Of Love and Deception (28 page)

Every bit of Daniella’s heart, every morsel of her soul, and every cell in her brain screamed at this craziness. Her heart still ached for Cruz. She trembled, turned her head to the side, and placed a hand over her heart.

When the sound of the front door opened and closed, Daniella slipped out of bed and went to lock it. She let out a heavy sigh and curled up on the couch.

What the hell just happened?

22 - Unraveled

Several weeks passed since Blake’s visit. Daniella kept herself holed up in the apartment for fear of leaving and crossing paths with him. She was napping when a continuous buzzing woke her from her nap. She glanced at the clock, surprised she’d only slept for half an hour.

The buzzing started again, relentless this time.

“Now what?” She walked to the front door and depressed the button on the intercom. “This better be important. Who are you and what do you want?”

“I need to speak with you, immediately.”

Daniella stepped back, her heart fluttering. She hadn’t seen or heard from Cruz for at least six weeks. Indecision caused her to pause too long because he buzzed through again.

“Please, Daniella,” he pleaded. “Just hear me out. I swear I won’t yell at you.”

Why did he have to sound so sweet… and sexy? And why did she have to want him back so bad? “Fine. But if you even say one thing out of line with me, you’re done.” She buzzed him through, cracked the door open to be sure it was Cruz and not Blake entering. She trekked into the living room, sat with her legs crossed, and arms folded across her chest.

Be strong, be strong, be strong!
Daniella wiggled her foot nervously. The door creaked and she knew Cruz stepped inside when it clicked shut.

Without a word, he proceeded toward the living room and he sat next to her. Daniella wasn’t having it, but damn, he smelled good. As she attempted to scoot away from him, he snaked his arm around her waist and gave a little squeeze.
Oh, please don’t do this. Don’t be nice! I can’t afford to slip up and tell you the horror inflicted upon me and the baby. But I want to. God, do I ever want to. But he won’t believe you. No he’ll laugh and walk out.

“Please, Daniella, just let me hold you for a minute.” His voice came out strained.

Say no! Say no!
Clasping her hands between her knees, she stared at the ground, uncertainty surrounding her. What did he want? Why did he sound so sad?

“I’m not sure why I’m here, other than I miss you.”

Wow. Has he ever been this sad?

“I miss you too, but it doesn’t change anything. I don’t know what else I can tell you that I haven’t already said, Cruz.”

“I’m trying to believe you, I really am and I won’t quit investigating until I get answers.” He lifted his hand and placed his palm against her cheek.

She closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his touch. Her eyes flew open when he placed the opposite hand behind her head and urged her forward. His eyes were full of heat, but also a hint of worry, or maybe sadness. She knew she should really stop him, but she couldn’t. His touch was warm and tender, and she desperately missed him. She needed some comforting, even if it was only temporary.

He leaned in, his lips barely touching hers, and ran his tongue along her bottom lip. “I know you love me.” His voice was husky, his tongue trailed down her neck. She shivered.

“I do love you,” she whispered, her body ached for him. He leaned further into her until she fell back on the couch, her head propped on the armrest. He kissed her. Hard. And then his shoes fell to the floor, he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. She should really stop him, but the sensations coiling in her lower belly had her panting and wanting more.
Blake only warned me not to peep a word. This is okay. What I’m doing…

Raising her hips as he slid his hands down her back, he hitched her legs around his waist and started grinding back and forth, back and forth, grinding a little harder each time. She could feel him at the v between her legs, the friction causing her breath to catch.

And then the warmth of him disappeared. He stood, shedding his jeans and his boxers. Her breath caught at the center of her throat with a tickle. She tried to swallow the urge to cough, but it came out anyway.
Great!
She couldn’t stop coughing no matter how hard she tried and her eyes were now watery pools leaking all over her face.

“You okay?” Cruz asked as he settled on top of her. She nodded, and turned her head to the side, not wanting to cough on him.

He jumped up. “Let me get you a glass of water,” he said and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead before he stepped away.

Daniella lay her head back against the couch and closed her eyes, savoring and replaying the last few minutes. And swallowing harshly at the tickle invading her throat.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

She startled and sat up. With shaky hands, she smoothed her shirt over her belly and stood.
What if
—she had to get to the door.

The pounding on the door started again. Cruz beat her to the door and looked through the peephole. Without words, he stormed into the living room, slipped back into his jeans, pulled his shirt over his head, and shoved his feet into his shoes.

“What… who’s there?” Daniella asked, not understanding why he suddenly became angry and avoided looking at her. He raked his fingers through his hair, pulled at it fiercely, and then marched toward the front door.

Shaking, she stood and headed toward him, but stalled when Cruz did a one-eighty and stomped toward the table. Slamming his hands against the tabletop, he glared at her and his lip twitched. It only took one glance at him and Daniella instantly froze.

Blake
. How would she explain to the man she loved why her ex, whom he’d assumed she was sleeping with, was at her apartment, and without gaining entrance by buzzing her first?

“Just when I was beginning to think maybe, just maybe I was wrong about you… and here I am struggling to work it out, because I love you, I see you continue to play me for a fool!” He stormed back toward her but stopped dead in his tracks and shoved his hands into his hair.

“Please… I’m not… please,” she pleaded, her lips and body trembling. She wanted, needed him. Tears crested and spilled down her cheeks.

“Explain away,” he shouted. “Explain why he’s at your door? And how there’s nothing going on! Destroy me further.”

“But—”

“No. Forget it. No explanation is good enough for that! Are you suddenly in love with… him?” He shook a finger toward the door. Blake had given up on knocking. “You’re nothing but a mouthful of lies, and I’ve wasted my time by coming here.” He turned and headed toward the exit.

Stepping out of the apartment, searching for Blake and realizing he’d left, anger flared inside of her.
I’ll give Cruz a truth he can twist further!

Rushing toward him, following him down the steps, she hollered, “You should know… HE came over… and yeah! I could have fucked him, SHOULD have fucked him long and hard!” She cried and laughed at the same time.

Cruz flipped around. Rage filled his eyes, fists clenching at his sides.

“That’s right, Cruz. I should have made all your accusations true instead of sending Blake away. So… so just flee, you worthless fuck, and go home to your forever whore!” If her words hadn’t been effective before, they certainly were now because he stormed toward her.

Before he could catch her, she pumped her legs as fast as she could and rushed up the steps, stopping only when she was safely inside her apartment. She didn't shut the door, but watched Cruz as he halted.

His eyes concentrated on hers for a brief moment, and then he closed them. Tension rose in his tightened jaw. Without opening his eyes, he turned back toward the exit.

“You’re so stubborn! Can’t you understand… or put this all together? Meg, Blake. You’ve hurt me, and you’ve always believed her!” She screamed the last of her frustrations. Staring at him, she fell to her knees and whispered, “She’s always came first.”

“FUCK, FUCK, FFFFUUUUUUCK.” His hands fell to his sides, and he stood silently clenching and releasing his fists. “You should get your stories straight, Daniella. You lied through your pretty little teeth about the flowers. Your ex, Blake Sheldon, has admitted he’d sent them. Apparently he doesn’t live too far from here.” He shook his head and stomped down the stairs, and finally exited the building.

Crashing to the ground, she cried until she had no tears left. She wished Blake were dead. And Meg because she was all kinds of snakiness.

This was it, her final breaking point. Nearly thirty minutes later, she pushed herself up, marched over to the pictures on the table, swiped them into a box, including the happy ones of her and Cruz, and then headed out the front door. She walked toward the dumpster, vaguely noticing Cruz, who sat in his BMW, and tossed the box into the trash receptacle. She marched back to the apartment, collected clothes, jewelry and whatever else Cruz had given her, and made another trip to the dumpster.

Cruz was still there, but his car was running and she could see, out of the corner of her eye, he was watching her. Oh well. She didn’t care to acknowledge him. In fact, she vowed to never acknowledge another man, other than family, ever again.

It didn’t matter that she’d done everything right.

It didn’t matter who she chose.

It didn’t matter that she had always been faithful.

Because with every relationship, she always got burned. And this last one nearly smothered her, turned her into nothing but ashes, and she doubted she’d ever fully recover.

~~~

Overwhelmed by everything that came crashing down over the last couple of months, and more recently, a few days ago, Daniella didn’t know who or what to believe anymore. Though she still hadn’t abandoned Cruz in her heart and soul, she promised herself she’d do her best to push him to the side and ignore her subconscious.

~~~

One week later, Daniella’s phone rang and startled her. She recognized the number as her lawyer.

“Hello?”

“Daniella. Bob here. I need to let you know that an investigation had been launched, prompted by Cruz and his lawyer. Apparently Cruz hired a private investigator a while back, and whatever they’ve discovered is supposedly enough to warrant further investigation. I know you didn’t want this, but there’s just no way around it.”

When Daniella had contacted her lawyer the first time, she had explained every detail she could think of. How the insemination came about, the horrible things Meg said to her after the heart-wrenching break up, how the sperm samples of Cruz and Blake were swapped, and Meg’s assurance that nobody would ever find out because any, and all evidence of Blake had been destroyed. She couldn’t tell him about Blake’s visit. That would be suicide.

“Daniella.” Bob interrupted her thoughts. “They promised to do their best to keep the investigation, and any information obtained, out of the media, though there are never any guarantees. We all understand why you don’t want your name thrown out to the dogs, and this Meg character would gladly feed on the attention, especially if the evidence, as she had promised you, had been destroyed.”

 Daniella knew she would look like the villain, and Meg would play the poor victim, sucking up all the sympathy she could get from the viewers. She’d play the poor Meg syndrome.

“Okay, Bob. I understand.”

Fortunately, the investigation went unannounced. Any and all of Daniella’s information was obtained from an inside source. Funny how the insemination information seemed to be missing, including the procedure, and the ultrasounds. She had worried about Blake possibly tapping her cell phone, but that fear was squelched when he didn’t show up at her apartment. He’d surely make his presence known had he heard her phone conversation. She breathed a sigh of relief.

A few days later, Daniella called her lawyer. Of course, he was busy! But when he called back, she was grateful. “I’m going through with the adoption, Bob. It’s the best option for this baby.”

“Yes. I’ve been informed by the agency. I’m not sure Cruz knows about this?” Bob asked.

“What difference does it make? He doesn’t want it anyway. And it’s not his.”

“Technically, he could stop it, but it seems highly unlikely since he’s not mentioned any rights or put up any walls. I need to make a few calls. The investigators have new information regarding the clinic. I will call you back and hopefully, I’ll have some good news for you.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for your call.” Daniella hung up.

Approximately one hour later, the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Yeah, Bob here. Let me start by offering you information on Cruz. As it stands, Cruz has stopped the adoption proceedings.”

“What? He can’t—” Bile rose in her throat knowing what Blake could do if he thought for one minute she halted the adoption. “I mean, how’s that possible?”

“Cruz’s reasoning is logical… and legal.”

Daniella squeezed her eyes tight. “Logical… and legal. How?” She held her breath, fearing Blake might barge into her apartment at any moment. Then what? Would he really kill the baby? And then her? She hoped the information didn’t leak out.

“He said he believes he is the father, which gives him just as much legal right to the unborn child as you have. Even so, he also stated that it didn’t matter who fathered the child. He can still execute his rights, take the child as his before anyone else can adopt. That is, unless the incidental sperm donor wants to put up a fight. I don’t see that happening since there had been no mention of it.”

Daniella sighed. Her heart thudded.
Did he really say…
Her thoughts stilled by one thing.
He thinks he’s the father? But why? Why now?

“Did they find out who’s…” Her lips demurred from saying the word
sperm donor.

“No, Daniella. Unfortunately, we can’t confirm whose child you’re truly carrying. But. There’s been some interesting things come up. Seems like one of the employees is all too eager to run her mouth. Looks like Meg hasn’t made any fans with her staff.

“Interestingly enough, there’s been another development in the case. You see, Meg apparently argued with her employee over whose sperm sample was whose. Apparently, this employee retrieved Cruz’s sample the day he left it. Guess Meg had it out with the girl and took your husband’s specimen. The girl feigned to work, but watched Meg print a new label. She was able to get close enough to zoom in on the name. Said the label was marked as Falcon Landers.”