Fatal Jealousy (Black Widow Book 1) (12 page)

“Go away!” Ellie yelled back.

“She’s crazy!” Audrey exclaimed.

“I’ve been saying that for years,” Kris exclaimed, moving to stand next to Ellie.

“What she said is not true!” Carson declared, rushing to Ellie, “I swear I have never touched her!”

But Ellie didn’t respond. She just stared blankly at her daughter, fresh tears escaping her eyes.

“She knows. She just needs a minute to process,” Kris offered, “Honey...” Ellie pulled away before she could touch her. She went straight to Audrey, took her sleeping daughter and marched to the guest room, locking the door behind her.

Carson knocked on the door, “Honey please talk to me!” He begged a feeling of dread settling in his belly, “Ellie, please!”

“You are wasting your time Dale. She’s not coming out of there, at least not tonight. I’m so sorry,” Kris spoke, opening the front door.

Audrey went to him and gave him a hug, “Carson if you need anything at all, call me.”

He nodded. Once they left, he sank to the floor his back against the guest room door, “I’ll wait here all night if I have to Ellie.”

Ellie moved to the door and leaned against it. She cried, out of anger, sadness and loss. She couldn’t believe what she saw. What her sister tried to do to her. What could have happened if she hadn’t gotten home in time? No, if Dale hadn’t realized it wasn’t her. But what if he didn’t? What hurt her the most was the fact that her sister had betrayed her in the worst way imaginable.

She leaned closer against the door when Dale called out her name again. It wasn’t his fault, Ellsa was to blame. She knew that, but then again, she was still angry at him from hiding the fact that her twin sister had been trying to sleep with him for months. She could forgive him, but she couldn’t forgive Ellsa. If she did, that would be giving Ellsa permission to try again, and she was going to keep trying until she got what she wanted.

And if she didn’t, she would hate Ellie for the rest of their lives.

She cried harder, her heart ripping in two as she mourned the loss of her sister.

Chapter Thirteen

Ellie sat in front of her canvas, completely lost in her sister’s memory. She hadn’t seen her in over four months. She worried how she was, if she was finally happy, if she was fine and especially if she still hated her. Ellie had tried to contact her, but after a few times of rejecting her calls, emails and letters, Ellsa changed her phone number, her email and her mailing address. She’d shut Ellie out of her life completely, as if she had been wronged, when it was the other way round!

But that didn’t stop Ellie from missing her or feeling guilty. Ellie had a family, but she was all Ellsa had. Her parents would be disappointed in them, fighting over a man.

But he isn’t any man! He is the father of my daughter and my fiancé!
Ellie thought to herself.

She raised her left hand and looked at the big, but subtle diamond ring on her finger. Dale had proposed only days after the incident. Ellie felt like it was his way of ensuring himself of her love. She said yes, but it was a hesitant yes. But there was nothing hesitant about the intense lovemaking after. That was his way of ensuring her of his love. She was reassured all right, five times.

“The canvas is still blank. You are either thinking of a wedding date or you are thinking of Ellsa,” Carson spoke behind her.

He’d been standing there for a while, watching her inner turmoil reflect on her face. He wished there was a way he could comfort her, but he knew nothing would help, except seeing Ellsa again. He didn’t want that, ever.

Ellie turned around on her stool and gave him a quick, tight smile, “Where is Stacey-Ann?”

Carson moved to stand next to her, “In her room trying to climb her dresser. She’s been doing that a lot lately. And to think she’s just learned how to crawl.”

She leaned her head against his belly and wrapped her arms around his waist, “She’s eight months old. She’s getting curious.”

Carson rubbed her shoulders, “At least she’s not putting bugs in her mouth anymore.”

Ellie chuckled, “You wish!”

Carson took a deep breath. He wished he didn’t have to bring it up, but Ellie being down was bringing him down too. She should be in the nursery, taking a video of her daughter trying to climb her dresser and then most definitely fall on her ass! But she was here, staring at a blank canvas, pouting, “You want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“It might help.”

“It won’t.”

He unclasped her hold, pulled another stool over and sat across from her, “I just told you, your daughter is trying to climb her dresser and all you did is hug me and tell me she’s curious. You need to get out of this rut, for Stacey-Ann’s sake.”

She blinked back the tears, “I’m not doing this on purpose.”

He stroked her cheek, “I know you love your sister and you miss her desperately, despite what she’s done. But do you think she is moping around as much as you are?”

She shook her head no.

“Then, why are you making us suffer for her selfishness?”

“Dale...”

He placed his palms on her cheeks, “We are here. Your friends are here and your family is here. Be here with us Ellie. Please. If it makes you feel better, I’ll invite Daniel over more often.”

Ellie chuckled, wiping a stray tear away, “You two don’t like each other.”

“Like is an overstatement, but I’m willing to do anything to make you happy again. Even if it means... finding your sister,” Carson tried to sound like he really meant it.

Ellie’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at him, “I can never tell if you are lying or telling the truth.”

Carson smiled, “It is part of my day job.”

“Aha,” Ellie said, climbing onto his lap and then kissing him deeply, “Well, your other shift has started, soon to be hubby.”

Carson smiled. He never thought he’d liked hearing that word. But from Ellie’s lips, anything she called him would sound like precious music to his ears, “So when would you like to get married?”

She rubbed her nose against his, “As soon as possible.”

“How does tomorrow sound?”

She kissed him lightly on the lips, “Too soon, not enough time to plan. How about this weekend?”

He pulled away slightly, just enough to look into her eyes, “Are you serious?”

“Very,” She slid closer to his hips, as the desire to have him ravish her increased.

Carson ran his hands up and down her thighs, lightly at first making her shiver. The sound of her purr made his desire more urgent. He tightened his grip on her, his fingers digging into her flesh as he pulled her harder against him. Suddenly all the clothes they had on begun to feel like a barrier. Ellie echoed his thought when she hurriedly began to unfasten his belt. He moaned, glad she was wearing a dress.

And then it was all over.

Ellie whined as she pulled away, prompted by Stacey-Ann’s crying, “But right now your other, most important boss is calling you,” She moved back onto her stool.

Carson grunted as he stood up, “Five more minutes, that’s all I wanted.”

Ellie laughed, “Make sure she isn’t badly hurt and then come to the bedroom. We’ll turn those five minutes into half an hour.”

Carson smiled, giving her a quick kiss before he left, “I can’t believe we missed that.”

“No, we didn’t. There are wide-angled cameras in her room. We can watch her fall on her ass as many times as we want.”

Carson laughed, “A gag video at the expense of your daughter!”

“That... and the fact that daddy has a very scary day job,” Ellie spoke, her voice coated with worry.

Carson recognized it immediately, because he too was having nightmares about his day job. Ellie didn’t know, but he had a gun strapped under Stacey-Ann’s bed and other furniture around the apartment. The alarm and the motion sensors were fine, they gave Ellie a sense of security, but he knew better.

He picked up his daughter and kissed her wet cheeks, “Girls are supposed to play with dolls, not climb stuff.” He held her close, stroking her tiny back. He felt his heart melt when she hugged him back, holding onto his large neck with her tiny hands, “But it’s okay. Daddy is going to be here to pick you up every time you fall, and then laugh as he watches it on tape over and over again. But I still love you very much.”

****

The weekend wedding was postponed by another week. Planning a wedding, even a small one took a lot more time and energy than Ellie had anticipated, but the day was finally here. Ellie sat in front of the mirror looking at her reflection. She looked prettier with more makeup than she usually wore and her hair straightened and held in a bun.

She looked even more like Ellsa.

“What are you thinking about?” Audrey asked, putting more pearl pins in her hair.

“I’m thinking... I can see how Dale had spent ten minutes thinking Ellsa was me. I look just like her all dolled up. Sexier.”

Audrey pinched her, making her jump, “Don’t say things like that! Carson loves you just the way you are. If Amin had a twin brother who was standing naked in my bedroom, the last thing on my mind would be making sure if he is the right twin. It took Carson two minutes to figure that out.”

“When the mother of your child doesn’t know where your daughter is, that’s a dead giveaway,” Kris spoke, downing more of the champagne.

“He said he didn’t recognize her behavior.”

“Why, because I’m boring and she’s exciting when it comes to sex,” Ellie moaned.

“No, because that’s not what he fell in love with.”

“Sure?” Kris asked, shifting to the chair that was closer to them, “I thought it was the sex thing.”

Audrey grabbed the flute out of her hand, “You are not helping. If you can’t do your duties as the maid of honor, I will take over.”

Kris shot out of the chair, “Oh no you don’t! You already stole godmother from me, you are not stealing this!”

“Then do what you are supposed to or you’ll die a technological death!”

Kris gave her a blank stare, confused by the threat.

Ellie laughed, “Do what she tells you Kris. I had to carry cash everywhere in New York when she crippled my credit cards.”

Audrey’s face turned pink with embarrassment, “How did you know it was me?”

“Dale asked me if I had any
technological
problems. I told him about the cards and how the banks had no idea what the problem was, and he apologised on your behalf. I almost got arrested for trying to defraud them. And then, a day after I came to your office, they called and apologised for the
technical glitch
.”

“Sorry.”

“The machines aren’t going to take over, it’s people like her who are, geeks with computers!” Kris exclaimed the bubbly already in her head.

“We already have honey,” Audrey declared proudly.

Ellie stood up laughing, “Audrey would you please help me with my dress?”

“Hey, that’s my job!” Kris moaned.

Ellie held up three fingers, “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Kris paused her eyes shrinking a size, “Three.”

“Sober up. I don’t want you staggering down the aisle.”

“Fine!” she said, walking to the liquor trolley. She picked up a bottle of water and downed it, without taking a breath.

Audrey held the dress down so that Ellie could step into it, then she pulled it up gently and zipped her in it. The strapless dress was an off-white bridal satin, with beaded embellishment across her chest. It hugged her curves and widened at her knees to the tip of the shoe heel. It was appropriate for a small tent wedding.

“Audrey,” Ellie began in a whisper, “Did you find my sister?”

Carson had asked Audrey to try and find her, but to not tell her about the wedding until it was too late for her to make a scene. But Audrey, with all her powers, couldn’t track down Ellsa- except for her new phone number. Which didn’t do them any good, considering it was always off. It was like she disappeared two months ago, “Sorry, I didn’t.”

Ellie’s heart dropped, “It’s okay. Dale would be glad about that anyway.”

Kris teared up when she saw how dazzling Ellie looked in her wedding gown, “You look so beautiful.”

Ellie moved to the mirror and looked at herself. She looked like a beautiful bride, “Do you think Dale will like it?”

Audrey dabbed her eyes with a tissue, “He’ll love it!”

****

Carson sat down close to the altar, all kinds of thoughts running through his mind, quickly driving him crazy. He kept thinking Ellie would change her mind and runaway, or Ellsa would crash the wedding or a natural disaster would blow the tent away. But mostly, the one thought that really drove him to the brink of madness was what the hell he was, doing standing there, next to a pastor? He was never a best man and he only went to weddings for the slutty bride’s maids at the
reception
. But now, he was at his own wedding.

All of a sudden it got hot and his collar felt too tight. He couldn’t breathe! He stood up, tugging at his tie.

“Stop that!” Ann rebuked. But her stern warning only made his anxiety worse.

Dale Senior stood up and walked to him, “breathe,” he whispered in his ear. “You are marrying the love of your life. You are not in line to get slaughtered.”

Carson chuckled nervously, “How did you do this pop?”

He chuckled, “I was drunk!”

Hope!
“You wouldn’t be carrying a flask by any chance?”

He shook his head, “your mother still hasn’t forgiven me for that. I’m not about to make it worse by getting you drunk!”

Carson tugged at his collar again, “All of this just feels too.... much, too fast.”

“I’m not the one who told you to have a baby and get engaged, within a year and a half of meeting the girl.”

“But I’ve loved Ellie since the first day I met her, and I’ll love her till the day I die.”

“If you feel so strongly and you are sure about your feelings, what’s the rush to get married? Wait a few more months or a year and have a grander wedding. Your mother would love to plan it for you.”