Arabelle

Chapter 41- Dreams don't come true

Derrick’s POV

When I got to the study, I knocked before I went in, mother was sitting behind the desk with a glass of wine in her and a smile on a face,

Anytime I saw mother looking like this, it caused panic to rise deep inside me, all the times I had seen her like this, it was also because she had done something bad, I felt my heart sink to the bottom of the stomach, what had she done? I was asking myself,

“Oh Derrick, you are here” she said and her smile widened,

And my heart sank lower, I managed to clear my throat and say “You called for me mother”

“Yes, it was because I had something to tell you, I was just thinking that it had been a while since we got together with all our suppliers, so I wanted us to hold a small event, perhaps we could do a fund raiser and the profits can be given to charity, it has been a while since our company did something like this, it used to be annual event when your father was alive, so I was thinking it will be great if we could revive it, what do you think?” She said,

I had not expected her to say that, in fact, it was not even on the list of things I expected her to say, she was right, we used to hold the king’s annual fundraiser when my dad was alive, he used it as medium for us to maintain a cordial relationship with our suppliers, I remember it as been a fun affair, but it had stopped when he died,

So I was surprised mum was thinking about it, it was actually a good idea and I had no problem with it at all,

“I think it’s a wonderful idea” I said

“Excellent, I will start the preparations as soon as possible, you don’t need to worry yourself about it, all I will need from you is to make an appearance” She said with another smile,

I was finding all this very strange, why was she doing this?, my mother was a calculative woman, I just felt like something was off, just this morning, she had been bothering me about Arabelle and now she was talking about charity and social gatherings,

“Okay mother, if you need my help with anything, you can let me know” I said,

“I will keep that in mind Son” she said,

I looked at her, nothing was off except for the smile on her face, I couldn’t trust her even if I wanted to,

“You can go back to whatever it is you were doing before you came here” she said,

“Okay goodnight mum” I said

“Good night Richard” she said,

I turned and walked out of the room, as I walked back to my room, I had only one thought in my mind,

“Just what the hell are you planning mother?” I said to myself and all the while, I kept praying that Arabelle was not in danger.

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Derrick’s POV

The gentle scent of jasmines and strawberries filled my nostrils, a smile crept into my face, I opened my eyes and she was in my arms, sleeping peacefully with a smile on her pretty face, I felt the smile on my face grow even wider, I felt a happiness I hadn’t felt in a very long time, this had been all I ever wanted, I had wanted to wake up and find her sleeping peacefully in my arms and now, here she was in my arms,

I looked around and saw that I was in my room, not my room as Richard Blackwood but my room as Derrick King, this was actually the present and Arabelle was in my arms right now, I turned my attention back to the sleeping angel in my arms, her blue eyes were open and looking up at me with a love that couldn’t be denied, her face broke into a smile, my smile managed to grow even wider, i bent my head closer to hers, then I stopped when I was just a breath away,

She was still smiling, I rested my forehead against hers and just let myself be lost in this moment for a while, my hands were wrapped around her slender waist, it was still a bit strange that we were here like this together, it felt like a dream and if it was, I never wanted it to end, I didn’t mind being trapped in a loop like this, together like this forever, it will be a dream come true indeed,

“You seem tense Derrick” she said, I felt her pull away from me and I instantly felt like pulling her back and holding her close to me again,

I looked into her blue eyes and they were filled with worry, I managed a smile, this was a dream for sure because had it not been a dream, Arabelle will not be looking at me like she was now, with such love and care and it broke my heart,

“This is not real, this is just a dream my love” I said and I felt a great feeling of loss settle in the core of my soul,

“What has gotten into you Derrick? I am right here, this is not a dream” she said,

I shook my head sadly because as much as she said this was not a dream, deep in my heart, I knew it was a dream,

She was looking deep into my eyes and it made me sad that all this was not real, taking a deep breath, I pulled away from her and stood up from the bed, repeating the words “This is just a dream”

I repeated the words over and over again until I finally opened my eyes and found that I was back in my room, it was dark and Arabelle was gone,

I felt sadness despite knowing it was just a dream, it still hurt that she wasn’t here, I lay awake for a long time remembering the way Arabelle had looked at me and she had called me Derrick not Richard, somehow I found that comforting, Richard was the name upon which all my past crimes hung, it was the name that made me feel guilt and pain but as Derrick King, I was void of any crime and guilt, I had done no wrong and Arabelle had called me Derrick, so I found that very comforting in a lot of ways,

But that dream had been a fool’s dream, it was a dream that only a fool like me could dream of, I knew that the story of love and affection between me and Arabelle was long over and all that remained between us to settle all our scores and for me to gain forgiveness if that was even possible, that was also a fool’s dream but it was one dream I was willing to hold onto, more than anything in this world, I wanted Arabelle to forgive me, she could hate me and find me appalling and I wouldn’t care but I wish she could forgive,

“Pathetic!” I said to myself as I stood up from the bed and walked over to my laptop on my desk, I knew it was hopeless trying to go back to sleep, I will just lie awake till morning,

I switched on the laptop, thinking I could get some work done, after trying for about 30 minutes and I was getting nowhere, I decided to leave it, I decided to switch off the laptop and go back to bed but I stopped, I click on the search icon and typed in “Isabella Mavericks”

The results were quick to come in, the first thing I saw was the header saying that she and the CEO of Langrove International Companies were rumoured to be dating and a picture of the two them together was also added to the caption,

I clicked on the picture and it opened into full size, they were walking out of the Langrove mansion together, Arabelle was laughing and so was Langrove, she looked happy and carefree just like the Arabelle I knew,

With a loud sigh, I switched the laptop off and stood up, I walked over to my bed and fell on it looking at the ceiling,

“I will never be free of you Arabelle, this much I can be sure of” I said into the darkness,

I lay there on the bed and I wasn’t sure what time sleep took me.