TEMPORARY CRUELTY

Temporary cruelty 2

“Can you leave now?” she muttered.

“Not until you tell me why you really married my cousin.” Eric said. His expression was unyielding and dangerous.

“For his money, I thought you figured that out already.” Morgan retorted.

Eric looked at her as if he would hit her then walked out of the room. Immediately he left Allen and Fred entered the room, she could see from their faces that they had been eavesdropping on her conversation with Eric.

“What is really going on between you two?” Fred asked.

Morgan sat down and frowned. “You heard everything.”

“Did that b***h Liz confront you?” Allen asked.

“Did something happen with you and Eric?” Fred insisted.

“Enough! I just need some air.” Morgan walked out of the room successfully without the men following her.

In her room she thought about Fred’s question. What was happening between her and Eric? She could no longer ignore the effect Eric had on her. Her emotions were mixed up, nothing made sense with Eric. Her body always felt different when he was close to her. She always shivered at his nearness and was always panicky in his presence.

She looked at her expression in the mirror and remembered how Eric had said she looked like a ghost; she wondered why she was feeling so wretched about doing her best friend a favor. Allen was the reason for the glamorous life she now enjoyed and he had been there for her when she lost her parents, first her father and then a year later her mother. He had never asked her for anything. His request was so easy because she had no love life, all the relationships she attempted bored her before they got serious. She would get used to the idea of being a married woman; she forced a smile on her face.

A few minutes later Allen opened her door and stood at the entrance.

“We are going for a drive, do you want to come?” He asked.

“No, I think I will watch some TV or read a book.” She said lying on her bed lazily.

“It’s a beautiful day, you are missing out.”

But she didn’t feel like going out that day. She felt restless and it was as if she was preparing herself for something terrible to happen but she didn’t know what it was.

“You love birds enjoy your day.” She forced herself to smile.

Allen ran in the room and kissed her forehead then rushed out. Morgan smiled warmly. She looked at the ceiling and hoped things would be better.

CHAPTER TWO

Morgan had stayed up all night waiting for Allen and Fred but when it was mid night she supposed that they had decided to spend a night in a night club. They loved the noise and crowds in the clubs so much that they forgot about time.

The persistent doorbell woke Morgan up. She looked at the alarm clock; it was seven in the morning. She wondered if Fred and Allen had forgotten their keys. She reluctantly got out of bed and went to open the door. She failed to disguise her shock when she found Allen’s father at the door.

“Mr. Bradford, please come in.”

She led him to the sitting room that had always been her comfort and now it looked ridiculous when she Saw Henry Bradford sit on the only sofa in the room. He was the old vision of Eric; he always wore expensive suits and walked as if he owned the world.

That morning Henry looked different, he looked tired and older. She had always thought that for sixty- five he was very attractive and he was never without female company. That day was very peculiar because he had never been to their apartment.

“May I get you something to drink? Allen is not here… he should be back any moment.” She murmured, not knowing what to do.

“Morgan, please sit down.” He pointed to the space next to him.

Morgan obeyed and sat next to him.

“Is there a problem?” She inquired. Had he come to fire her personally? Had his golden nephew finally had enough of her presence in the company?

“Allen and his friend had an accident…a car crush yesterday.” He said quietly.

“Which hospital are they at?” she asked knowing things were worse.

“Allen didn’t make it but his friend will pull through, the doc…”

“He didn’t make it to the hospital? Where is he?” Morgan cried refusing to accept what Henry was telling her.

“Allen isn’t…we need to stick together as a family.”

“No!” Morgan wept.

There after she didn’t hear anything; she bit her lip to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She fell to the floor because she couldn’t support herself. She had known she shouldn’t have gone ahead with that deception and now God was punishing her. Allen was all she had.

Time seemed to have stopped as Morgan went through the motions. She told herself that if she didn’t cry everything would turn out to be a nightmare and she would eventually wake up from it. It had been four days since Allen’s death and she hadn’t talked to anyone, the only way she could communicate was by nodding her head.

At the grave yard she stood between Eric and Henry. It was a small gathering, only Allen’s close friends and family. Henry put a Comforting arm around her shoulders and she felt a piercing ache in her heart as she was reminded why they were there.

Henry led her to his black limousine and she was glad because she needed to be alone, alone in her apartment to die and be with Allen. But the car stopped in front of Henry’s central park apartment building and he led her out of the car.

The Bradford condo was enormous and Morgan had always felt it was absurd indulgence. Only Eric and Henry lived there with their many servants to attend to their whims which she imagined were endless.

The sitting room was furnished with modern furnishings. When Morgan sat on one of the sofas, Henry gave her a glass of whisky which she sipped quickly.

“I think it’s best if you stay here for a few weeks. Going back to that apartment doesn’t seem practical.” Henry said. He had been so kind and caring to her that she couldn’t believe it was the same arrogant man she had known all those years. Even Eric had asked her once or twice if she needed anything.

She wanted to go back to the apartment where she could feel Allen’s presence in his things and the pictures of them together that hang around their walls. But she found she couldn’t utter a word, it was as if she had forgotten how to talk. Her mind formulated the words but her mouth refused to release them.

“I would have called your parents but I don’t have their contact and since they were not invited to the wedding I thought you wouldn’t want them here.” Henry went on.

What parents? This proved how little Henry knew about her despite the years that she had been his son’s friend.

“I had someone collect your clothes, I hope you don’t mind.” Henry went on.

For a moment she allowed herself to notice him, to see beyond her grief and she realized that Henry was falling apart. He looked so overwhelmed and common that she was forced to admit he was human after all.

She shook her head.

Fate had been warning her of the coming calamity and she had ignored it. Her happiness was taken away; she now understood why marrying Allen had made her feel so overwrought.

One of the servants led her to an elegant room fit to accommodate a queen. She felt so tiny lying on the enormous bed and for a brief moment she closed her eyes. Never had she craved sleep as much as she did then and for long hours all she thought about was sleep, maybe if, only maybe, she would wake up from her sleep to find Allen alive.

She couldn’t sleep and when it was morning a maid brought breakfast but she just stared at it. She didn’t want to eat or drink anything. Lunch was brought in and later Supper but all the meals went back untouched. She couldn’t get up, she just lay on the bed and stared into space… she tried to cry but nothing.

The next day repeated itself but after what seemed like a life time she heard a knock on her door. She had closed her eyes to force sleep and when she opened them it was dark. She waited wishing whoever it was would go away

but the knock was adamant, there was a long pause and then the door opened.

The light went on and Eric entered the room with a small bowl of soup and sat at the edge of the bed.

“Sit up.” He ordered.

He looked as run down as his uncle but unlike Henry he appeared to be in control.

She sat up automatically, obeying his every demand like she always did. She watched silently as he took the spoon in an attempt to feed her. She moved away from the spoon slowly and shook her head in refusal. Her eyes filled with tears and she kept herself from crying out loud. She didn’t want to break in front of Eric but his sudden display of kindness overwhelmed her.

She wasn’t prepared for his display of emotion now that she was in so much pain. For years Morgan had wished for any sign that Eric didn’t hate her and that he could one day see her as a feeling human being.

“You need to eat.” He said softly.

She felt her body respond to his gentleness. Her heart beat fast against her chest and she knew she could not hold a spoon without shaking. She reluctantly opened her mouth and he begun to feed her.

Her eyes shyly travelled to his face and she caught his gaze. Color was drained out of his face and his eyes glistened. For a moment their eyes were locked and she would have sworn that their hearts had spoken. Eric was the first to look away, he lifted the spoon but she took it from his hand and put it away.

“Locking yourself away in here won’t change what has already happened.” Eric said getting up.

To Morgan’s surprise he walked to the bathroom and she heard water running.

“You need a bath.” He said walking from the bathroom to her.

He uncovered the beddings slowly and got her up tenderly. Morgan stood still and closed her eyes briefly because she felt dizzy. She heard the zip of her dress opening and her eyes flung open.

“What are you doing?” She moved away from him shakily.

“Helping you undress.” His face was hard and grim.

“I can take…” She staggered and fell to the bed.

“You are too weak to do it yourself. You have starved yourself for days and I won’t let you die here.” Eric helped her stand and continued with the zip.

Morgan stood still, her heart begun to beat fast against her chest as she waited for Eric to undress her. Damn that zip, she wondered how long it was because it seemed like forever before it came down. She shivered when Eric’s hand lightly brushed her skin. His touch brought a rising sense of excitement.

Eric stood in front of her as he removed the dress from her shoulders; her eyes met his as she felt the dress fall to her feet. Her body tingled as the cold air touched her warm skin. The muscles in her legs clenched and she felt a strong urge to cover up.

His eyes glittered dangerously, they showed emotions she couldn’t understand; it looked like anger mingled with something she couldn’t let herself contemplate. She looked away from him quickly. She felt foolish for the way her body was responding to him. It wasn’t the first time Eric had seen her in under wear, he saw her millions of times

when she tried on his cloths or when she modeled for under wear collections.

“You seem anxious.” He said giving out a tight laugh that caught on his throat.

Morgan realized then that she wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable about their present setting.

“Why should I be? You have seen me like this many times.” Morgan muttered attempting to lighten up the tension that was in the room.

“Yes, I remember.” He whispered as his eyes slowly travelled up and down her half n***d body.

Morgan almost fell to the floor when Eric stroked her arm but he held her still and remained watching her . She felt as if electricity had stroked her and she couldn’t believe her body was behaving so shamefully.

“You can leave now.” She muttered. She couldn’t recognize the sound of her own voice. It was as if a wanton woman had taken her body and she had lost herself. whether she liked it or not she couldn’t deny that what Eric was making her feel then was desire. It was absolutely real and violent yearning.

Instead Eric carried her off the floor and took her to the bathroom where he put her in the warm soapy water.

“You will feel better after this.” He said and walked out of the room after closing the tap.

Morgan knew she would never be the same. Not after the emotions he had awaken in her with a simple stare and a light touch.

She put a folded towel behind her head and lay in the tab facing the ceiling. As time passed, the warm water and relaxing smell from the bubble bath made her sleepy. For the first time in days she fell asleep and woke up in a tub full of cold water.

She got out of the tub feeling more alive than she had in days. The bright sun shone through the bathroom window and she remembered Fred. Poor Fred, she had been so immersed in her agony that she had forgotten all about him. She didn’t know how bad his injuries were but Henry had convinced her that they were minor.

As she chose a dress to wear from the closet her mind wondered about what had happened with Eric last night.

“I hate him.” She thought.

She wore a black mini dress as she tried to make sense of what had happened. Never in the time that she had known Eric had she dreamt she would desire him and she had been so sure she hated him.

She convinced herself it was grief that had confused them both. No matter how hard he had tried to pretend she had noticed a glint of longing in his gaze. She was sure they would go back to despising each other.

CHAPTER THREE

Morgan was feeling anxious about meeting Eric. She didn’t know how she could escape the house without meeting him. She told herself it was foolish to leave without informing Henry, he had been so good to her.

She walked down to the dining room in one of her high heels. She had learned to preserve a certain personae as a model and gotten used to looking appealing in public. She met Eric at the door and stopped not knowing how to react.

“Good morning.” He said acting as cold as always.

“Good morning.” She didn’t understand why she felt hurt by his indifference; he had always treated her that way.

Henry welcomed her into the room warmly. It seemed as if he had been there a while. “I will be going to see Fred this morning, would you like to come?” he asked.

“I would love to come.” She said and then caught a glimpse of Eric’s glare.

“I have a few papers to look over, finish your breakfast and then we can leave.” Henry left the room.

Morgan’s heart begun to race, all the space in the room seemed to have been taken over by Eric. He stared at her rudely and he was determined to embarrass her.

She got up quickly to escape him but his long strides were too fast. His hand griped her waist and he pulled her back against him.

“Leave me alone.” she cried.

His lips brushed her neck sensually and she felt her muscles turn to water. Her body hungered for his closeness so shamelessly and when his lips brushed her ear lobe she sighed.

“This is what I should have done last night.” he whispered huskily.

Every sense had heightened to a painful intensity. She was lost. She turned and kissed his lips but his kiss was angry and rough. She tried to fight him off but he held her tight against him.

“I can be gentle.” He said under the pressure of her mouth. He then licked her sore lips tenderly.

Her mind and body were so conflicted. Her mind hated his treatment but her body yarned for more of whatever he could give. She slowly put her arms around his neck and responded to his slow and then hungry kisses.

Eric pulled away breathing heavily and he put her face between his palms; he looked at her with rage.

”You little witch!” he mattered.

“Eric.” She whispered. She was having trouble breathing.

“Is that why you are going to see Fred? To bewitch him like you do to all the other men?” He asked.

“You are not making sense.” She said moving away from him. For a brief moment she allowed herself to think he was jealous and then she felt ridiculous. Eric could have any woman he wanted in New York, why would he be jealous because of her? He was grieving for his young cousin and that was confusing him.

“And you are making sense? My cousin just died and you can’t wait for your next target.” Eric snapped.

Her heart broke. Eric believed she was betraying Allen with him. Poor Eric, if only he knew the real truth but it didn’t matter because he had kissed her to punish her and he had succeeded.

“Eric, please.” She tried to touch him and he moved away quickly.

“Is that why you are dressed like that?” He snapped.

“You have no right to tell me how I should dress!” she barked.

“You are right.” He tried to walk away but she held his hand.

“Eric, please stop doing this to me.” She cried.

“There is nothing I have done to you that you haven’t done to me.” His mouth twitched.

Morgan felt her heart ache, she needed to cry. She wanted to die because she felt she didn’t deserve all the misery that life had served her. She had always been a good person but why then did fate make sure she never stayed happy?

Eric turned to walk to the door but Morgan held his hand and he stood still. When he turned his eyes registered anger and desire. The door opened and Eric quickly removed his hand from hers.

“Are you done with breakfast?” Henry asked standing at the door.

“Yes.” Morgan said hurriedly and followed him out.

Fred was not badly injured. When she and Henry arrived at the hospital they found his parents taking him to their car. Fred had put his arms up to embrace her and she hugged him tightly.

“I didn’t even make it to the funeral.” He cried.

“You couldn’t, everything will be fine.” She cried not knowing what else to say. How could she comfort Fred knowing that he had lost his lover and life partner?

“If there is anything you need, feel free to call.” Henry had said.

“Thank you, Mr. Bradford.” Fred murmured entering the car.

“I will come over tomorrow; you need your rest now.” Morgan said kissing his cheek.

Morgan had lived in the Bradford condo for nearly two months and in all that time Eric avoided her like a plague. She had decided it was for the best but she could not understand why she thought about him so much, why she anticipated running into him and why her heart stopped every time he was around.

Morgan had forced herself to ignore what had happened between Eric and her. She decided to see him at the office because she hadn’t seen Eric in weeks; it was as if they were not living in the same house. He got up for work early and came back very late at night.

She wished she had waited until the next day because it was already getting dark but she knew Eric worked late and she wasn’t sure she would get the courage to talk to him the next day. She waited outside his office longer than

usual and she was convinced he was making her wait deliberately.

“Debra, are you sure Eric is in?” Morgan asked the secretary.

Debra had worked for Eric for years and despite their dislike of each other in the beginning, Morgan had grown to like her. They often went to lunch together or met up for drinks.

“He is in; he has been so moody lately…” Debra begun to say but she stopped when Eric’s office door opened and he stood at the door.

“Get in.” Eric ordered and walked in.

Morgan looked at Debra as if asking for help but Debra just chuckled and whispered. “Good luck.”