Pandora's Box

TRUST

PANDORA’S BOX

TRUST

Pandora’s Box

By Cristiane Serruya

Other books published by this author:

TRUST:
A  NEW  BEGINNING

TRUST:
BETRAYED

THE MODERN MAN
: A philosophical divagation on the evil banality of the daily acts.

Text Copyright © 2013 Cristiane Ribeiro Allevato Serruya

Cover by Renata Fontanive © copyright 2013.

All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without the express written permission of the author.

ISBN-13: 978-1489524508

ISBN-10: 1489524509

To my dear, loving husband Raphael,

Real heroes are not only valued by courage or bravery,

but also by small, gentle daily acts.

You are my daily hero.

Thanks for being mine.

Prologue

Scotland, Highlands.

Saturday, August 7
^th
, 2010.

8 p.m.

Altreck Caisteal.

A grimace contorted Ethan’s handsome face, reflecting the pain he was in. He felt battered and bruised as if he had been in a fight. However, he had just come from a wedding; a happy wedding where the bride was the most stunning and brilliant woman he had ever met.

Sophia; the one who was perfect for me.
His azure eyes filled with tears as he untied his blood-red tie and took off his tailored suit. With infinite patience, not very usual to him, he put his clothes on the settee in his dressing room.

He passed the mirror without looking at his reflection. He knew that he was depressed and that he should seek counseling but he had hated psychologists and psychiatrists since he was a teenager.

They wanted to know things he was not prepared to face or acknowledge. They probed, asked many questions and underestimated his intelligence and ability to cope with his problems.

They are just curious and gossipers.
Ethan had learned to compartmentalize and to run to a dark, warm room he had created in his mind when the hurt and pain were too great to bear.

A dark, warm room where he was loved; where he could be himself and do whatever he wanted, without being criticized or chastened; where no one could touch and hurt him.

Ethan sat on the edge of the bed and threw both hands in his sun-kissed hair, resting his forehead on his hands. He was feeling much more than depressed.

He was feeling utterly dejected and abandoned. It was difficult to run from the memories of the woman he loved. Almost impossible. It was making him insane.

They have been haunting him. Even in his private dark, warm room.

Day and night.

Night and day.

I need to let her go and move on.

Warm fingertips touched his back and he breathed sharply.
No. I don’t need this.

He turned to look at the beautiful face of the woman in the bed. He was aware she was not named Sophia, but he had never asked her name and he didn’t want to know.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

He didn’t answer, remaining immersed in his dark thoughts for a long time.
She shouldn’t exist.

“Ethan? Is everything all right?”

No. It’s not.
As he stood up and walked to the bathroom, he answered, “As ever.”
Life shall return to normal again.

On the bed, Barbara shuddered as an icy tone coated Ethan’s rich baritone voice and the bathroom door closed with a loud bang.

Airgead Caisteal.

My beloved husband. My overbearing Highlander.

Sophia smiled at herself as she took off her jewels and then her makeup. She undid her braid and bun, brushed her long hair and moved to the bedroom to wait for Alistair to finish his shower.

She sat on the sofa, happily remembering her wedding and her handsome husband dressed in his traditional Scottish wear.
Hot, hot, hot.

After a few seconds, she relaxed and rested sideways on silk cushions. She snuggled a cushion to her face, promising not to sleep but her eyes closed in slumber, without her permission.

When Alistair left the bathroom, an endearing smile opened on his face. His forest-green gaze roved over the rosy face of the woman that made him the happiest man in the world.
Sophia.

He noticed her lips slightly parted. His gaze lowered, taking in her rising and falling breasts. She was deeply asleep, still wearing her delicate and tempting wedding dress.

My wife. My beauty.

My beautiful wife.

Mo chridhe, mo gràdh, mo beatha.

Mine.
The knowledge swelled the emotion that gripped him and he knelt next to her and pushed her long hair away to undo the tempting path formed by tiny pale-rose silk buttons her sister, Victoria, had put on the back of her dress. She had done it to provoke him, he was sure.

He didn’t resist the temptation to run his finger over the creamy skin along her spine in a feathered caress.
Soft, smooth. Delicious.

Hmm. That’s nice.
Sophia stirred and stretched.
Don’t stop.

But as the caress paused, she opened her honeyed eyes and looked up at him, confused for a moment.
I was dreaming of you.

He laughed. “Is your husband so boring that you sleep on your wedding night?”

You?
She smiled sensuously and whispered, “Never. I just couldn’t undo these maddening buttons.”

He helped her take off the dress and picked her up in his arms, carrying her to their bed.

As he bent down to kiss her gently on the lips, he asked, “Have I told you I love you?”

“An hour ago, I think,” she smiled, “but I won’t mind hearing you say it every hour. For the rest of our lives.”

“Every hour?” He tsked and shook his head at her. “Demanding, aren’t you, Marchioness?”

Wait and see.
She took his face in her hands and whispered on his lips, “Yes, my lord Marquis. Let me show you how much.”

Chapter 1

Scotland, Highlands, Gairloch Bay.

Airgead Caisteal, On the private airstrip.

Sunday, August 8
^th
, 2010.

8.35 a.m.

“Promise me you’ll be a good girl and that you’ll obey your aunts and Alice.” Sophia gave Gabriela a tight hug and glanced up into Alistair’s eyes over her little daughter’s shoulder.
I cannot cry. She won’t understand.

Don’t cry!
He stared back and shook his head lightly. Taking Gabriela from her arms, he threw her up in the air, her silky blonde hair flying around her pretty face and her giggles filling the morning air. When he caught her again, he smiled broadly and said mischievously, “So, Fairy, you
don’t
obey those aunts of yours.” Gabriela grinned at that. “Ask Alice before you jump in the loch or go searching for elves and goblins. You might fall into a hole or get lost in the woods.”

She bobbed her head, flung her chubby arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheeks. “Right, Daddy. I promise.”

Valentina and Victoria approached.

Before he put Gabriela on the ground, he said to Sophia’s beautiful sisters, “And, you two spitfires, behave too. Don’t get your niece involved in any mischief.”

“I won’t let them.” Alice put her hands on the twin sisters’ shoulders as Valentina grabbed one of Gabriela’s hands and Victoria the other. “But we are going to have fun, aren’t we? I’ll take them to Richmond, Galewick and Craigdale. We have a full schedule.”

“Alice,” Alistair tutted, standing up and putting his arm around Sophia’s waist, “you don’t know what you are getting yourself into.”

“We promise,” Victoria smiled sweetly at Leonard, and Valentina finished, wiggling her brows at Lachlann, “not to burn down any of the castles.”

“Christ!” Alistair smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand as everyone laughed.

But their jest didn’t make Sophia grin. She swallowed and gave them a strained smile. “Have fun, girls.”

Tavish, seeing Sophia’s eyes fill with tears, elbowed Alistair, motioning with his chin to the plane and kissing her on the cheek. “Enjoy your honeymoon, Sophia.”

She nodded. She greeted Felipe, her brother and best friend, giving him a tight hug. Looking inside the eyes that were so like hers, she whispered, “Promise me you will talk to her often. And if anything happens—”

“Sis, don’t worry. Nothing will happen. She’ll be so pampered that when you arrive you won’t even recognize your own child,” he answered quietly but firmly. He drew her in his arms as he always did since she was a baby. She had always been his favorite sister. She put her head on his chest for a moment before he stepped back and winked at her, making the scar on his forehead more pronounced. “Go. You will see things that will amaze you. And you’ll sweat as much as in the Rio summer.”

“Oh, didn’t you know, Felipe? Sophia doesn’t feel cold or hot,” Alistair said, gently holding her hand. That drew a small genuine smile from her. “Come on, Beauty. She’ll be all right.”

“I know.” She gave another kiss on Gabriela’s cheek and received one of her daughter’s neck-breaking hugs.

Alistair could feel she was about to crumble. He tugged at her and towed her toward the stairs.

“Bye-bye, Mama. Bye,” Gabriela shouted, already being swung to and fro by her twin aunts.

At the top of the stairs, Sophia turned. A huge lump in her throat stopped her from answering. She drew a heart in the air with her fingers, blew a kiss and waved goodbye. Entering the plane, she sat silently on the sofa, looking out by the window. She felt Alistair’s big, warm body next to hers but she didn’t look at him.
Don’t be silly, Sophia. Nothing will happen to her.

Oh, my love.
Alistair sighed inward. He knew that Sophia was torn between the desire of staying with her daughter and of going with him on their trip to Asia. Her teeth were pressed firmly on her bottom lip as if they could control her emotions. He fastened his seatbelt and scooted next to her as much as he could. His arm draped over her shoulders and he squeezed lightly but her eyes were fixed on Gabriela, who was smiling and waving.

Sophia reasoned with herself that Alistair’s family would take care of her very well and that her twin sisters would distract her even more as Gabriela loved her younger aunts. She blinked to whisk away the wetness from her eyes, but a silent tear made its way slowly down her face, as everyone moved away from the plane, waving. She didn’t move until the G650 took off and she could see them no more as the fluffy clouds enveloped the plane.

Oh, Sophia, what he is going to think?
She turned to Alistair and breathed, “Sorry. It’s just—”

I understand. I know it’s hard for you, mo chridhe.
“Next time, we will take her with us, all right?”

“All right.” She nodded, inhaling a deep breath and brushing the tear away. “Stupid of me, I know.”
Silly woman. This is your honeymoon.

Don’t cry. I can’t take it.
“She’ll be okay. Your crazy sisters and Ariadne will help Alice keep her distracted. Come on. You’re breaking my heart,” he pleaded, and wrapped his arms around her.
Confuse her.
He sighed deeply and said with a resigned face, “Very well, Sophia, so be it. MacDouglas, please.”

Be it? Be it what?
She stared at him baffled by his puzzling sentence.

The attendant, who was seated close to the cockpit, instantly rose. “Yes, Mr. MacCraig?”

Laughing inwardly, he seriously asked, “Could you please inform Muir that we are heading back to Airgead?”

“NO!” she shouted and then composed herself. “No, no. MacDouglas, could you please bring me a glass of water? I’ll be okay in a minute.”

The slight smile on MacDouglas’s lips made Sophia look up at Alistair’s face.

Oh!
“You never intended to turn back,” she said, without knowing if she should be angry or happy with the handsome man that was looking at her with so much love and gentleness in his eyes.