I feel his hand slide across my thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze of support. My mind is whirling, and as Sheila fixes us both with a narrow look, I feel my heart thumping so hard in my chest it feels like it is going to burst at any moment.

  I am startled when Alex speaks, his voice low and steady. “Mum, this is nothing to do with you.”

  “Like hell it isn’t,” Sheila spits out. “You bring this girl into the family. You had the audacity to stand up in front of our whole community and pledge your love for a stranger. You lied to us, to your father and me, and then you think you can go on merrily sleeping with other people and all that crap because it’s okay, it’s an arranged marriage and all that nonsense!”

  Shame fills me and I can’t bear to look at Sheila any longer. I deserve her wrath. I hated lying to her all those months ago and I should have known life was going too well. Something was bound to give.

  “Shut up, Mum. You don’t know anything, okay?” I can hear the strain in Alex’s voice. “And where the hell did you get hold of that anyway?”

  “That’s not the point, Alex!” she yells, and I can’t take it anymore.

  “Sheila, please,” I interrupt. “None of this is Alex’s fault. He was helping me out.” I can’t stand the idea of him being in trouble with his mum, and if I have to take on the blame and she hates me forever, then so be it.

  Sheila whips her head around and looks at me, her gaze positively glacial.

  “I, uh…” Oh, shit. This is so hard. I close my eyes and take a deep breath before speaking. “I was at rock bottom and my mother was about to be kicked out of the facility she was in because I couldn’t pay the fees.” I can feel the tears threatening to fall, the remembered feelings of despair washing over me. “Alex won the bid on a book we were both going after at an auction, and I knew that if I didn’t get the book, I would be fired. So…” How the hell do I get around this, I think to myself. “So I explained my situation and Alex took pity on me…” I trail off, not sure how to come out of this without sounding like I have prostituted myself.

  Confusion crosses Sheila’s face and I can see the cogs in her brain whirring as she pieces things together. “But you didn’t have to marry her, Alex,” Sheila says softly.

  “Didn’t I, Mum?” Alex says pointedly as some unspoken communication passes between them. “What about all that Becca stuff, huh? All those hints about how she had come back to work in the family business. How she wasn’t married. How we were always suited. Your thoughts on how the estates could function better if they were joined. Blah, blah, blah.”

  The anger rolling off Alex is now matching his mother’s and I just wish the earth would open up and swallow me whole, when suddenly a thought strikes me. “Becca, you mean the Becca?” I ask Alex softly. “You never said…” I trail off as Alex nods stiffly. Realisation dawns and I see that our arrangement had been about saving Alex just as much as me. But I am hardly going to tell Sheila that.

  Some of the anger suddenly leaves Sheila and I realise how tired she looks. I mean, she has come all the way from Australia and has just spent the last fifteen minutes yelling at us. Who wouldn’t be exhausted? Alex, however, doesn’t seem to notice the change because all of a sudden he is on his feet, his arms down by his sides, his hands clenched so hard his knuckles are white.

  “Mum, just shut the hell up. And leave Liv alone. She has had to deal with enough shit this afternoon without you barging in and yelling at her like a banshee.” Alex is not shouting–far from it, in fact—but his posture and tone of voice are demanding Sheila’s attention. I suddenly realise that somehow Alex has managed to manoeuvre me so that his body is shielding mine and I am no longer in Sheila’s direct sightline. He is protecting me. My heart swells at this thought, but I am not about to let him take all the flak.

  “It’s okay, Alex,” I say, stepping back out from behind him and slipping my hand into his to let him know that we are in this together. “Your mum has every right to be angry at me.” I wish that I knew how to defuse the situation, when a strange look passes over Sheila’s face and she suddenly goes pale. In an instant, Alex is by her side guiding her to a stool as the stress of the situation and exhaustion take their toll, murmuring something quietly in her ear. Feeling completely useless, I do the only thing I can think of…make a pot of tea.

  It is only minutes before we are all sat back down with a cup of tea each, and I am grateful when Sheila starts to get some of her colour back, but brace myself for the next barrage. When it doesn’t come forth, I glance at Alex, but all he does is purse his lips together. Clearly he is as clueless as me.

  We are both startled when Sheila speaks again, her voice gentler now. “Oh, Alex, you sook. That stuff about Becca, it was just to rile you up, you idiot.”

  “What the fuck, Mum?” I gasp at Alex’s use of the F-word and I look over as he stares at his mothe
r with a look of pure incredulity.

  “Don’t you use that word with me, Alexander Edward Davenport!” she snaps. “You refuse to ever bring women to meet us. You never talk about who you are dating. I know for a fact you are not gay. You are thirty-six years old and I don’t know if you have ever been in a relationship. I was trying to bait you into saying something, anything. I seriously didn’t expect you to go and get married.”

  Both Alex and I stare at Sheila with mouths open. What the hell? I suddenly see a twinkle in her eye. “Besides, I don’t think Becca would probably ever go near you again…not after you left her tied to a tree in the orchard.”

  I have seen Domly Alex, I have seen passionate Alex, I have seen cold Alex, but I think it is safe to say that I have never seen Alex so thoroughly embarrassed. Yet his cheeks are tinged red through his tan and he is currently beating his head against the countertop.

  “You knew about that?” Alex rasps out, unable to look his mother directly in the eye, and I quickly swallow down the giggle that is threatening to escape. This is so not the time to laugh and it comes out as a soft snort instead.

  “Yes, Alex. I think most of the town knew about that. Mothers know everything. I thought you would have learnt that by now.” I can see Sheila is trying to hold back a laugh herself.

  “Fuck!” The word is said so softly and I see Alex tense as it slips out, but I guess Sheila chooses not to hear it and says nothing. Instead, she narrows her eyes at me and I wait to see what is coming next. Yet all she does is watch me. Eventually, though, she speaks up, her words soft. “Do you love my son, Olivia?” I am Olivia rather than Liv, so I know I am not in her good graces, but her tone is even.

  “Very much, Sheila. Alex saved me. Literally. He is the most amazing person I have ever met.” I feel shaky, but my voice is strong.

  A look of approval crosses Sheila’s face and then she turns to Alex. “And what about Olivia? Do you love her?”

  Alex’s expression softens as he looks at me. “Yes, Mum, I love her with all my heart. I knew she was the one for me before I even knew her name.” Sheila stares at her son in wonder for a moment, before a smile crosses her face.

  “All right then…” Sheila seems to sway a little. “I think I need to have a sleep. Didn’t get a wink on the plane.”

  “Yeah, because you were probably spending sixteen hours planning on how you were going to rip me a new one, Mum?” Alex says snidely.

  “Precisely,” snaps Sheila, but there is no malice. “Righto, I am going to have a nap and then we are going for some dinner. Alex, can you bring my bags up?” I leave Alex to escort his mum up to the guest suite that, not so long ago, I had been occupying.

  I am emotionally exhausted by everything that has just happened, but in a really strange way, I am grateful that Sheila knows the truth. I hate lying full stop, and the deception that I have played a part in has always sat uncomfortably with me. I lay my head down on the cool countertop as I try to collect myself, allowing the silence to soothe me. After a couple of minutes, I realise that Alex has not come downstairs, so I make my way up to the first floor to see if he is in our room. There is no sign of Alex, so I surmise that he is probably with his mum and, not wanting to intrude, I decide to lie down on the bed and wait for him to come down and find me.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  A soft voice and hand brushing my face wake me from a strange, disjointed dream. I turn on my side to find Alex lying next to me, his expression intent. “Hey,” I say softly.

  “Hey. How are you doing?” Alex asks, and I can see the concern written across his features.

  “I’m okay. Tired. Sorry, I fell asleep. I was just waiting for you to finish up with your mum. What time is it?”

  “Six thirty. I have booked us a table at Medlar for some dinner in an hour. Is that okay with you?” I nod my consent and struggle into a sitting position, my body still tense from all the anxiousness earlier.

  “Is everything okay between you and your mum?” I ask tentatively. “I am so sorry about blurting that out. Mouth engaged before brain and all that,” I joke weakly.

  “It’s fine, Liv. We talked some more. I am not sure how long it will take for her to get over us lying to her, but mostly we are forgiven. I think it helped that we actually do have feelings for each other. I think she will end up spinning this as some kind of fate thing in her romance-obsessed mind,” Alex says reassuringly.

  I stretch my arms above my head in an attempt to work out the cricks in my neck and then mutter that I need a shower. I am just stepping out of the warm steam when Alex saunters in naked. I take a moment to let my eyes wander over his delicious body and he smirks back at me, his expression knowing. I barely have a chance to let out a squeak of surprise at what I am feeling, then he is walking me up back into the shower and pushing me against the wall, his mouth on mine in all-consuming kisses. Gently, he uses his knee to push my legs apart and then, with one firm thrust, he is entering me. I can feel my nails digging into Alex’s back as I hold on to him desperately. In one swift movement, his hands are suddenly under my thighs, hoisting them around his waist, so that he can sink even deeper into me. I cry out as he finds the right spot buried deep within me and then I find myself biting down onto Alex’s shoulder as my orgasm rolls through me. My inner muscles clamp down onto Alex’s rock-hard cock and moments later I feel him twitching and spilling into me as he grunts through his own climax. Panting, we both crash back down to earth moments later and I find myself grinning.

  “A bit more relaxed?” Alex asks with an insufferable grin and I actually find myself going pink in response. “You look so cute when you blush like that,” he continues.

  “Pah, grown women shouldn’t blush,” I say. “And I am certainly not cute.”

  Alex just smirks at me and starts to wash his body as I rinse off the fact we have just had steamy shower sex.

  As I stare into my wardrobe rails ten minutes later, I unconsciously pull on clothes that seem to match my mood. Dark grey tailored trousers combined with a lighter grey jumper and a dark grey scarf. I don’t even think of it until Alex follows me in still towelling himself off and raises an eyebrow. I know on the surface I am pretending everything is okay, but all this stuff with my dad, and now Alex’s mum, has taken its toll. Truth be told, despite the awesome shower sex, I am just feeling overwhelmed.

  “Hey,” says Alex quietly, coming to wrap his arms around me. “It’s all going to be okay. I promise.” I nod as I hug him back hard, nestling into his chest. I glance down at my watch and see we have only about fifteen minutes until we need to leave, so I hurry over to the mirror to finish my makeup in an effort to disguise my pale skin and puffy eyes. I have just finished applying some mascara when Alex emerges dressed in black jeans, black skate shoes and a light blue shirt that moulds to his body, the arms rolled up as always. I offer him a smile and he holds out his arm as he says, “Ready?”

  The conversation between the three of us remains light as we walk to the restaurant chattering away about the frustrations over my latest treasure hunt. Sheila has returned to calling me Liv, making me feel utterly relieved and hopeful that I can repair the damage to our relationship. When we have finally slid into a bright green leather booth and settled on what food we want to order, I find myself slowly relaxing. Alex and Sheila are both chatting with the sommelier, going over the recommendations for the meal, when suddenly Alex’s phone rings.

  Excusing himself, Alex walks away to a private spot and spends a couple of minutes having a very intense conversation with whoever is on the other end. I watch Sheila watching Alex’s rigid posture and I am slightly worried when I see him angrily push the phone back into his pocket. By the time Alex returns to the table the tension is rolling off him, and I can see my worry reflected in Sheila’s eyes.

  I am about to ask Alex if he is okay when he turns to Sheila. “Mum, where did you get our prenup?”

  I can see Sheila weighing up her options before replying.

  “It ar
rived via FedEx a few days ago at the house, addressed to me,” Sheila says softly. “There wasn’t a note attached, and to be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about who had sent it once I started reading it.” Alex nods and runs his hands through his hair in agitation.

  “Would you still have the packet it came in, do you think?” Alex asks. I can sense something is going on and I call Alex on it, needing to know what the hell that phone call was about.

  “Probably, back at the house. I would need to call your father to have a dig through the bins,” Sheila says, the worry in her voice apparent. “Let me call home.” Sheila leaves the table for a short while. While she is gone, I ask Alex what is going on again, but he simply ignores me. He continues to stare down at the table like he is trying to contemplate a solution to world peace or, in this case, who the hell would send a document like that to his mother.

  “Okay, Alex,” Sheila says sharply, as she slides back into the booth, “you have five seconds to start talking and tell me what the hell is going on. Your dad couldn’t find the packet, so in all likelihood, it was chucked when Maria was around earlier in the week, and yesterday was bin day.”

  “Shit!” exclaims Alex loudly, and I am really starting to wonder if Alex is about to lose it. “I think someone is trying to destroy me—destroy Liv and me, that is. I am not a hundred percent certain and I don’t have definitive proof, but things are starting to slot into place.”

  “Okay…” says Sheila, as she waits for him to continue. “Maybe you should start at the beginning.” Oh shit. If Alex is really about to tell his mother about all of this, she is going to want to know why he was being blackmailed. I can see Alex is thinking the same thing, and for a moment I glimpse the insecurities he has buried so deep beneath his usual persona.

  “It’s okay, Alex,” I all but whisper. “I think you need to tell her.” I slip my hand into his and give him a reassuring squeeze.

  “Oh, Mum…” Alex lets out a deep breath before he starts his explanation of how my father came into his office to blackmail him. I can see Sheila is desperate to ask a million questions, but she manages to keep quiet and let Alex talk. “There were photos, Mum, and I just knew that I couldn’t let them get out. It would damage the Davenport brand and I just couldn’t risk all the hard work that you and Dad have put in all these years. If it had just been about me, I could have dealt with it, but there is no way I could let the family get dragged down with me…”