Fated To Be Hers

Chapter4

While Lily was trying to jump off a landing at some industrial complex, Andy sat with his friend, Peter, having a drink back at the house.

There was a fire in the fireplace and the flames danced in Andy's eyes.

"You didn't have to do that, man," Peter said, as he turned to look at his friend.

"I had to," Andy replied.

"You had to? Are you saying that it was necessary to treat her that way?" Peter wanted to know.

Andy swirled the contents in his cup as if he was trying to mix it all.

"You already know that I have to save my reputation, Peter," Andy told him. "Just because she got pregnant for me doesn't mean that I have to sacrifice all of these for that. As far as I know, her pregnancy can be fixed."

"Fixed?" Peter asked, surprised that his friend would ever say that about a woman, especially one that he had slept with multiple times. "You think it is a problem that can be fixed?"

"Of course, it is a problem!" Andy snapped and got to his feet, already exasperated. "I'm not having this conversation with you now, Peter."

Andy went to sit on the stool at the bar. There was no doubt that Peter was trying to be reasonable towards him, but the bottom line could not be reversed or seen any other way. He could not marry Ella. She had nothing to offer him, and she was still a student. He needed someone who could complete him in his business endeavors, not just someone who would please him in bed anytime he wanted.

Well, was that the way Andy saw her?

Just a s*x partner?

Peter joined him at the bar. He refilled his cup and decided to do the same for his friend.

"You don't want to talk about it, but I can see the look in your eyes, Andy," Peter said. "And that look tells a lot about you right now."

"What do you mean?" Andy asked as he glanced at his best friend.

"You are disturbed about the whole debacle," Peter claimed.

"No," Andy disagreed, sipping his drink.

"Yes, you are," Peter said, in a manner of insistence, his head nodding up and down to show that he knew what he was saying. "I don't know what you are thinking about in that head of yours but I am very sure that you aren't happy at how the situation turned out. She might be just someone you slept with but that pregnancy thing was something you never expected. So tell me, if she hadn't gotten pregnant, would you have married her? Eventually?"

Andy looked at his friend but said nothing. He had no response to that question. So he downed his drink and got to his feet again.

"There is something I have to attend to, Peter," Andy said. "More serious matters than a pregnancy accusation. My brother is one hurdle that I have to step over to gain control of the company."

"But aren't you supposed to be next in line already?" Peter asked.

"It isn't that simple in this business, Pete," Andy said. "And you can't tell me that you don't know. Pearce is a very cunning sibling and I have to make sure that he doesn't steal my birthright from me."

Peter Wood shrugged. He had no idea why the man was so worried about Pearce, who preferred to stay in the shadows. Peter didn't think the man was a hurdle Andy had to climb over to get to the position of Chief Executive Officer of the construction company. Andy already had that on a platter of gold but he just wanted to prove himself to everyone.

Prove what?

"Well, I just hope you do know what you are doing, Andy," Peter said, in an advisory tone. "Because we both know who Derrick Moore is, and he might do something reckless to that lady. All because you denied her pregnancy."

Andy smiled as if that accusation hadn't touched him one bit. It was already late and he needed to retire for the night.

"Good night, Peter," Andy said.

"Well, last I heard, your brother was out of town," Peter said over his shoulder as Andy disappeared upstairs.

***

Déja vu.

Lily remembered clearly something like that. She fell into the cold sea, and someone reached out his strong hands to hold her waist and pull her out of the water.

But back then, she hadn't been trying to kill herself by falling into the sea. She had slipped and fallen.

Why did it have to happen that the moment she decided to end her life, she was saved again?

The figure's face was in the dark, but he came quickly into the light, and something struck her so familiar that Lily almost pushed him off. But some clarity wasn't far from her senses when she realized that it wasn't Andy who had held her back again. The man standing before her just bore some resemblance to Andy.

"How about we just step back to a safer spot?" the man said, his hands held out in front of him, completely blocking her access to the edge of the landing.

"Why did you stop me!" Lily yelled at him. Her hands came up, and they batted at his hands, trying desperately to move them away so she could go back to doing what she was about to do.

Lily moved to push the man away, but he was stronger, so he held her in his arms until she gave up and stopped fighting him.

Then she cried her eyes out.

"Why did you stop me? You should have left me to do it!" Lily lamented.

"Let you kill yourself in my company?" Pearce asked and shook his head. "Nah. Can't take that risk."

Lily pushed herself off him. "Your company? Do you own this place? This industrial complex?"

"Yeah, I do," Pearce replied. "What happened to you, lady?"

"Nothing," Lily snapped and began descending the steps as fast as she could.

"Hey! Careful going down there or you'll end up falling!" Pearce shouted after her. Then after some thought, he went after her.

Lily could not believe that she had been caught and that she had been saved from trying to kill herself. Somehow, the need for it had suddenly ebbed out of her. Just like that.

Lily quickened her steps, hoping that she would still meet the driver where she left him but the car was gone already. She remembered trying to throw herself off after the engine sputtered to life.

"No, gosh!" she exclaimed in frustration.

"Guess your taxi man left without you," Pearce said as he came up behind her. "My name is Pearce. What's yours?"

"Ella."

"Ella, how about I take you in my car and get you back to wherever it is you came from?"

Lily thought about that and replied, "I'm not even supposed to be here. Not in this state anymore."

"Where are you supposed to be?" Pearce asked.

"Anywhere but here," Lily said.

It sounded as if she was running away from something and decided to take the shortcut to end her life.

"Then why don't you c

ome with me, and I'll take you anywhere you want to go?"