Kidnapped the Wrong Sister (12 page)

As he
watched the trouble she seemed to be having, he moved over, his fingers quickly undoing the fastening, and allowing the dress to fall to her feet leaving her in only her underwear.  He then lifted her into his arms moving over to the bed, before placing her gently onto it, covering her with the bright duvet, as she looked at him with eyes suddenly so sad.

“I think I drank too much”, she said, a small tear rising to her eyes.  He wiped it away, smoothing down her hair as he leant down to gently kiss her head.  “Get some sleep Diona, I will see you tomorrow”, he whispered gently, seeing how her eyes slowly began to close as she fell asleep.  Watching her, Nikias felt such strange emotions.  He sat there for several minutes more, before finally leaving, knowing that he wanted her with him as much as ever.

At 12:30
the following afternoon, Diona met James in the hotel restaurant.  She looked pale and tired, the pain in her head refusing to subside. She very rarely drank, and the hangover seemed to mock her for going out with Nikias in the first place, the pain a punishment for her stupidity.  As she showered and got dressed that morning, she considered calling off the lunch date.  However, thoughts of staying alone in her flat with her mind full of the enigmatic man who she had spent the previous evening with along with the memories of how she threw herself at him spurred her into action.  She could not shake off the way he felt, the way she kissed him, and she groaned gently knowing that she was more than a little tempted to go to his hotel room and thank him for taking care of her.  She was still surprised that he had not taken advantage of her, while deep down knowing that what she really longed for was to ask him just to hold her, to make love to her. 

With a little
whimper she knew that this would be the worst possible thing she could do, knowing that he would turn her into his mistress with just this little encouragement.  She also knew that he would one day get bored with her and throw her to the side.  With a pained sigh, she wondered how she could handle that, knowing that they would meet at all those happy family events.  How would she react seeing him with his latest lover?  As all these thoughts filled her head she groaned with such a deep hurt, both from the way her body felt and the way he was making her feel.

James
was surprised at the way she looked.  “Are you OK Diona?”, he asked, his voice full of worry.  She looked over gently at him, so touched by his sincere concern for her.  With a sad thought she asked herself why she could not have fallen in love with him instead of Nikias.  Her eyes flew wide open at the realisation of what she just thought.  She was in love with Nikias and she closed her eyes with pain as the truth sank into her whole being.

What a little fool s
he was.  She had fallen in love with the man who had treated her so badly, accused her of so many terrible things and brought such turmoil to her life and body.  She could feel the tears rising to her eyes as James’ hand moved forward to hold hers.  “Diona, are you OK?”, he asked again, real concern now in both his voice and face.  As she opened her mouth to speak she saw Nikias enter the restaurant, guiding a beautiful woman before him as she stared at them.  She saw the way his face hardened seeing her sitting with James, seeing how his hand covered hers.  Diona felt hot, her head suddenly spinning as she stood quickly from the table.  She needed to get out, she needed to feel cool air on her and she started to move forward as everything suddenly started to move in slow motion.

She
saw Nikias looking at her, his face suddenly full of concern as he moved forward towards her, while James still sat watching her with surprise in his eyes.  She felt herself start to pitch forward as the pain in her head exploded into a red mist dancing before her eyes as she was caught by a set of strong arms, instinctively knowing them to be Nikias’, as darkness engulfed her.

Three days passed as Diona lay in the hospital bed, burning up with a fever as she was closely monitored.  Only partially conscious; she spent much of the time hooked up to intravenous drips to ensure that she did not dehydrate. 

After her collapse in the hotel, Daryle and Alexis
immediately cancelled their planned honeymoon, as they waited outside in the emergency waiting room with Nikias, who had been almost frantic with worry.  Daryle sat in complete shock, the tears still streaking down her face with the memory of seeing how her sister had lain so still, deathly white on the large couch where Nikias placed her, as he spoke so softly to her, holding her hand to his mouth, his eyes looking wildly for the ambulance. 

As they
arrived, it was Daryle who had gone with her to the hospital, although for a moment they thought that Nikias was going to demand that it be him, as Alexis took his brother by the arm and made him sit in the front seat of his car as they followed the fast-moving ambulance. 

In the car Nikias
groaned deeply, blaming himself.  “Why didn’t I see it?”, he groaned, torturing himself over and over again.  “Nobody could see that she wasn’t well”, Alexis said softly, “She was fine at the wedding”  Nikias turned to look at him, his eyes full of self-recrimination.  “I took her out last night”, he said, as Alexis looked over quickly at him.

“I see”, he said more slowly, his eyes taking in the way Nikias, normally so in control of everything seemed to be slowly coming apart.  “She will be fine Nikias”, he said calmly, for once being the supportive one in the brothers’ relationship.  “They have the best hospital care here… they’ll find out what is wrong with her”, he said, his voice calm and sure, as Nikias retreated into himself, his eyes so full of pain.

When they
arrived at the emergency waiting area, Alexis took a still-crying Daryle into his arms, holding her gently as she told them they were examining her even as they spoke.  After half an hour, Nikias stopped pacing up and down the small area as Alexis told him to sit down.  As he had been about to argue, he saw how upset Daryle looked and moved to a chair to sink his head into his fingers, his thoughts going back to two mornings ago.

As
Diona stood looking at him, she looked tired.  Her voice sounded heavy and he thought for the thousandth time that he should have seen that she was not well, not dragged her out when she already told him she needed an early night.

At that point the doctor
entered the waiting room to talk to them, as all three rushed forward to hear what he had to say.  “Diona has been abroad recently hasn’t she?”, he asked, as Nikias surprised them by confirming and telling the doctor where and how long she had been there.  Both Daryle and Alexis looked at each other with surprise, knowing that neither of them told him.

“She has Dengue fever”
, the doctor said, seeing the look of panic rising in the eyes of the three before him.  “In most cases it isn’t fatal”, he said reassuringly, “Your sister however, has Dengue Shock Syndrome which can be”  Alexis held Daryle, feeling as her legs buckled slightly, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.  “But we have caught it very early, and the prognosis is good.  Your sister is responding well to treatment and we are sure that she will be OK”, he said, a kindly smile on his face.

“C...C...Can I see her?”, Daryle asked as the doctor shook his head gently.  “Not tonight, we want to keep her in the emergency ward, just to be on the safe side”, he replied, “But we hope to have her in a room for tomorrow, you would be best going home for now and coming back in the morning”  He smiled at them before moving from the room.

That
had been three days ago and for the first time, Diona opened her eyes feeling how her whole body felt stiff, her head hurting.  Coughing slightly, she looked around, surprised to see Nikias sitting on the large chair beside the bed.  His eyes were closed and he looked terrible.  She opened her mouth to speak, hearing only a small weak squeaky sound coming from her mouth.  However, it was enough to make him open his eyes, his look darting to her.  As he saw her focussing on him, he leaned forward.

“Hi”, he said softly, as she looked at him with such confusion in her eyes.  “What happened, where am I?”, she moaned, frowning as she fought to remember where she was.  “You’re in the hospital”, he said gently, lifting her hand to his mouth.  “Why?”, she squeaked, her eyes open wide with surprise.  Nikias laughed gently at her. “Well, not happy with bringing back a nice little trinket from your work abroad, you decided to bring back Dengue fever”, he said as her eyes closed in pain.  “Oh”, she muttered, before once again falling back to sleep.

As she
once more opened her eyes, it was Daryle who was sitting in the same chair.  “Daryle, why aren’t you on your honeymoon?”, she asked softly, as her sister looked at her with such love in her eyes.  “We decided to postpone”, she replied softly as Diona moaned.  “God, I’ve ruined your honeymoon”, she said, her voice full of pain.

Daryle
lifted her hand, holding it to her cheek.  “I was so scared Diona, I thought we had lost you, you don’t really think that I would leave when you were like that.  Not even Nikias could have kept me from your side”  Diona frowned. “Nikias?”, she asked.“What do you mean?”, her voice full of confusion as her sister chuckled.

“That man has been going crazy with worry.  Alexis threatened him that if he didn’t calm down he would have him removed from the hospital”  As she chuckled again, she watched as her sister once more fell asleep, seeing the small smile playing on her lips.

Over the next four days, Diona
improved quickly and dramatically.  Each day Nikias would appear for the visiting hour, often arriving before Daryle and Alexis, who would look knowingly at each other.  Each day he would sit looking at her with such depth in his eyes as she joked with him.  “Don’t you have a business to run?” He looked at her with a mocking smile on his face.  “Are you trying to get rid of me Miss Brown?”, he would ask, instantly transporting her to the time they first met, as she smiled up at him, her heart loving him even more.

By the seventh day Diona
became restless, partly because of the fact that business finally caught up on Nikias and he had to fly out to America to deal with some important matters which had arisen.  Diona told herself that she was glad that he was gone, removing the way he caused such disruption to her whenever he was near.  However she also felt completely deflated, suddenly feeling the need to return to more familiar territory as she complained to the doctors that she was well enough to go home.  She insistently explained them that she was a nurse and was more than capable of taking care of herself.  However, the doctor informed her that the only way she was getting out was if she could guarantee that she would spend the next two weeks relaxing.  Although she promised she would, Daryle had laughed telling him that her sister was incapable of relaxing and doing nothing.

Finally
Daryle and Alexis came to her with a compromise.  “How badly do you want out of here?”, her sister asked her, seeing the way Diona looked longingly back.  “I will do anything that you say…I promise I will relax and be good”, she said, her voice full of sincerity as they both looked at each other in disbelief.

“Well, we have a plan and if you say yes the doctor has promised that you can get out today”  “Anything”, she moaned, her eyes moving to each of them with hope.  “Nikias has offered to put the three of us up on his island”, Daryle said softly, seeing a haunted look cross her sister’s eyes, as the smile dropped from her lips, quickly adding, “He doesn’t know when he will be back, or even if he will be back while we are there, but he says that there is nothing to do there but relax.  You need to rest”, Daryle said gently.

With a soft nod
, and the thought that he probably would not be back before she would be allowed to return home she finally agreed and plans were immediately put into effect.  She found herself being taken by car with the others to a small airfield where she boarded Nikias’ private jet which he insisted be put at their disposal.  As she boarded, Daryle held her hand seeing the look of fear crossing her eyes.

“You OK?”, she asked gently.  Diona however, patted her sister’s hand reassuringly.  “I’m fine”, she replied softly, suddenly once more feeling tired as the stress of boarding the plane took its toll.  After the plane took off, with Daryle holding her sister’s arm tightly, Diona suddenly felt tired from the medication she had taken before leaving the hospital.  With a gentle smile, Alexis escorted her to a small room at the back of the plane where she was pleasantly surprised to find a queen size bed.

With a little giggle she
looked at Daryle.  “Guess I don’t need to ask if Nikias has joined the mile high club”, she joked, seeing how Daryle’s lips twitched.  She was however thankful for the bed which enabled her to lie back and close her eyes, sleeping for the full trip.  As they made the journey from car to boat back to car, Diona found herself looking forward to once again being in her old room, knowing that Nikias had organised this from the phone call she received from him before they left.

“I told them to put you in the same room as before”, he had said gently, “I thought if you were going to be imprisoned again you might feel better with the same cell”  Diona had chuckled, “Thank-you mein jailor”, she said, as she had on the first night he trapped her on the island, hearing his warm chuckle from the other end of the line.

“Diona”, his voice became suddenly so serious, “I’m so sorry that I didn’t see that you were ill”, his voice sounding tortured over the phone.  She felt herself filled with the strongest desire to kiss his wonderful lips, thankful that he was so far away. “You caught me”, she said, surprising him.  “How did you know?”  She heard the surprise in his voice as he remembered how she had fainted, her eyes already closed as he only just reached her in time.  “I just knew”, she said, her voice so sure. 

Daryle
reacted in very much the same way that Diona had when she first stepped into the hallway.  She stood open-mouthed as Alexis grabbed her hand, desperate to show her around the home where he had spent so much of his life, as the two moved quickly around, before disappearing into their bedroom and not reappearing again.

Diona
smiled, once again moving into her bedroom.  Seeing the large bouquet of flowers placed on the bed for her, Nikias having organised them for her arrival, she smiled softly reading the small note, which simply said “Welcome back”.  She then moved out onto the balcony.  She was not quite sure how long she stood there, letting the peaceful ambiance of the whole setting wash over her, feeling a deep sense of relaxation seeping into all of her bones.  She sighed gently, so happy to be back as she heard a small tap on the door.

Moving back into the bedroom she
called out for the visitor to enter, gasping with delight when little Maria and her mother entered the room.  In her hand the little girl held some wildflowers and was smiling up shyly at Diona.  “Miss Brown”, she said in broken English, “I wish to thank you for saving me”

Diona
felt the small tears come to her eyes as she moved over to hug the little girl, amazed at how much taller she had grown in the six months since she saved her life.  She smiled up at Maria’s mother, who was standing with tears in her eyes too, giving her a hug also.  As they stood there all smiling at each other and chatting happily with Maria translating between the two women, Alexis entered the room, instantly lifting Maria into his arms while talking quickly to the two easily in Greek.  She saw how he had grown quiet, his eyes growing wide, as Maria’s mother told him the tale of how Diona had saved Maria’s life over six months ago and she saw the warm glow light up Alexis’ eyes.

“Now I can boast that you are my sister
-in-law”, he said with a small wink.  “Thank you”, he added more sincerely, looking at the small girl in his arms.  “I was sent to tell you that it is 6:45”, Alexis started, as with a giggle she interrupted him.  “I know - dinner exactly at 7:00”, she said laughing.

For the next week the three of them
spent an idyllic time on the island.  Alexis showed them both many interesting caves and areas which she had not seen on her first visit, and Diona enjoyed herself.  However, mindful that it was still their honeymoon, she often found excuses to leave early or to be doing other things, allowing them their own space.  She got into a habit of having an hour’s sleep in the afternoon from three till four and found that she had grown totally in love with the wonderful island with its lush greenery and perfect weather.

As the second week began,
they were once more having dinner in the large dining room, when she saw the looks passing between Alexis and Daryle.  “OK, you two - spill”, she giggled, as they looked guiltily at each other.  “Well”, Daryle started, “We have the opportunity to go to the Bahamas for two weeks…all expenses paid”, she said softly, looking over at Diona.

“That’s wonderful”, she cried, “Oh I am so glad…I have been feeling so guilty about you having missed your honeymoon”  Then with a small frown she added, “But aren’t you due to start back at work next week?”, looking over at Alexis, who was smiling a little sheepishly.

“Well, actually I quit my job”, he said looking over at Daryle with a warm smile, seeing how Diona looked at him with shock. “Nikias has asked if I will come into the business as a full partner”, he said.  Diona gasped with pleasure. “I am so happy for you”, she cried, rising to hug them both, before looking into Alexis’ eyes.  “I know how much that means to you”, she said so softly, as he looked down to hide the emotions in his eyes as he nodded.  “Anyway, it means that we can still have that honeymoon before I get started, because according to Nikias I’ll need it”, he grinned.