Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
He
drove to the building in Santa Monica and seeing there were three different
entrances to it, he cursed, as he realized he simply couldn't watch them all to
catch her when she would eventually come out. He went in, gave 3 C-notes to the
doorman to confirm the woman was indeed living there, and currently
present in the building. The man took the money eagerly corroborating that
indeed Ms McGregor was home.
So,
again with the McGregor name
, he thought. She entered the country
under a different name and her fingerprints were taken; yet, she was known as
Ms McGregor in this building?
More
phone calls to DC would be needed.
James
was intrigued.
Did
she pull the passport swap trick? And if so, who trained her? And more
importantly, why?
With
the apartment number now in mind, he made himself comfortable in one of the
lobby seats and waited.
He
started to think.
Less
than 24 hours in, he had found her; by chance, he now realized this.
It
was clear this was no ordinary woman. She hadn't used a taxi to leave Julian's
property, so nothing could be traced back, and if Julian hadn't seen the
name and number on her luggage tag, no one could have found her, including him!
James
was impressed.
Why would
a woman use several identities? Use a phone number with an area code she
did not live in, and apparently travel the world as often as this one did?
These
questions needed answers, so James didn't call his client to report in, as
he would usually have. McCarty would have to wait. There was more to his
disappearing fling that met the eye.
He
had a black and white photo printout of the security tape, and her face was
haunting him. She was a beautiful woman, but she seemed quite vulnerable upon
looking up straight at the cameras while passing through customs. He wanted to
know why before handing her over to Julian McCarty.
At
7:00 a.m., the doorman came to wake him as he had fallen asleep. The man was
going home at the end of his night shift, but he confirmed she hadn't left the
building.
James
gave him two additional c-notes for his good help, and decided to go upstairs
and wait for her there.
Staring
at her door, he asked himself once more:
Who
the hell is she?
Vi
March 2004. Darling Harbour. Sydney.
Australia.
“
Where
the fuck do you think you're going?
”
asked the voice coming from the darkness
of the lounge.
She
jumped in fear. He flicked on the light, and his cerulean eyes gave her a hard
stare.
He
was sitting on one of the sofas, still wearing his tuxedo, shirt opened and he
had a glass in his hand. He had been waiting for her in the darkness, knowing
she was coming down...
She
was at the bottom of the stairs draped in a coat and carrying a travel bag,
looking at him and biting her bottom lip.
She
walked in the foyer, towards the door while saying
,
“
I'm
leaving.
”
“
Like hell you are.
”
he said coolly, his eyes never leaving
her.
She
moved forward, trying to block his voice out.
Just a few mores steps,
she
thought.
“
Vic, if you go through that door, I will
hurt you, and considering your condition, I don't think you want to take that
chance...
”
his voice casually trailed, as if the words were meaningless.
She
stopped, and closed her eyes.
How did he know? How on earth did he
know?
She
looked at him. He had a smile at the curve of his lips, the features of his
beautiful face, relaxed, and he said softly, almost tenderly,
“
Surprised, are you? Do I need to
remind you, you are my wife?
“
She
remained silent, tears already welling up in her eyes, but she would not cry.
She would not give him the satisfaction.
“
Did you really think I would let you leave
with my child?
”
he asked, his tone reflecting the incongruousness of the idea.
She
started to shake.
“
I didn't think so. You better go back
upstairs, and unpack babe...And next time you go to the doctor, you might want
to make sure they don't call the house to confirm your next appointment, or
better yet
,
tell them to ring me. After all, I am
your husband. Remember, the father? And, as such I should be involved in your
pregnancy, shouldn't I?
“
he continued, in a caustic tone.
Getting
no rise out of her, he pursued, "As a matter of fact, from now on, I will
focus all my attention on you. Tonight was an eye opener...I didn't think you
had it in you...but you apparently do. So, I need to make sure you will not
disappear with my child..."
He
grinned and said, "From tomorrow on, until the baby is born, I will be
working from here as much as I can, attending all appointments, making sure you
feed yourself, so I do get a healthy son. Hell, just making sure you're a good
girl
…
"
"You
are my wife, you are carrying my child, and you are not going anywhere."
he finally punctuated, in a deadly serious tone.
The
first tear dropped, and she turned away.
She
was trapped.
Please,
dear God, help me! Give me the strength
,
she thought as she started climbing the stairs to go to her bedroom.
She
locked the door, let her bag and coat drop on the floor, and sat on the stool
in front of her vanity looking at herself in the mirror.
She
was a shadow of her former self. Hell, that self simply did not exist anymore.
The woman looking back at her had a haunted, empty look.
Who was she?
This
was not how my life was supposed to be.
She was a gifted lawyer, everyone said so, and she was beautiful. She had had
the world at her feet. What had happened to her?
((~~!~~))
In January 2001, 23 people only attended
their wedding ceremony.
The five
weeks leading to the wedding were strained and had been draining for her.
Her
father and brother had refused to come, both saying they couldn't understand
how she could give up her dream job for a man, a politician none less, not to
mention living in a country at the far end of the planet! What was wrong with
her? Why was she getting married so quickly? Was she pregnant?
When
she replied she wasn't and tried to explain she didn't see the point of
waiting, they both said she was making the mistake of her life, and they would
not come and witness it.
Kevin
had begged her to reconsider in light of his own experience when his fiancée
had left him literally at the altar an hour before getting married in a church
full of guests, just a few weeks prior. She had been there and held him in her
arms the entire night of that fateful December day before flying back to Sydney
for the New Year. When she asked him to be her witness, he had refused telling
her she was getting married because she had been emotionally blackmailed. He
loved her and always would, but simply could not condone this union.
Thank
God for Lily, who in spite of her significant reserves and doubts had made the
trip to support her friend.
Ultimately,
their wedding ceremony was only attended by Ethan's mother- his father having
passed on a few years prior, and he had no siblings- and a few selected family
friends. She had begged him to make it as small as possible and to forgo any
public announcement because she couldn't bear being surrounded and
congratulated by hundreds of strangers when none of her loved ones would be
there on what was supposed to be the most important day of her life.
Ethan,
at first, had wanted to make a political statement with the event, already
planning a big society splash in classic McGregor fashion; but when he found
out through his mother that his old best friend Julian McCarty would not even
be in the country to attend or witness it while his mother, Helen, would, he
caved in to Vic
’
s
wishes, and reluctantly agreed.
((~~!~~))
She should have known right there and then
that it could and would only go downhill from then on...
But
being optimistic by nature, she kept telling herself,
I love him and he
loves me, everything will be fine. I'll prove them wrong with my happiness.
Life is short, look at how mama's ended.
After
3 months of marriage, she was still unemployed. Her husband had begged her to
accept his help in finding her new dream job, but she had refused, firmly
believing that her qualifications and experience would be and should be enough.
She was a talented lawyer, any firm should be happy to have her. She didn
’
t need Ethan
’
s interference in her professional life.
She
was wrong.
Clearly,
she had no idea how conservative and guarded Sydney professional firms were.
The shocked looks when she arrived for interviews were an indicator; people
asking her where she was from and somehow expecting the answer would explain
how she could have cinnamon skin, clear green eyes and an Irish name. Upon
founding out who her husband was, interviews went seemingly well until after
the 3
rd
or 4
th
round, when she
’
d either be asked if she was willing to
use her husband
’
s
connections in her job, or simply, she unexpectedly no longer was considered.
She
was tired of it, and started to think she had made a horrific mistake quitting
her UN job to move to a country where prejudices were so established.
Her
impression were confirmed when at a cocktail party she boldly asked a federal
judge to explain why it was so difficult for her to find employment matching
her skills in the city. He apologetically replied that while he felt for her,
she needed to realize that she would never be able to experience the level of
responsibility she once had while working at the UN. Shocked, she asked him to
elaborate, as her husband was witnessing this exchange; the judge admitted
having seen his very own son's law career being hijacked and slow-tracked
when he had the unfortunate luck to fall in love and marry a Mauritian beauty.
It had taken his son two years to realize that if he wanted better career
opportunities, he needed to move. The couple had left for London the same year
and ever since, his career was doing splendidly.
"My
dear, you lucked out when you moved here," were the final words of judge
on this topic that evening.
Ethan,
seeing the distressed look of his wife tried to reassure her with calming
words, but when Vic got home that night, she was seriously reconsidering her
career options in a country where she wasn
’
t welcome.
Coincidently,
she got a job offer only two days later in one of the top tier firm she had
interviewed weeks prior, and the conversation slipped to the back of her mind.
Four
months, later, as she was working late at the office, she overheard two senior
partners discuss her and learned the truth about her miracle hiring.
Ethan had made a call to get her the associate position, and the partners were
conferring on how they could use her to tender more government contract work,
on top of fantasizing on getting a taste of her brown sugar.
She
had been a pawn.
She
resigned the next day, after confronting the two men, and having confirmed that
without the use of the connections that came with her name she had no hope of
further responsibilities within the firm.
Not
being able to practice law has been the first wrench in her marriage.
Crushed,
she was still a determined woman, so she decided if not law, she would still
work. She found a part time position as an account manager in an
advertising agency, and decided to focus more on her married life than
unfulfilling work.
She
was ashamed, she could not call her brother or Kevin or even Lily, as she was
falling into an abyss with no way out. She knew they would forgo the
“
I told you so" and help her in any
way they could, but the shame was growing stronger
everyday
and her pride made her postpone the calls.
She
would find a way to make this work.
She
quit the job after two months, tired of having her colleagues and clients more
interested in the supposedly glamorous life that came with her name than
whatever input she had to offer about the accounts she was in charge of.
She
decided if she could not be happy through professional achievements, then
she would create the perfect home for her and her husband; they still loved
each other, their connection stronger than ever.
They
had each other and that's all that mattered.
Ethan
became her everything.
They
moved into a new house. She took up decorating, cooking classes and tried to
involve herself in charities in spite of her contempt for endless chicken
dinners attended by snooty matrons who believed they were charitable when their
only true motive was to be seen. But since it was important for Ethan to have
her seen, she put a fake smile and a fake laugh on; they were plastered on
her face at all times. Soon, she couldn't tell the difference.
She
swore to herself, she would become the perfect wife, whatever the cost.
The
home she had created for her and Ethan made it to a special edition of
Architectural
Digest
and she was so proud, she sent copies to Lily, Deric and Kevin, in
the hopes to convince them that she was indeed as happy as she claimed. The
pictures proved it.