Title: Planning a Revenge Chapter 8
Author: Ashley
E-mail: Nuriko56@hotmail.com
Standard Disclaimer Apply


In spite of falling asleep in the early-morning hours, Serena was awake long
before dawn, and she rose from the crumpled bed, where she had tossed and
turned and agonized, to sit by the window in one of the cushioned cane 
chairs.
	Dawn came slowly, creeping across the charcoal night sky with tentative
blue and pink fingers and causing a medley of birdsong in the garden below.
	She was terrified at the prospect of admitting to Darien that she had
set out to fool him, she acknowledged dully, but more than that, it was
telling him about Allan Ginga's attack that was swamping her in black misery
and paralyzing her throat. But perhaps she wouldn't have to go that far 
away?
Maybe once she had said her piece about Raye he would be glad to see the 
black
of her. That thought held no comfort whatsoever.
	She had never once talked about the assault. The blue and pink rivulets
in the sky above were edged with silver now. She just hadn't been able to,
somehow. It had been referred to at times, obliquely, carefully, by stalwart
friends like Rita, and Raye, and those close to her, but, apart from the 
cold-
blooded facts for the police and her testimony in court, she hadn't shared 
her
anguish at the pain and degradation with anyone. She had known she couldn't
speak about it without losing control, and since the night of the attack
control had become all-important. But now, suddenly, her feelings had gone
haywire, and it was all due to one man, with the deepest set of blue eyes 
and
a smile to die for.
	She rose restlessly, standing with her arms wrapped round her waist as
she hugged herself tightly and looked out into the sleeping garden. It was
quite light now…
	Serena left her room just before nine for breakfast, and had reached the
hall when Amy called to her from the small hydraulic lift Darien had had
installed in the stairwell of the big winding staircase. Serena waited until
the lift had reached the hall and the other girl had wheeled herself out, 
and
they were both making their way towards the dining room when the doorbell
rang.
	"It'll be the postman," Amy said knowingly as Serena turned on her heel
and went to the front door. "Darien often has the odd package or two
delivered."
	It wasn't the postman. It was a tall, good-looking man with longish
brown hair and deep brown eyes. Hard, cold deep brown eyes.
	"Hello." He smiled, his eyes sweeping up and down her body with frank
appreciation, and Serena knew instantly she didn't like him. "Is Amy up 
yet?"
he asked, with some presumption.
	"Amy?" Serena asked warily. "Who shall I say wants her?"
	"Her husband," Chad Mitchell answered arrogantly.
	Serena heard a soft gasp behind her, and she hoped it hadn't reached the
ears of Chad, who was still smiling with a confidently cool composure that
confirmed every thought she had ever had about this man. "I'm sorry." 
Serena's
face was straight and her voice verging on icy as Amy's husband made a
movement with his body to indicate he expected her to stand aside and allow
him entrance. "I wasn’t aware Amy was expecting you?"
	"That’s my and Amy’s business, surely?" He wasn’t smiling any longer.
	"Not exactly." Serena stood her ground, holding onto the door tightly
even closing it an inch or two. "She is living with her brother now, and so
that makes it his business too."
	"Ah, I see." The brown eyes narrowed and his mouth curled with contempt.
"I thought you might be a friend of Amy’s, but you’re one of Darien’s women,
aren’t you? Well, don’t take too much on yourself, sweetheart, the great man
doesn’t like any claims on his freedom, and you’re only one in a long , long
line that’s come and gone since I’ve been around. Now, as I presumed Darien
isn’t here---"
	"Why would you presume that, Mitchell?"
	Serena hadn’t been aware of Darien leaving his study and walking with
panther-like swiftness to the door, but now, as he gently moved her to one
side and came fully into the doorway, Serena saw the other man hastily back
away a step or two, his face blanching.
	"Darien." Chad tried to recover and force a smile, but Darien’s deadly
gaze froze it midway. "You’re always in the office before eight on Saturday, 
I
just thought…"
	"Don’t think, Mitchell, just get the hell out of here before I do what
I’ve been itching to do for years," Darien said grimly.
	"I want to talk to Amy." The cool arrogance had all gone.
	"Over my dead body." It had the force of a pistol-shot.
	Serena could see Amy hadn’t moved from her position at the side of the
hall, and that the other girl had her fists to her mouth and a look of sheer
fright on her face. It was clear the last person in all the world that Amy
wanted to see was Chad Mitchell. Serena didn’t blame her.
	"This is a personal matter---"
	"There are no personal matters between you and my sister anymore. You
had one woman too many and she’s had enough---and, like I said when I had 
you
escorted from my office building, you’re finished," Darien said with biting
acidity.
	"We’re still man and wife." There was a definite whine to the other
man’s voice now. "I’ve been worried about her."
	"Worried?" Darien snarled scathingly. "Spare me the soft soap, Mitchell.
I know exactly why you’ve come sniffing round this morning. Your lady-friend
had seen the light and given you the elbow, hadn’t she? And don’t bother to
deny it. I know all about you, and I’m aware of every move you make before 
you
make it. She got tired of paying the bills, didn’t she? Once I’d given you 
the
sack. You’re slipping, Mitchell." And now the grating voice was lethal.
"You’re getting older; you’re losing your touch."
	"You’ve put the word out, haven’t you?" Chad was as white as a sheet,
but Serena didn’t feel the slightest shred of sympathy for him—--she just
hoped Darien didn’t lose his temper and hit the other man. Chad would milk a
court case for all it was worth. "Every door is closed to me."
	"You’ll have me crying in a minute." The contempt was biting.
	"I’m warning you---"
	And then Chad stopped abruptly, his eyes widening in terror as Darien
growled, "You’re warning me?" and he moved back so quickly as Darien took a
step forward that he slipped, sprawling on the drive in an undignified 
tangle
of limbs and then hotching away on his bottom as Darien continued to move
towards him.
	"Darien! Darien, don’t." Serena found herself clutching the hold of
Darien’s arm in an effort to stop him. "It’s not worth it, don’t you see? 
You
don’t want the police involved---think of Amy."
	"Stay out of this, Serena." Darien tried to shake her off as he followed
the cringing figure in front of them. "He’s had this coming."
	"Serena?" Chad had stopped his slithering, seemingly arrested at the
sound of her name. "There can’t be too many women with that name. What’s 
going
on? Why is she here?
	Oh, no. Raye had talked about her. But of course Raye would talk about
her. They’d always been so close, so very much like sisters it would have 
been
natural for Raye to discuss her family. She had thought this was the man she
was going to marry, after all, the man she had willingly and happily given 
her
virginity to. The man who had broken her heart.
	"Don’t try to get out of it, Mitchell," Darien growled furiously as he
reached the other man and stood glaring down at him. "At least act like a
man." But Chad was transfixed by Serena.
	"What was the other name? Oh, yes, Tsukino. Serena Tsukino. I have it
now. I thought I recognized you with Raye," Chad said slowly, his eyes
narrowing into brown slits of glass. "But then I’d only seen a photo."
	"What is this?" Chad’s obvious bewilderment and his mention of Raye’s
name had pierced Darien’s blind rage, and he turned to Serena with an
irritable frown. "Do you know Raye Hino?"
	She hadn’t want it to be like this. Serena was conscious of a deep,
mortifying sense of guilt. She had wanted to tell him herself, quietly,
unemotionally, but now that option was gone. And he would never believe she
had meant to confess all that very morning.
	She was right; he didn’t.
	"Yes, I know Raye," Serena said tremblingly, the quiver in her voice
causing Darien’s eyes to search her pale face. "She’s…she’s my cousin," she
admitted quietly.
	"Your cousin?" He stared at her, the man at his feet seemingly
forgotten. "Not one of my cousins you were brought up with?"
	"Yes." It was very small, a mere whisper, but it seemed to fire
something in the dark face as Darien said, "You knew? About your cousin and
him?" And he gestured contemptuously at Chad, who had now struggled to his
feet. "Why didn’t you say something?"
	"I…" She shook her head helplessly, unable to go on with Chad standing
there. "I can explain."
	"I bet you can." Chad’s voice was blustering, but it was clear he still
couldn’t make head or tail of the twist in the situation when he said, 
"Don’t
think you fool me, Darien. You’ve got her here as some sort of witness 
against
me, haven’t you? Poisoning Amy’s mind against me---"
	"Shut up." The words were soft but held such menace Chad did shut up,
continuing to back slowly away down the drive without taking his eyes off
Darien’s face. But Darien wasn’t looking at his brother-in-law. He was 
looking
at Serena, and she shrank from what she read it his face.
	"Get in the house."
	Just four little words, but they chilled Serena to the bone. "Darien,
please, I was going to tell you---"
	"Get in the house," he repeated, with a curious lack of expression that
was worse than any raging.
	Chad had seized the opportunity to escape, and was now running down the
drive in a frantic gallop, but neither Serena nor Darien noticed him as 
Serena
nodded slowly, turning in one helpless, defeated movement and walking ahead 
of
Darien into the house.
	Amy was waiting in the hall, her face still chalkwhite but her eyes
hopeful as she said, "He’s gone? Chad’s gone?"
	Darien nodded, his voice clipped and his face blank when he said, "I
need to talk to Serena alone, Amy. Go ahead and have your breakfast and 
don’t
worry about Chad. It’s finished."
	And so were they. She could read it in the white-hot rage that had
turned the beautiful eyes I into slits of razor-sharp steel. He would never
understand now, whatever she said. His treatment at the hands of the women 
who
had given birth to him, the lack of love from the female half of his 
parents--
-the supposedly softer, gentle side---haad been bad enough, but when added to
his fiancée’s betrayal, and then the revelation that because of his mother’s
loose living the one person he had loved, respected, adored, was no relation
at all, it killed any chance she might have had at reaching him stone-dead. 
He
would hate her---he did hate her; she could read it in his face.
	"My study." He pointed down the hall and Serena walked down it, aware of
Amy’s surprised questionings eyes on her face as she passed the other girl,
but not daring to speak.
	"Well?" Darien had shut the door behind him, and they now stood in the
middle of the large book-lined room, the littered desk and a busy fax 
machine
indicating he had been at work before Chad’s intrusion. "You said you could
explain, so explain," he said with tight control.
	"It’s true that Raye is my cousin, and…and that I planned to get to know
you," Serena said feverishly, her color coming and going in a face that was
like lint. "I was going to tell you this morning---I was really. After…after
last night."
	"When I made such a fool of myself, you mean," he said coldly, "and told
you the story of my life. Go on."
	"When you went to see Chad and Raye, when they were having dinner at the
hotel---you remember?"
	She paused and he nodded savagely, saying, "In their love-nest, yes, I
remember," and then waiting for her to continue.
	"Well, she had no idea that Chad was married, none at all. And…and she
was pregnant by him."
	"What?" He stared at her. "I don’t believe it."
	"It’s true." She swallowed deeply and forced herself to go on. "She…she
hadn’t been with anyone before Chad---Raye’s not like that---and she thought
he loved her, that he wanted to marry her. It came as a shock, a terrible
shock, to find out in the way she did, and with everyone listening."
	"She deserved it; she had been sleeping with my sister’s husband---"
	"She didn’t know," Serena said heatedly. "She didn’t. Chad charmed her
and wheedled his way into her affections, and before she knew where she 
was…"
She shrugged painfully.
	"What are you going to tell me now? That there’s a little Chad out there
somewhere?" he asked caustically.
	"No." He was looking at her at though he had never seen her before, as
though he loathed and despised her. "No," she repeated slowly. "Raye lost 
the
baby---the night you confronted them both in the hotel."
	"And you consider that my fault?" he asked grimly.
	"She…she tried to commit suicide that night," Serena said wretchedly,
hearing his sudden intake of breath with a pain that sliced her thought. 
"She
lived, but the baby didn’t."
	"And your appearance in my office that day---you’d planned that?" he
asked with condemning clarity. "What was the idea? To get me interested and
then dump me, like Chad dumped Raye? Or were you were to try something more,
make a public spectacle of me, or something along those lines?"
	"No. Yes. Oh, I don’t know," she blurted desperately. "I wanted to make
you understand what Raye had gone through, know how it felt." She stared at
him helplessly, her head whirling.
	"I see." Dark color had flared across the chiseled cheekbones and his
eyes were the color granite. "So it was all a game, right from the start---a
game of revenge. You hated me and you wanted to hurt me, so you manipulated 
me
and the situation." He took a long, rasping before he snarled, "How the pair
of you must have laughed when I began to chase you, and last night must have
been the icing on the cake."
	"No, Raye doesn’t know that I’ve been seeing you," Serena said
wretchedly. "It’s not like that. I promise you---"
	"You promise me?" he ground out through clenched teeth. "Well, excuse me
if that doesn’t carry too much weight right now. And I thought you were so
gentle, so nervous, so different. Damn it, you’re different, all right. I
thought I’d seen it all, Serena, but you sure as hell take the biscuit."
	"Darien, please---please." She couldn’t bear this; she couldn’t go
through this and survive it. "Listen to me."
	"And the ‘Don’t touch me, I’m as pure as the driven snow’ routine was
cute," he said bitterly, self-disgust in his voice when he went on, "You 
sure
took me in with that. I thought you were shy, vulnerable; I’ve been going
half-crazy trying to go slowly, so as not to shock your moral sensibilities.
Moral sensibilities!" He gave a harsh bark of a laugh. "Lady, you’re a 
winner-
--a twenty-two-carat winner. You even haad the foresight to admit you’d 
already
slept with a man so I didn’t get suspicious when you finally allowed me to
make love to you. And you would have, wouldn’t you?" he said contemptuously.
"If I meant you could make me more of a fool when you slapped me in the face
with all this."
	"It wasn’t like that." She wanted to cry and shout and scream, but she
knew she had to remain calm and make him see. "I was telling you the true 
when
I said I hadn’t dated for so long. You see, something happened at 
university--
-"
	"Spare me none of your lies," he spat savagely, his revulsion freezing
her throat and strangely anything might she might have said. "You played me
perfectly, Serena. I see it all now. The slightest bit of encouragement at 
the
start, then a retreat, than a bit more giving. What was the theory---give a
wolf a taste and he’ll be back for more? Well, it worked. You must be 
feeling
very pleased with yourself right now."
	"Please listen to me---"
	"I don’t want to listen to you, Serena. I don’t want to even look at
you," he said bitterly. "Did Amy feature in this plan of yours? Did you 
intend
to try and get at her too?"
	"No!" she exclaimed desperately, and then, more calmly, "No, no. You
must believe me."
	"Must" doesn’t come into it," he said grimly. "But I tell you one thing,
Serena---you try and hurt my sister and you’ll regret it until the day you
die."
	She couldn’t believe he was saying these things to her, that he was
thinking about her in this way. But she deserved it, she thought wildly. She
deserved everything he could say or think. And his reaction proved what she
had known all along---he had never really cared for her as a person. She had
been a challenge. Like he said---something different. It was his pride that
was wounded now; his heart---if he had a heart---was quite intact.
	She stood very still as she stared into his furious face, and after a
full thirty seconds she said quietly, "I wouldn’t hurt Amy. That would be 
the
very last thing I would want."
	"I don’t believe you," he said with icy coldness.
	"Then perhaps it’s best that I leave immediately, so my foul presence
doesn’t contaminate her in any way?" Serena said with sudden savagery, 
knowing
if she didn’t begin to hit back, to retreat, she would collapse in a broken
heap at his feet. And no way was she going to give him that satisfaction.
	"And don’t act the offended innocent; it doesn’t suit you." He glared at
her, the explosive rage he was trying to keep in check evident in the dark
fury in his face and the hard, uncompromising tautness of his body. "You
played me perfectly, dammit, and that took some doing. Where did you learn 
all
the tricks that kept me dangling on your hook, Serena?"
	"I didn’t learn anything." She stared at him, her deep blue eyes velvet-
soft with anguish, but if anything her distress seemed to make him more 
angry.
	"Stop acting the part," he ground out violently. "It’s over, don’t you
see that? You’ve been found out; the smokescreen is finished with. It’s time
for the real Serena Tsukino to take a bow."
	"I hate you." The words were wretched out of her bitter pain and
despair, but as she turned to make for the door he caught hold of her, his
fingers steel-like on her wrist, bruising the soft flesh.
	"You hate me?" The savage sarcasm was biting. "Now that’s probably the
first honest thing you’ve said all morning. I know you hate me, Serena, 
you’ve
always hated me, haven’t you? That’s what all this is about."
	"Yes, yes…" She would have said anything now, in her desire to get away
from him before she broke down completely.
	"But you were prepared to let me hold you, kiss you, touch you,
nevertheless," he spat disgustedly. "Did I make your flesh creep? Was it as
bad as that? Or did it excite you, knowing you had me under your spell and
that you were in control? How far were you prepared to go, Serena, in this
plan of revenge? All the way?" he finished with bitter condemnation.
	"Let go of me!" She was twisting and turning in his hold, like a
beautiful golden-hair goddess caught in an unrelenting snare.
	"Perhaps I don't want to." Her head jerked up at his deadly cold voice.
"Perhaps I want to see how much was acting on your part and how much was 
real.
Shall we see, Serena? Shall we see how much was real?" he asked with grim
intent. "I don't doubt for a moment that you are an experienced and
accomplished lover; that little scene you put on of me last night in the
kitchen was good, very good. Were you enjoying our lovemaking--in spite of 
the
loathing you have for me as a person--or were you merely enduring what had 
to
be endured? I'm really very interested to find out," he finished with 
sardonic
darkness.
	"Don't you dare. Don't you dare---"
	"Don't tell me what to do, Serena, not anymore. You provoke and entice,
and you know exactly what you're doing, don't you?" he pulled her to him,
still holding her by the wrist but with one arm now securely round her 
waist.
"It's all, 'no', and 'please stop', isn't it? But not anymore."
	The kiss was a savage exercise in subjugation, and Serena knew a terror
so great that she was frozen and helpless in his grasp. He was a stranger,
this fierce, angry man in Darien's body, and the years fell away like magic.
That same sense of defenseless exposure, the sheer brute strength over her
feebleness, caused her to panic in animal-like distress, and as before she
began to fight her tormentor in any way she could.
	And then it all changed. His mouth became persuasive rather than
ruthless, and although he was still holding her against him, in a way that
made her aware of every inch of his hard, demanding body, he was kissing her
in a way that she could enjoy. His exploration of her mouth was voluptuous 
and
teasingly erotic, and he took his time, building slowly on her arousal 
moment
by moment until her legs were fluid and her trembling apparent to both of
them.
	He made a hoarse, growling sound deep in his throat, and there was an
immediate echo in her body. She wanted him. But he mustn't know, she
couldn't…What she couldn't do became hopelessly lost in touch and taste and
smell of him, her senses blanketed by a warm, aching desire that spiraled 
her
into another dimension.
	Some time in the last few minutes her hands had crept up to his
shoulders, and the hard-muscled flesh beneath soft silk was another source 
of
pleasure, causing her to press her softness against the hard ridge of his 
body
as she moaned softly.
	When he sank down to the carpet she went with him willingly, blindly,
her breathing ragged and her face flushed with fierce desire as he continued
the wickedly experienced, hungry assault on her body. His hands and lips 
were
compelling, his finesse absolute, and he sensed the capitulation her passion
was inducting, responding to it with another little growl.
	"Tell me you ant me, Serena. Say it," he groaned thickly. "I need to
know. Say you want me now."
	"Oh, Darien, I do, I do. I love you," she murmured rapturously.
	And then she knew instantly what she had said, as the white-hot desire
that had him as hard as a rock froze, and he lifted himself to stare down 
into
her drowning eyes. "No, no dressing it up with meaningless words," he said
harshly. "Say it as it is. Be honest for once. You want me. Say it."
	She stared back at him, too shattered to move or speak.
	"Say it," he ordered it again, the icy blue eyes holding hers like
pinpoints of glittering steel. "Say it, Serena?"
	And then, when she still continued to look at him, returning reason
sending her into a black hole of misery, his mouth twisted contemptuously.
"You can't face the fact that a man you loathe can make you feel the way I
make you feel, can you?" he said bitterly. "But I'm not playing any more
games, Serena. You don't love me, we both know that, but you want me
physically. Fine."
	"No…" It was a soft whimper, and his eyes narrowed before he shook his
head slowly.
	"Still keeping up the pretence?" His voice was husky, the grating
quality underlined when he continued, "I only have to touch you again to 
prove
what we both know."
	He thought she was denying her physical attraction to him, she thought
painfully, not refuting his statement about her lack of love. She struggled 
up
into a sitting position, smoothing down her clothes and dropping her gaze 
from
his, but he reached for her again, only pausing when there was a gentle,
tentative knock at the study door.
	He swore once, harshly, under his breath, before calling, "Just a
moment," and rising swiftly to his feet, hauling her up a moment later. She
watched him as he tucked his mid-night silk shirt back into the waistband of
his jeans, his derisively raised eyebrows preparing her for his cynical
parting shot of, "Saved by the bell--or in this case, I suspect, Amy."
	And then, to her shock and amazement, she watched him unlock the study
door. He had locked it. She felt too crushed to react. He had purposely made
sure they couldn't be interrupt, and that meant…That meant he had determined
to make love to her all along. It had been to prove a point, to demonstrate 
to
her that she was putty in his hands.
	The devastating humiliation gave way to fierce, burning anger, and as
Darien opened the door to reveal Amy in the hall outside Serena's chin came 
up
and her back stiffened. He had made it clear he didn't want her here, near 
his
sister, and that was fine, but there was no way she was assuaging his 
injured
male ego by letting him take her body before she was unceremoniously turned
out of his home and his life.
	How dared he--how dared he--assume she would fall into his hands like a
ripe peach? He had been right in describing himself as a monster, she 
thought
bitterly. It was liquid ice flowing through his veins--not blood.
	"Is…is everything all right?" Amy's voice was hesitant, her eyes
flashing from her brother's face to where Serena was still standing in the
middle of the room. "Chad didn't say anything to offend Serena, did he?"
	And then her previous theory was blown away, as Serena watched Darien
bend over the wheelchair and say, very tenderly, "Come on through to the
dining room and have something to eat. You're seeing Greg later, and it
wouldn’t do to faint on the poor guy. And don't worry about Chad--he's gone
and he's not coming back, okay?" he said firmly. "He's out of your life for
good, Amy."
	"Okay." Amy nodded, and then peered round her brother to Serena, saying,
"You're all right, Serena?"
	"Fine." Serena forced a bright smile.
	"Thank you for not letting him in," Amy said quietly. "I know it's
cowardly, but I really don't want to see him again."
	"Far from being cowardly, I think it shows remarkably good sense,"
Serena said stoutly, and this time her smile wasn't forced as she added,
"You're doing fine, Amy."
	"No, not really, but I'm getting there. Greg…Greg helps," Amy admitted
shyly, turning her wheelchair to face the dining room as she spoke, her 
cheeks
flushing.
	Serena followed the other two through to breakfast purely for Amy's
sake. She didn't want to upset the other girl by insisting on going to her
room, although she knew exactly what she was going to do once Greg had 
arrived
to take Amy out.
	Breakfast proved to be an ordeal Serena wouldn't have wished on her
worst enemy. Darien managed to be an attentive big brother to Amy--all charm
and wry, amusing comments--at the same time as making Serena feel she was
something he would scrape off the bottom of his shoe.
	But he was clever with it, Serena told herself bitterly, after another
pointed comment had found its target. Amy clearly didn't suspect a thing. He
could act a part to perfection.
	"Not hungry, Serena?" As she raised her head Darien gestured to the
piece of toast on her plate that she had been nibbling at for a good five
minutes. "You need some exercise to give you an appetite. I'll have to see
what I can do after breakfast."
	"Go for a swim, Serena," Amy encouraged innocently. "I've already had a
dip this morning, and the water is lovely and warm. Darien keeps it just the
right temperature."
	Bully for Darien. She kept her face bland and her voice light as she
said, "I might do that later, after my meal had gone down."
	"Hardly a meal." Darien eyes were laser-sharp even as his mouth smiled--
a shark smile, Serena thought wildly. "You've only had half a piece of toast
and a bowl of grapefruit."
	"I don't often eat breakfast," Serena said stiffly.
	Darien was just opening his mouth for what Serena was sure was another
barbed comment coated in sugar, when Mrs. Kino popped her head round the 
door.
"Mr. Chiba, I'm sorry to disturb you, but that call you've been waiting for
from Australia? They're on the line now," the housekeeper said cheerfully.
	"Right, I'll take it in my study, Mrs. Kino." He rose slowly, his face
warm as he nodded at Amy, and then the temperature dropped by twenty degrees
as he glanced Serena's way. "I'll see you later." It was a threat, not a
promise.
	"Oh, take as long as you like," Serena said brightly. "I've a good book
to read, so I thought I'd take it down by the pool and relax a little before
my swim."
	He nodded, his face dark and brooding and his eyes hooded. "Hadn't you
better get ready for Greg?" he asked Amy carefully. "He'll be here in a few
minutes and Serena won't mind."
	He couldn't have made it clearer he didn't trust her to be alone with
his sister, Serena thought balefully, feeling herself flush bright red with
anger, but unable to do anything about it other than pretend to drop her
napkin under the table. She fished about under the thick linen tablecloth 
for
some moments and then emerged slowly, hoping Amy would leave the room with
Darien. She did, after a warm goodbye to Serena that made Serena feel a 
little
guilty in view of what she had decided to do.
	But it was the only possible option, she reassured herself a few moments
later as she sped up to her room, her heart pounding and her stomach 
churning.
She had to leave here. Now. This morning. She would wait until Greg had 
taken
Amy out--he was due to arrive in five minutes and they were planning a
shopping excursion followed by lunch--and then, once the coast was clear, 
she
would ring for a taxi and leave.
	She packed her small suitcase with frenzied haste, and, after hearing
Greg arrive, telephoned for a taxi. Greg and Amy left the house a few 
moments
later, and Serena gave a deep sight of relief. The last thing she wanted was 
a
confrontation with Darien on the doorstep, with Amy and Greg looking on.
	But there was no confrontation. Serena watched for the taxi to arrive
from her vantagepoint upstairs, and then flew down the hall on silent feet,
opening the front door and slipping out before closely it quietly behind 
her.
	She didn't breath easily until the taxi was out of the big gates at the
end of the drive and heading towards her flat, and then reaction set in and
she began shiver and shake. It was over--not that it had ever really 
begun---
and it had finished in the worst possible way. He hated her, and, even 
worse,
despised her. Why hadn't she told him about Allan Ginga and explained that 
she
had been telling the truth about the last five years? But he hadn't given 
her
the chance, she told herself tremblingly. Although perhaps if she had--
	Stop it. Stop it. The reprimand was sharp in her head. It wouldn't have
made any difference. If he had loved her, if he had even had some tender
affection for her--anything--there might have been a chance. But a chance of
what? To be one of his women for a while, to live in hope that he might, 
just
might, change his mind about marriage and lifelong commitment? Who was she
fooling? She asked herself miserably. He was as he was, and it would have
killed her to live like that--waiting, hoping, dreading the moment he tired 
of
her body and wanted out.
	No, it had to end. She hugged her middle as the ache in her heart became
excruciating. But she didn't know how she was going to get through the rest 
of
her life.
	She was almost back to the flat when another thought penetrated the
black misery, causing her to sit bolt upright clutch nervously at her 
throat.
What if he followed her here? He was angry enough. She closed her eyes at 
the
thought, her nerves jumping. She wouldn't be able to stand it. She had to 
get
away for a time, give him a chance to cool down and see that she wasn't 
going
to contact Amy or do anything else to hurt his sister. That was all he was
really bothered about anyway.
	She breathed deeply, willing herself to think clearly. She still had
several weeks' holiday owing this year, and money wasn't a problem--the
commission on Greenacres had put her bank balance very firmly in the black,
much to her bank manager's delight. But she didn't want to go to some 
strange
place; the thought of a holiday in the sun didn't appeal anymore somehow.
She'd go and spend some time with Raye.
	Once the thought was there, it clarified immediately. Yes, that was what
she'd do. She needed to be with someone who cared about her, weak that might
be. Someone who knew what she was really like. The flood of self-pity
threatened to overwhelm her, and she blinked back the tears determinedly.
She'd brought this on herself; that was what she had to remember. She 
deserved
his low opinion of her.
	When the taxi stopped outside the flat, she asked the driver if he would
wait and then take her to King's Cross station. "No problem, ducks." He was 
as
round as he was tall, with a rosy red face and beaming smile. "You want any
help with bags, anything like that?" he offered cheerily.
	She started to refuse--since the attack she had been meticulously
careful never to be alone with a man or put herself in an awkward 
situation--
but then she paused. Somewhere, sometime, she had to start trusting the male
population again--she couldn't lump them all together with scum like Allan
Ginga.
	"It's all right, ducks. I've got three kids of my own, and the eldest is
about your age." The taxi driver said reassuringly. "Lives by herself in a
bedsit in Birmingham, and the wife and me are always telling her to be on 
her
guard. The things you hear these days…"
	Serena nodded, looking into the bright, round button eyes that reminded
her of a robin's. "I've got to get a few things together, but the case will 
be
quite heavy," she said quietly. "If you could help me get it down the 
stairs,
that would be a help."
	The telephone was ringing when Serena opened the front door of the flat
but she let it ring. She would phone Rita and Andrew en route; she knew they
wouldn't mind her taking two or three weeks' lave when she explained the
circumstances. They had been nagging her to have a holiday for ages. And 
she'd
phone her aunt too--if they couldn't put her up for any reason she could
always stay in a bed and breakfast somewhere close. But for now she wanted 
to
leave the flat quickly--once she did that, she was safe.
	She bundled clothes, books, toiletries and anything else she thought she
might need higgledy-piggledy into her enormous old suitcase, tipping the
contents of the overnight case she had taken to Darien's on top of it all,
before shutting the case quickly.
	The taxi driver was waiting in the hall, and the little round face
beamed at the sight of her. "Blimey, girl, I wish the wife'd pack as quick 
as
that," he said approvingly, taking the case from her and then adding over 
his
shoulder, "Has the house in an uproar for days, my missus, and still we end 
up
forgetting something essential."
	She was finding the little man very comforting, but his kindness was
making her want to cry. She felt so emotionally bruised, so drained and
totally shattered, hat she couldn't imagine ever feeling like herself again.
But she would--she would, she told herself numbly. She'd managed it once
before, after all.
	And then she was in the back of the taxi again, only relaxing when it
had left Crayfield Avenue and turned into the anonymity of mainstream 
traffic.
	Serena didn't know what made her glance out of the window some minutes
later--perhaps a sixth sense, female intuition--but as the taxi crawled 
along
in the heavy Saturday traffic her eyes fastened on the stationary line of
vehicles on the other side of the road, waiting for the traffic lights to
change.
	He was driving the Ferrari. And even from a distance of some few yards
she could see the furious darkness of his face and the way the big body was
tensed over the steering wheel. He didn't notice her--there was no reason he
should; taxi were ten a penny in London--and she feasted her eyes on him for 
a
long, heartbreaking moments before the lights changed and then the Ferrari
growled away.
	Her tears were blinding her now, hot, scorching tears of remorse and
regret and piercing pain, but by the time the taxi arrived at King's Cross 
she
had regained enough shaky composure to thank the taxi driver and give him a
hefty tip, before making her way to the information desk to Enquirer the 
time
of the train. The train that would take her away from London, away from 
Darien
Chiba, and into a future where she could only see darkness and grief and 
deep,
grinding misery.
***********************************************************************
Okay we only have 1 more chapter to go. Remember to check out my other fics
at: http://www.moonchronicles.com and 
http://members.xoom.com/portalsms/index2.html