Painful Deception

Mark called out to Jacqueline as soon as he arrived in the manor. He had come immediately when she called and said that he needed to come home. Since she never ever called him on business trips, he thought it must have been important and rushed home at once.

He looked in the library and found it empty before moving down the hall, and as he was walking out of the sitting room he saw her coming out of her personal room. Her pregnancy was blaringly obvious, she was waddling towards him, one hand supporting her back; her belly was high and larger than he remembered. Her pajama shorts and a large t-shirt he didn’t recognize made her look very young.

“Hello Mark,” she said sounding a bit out of breath. He walked up to her and rested his hands on her belly. He felt his child move about in her womb; a deep sense of pride welled up within him, he created this and put this into her. His gray eyes met her deep blue ones and he was surprised to see a curious expression, not one of repulsion.

“What was it that you needed me for?” he asked, still resting his hands on her belly.

She stepped away from him, forcing his hands away from her. “The police were here. They want to question you about that woman Selene. Apparently she fell down the stairs. It’s a good thing your baby is okay.” He couldn’t move as he heard what she had just said; his bastard survived. His mind briefly wandered over to the fact that his hired henchman had not gotten the job done, but then he remembered the police. It would take some thinking, but he was sure he could get out of it. Jacqueline however, was what was perplexing him. He knew he had strong feelings for her and he desperately wanted to find out what that curious look she gave him meant. Maybe she wasn’t as disgusted by him as she let on.

Jacqueline plopped down in her armchair in a huff, out of breath and it only seemed to get worse every day. She wished she would just give birth already. As she sat in the very comfortable chair she thought over what had happened in the hallway. She couldn’t explain it. There was a look in Mark’s eyes that was so tender, filled with awe and wonder that she couldn’t get mad when he touched her. When he had spoken to her his voice was so soft, and she could tell he wasn’t focusing on what she was going to say, so she backed away. She did so also because she was frightened of the way he was acting; it was so unnatural to her. She hated to admit it, but she was so afraid of him that for a brief moment she thought that maybe he was just trying to trick her, only to do something impossibly cruel.

She had been feeling odd ever since her argument with Harry and the end of their relationship. She had been wondering to herself for the past day if their argument should just mean the end of a romantic relationship or the closeness of friendship they had before. But men were all the same: Even though you're friends with them, the thing that drives them the entire time is definitely not friendship alone. The burden of figuring out what she was going to do with herself and her baby as the due date grew increasingly close was stressing her out; she wasn’t so sure about leaving Mark so soon. She let out a low groan; her back had been killing her lately. She supposed her relentless pondering over what she was going to do with her marriage with Mark and how much trouble she believed him to be had to be contributing factors to her back aches. A nice hot long shower would surely smooth her pains out, and she had to get dressed to buy things for the baby anyways, and the nursery had to be completed.

Mark, after a call to the police department and promises of large quantities of sponsoring money, found his problem with them vanished. He supposed now he would have to support Selene somehow, as long as she didn’t bring the bastard around him. He would talk with his accountant tomorrow and get monthly payments figured out. Trudging up the stairs, he took off his suit jacket and when he reached the room, he took off his tie, then his gold cufflinks. He sat on the edge of bed and ran a hand through his hair. Managing his household was harder than he thought back when his father ran it- it seemed so efficient. And the more he ran it with an iron fist, the less happy both he and Jacqueline became. He heard the water turn off in the bathroom and the sound of Jacqueline humming was carried to him.

She would be a good mother; he often saw her rubbing her belly and staring absentmindedly as if in deep thought about their baby. He finished undressing and laid his pants on the back of the armchair near the fireplace. He went into his closet to fetch a pair of jeans and a polo shirt; he had been wearing suits so often lately.

Jacqueline pulled her underclothes on and started to dry off her hair as she hummed to herself- well, more to the baby who often relaxed when she hummed. Her method worked and the kicks to her bladder ceased, she smiled to herself and walked out into the bedroom to put on the rest of her clothes. As she stepped into the bedroom she saw Mark standing in front of the mirror adjusting his shirt collar, and so she hurried to her closet to put clothes on. She could have groaned when she heard Mark ask her where she was going.

“To town to pick some things up for the nursery,” she said back. She hurriedly threw a dress over her shoulders and slipped into a pair of flip-flops; she didn’t want him walking in on her with just her underclothes on. It was a really silly care, after all, he had seen and touched more than any other man…except for one.

“The nursery isn’t finished yet?” he asked, his voice getting closer.

She rolled her eyes and hurriedly came out of the closet. “No, I haven’t had much time to get things, so much has happened these past months”

“I’ll go with you then, I would like to pick out a few things,” Mark said as he laced up his shoes.

“Don’t you have to go to the police station today?” she asked, wondering if he had forgotten.

“Yes, but it's not urgent. I’ve already cleared the confusion up; I’ll get the car. It’s been a very long time since I’ve actually driven. I’ll see you downstairs,” he said as he got up, smiling at her. Jacqueline stared at him stunned. He actually smiled at her. He just smiled at her with no malicious act that preceded it; that was the first true and honest smile he had given her since before they were married. She plopped down on the foot bench and looked around; the way that Mark was acting was making her feel so unsure about things, nothing was as it was. She got up from the bench and slowly made her way downstairs, thinking about how muddled things had become in such a short time.


A/N:Sorry for the really long wait. Life has gotten really busy lately. I know this chapter is short but I just wanted to show how things were progressing. And just to let you guys know, Harry isnt over yet! I'll update a longer chapter, with more information and action, as soon as I can. Thanks for reading! Please review! Also, thanks a bunch to my beta christine! Your wonderful and to answer your question...maybe Jacqueline is so used to men betraying her that she is now numb to it.