DESTINYThe island was breathtakingly beautiful, something I’ve only ever seen in movies and on the adverts on Telly. Palm trees waving in the breeze, white beaches as far as my eyes could see and the sweet, salty smell of the ocean. It was paradise. I carried my sandals in one hand while James held the other as we walked on the wet sand. Waves lapped at our feet. James had his jeans rolled up to his calves and he looked so different, carefree, like he was really happy.Suddenly he stopped to look out over the ocean. “Isn’t this perfect?” he said, “Don’t you wish we could live like this forever?”“You’ll get bored, James.” I gave my honest opinion. He was too much of a people’s person.He turned to me. “You really think so? Do you think I’ll get bored of you, Sugar?” He used that low tone that did nasty things to my insides.I couldn’t see his face because he had the moon on his back, outlining his silhouette in silver.“Maybe…” I said and turned away. To tell the truth, it bothered
“What did he mean by breaking me in?” I didn’t like the way they looked at me and certainly was not impressed that he thought I was like a horse to be broken in.The music and lights pulsed around us as we joined the couples on the dance floor.“Forget them. We’re here to enjoy ourselves.” The smile he gave me didn’t reach his stormy eyes. He swung me around folding his arms around my waist while swaying to the beat. He was a good dancer and I remembered how he danced with Jenna at our engagement party. I didn’t like the way my heart contracted at the thought of them together.But I couldn’t dwell on it for long because James spun me around again to face him, moving us over the floor in sync with the rhythm. Dancers made space for us, making a circle to watch us, clapping and cheering. I wasn’t used to so much attention, but James, being James, was used to it. Basked in it.The song ended and he whisked me away to the bar. I was out of breath and hot, fanning myself with my hands.“Yo
JAMES Damn it, I could get used to this. Being married. Having Destiny in my bed every morning and waking up to her adorable face. What the hell was wrong with me?I helped her up. She was still wiping tears of laughter from her cheeks. I never realized she was that ticklish. I loved that.“Hey, I have a surprise for you.” I picked up my fallen bike, the front wheel was somewhat bent out of shape, but I could still ride it.“Yeah? You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you though?” she giggled, and I knew she was looking at my butt.I dusted myself off. “Like what you see?” I wiggled my butt in her direction and she laughed even more.“Okay, so where are you taking me?” She pushed her bike next to mine and we walked side by side.“There’s a boat waiting for us. You’ll see, I know you’d like it.” We made our way to the deck where the scout boat waited.The guide helped Destiny to board and held her hand a little longer than normal, giving her a bright dimpled smile. I disliked him on t
DESTINY“Feeling better?” James hovered over me like a mother hen.We were back at the beach house after spending an uncomfortable night in the tent on the sandbank. It would have been a perfectly romantic evening hadn’t it been for the damn insects. James felt terrible about it because he failed to see the insect repellent.“I’m fine. Stop worrying about it.” I wasn’t itching as much as the previous night. Our guide had some antihistamine creams on board his boat which was a life saver. I scratched a spot at the back of my knee and James slapped my hand away.“Stop scratching. It will leave marks.” He said sternly. “Let’s go for a swim. The water is perfect.”I groaned, “Seriously? You know I can’t swim.” We were lazing on the deck, soaking up the midday sun and just watching the clouds drift by.“C’mon, I don’t want to swim alone. I’ll teach you.” He peered at me over the rim of his sunglasses.Right. He just wanted me to wear that red bikini he bought. It hardly covered everything,
JAMES Destiny was quiet all the way back to my house and I was glad about it, because my mind was in a scary place at that moment. Seeing my father, so pale, looking older than he was, did something to me. I had to take on more responsibility at the firm. As much as I hated it, I owed it to him. I had to get rid of Jenna. She was the reason we were in this fucked up mess. She seduced my father. Hell, of course, I didn’t put all the blame on her. Partly, or no, mostly it was my fault. She did it to spite me, and it fucking worked. A small hand on my thigh brought me out of my thoughts. “James, you alright?” The concern on her face was touching. “Yeah…Sorry we had to cancel our honeymoon, Sugar. I’ll make it up to you, promise.” I offered her a bleak smile. “James, I don’t care. It was lovely, it was. But I mean, your family comes first.” She removed her hand from my thigh, and I immediately felt the loss. I chuckled a bit. “Yeah, family.” I thought how important she was to her fat
DESTINY Mrs. Donahue came upstairs to look for me. I must have looked a sight, because she took one look at me and demanded to call the doctor. “No, please, Mrs. Donahue. I’ll be fine. I just had some bad reaction to the pizza we had last night. Or it might have been the beer.” “Hmm….” She felt my forehead. “No fever. Well, then. What you need is some proper food. No wonder you pick up all sorts of bugs, eating al lot of shite.” She tut-tutted, “Such a shame about Lord Barrington, poor dear. Working himself to death, he is.” “We visited with him last night. He is recovering.” “Well, thank the good Lord for that, eh. Well, I’ll not bother ye. Ye rest up, Lass. I will make you some chicken broth, perk ye right up.” Her smile made her round cheeks look like little red apples. She left and I snuggled down under the covers. My phone dinged and I grabbed it to see who was texting me. Of course, it was James. ‘Hey Sugar, just want to know if you feel better. XXX.’ I texted back. ‘I’m
“Sorry, so sorry.” I couldn’t stop apologizing for throwing up into the doctor’s waste basket. I grabbed a handful of tissues from his desk to wipe my face.“It’s quite alright, my dear. I’ll give you a shot for your nausea.” The doctor was sympathetic, unlike James who looked terrified.“Doctor, what is wrong with my wife?” James clutched the armrest of the chair, looking like a man expecting a death sentence.“Well, let me put it this way. I have bad news or good news, depending on the way you look at it.” The doctor frowned while scribbling something in my file.“What?” What kind of answer was that? Was I pregnant or not?“Doctor Levi, is she pregnant or not?” James leaned forward in his chair while I huddled in mine.“Like I said, good or bad. Mrs. Barrington is not pregnant.” Dr. Levi looked up from his notes.“Oh, well that’s a blessing.” James made no effort to hide his relief. “What is it then?”I had mixed feelings. But James was surely pleased.“There’s this new bout of flu
JAMESMy father was back at work. Of course, against his doctor’s orders. I didn’t want him back at work either, but James Barrington the second never listened to anyone. He called me into his office.“James, I have something to tell you.” he said as I sat opposite him.“Please tell me you called off the engagement.” One could only wish.He shook his head. “No, we will be married in December.” We were in the month of August. Four months to go. I wondered how far along Jenna’s pregnancy was.“Any more bad news?” I leaned back in my chair, hands behind my head. I still had to tell him that someone was skimming money off of our company.He chose to ignore my comment. “I’ve offered Jenna a percentage in the company’s shares.”“You did what?” I tipped the chair back with a jolt. “Why would you do that? You don’t even know if that child is yours.”“We will have a paternity test done. We also need your DNA, James.” The way he pierced me with those blue eyes, like I was the one to blame. He w