| Subject: Chapter 273 - Part 1 (16 and above) |
Author:
KatherineG.
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Date Posted: Monday, March 05, 07:04:32am
In reply to:
KatherineG.
's message, "Dreams in the Dark continued (273>)" on Monday, March 05, 07:03:06am
Extra warning: I'm rating this part 16 and above due to mild bad language and some ugly back-story.
Dreams in the Dark (273/?)
by Katherine Gilbert
Acceptance of her position proved difficult for Nikita over those next several days--but there was little to be done. If she had provoked her father the way her helpers thought, life would only get worse. All she could do was hope that her aides were as good at their jobs as everyone thought.
There were other issues which bothered her, though--that the couple were only together in name one of many. Still, this alone wouldn't have bothered her so much--the trend too widespread to worry over. But it was the fact that they seemed to have gone through with this sham marriage all for her sake which made their situation impossible to ignore.
She couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of that week, couldn't deny the pain they were in. Still, there was little to be done, as she worked. The pair themselves would say nothing further, were quite guarded against letting her know any more than she had already learned. The only other person she could address about it was as busy at the studio as she was--and it wasn't like it would be safe to address anything important on the lot, anyway.
Because of this, it was several days later, on Sunday, when Nikita finally had her chance to talk to Adrian; it was a frustrating, though necessary, wait. If she couldn't hope to get anything out of the pair about their sacrifices, the woman who had made them take such actions would have to be the one she went to, instead.
She did, then, early that morning--Fredericks driving her with great reluctance, obviously sensing what this was all about. It was only with an effort that she convinced her bodyguard to leave them alone for awhile. Although he might well be brought into it later, this approach was unavoidable. She was more than a little upset--and she wanted the opportunity to confront her grandmother on her own.
Her intentions now were obvious, Adrian well aware that something was amiss. She sat with the girl in the dining area of her home staring patiently at her, waiting for her opening words. While she knew about Nikita's challenge of her father, she suspected her visit concerned far more than this. It might well finally be the moment, when she would have to reveal more of the truth.
She wasn't surprised by where the girl began, her grandchild's manner reserved but irritated--gaze pulling back at last from where her bodyguard had exited the room. "You told me they were marrying to help me." Her look was a little accusing. "You didn't tell me they weren't actually a couple."
Her grandmother was straightforward as always, her gaze quite calm. "Would you have wanted me to?" She watched the girl steaming for a moment before giving a small shrug. "Would it have helped you to accept them, if you knew?"
This wasn't the answer the younger woman wanted, but she didn't get a chance to object further. "You needed them, Nikita." Adrian's look was gentler now, if still quite firm. "They're the right people to look after you, in Michael's absence."
She was tempted to disagree, to say that she could damn well look after herself--but she knew it was a lie. What with Madeline trying to get to her at the studio and Jones just waiting for his moment outside it, she had no way to claim that she was safe. There was no point in being petulant.
Still, none of her grandmother's answers really addressed her feelings, her anger at being deceived--or at the sacrifice the pair had made for her. "You're forcing them to live a lie for me. You've forced two people who don't even care for each other into a marriage, just so the public won't ask questions." The necessity behind the move, at least, she understood--however little she might like it. The house only had one servant's room. If either of the pair had been put in one of the guest rooms, it might have caused comment; there was a deep sort of sigh. But to simply accept this reasoning was far too cold-blooded for her.
This wasn't the whole of her musings, either--some of her thoughts quite unrelated to her reasons for being here. It was as she thought about the house's two spare bedrooms that her eyes widened, realizing what had never been done--or thought about. One of these rooms would be needed for her child, should be made into a nursery; she shook her head slightly. How she had managed to never realize this she wasn't certain at all.
This fact disturbed her--even more so, the more she thought about it. She was maybe four or five months along in her pregnancy--she still wasn't entirely certain--and there had been no alteration of her residence to reflect the coming arrival. For most women in her position, such changes would already have been well in hand--if not entirely completed; a sort of shiver caught her, as she realized the truth. As much as she liked to tell herself otherwise, she evidently thought of her gestating child as as much of a fantasy as did her husband.
She couldn't get over the chill this truth brought her, her almost subconscious acceptance that there would be no real need for the changes--no reason to anticipate. Jesus. Her heart was thumping loudly. Madeline and Jones really *had* colonized her soul.
It was impossible to get past this observation entirely, was quite difficult to focus on this necessary conversation again--part of her now determined to start the needed work. It was only with her grandmother's reply to her earlier accusation that she finally began to refocus on the room. "I think you'll find otherwise." She looked over to find Fredericks staring at her calmly. And it disturbed Nikita far more to realize that she hadn't even heard him enter the room.
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