Diana was obviously very good at observing, because she said, “Oh dear, I hope I haven’t upset you. I’m not trying to make you do anything or force you into anything,”
Anna shook her head, “Of course, I know that, Diana,” she said, “And believe me, I really appreciate and admire the way you care for Cedric and I know you will be the best grandmother to our child. I have heard all you said, and no matter what happens, Cedric and I will definitely do what’s right for this child,” she smiled at the kind, older lady and took her hand in hers, “Now why don’t we continue our walk and we can talk about something else. You can tell me everything about yourself,”
“I would love to,” Diana replied, “But first tell me about your pregnancy.”
“What would you like to know?” Anna asked, as excitement sparked in her youthful eyes.
“Everything.”
Anna almost got weepy. It was stupid, but the fact that the woman wanted to know everything was just so sweet, and in that moment she knew that even if her marriage to Cedric ended, her child would be in good hands with his Aunt when she wasn’t near. She was furious at Cedric for the half baked story he’d told his Aunt, but Diana didn’t need to know that. It was between her and Cedric, and she would handle him.
And so she told Cedric’s Aunt everything, down to the last little detail. They sat outside in the garden for hours, talking as if they’d been acquainted for years. Despite being from opposite ends of the social spectrum, they bonded out there among the flowers. They became friends.
She knew, without a doubt, his Aunt would never let her down when it came to her child, and It made her feel more relieved.
____________
When someone knocked on Anna’s door the following day after dinner and she opened it, she frowned when she saw Cedric standing there.
“Cedric,” she said. She was still very upset with him since her conversation with his Aunt the previous day, and had been trying her best to avoid him to prevent a fight, but apparently it had not worked because she could see a fight coming already.
“So, you do remember my name?” His mouth twisted mockingly as he walked into her room, totally oblivious to her mood. “Seems a while since I’ve heard you say it I had begun to wonder. You barely said a word to me at dinner even Aunt Diana was beginning to wonder what was wrong ”
“What … what are you doing here?” She saw his eyebrows lift and the heat that seared her stomach when she first opened the door turned to ice.
“Are you mad at me?” He asked her, “With the way you’ve been acting I’ve been wondering what the hell I’ve done wrong this time. You don’t have to be like that if something is on your mind. It would be easier for us if you just told me what’s bothering you,”
The door swung closed behind him, and she moved deeper into the room, knowing he was right behind her.
“You want to know what’s on my mind?” she scoffed back as she turned around to face him, adopting a brittle taunting manner, knowing it was her best form of protection. “How about we start with what you told your Aunt Diana about us,”
He looked confused for a second, and it pissed her even more. How dare he stand there and try to act like he didn’t know what she was talking about? “You told your Aunt I said I wanted to end our marriage after the baby arrives. What you failed to tell her is that it was your idea in the first place. I’d like to know why you threw me under the bus like that,”
“I didn’t throw you under the bus,” Cedric said, struggling to stay calm, “If you haven’t noticed, Aunt Diana is very observant, and she wanted to know why we had separate rooms. She and I are close and she was going to find out sooner or later.”
He paused for a second, knowing his next comment would only make matters worse, but they were going to have this conversation eventually. Guess the time had finally come, “But I didn’t lie either, did I? Isn’t that what you want? A divorce? I told you that I wanted to stay married, and you refused so I gave up trying to convince you. What else would you have me do?”
Anna threw her hands in exasperation, “It was your idea. The contract was your idea, Cedric, and when I wanted something different, you were willing to walk away from me and our child. You only came back months later and you expected me to just run back into your arms like I was at your beck and call. Look, it’s okay if you want to keep lying to yourself, just don’t go around telling that lie to everyone else. I happen to like your Aunt Diana, please don’t go around telling her lies about me. At least be man enough to own up to your mistakes!”
She saw his face contort as he took a step towards her. Trapped in the black glitter of his eyes it was too late to move away. His fingers locked round her arms, his chest expanding and contracting rapidly beneath the jacket of the formal business suit he wore.
“Don’t try to push me too far, Anna,” he warned her roughly. “Sometimes you…I’m not a liar, and you know it. I’m not going to keep having this same fight with you over and over again. My Aunt and I had a discussion and maybe you misunderstood, but I wasn’t trying to make our problems your fault. I take full responsibility for the situation we’re in now, but I think you keep on holding on to it because you want to have an excuse to walk away from me. If you want to leave me, go ahead. I’m not going to try to stop you. Not again.”
The fierce surge of rage she could feel emanating from him excited her, shockingly so, her mind trying to ignore the signals coming from her body. Which just showed how crazy she was when it came to this man. Even when she was furious at him, her body refused to cooperate.