Bound By Her Ring (22 page)

Jasmine knew it would be hard to convince him but she had to try. She had to make him believe she still loved him as much as she ever did, if not more. She had to try and get through that impenetrable shell he’d erected over his heart again.

“I’m not that good an actress to be able to fake everything we’ve shared recently. The reason I didn’t remember is because I wanted to forget.” She couldn’t help it, the tears started to flow again. She’d thought she was all cried out. “I wanted to forget that because of me and my carelessness I’d killed our baby before we’d even gotten to know him or her. I hated myself and I just wanted to forget.”

She looked and pleaded with her eyes for him to believe her. His gaze gave nothing away and she knew all hope was lost. There was only one more thing she could do.

Her fingers of her right hand went to the rings on her left. Jasmine cradled them for a moment before twisting them off. With each millimetre of flesh exposed by the removal of her rings, her heart broke into tiny pieces.

The gold was warm in her hands but the diamonds seemed to have lost their shine and sparkle.

Jasmine walked over to his desk and laid them in the middle of the glossy black surface.

“They were my link to you, but I can’t keep them if you don’t love me the way I love you.” She heard the hitch in his breath but still didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. “Yes, that’s right Lukas, I love you, always have and always will, but if your wish is for us to part then I can do nothing but accept it. Goodbye.”

Jasmine got into her car and wiped the tears away. The last thing she needed was to have an accident again because of tears. Wouldn’t that be ironic the night she gets her memory back, she has another accident. Once again her heart has been broken by a man she loved.

That thought pulled her up short.

She’d lost both of the men in her life tonight. Although could she really say she had Lukas back in her life to lose? They’d spent less than two weeks together. Sure she’d thought they had been working towards building a new relationship. Was the relationship real or something created out of her memory loss? It was real to her, but maybe not to Lukas. He believed it all to be an illusion. An elaborate joke.

Jasmine took a deep breath and closed her eyes, when she opened them again, she felt more in control. She started her car and pulled out of the driveway. Jasmine had no idea which direction to head.

What she really wanted to do was go back inside and try and talk to Lukas. Make him understand that how she’d acted while they were in Broome was all her, it wasn’t fake and neither was her memory loss. With her memory back she knew that every action, every word she’d spoken was the truth. Her feelings for Lukas had never changed, if anything they’d grown deeper during the time they’d spent together.

Jasmine knew that she could talk and talk and talk to Lukas but it wouldn’t make a difference. Either he would believe her or he wouldn’t. She suspected it would be the later and she had to prepare herself that her marriage would be over and she’d have to continue on with life without Lukas in it.

Her heart broke again into a thousand pieces at that thought. Jasmine didn’t want to contemplate spending the rest of her life without Lukas in it. It was just too awful to imagine.

Jasmine felt the tears welling in her eyes again and pulled over to the side of the road, something she should’ve done months ago. If she had of done that, how different would her life have been? She put her hands on her flat stomach. If she hadn’t had her accident she would’ve now been close to giving birth. Sobs welled up inside of her and she buried her face in her hands. She couldn’t believe that just a few hours ago she was planning a romantic meal, now her world had collapsed around her.

She didn’t know how long she sat there but a knock on the window had her sitting up in fright. Jasmine looked out of the window and locked eyes with someone she thought she’d never see again—her father. In her emotional state she had driven herself to the one place she had felt secure, her childhood home.

“Jasmine, honey,” her father stopped, as if he didn’t know what to say, but the look in his eyes told her he was in as much pain as she was.

Jasmine released her seatbelt and opened her door. Her father moved back as she stepped out of the car. For a heartbeat they looked at each other, misery looking at misery. Regret looking at regret. Then her father opened his arms and she walked straight into them. As he engulfed her in a hug, Jasmine knew that even though forgiving her father for what he’d done had seemed unlikely a few hours ago now it was a possibility. For all his faults Thomas Anderson was her father and she wanted him in her life. They had a ways to go, but she knew that eventually they would get there and their relationship would be mended.

“Come home, sweetheart,” her father whispered in her ear. “Come home.”

“Yes.”

Lucianos’s gaze was centred totally on the two circles of gold lying lost amongst the vast blackness of his desk. He didn’t know how long he sat there looking at them, glinting under the down lighting of his office. He hoped they would provide him with some answers but they remained quiet and he had no answers. He pushed back his chair, picked up his glass with one hand, and with the other scooped up the rings that had meant so much to Jasmine. He clenched his fist around them, the diamond from the engagement ring digging into his hand.

He wandered over to the window, looking out but not seeing anything. The image that filled his mind completely, was the haunted look in Jasmine’s eyes when she’d laid her rings on his desk. He didn’t think that look would ever leave him.

He thought back over the night. Her shock and devastation when he had accused her of playing him had seemed so real, it couldn’t have been faked. But her declaration later that her memory had returned after he’d confronted about her supposed abortion still seemed too convenient.

Had he been too harsh with his accusations?

For the first time in his life he seemed confused and unsure of what to believe. His heart was telling him to believe Jasmine and her declaration she’d lost the baby in the accident. But his head was telling him not to be a fool and fall for her tricks once again.

Had Jasmine wanted their baby so much that she’d blocked out the terrible news that her accident had caused the miscarriage? Was the mind that powerful a tool? Could it block their whole relationship because of one incident?

He opened his hand and looked at the rings resting in his palm. Giving them up spoke volumes. Jasmine had told him that wearing them had felt so right and they were her link to him during her memory loss.

Her link to her husband.

Her one true love.

Him.

In a blinding flash of insight his heart overrode his mind. He’d been such a fool. He loved Jasmine. Loved her with his whole soul. He’d loved her from the moment when he’d walked into that Anderson’s hotel. From the moment she’d looked up from the reception desk with a welcoming smile on her face. That was all it had taken, one smile and he was lost. He’d even known it when he saw her, for the first time in months, at the opening of the hotel. He just hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it. It was easier to believe the worst. But the time they’d spent together in Broome had only deepened his feelings for her. Now he truly couldn’t imagine his life without her. He needed her as much as she needed him.

And he’d let her walk away.

He was in no shape to chase after her now, but he would tomorrow. He would find where she’d gone and he would win her back.

Jasmine spent the night in her childhood room, surrounded by her school sports trophies and dance medals. In all her teenage angst, life had seemed so complicated back then. In reality life had been a breeze.

She looked over to the clock on her bedside table. It was after nine and she’d lazed about enough in bed. It was time to move forward. She would go back to Lukas’s house and collect her things. Then she would come back here and think about her options. Perhaps she
should move to another state. Start over where no one knew her and she could rebuild her shattered heart.

A knock on the door pulled her away from those thoughts. “Come in,” she called.

Jasmine looked and saw her father’s housekeeper come in with a tray of breakfast. Her stomach churned, food was the last thing she wanted.

“Morning love, your father told me to bring you some breakfast.” The housekeeper carried the tray over to the table under the window. “I’ll leave it here and collect it later.”

The housekeeper walked out and closed the door softly behind her. The aroma of food wafted her way and her stomach grumbled. Perhaps she could fortify herself before walking back into the dream home she and Lukas had worked on together.

An hour later Jasmine stood at Lukas’s front door and with key in hand, took a deep breath, then inserted the key in the lock. Stillness permeated the house. Relief filled her. As she’d thought and hoped, Lukas must have been at the office. That was a clear sign their relationship was over. Did she really think he’d be at home moping about a lost love?

She headed towards the stairs, thinking about the last time she’d climbed those stairs. How full of hope, she’d been, for a wonderful night and future with Lukas. No such thoughts crowded her mind now, only blankness.

“Jasmine? Is that you?”

Her hand gripped the stair railing and she put her foot back down on the ground. She stood for a few seconds wondering if she’d imagined hearing Lukas’s voice. It sounded gravelly as if he was sick.

Taking a deep breath she turned to see if it was actually him behind her. She gasped when she saw him. Standing before her was a Lukas she’d never seen before. His clothes were all crumpled and his hair appeared as if he’d been caught in a wind storm. His face was
covered in a heavy five o’clock shadow. His eyes were bloodshot, almost like he’d spent a sleepless night. She then noticed that one of his hands was clenched. Was that in anger? Did he still feel nothing but anger towards her?

She crossed her arms, “I’m going to collect some clothes, I won’t be long.”

“I was going to come and find you, so we could talk.”

“I didn’t think we had anything else to talk about,
Luciano
?” she emphasised his name to reinforce his wish that they part.

“Lukas. For you, my name is Lukas.”

Jasmine didn’t know what to make of his statement. She wanted to believe it was a positive sign, but she’d been let down before by him she wasn’t sure she could trust her feelings. Before she could question him more, Lukas continued.

“I’ve got something for you.”

She braced herself for what was going to come next.“More accusations, because if that’s the case, I’m not interested in hearing them. As I said I’ve just come to collect my clothes. Then the house is all yours.”

Lukas walked towards her and when he took her left hand in his, she couldn’t prevent the tingle that rippled through her veins. His finger smoothed over the indentation on her ring finger. She tried to pull her hand away but he tightened his grip.

“No, no more accusations. Only this.” He opened his closed fist and she saw her rings winking out at her. He picked them up with his other hand and slipped the rings back on her finger, raising it up to lay a soft kiss over them. “They belong here, on your finger for all of eternity.”

Jasmine couldn’t describe the feelings overwhelming her. Elation vied with trepidation. His actions were so telling. Did they mean what she hoped they meant? “I don’t understand.”

Lukas cupped her face and smoothed her hair down. She shivered uncontrollably, fighting the hope rising up inside her as she looked into his eyes. They were open for her to see. What she saw in their bloodshot depths chased away her lingering despair.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not believing you. I should have.” He placed a soft, sweet kiss on her forehead. “I know how important these rings are to you. How they kept you connected to me during your amnesia. By taking them off, you showed me what I should’ve known all along. You can’t fake genuine feelings.”

“Oh Lukas.”

“I love you, Jasmine. I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you. I should’ve believed in that love. I should’ve known you would never do anything to hurt our child.” He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He opened them, they were clouded with shadows. He took another breath and asked, “Can you forgive me?”

Could she, she wondered. Could she forgive Lukas? She was on the road to forgiving her father and what he’d done was ten time worse than what Lukas had done. So the answer to his question was an unequivocal yes. With what her father had presented to him it would’ve been so easy to believe she’d terminated their child. She also knew her love for Lukas would never die. It had already endured so much. It would endure for eternity. “Yes, Lukas. Yes I can and will forgive you.” The shadows in his eyes dissipated in a puff, and love solely for her came firing out towards her. “I love you so much and am so very sorry for everything my father did to you.”

“Hush, Jasmine, all that matter is you are here with me.” He kissed her, tasting her tears. He pulled away but still held her close. “I love you
tesoro mio
. I always have and I always will.”

She gripped her stomach as if trying to recapture their lost child. “I’m sorry for not taking care of our baby. I loved and wanted it so much.”

She melted against him as he pulled her tight again. “It’s not your fault, I don’t blame you. It was an accident.” He placed his hand on her belly. “There will be other children and we will always love and remember our first child.”

It was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever said to her.

“I love you, Lukas.”

“And I love you Jasmine.”

Their lips met again and Jasmine knew they would always remember what they’d loved and lost and found again.

Each other.

The music swelled and Luciano gave into the desire and turned and locked eyes with the vision in pale pink walking down the aisle. His smile grew wide as Jasmine got closer to him. She looked as beautiful in this wedding dress as she’d looked in her bridal sarong on the beach. This was the wedding she deserved. She deserved the world and he was going to give it to her.