Gavin, son of Derrick Symms, owner of the only hotel in town,
was the first man Maddy came into contact with. When she turned
seventeen, she got a job at the hotel working as a kitchen hand,
and later persuaded Derrick Symms to allow her to also work as a
waitress, from seven till ten in the evening. Running into each
other was inevitable, for Gavin was his father’s right hand at
managing the hotel. She liked the handsome blonde man very much,
but he did not really notice her, until the night Derrick Symms
asked her to work an hour later than usual. Gavin drove her home
after work and she discovered that he knew Graham very well.
Since that evening he would stop and talk to her whenever he had
the time. He also visited Graham on a regular basis and the two
men became best of friends. A week before her Graham left for
his first trip to England, Gavin arranged a farewell party for
his good friend. Maddy was also invited, and were surprised when
mother Grace gave her permission to go. She also gave the young
girl some money to buy a new dress for the occasion. That was
the night Gavin Symms stole her innocence, shattered her dreams,
and now he was back. Why?Gavin Symms, his arms still
outstretched, walked towards Maddy, who took a step back. “Stay
away from me!” She said in a dangerously low voice.
His arms fell to his side and he stopped in his tracks. “Oh,
come now, pretty. Don’t tell me you are still mad at me?” He
asked.
“Mad? No, I’m not mad at you, I loathe you!”
“Now that isn’t something a nice girl like you should say.
Can’t we forget about the past and be friends?” He pleaded.
Maddy was amazed at his nonchalance. “Forget? Do you remember
what you did to me eight years ago? You were supposed to drive
me home after the party, but you had other plans.”
Gavin Symms seems unruffled by her outburst. “Stuff happens,
Pretty. If not me, it would have been somebody else.
The usually composed Maddy started losing control. “I don’t
believe you! I’m not the stupid teenager any more, Gavin. In
case you haven’t noticed, I’ve grown up and know exactly what
bastards men are!”
He only made matters worse when he softly said: “Maddy, I
know what I did was wrong, but you were partly to blame.”
The young woman snapped. She took a step closer to a shocked
Gavin, shoved her finger under his nose, and said: “You bastard!
Do you have any idea how scared I was, how I felt that night?
You took me to a desolate place in the woods, threatened to
leave me out there, unless I give you what you want. You were my
brother’s friend and I trusted you, but you betrayed me.”
The blonde man’s face reddened when he saw the tears in
Maddy’s eyes. He tried to calm her down by saying: “Maddy, don’t
get so uptight.”
But there was no stopping her. She had to let it out. “You
raped me, Gavin March. You were lying on top of me, using me,
and I was scared, humiliated. When I told you I was hurting, you
just ignored me. All I wanted was for you to be nice to me,
respect me, but you treated me worse that you would have treated
a prostitute, and if it was not enough, you told Grace Wilford
and all of your friends I threw myself at you. The only person
who actually believed me, was Graham, because he knew what kind
of person you were, yet he said nothing in my defense.” She
stopped to take a breath.
Gavin felt a pang of guilt: “At least he made me promise
never to come near you again.”
“Yes, but you broke that promise.” She replied angrily. “Stay
away from me, Gavin, or you’ll regret it. I must inform you that
I’m getting married in a few months. My fiancée is very
protective of the people he loves, so be warned.” With that she
swung around and marched away.”
“Who is the lucky devil?” Gavin called out after her.
A name popped into her head and without thinking, she yelled
back: “Jason de Ville. A big shot lawyer and just the sexiest
man in Town. He respects me, knows exactly how to keep his woman
happy, and that I am. His woman, and very happy!” Leaving
behind, she walked away, got into her car and drove off.
The events of the past couple of weeks was beginning to take
it’s toll on Maddy, and she arrived home feeling drained. She
needed someone to talk to. Someone who could give her advice and
help her to make sense out of all this, or maybe she needed
something to calm her down. Mother Grace used to drink a glass
of sherry every night before she went to bed. Maddy opened the
wine cabinet and found three bottles of sherry, still unopened.
She poured half a glass of sherry, made herself comfortable on
the couch and took a few sips. The sweet liquor left her warm
and relaxed. Mrs. Nell, who took the day off, promised to pick
Ingrid up at the daycare center on her way home, which meant
Maddy had the whole house to herself until four in the
afternoon. She got up to pour herself another glass of wine,
when the phone rang.
“Hallo, Kiddo.” It was Jason de Ville.
Maddy suddenly recalled the white lie she told Gavin. "Hallo,
Jason. Is there something wrong?” She asked.
He chuckled. “Not at all. In fact, I am in very good spirits.
Got some good news today.” He replied.
All she said was: “Oh.”
“Tell me, Kiddo, when’s the wedding?”
He took her off guard. “The wedding?”
He said: “Actually, our wedding.”
Gavin must have told him, she thought. “Our wedding?”
He laughed out loud: “Well, this morning, after our meeting,
I was on my way to a client. As I got out of my car, a gorgeous
redhead told a scrawny blond guy she is about to marry a lawyer
by the name of Jason de Ville. Miss. Madeleine Wilford, if that
was a proposal, I accept.”
To be continued.
Butterfly.
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