Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring

Chapter 43

Annie stepped into the hotel room, face mask and hat

low on her head to conceal identity. She gazed at the darkly lit room, her eyes falling on the young man she was supposed to meet. He was cute, no doubt about that, but besides Alexander, he was just average.

She came closer to him, her heart racing with the secrecy and danger of it all. She knew what she had to do: if she couldn't conceive with Alexander, then she would find another way, no matter what that would entail. She slid off her jacket as a coy smile played upon her lips, her heart racing in excitement at taking control over her life, even if it meant dangerous boundaries.

As Emma replayed that afternoon in her mind, she could feel a gnawing, burrowing its way inside of her. So quickly had it unraveled-the man who had rear-ended her car recognized her hot as Carol Smith, her assumed identity, but Emma. It was a thought that sent her heart bounding as she knew her carefully constructed disguise slipped away.

She remembered it was this same man she had run into weeks ago, hurrying to pick up her twins after that call over Emily's health scare. In her hurry, she had given him her business card without a second thought. Now, that card had betrayed her identity, giving him the confidence to confront her despite her protests.

She had lied to him, told him he had the wrong person, had even flashed her fake identification for proof. But he knew it, and knew it so surely that the tension between them was only ratcheted higher. Emma felt cornered-always so cautious. always so careful, yet it would seem in one moment of laxness, everything was threatened.

Alexander went through every file; Veronica Moore, Emma Black, or any other name that sounded remotely suspicious, did not feature in the records. He leaned back, and in a second, frustration boiled over his mind as he wondered if he was going nuts. Was she just some hallucination haunting him for no reason? In desperation, he sought to drownt her memory far into the recesses with another gulp of wine that downed nearly half the bottle. Yet, her presence seemed oppressive, forcing itself to the surface.

He got up slowly and went to her room. The door hadn't been opened in five years except when thieves broke in and stole her jewelry. He'd kept his distance, but tonight, something in him crawled in, like he had that night when he made love to her. Her ringing tone filled his head. His hand reached for the doorknob, when.

"Babe... what are you doing?" Annie's voice was cold, sharp, making him whirl around. She stared at him, suspicion etched in her eyes.

"I was looking for something," he said, lying.

"Looking for something?" Annie echoed, her eyes hard. "You haven't set foot in that room in five years. What can you. possibly need now?"

Annie sighed and moved toward Alexander, not bothering to hide her irritation. He was drunk, clearly, as his movements. were extremely slow and his gaze imprecise. She wordlessly tosed an arm around him and headed for their bed. She started unbuttoning his shirt and he forestalled her, his fingers fumbling yet insistent.

"Don't. I'm... too tired," he muttered, turning his head away. Ever drunk, he wasn't to be taken in by her caress

Annie's face fell as her mind reeled with confusion and anger. All these years, Alexander had seemed content; he never drew away from her. Sull, something had shifted. He kept a space between them she hadn't anticipated; unreachable. Her mind grew frantic while she tried to make something of his sudden change. What could it be that had made him be so withdrawn?

She laid a hand on her belly, the slightest spark of hope rising as the remembered her scheme. If she had become pregnant, he would be hers forever; it would be the wedge she needed to find her way into his life. She would not be sharing him with Emma's ghost-no, she would be his future, his only option. Scenes and schemes swirled through her head; the practice of it was already beginning..

all worked out in her mind, down to the letter to make sure her place

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wel they walked towards the hospital. She let out a sigh, knowing today would find her

slip out and disappear into the vast corridors when Emma wasn't

attention.

until he found an old woman in a wheelchair, seated by

and intent, regarding him with a familiarity that unnerved him. Ethan turned his head away, but his feet

tone both longing and joyful. "Alex, it's

for him, a hopeful smile trembling on her

be Alex's mother. It really did touch the strings of

eyes

you came into this world, baby. But what happened to your arm?

ААА

not to alert the hospital

room, looking for her son, and suddenly he heard his cheerful voice in the last room down the hall. She went down there, matching, ready to take her son and warn whoever he was talking to, but the moment she saw who he was talking to, she froze at feet and her heart really broke at the scene that lay in front of her. Brianna looked up at Emma as Emma stepped on. She

Emma's cheeks as

Brianna Black yelled once she spotted Brianna. A beautiful smile beamed on her face and Brianna, who hadn't walked in the last four years, rose to her feet, opened her arms wide, and

happy to see you but what are you doing here?"

""Emma! My Emma!"

other

What

Brianna does not have the answers that

that he has always

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Chapter 43