Three Thousand Miles - Forever, (book #3 of Three Thousand Miles, Series) (22 page)

Dear Alanna, I am writing to you because I feel that you are ignoring my
pleas. I keep telling you over and over that Adrian Black is no good for you
and that if you want to live a long, happy life then you must do it away from
him. He will poison your soul and destroy your happiness, please Alanna hear
my warnings and leave Adrian Black before its too late.

I read the words again and again until Adrian senses the tension in my eyes
and hangs up his phone call. He quickly places his strong hand onto my back as
he talks in his smooth British accent.

“Baby what’s wrong?” I turn to look at him -with tears in my eyes. Adrian
scrunches his face at the sight of me. “Alanna,” he urges. I unclench my hand
from around the paper and I thrust it into Adrian’s lap. He scopes it into his
palm with one swift movement and then as he reads the words, I watch his
face drain white.

“Alanna, where did you get this?”

“It was on the front porch on the windowsill, Adrian, why is this happening
again?” Adrian’s eyes begin dart and his lips begin to twitch. I can tell that he is
angry by this new threat so I move closer to him as I huddle into his chest. He
holds me tight as he kisses the top of my head.

“I don’t know baby, but I will get to the bottom of this, I promise you.”

I lie in Adrian’s arms until I have no choice but to break free as I am starving. I
march into the kitchen and I begin to rummage through the fridge. I scowl as I
see that we have no food in the house. I walk back into the living area and I
alert Adrian that we need to go and get food.

“We have no food and I am starving!” Adrian runs his fingers through his hair
as he glides over to me. He wraps his arms around my waist as he pulls me
closer. He leans down to my level and he kisses mesoftly as whispers.

“Let me take you out to dinner.”

We arrive at the restaurant and Adrian quickly escorts me inside. As we enter I
scan the room and I smile as I take in my surroundings. The restaurant is
modern and has large glass windows that look out over Thames. The waiter, a
tall dark haired gentleman whisks us over to our table. Adrian pulls out my
chair and I take a seat at the white table clothed table. Adrian sits opposite me
and he orders us some drinks as I gaze out at the river. The skyline is gorgeous
and the river is peacefully flowing. Glowing lights from the city are flashing and
gentle noises of the busy crowd wizzes by. I am smiling – unconditionally as I
glare at Adrian in the candle light. His eyes are breathtakingly beautiful, but I
can sense worry in their deepness. I begin to reach out my hand to him, but
the waiter returns with our drinks. He places my water down in front of me
and then he hands me a menu. I politely begin to scan the appetizers when I
notice that Adrian has handed his menu back to the waiter. I immediately
sense that something is wrong and I begin to question my husband on his
actions.

“Adrian what’s wrong?” He takes a sip of his water and I notice that his hands
are gently beginning to shake. I drop my menu onto the table and I reach out
to him. “Sweetie what’s wrong?” Adrian slightly pinches the bridge of his nose
as he replies.

“I have a banging headache.” I frown as I let go of his hand. I reach down to the
floor and I grab my handbag. I begin to rummage through the contents of my
bag until I mind some headache pills. I take two from the bottle and I hand
them to Adrian. He smiles at me as he swallows thepills.

“Thanks baby,” he says as he lifts my menu from the table. I wait until Adrian
has ordered his food and then I scan the menu againto choose what I want.
Everything looks amazing on the menu and I don’t know how I am going to
make a selection. I read over the pastas and main courses several times and I
can tell that waiter is becoming impatient with me so I randomly select the
pork chop with apple sauce and I kindly hand my menu back to the waiter.

Adrian begins to gently rub his temples as we wait for our food. His eyes are
heavy and his hair has flopped onto his forehead. I stare at him as I have never
seen him like this before. He seems anxious and fragile and I can’t help but
wonder what is causing him to have a headache. I sip my water and I nibble on
the breadsticks and dips which Adrian ordered as a side dish. Our silence is
deafening and I need to find out what’s bugging him.

“Okay what’s up with you,” I say desperately as I ram another piece of
breadstick into my mouth.

 

“I told you I have a headache.” Adrian tries to play it cool, but I know that
something is wrong. I scowl at him as I begin to question him more.
“I am not buying it, you are too anxious. Please tell me what’s wrong?” Adrian
briefly glances out over the river and then he turns back face to me.

“Today was… hard.” I nod in agreement – now I realise that his day out at the
zoo with Zara and William is what’s bugging him. I lean forward in my chair as I
reach out for his hand. Adrian intertwines his fingers in mine and he smiles at
me. His full lips are curved and his eyes are deeply looking into my soul. I smile
back at him as I want to know everything that has happened today.

“How did get on with William?” Adrian laughs.

 

“Good, he is a wonderful little boy.”

 

“If you got on with him then why was your day hard?” Adrian narrows his eyes
at me.

 

“Are you questioning me?” He jokes. I laugh and then I turn the focus back
onto the subject matter.

 

“Tell me about today.”

“Today was strange. I met this amazing child and when I look at him I see
myself. His eyes glow and his smile draws me in andI cave at the very sight of
him. Alanna, I don’t know if I can deny it any longer – I think that William is my
child.” I nervously laugh at his words and I can tell that my actions have
surprised him. Therefore I try to explain my behaviour.

“I am sorry, it’s just it’s so obvious that he is your son and I wish that you had
the paternity test to prove it.” Adrian’s eyes begin to dart and that alerts me
that he is anxious – again.

“I have arranged for the DNA test to be taken tomorrow.” My heart races at his
confession, but at the same time I am glad. Tomorrow all of Adrian’s pain and
worry will be gone. He will finally know the truth and he can be free to live his
life without all this uncertainty. I lunge forward and I lean across the table so
that I can hug him. Adrian lets out a husky laugh as he gently kisses me on my
neck. I rudely pulled away from him when the sound of the snobby waiter
clearing his throat interrupts us. I shyly flash the waiter a smile, but he doesn’t
return the gesture. He simply places our food down onto the table and then he
tells us to enjoy our food whilst he walks away. Adrian shakes his head at
waiter’s rudeness and then he begins to cut away at his steak.

“So how was your day?” Adrian asks once we have eaten most of our food. I
continue to eat as I respond.

 

“It was weird actually.” Adrian places his fork down onto his plate and then he
quizzes me more on my day.

“Weird how? What happened?” I take another bite of my pork chop and then I
reluctantly place my fork down so that I can talk to Adrian without my fork
distracting me.

“Michael was a little weird today. I don’t know what has come over him but he
seems different.” Adrian’s face drains white – again and I am sensing that this
news isn’t exactly the type of news that he wants to hear. I don’t know what’s
wrong with two of them lately, but they seem as ifthey have drifted apart. I
frown as I remember that all of this is Chad’s fault. He has taken Michael away
from Adrian and Michael has been stupid enough to fall for his tricks.

“You need to tell me exactly what happened.” Adrian urges.

“Michael seemed depressed and lonely. He kept rambling on about some girl
that he used to love and about how he hasn’t gotten over her. He seemed lost
and to be honest I don’t think that Emma is with him anymore. She wasn’t
there and I felt as if the house was empty. He clutched to me and he told me
that I reminded him of her. I felt sorry for him, maybe you should go and see
him?” Adrian deeply exhales as he nervously runs his long fingers through his
hair. His knees are beginning to twitch under the table and I am staring to
worry. Why is Adrian acting so nervous? Does he know something that I don’t?
Is he keeping something back from me? I stare at him as I await his reply, but
he seems to be taking forever and I am still starving. So I begin to chow down
on another piece of pork and apple as I continue to wait for Adrian to speak.

“Did he mention the name of this girl?” Adrian says after a few moments of
silence. I rack my brain and her name pops into mythoughts.

“Becky, ” Adrian’s eyes sink back into his head at the sound of her name and I
now I am positive that he is keeping something back from me. I thrust my fork
down onto the plate and it makes a loud bang. Adrian jumps and then he
stares at me as he reaches out for my hands. He looks more serious than I have
ever seen him before and his odd behaviour is starting to worry me.

“Alanna you have to listen to me and you have to do as I say, okay?” I frown at
him.

 

“What? I am confused what’s wrong?”

 

“Michael is what’s wrong and you have to stay away from him.” I am startled
at Adrian’s request.

 

“Why?” I demand.

“Because I said so,” Adrian snaps. I pull my handsaway from him in anger and I
scowl at him as I thought that we have moved on from his neurotic, controlling
behaviour. Since Adrian and I have gotten married things have been different
and a lot smoother. Adrian has tamed his anger andhe has learned how to let
me have some of the control. But seeing his intense green eyes whilst he tells
me what do, is so belittling and he makes me feel as if I am a naughty child
who he has to control – all of the time. I look at him and I feel as if he has let
me down by returning to his previous ways. I want shout at him and tell him
how stupid he is making me feel. However, this is anice restaurant and snobby
waiter, douche, wouldn’t be happy if I did. So I simply look at him as I give him
a chance to explain.

“Alanna I am sorry, but baby you know that I have never lied to you and I
would never ask you stay away from Michael if I didn’t believe that it was for
the best. Please my lovely listen to my words.”

“How can I listen to your words and how can I trust you when you treat me like
a child.” Adrian’s eyes intensify and his lips begin to tremble. I watch as his
nostrils flare and his knees shake and I am beginning to realise that he is in a
foul mood. With his anger building and my nausea returning I leap up from the
seat and I march away from the table. I roll my eyes at the arrogant waiter as I
push my way through the door of the restaurant. The cool air hits me as soon
as I step out and my throat is dry as I try to holdback my tears. Adrian will be
so mad at me for storming out of dinner and I can honestly say that my
reaction has stunned me. I don’t why I am so emotional and I can’t understand
why Adrian wants me stay away from Michael. I thought that we had moved
past the love triangle stage and we were now onto our next chapter, but our
life feels as if it’s on repeat and I am struggling to change our future.

I gasp in the cold air as I make my way through the gardens of the restaurant
and across to the railings that hold in the river. I cutch onto the cool steel
metal and tears begin to flow from my eyes. My heart is racing and my head is
pounding, I feel so dizzy that I can hardly see straight. I close my eyes and I
breathe slowly as I try to clear my head and stop my tears. My eyes jolt open at
the feel of a hand on my back. I turn around and Adrian is standing in front of
me – with his eyes glowering through me. I look up at him as he towers above
me and I wait for his reaction to my stroppy behaviour.

“Alanna, what is going on with you?” I shake my head at him.

“I don’t know, I am just so… emotional and I can’t control my anger or my
hunger. Everything that you do and say gets on my nerves and I don’t know
why I am feeling this way.” Adrian smiles at me as he wraps his arms around
my waist. I clutch onto him and I begin to laugh –I seriously think that I am
crazy.
“Baby, I am sorry that I annoy you and I am sorry that I made you feel like a
child. That wasn’t my intention, but you do need to listen to me when I say
that you need to stay away from Michael.” Adrian says softly as I pull back
from him.

“You can’t ask me to obey your wishes when you don’t give me a reason to.”
Adrian smirks at me whilst he slides his hand around my shoulder. Adrian
gently laughs as he leads me back to the car. I stare up at him as we walk – not
backing down until he tells me why he wants me to stay away from Michael.

“Michael has a side to him that isn’t always tangible. He can sometimes lead
you to believe that he is different than he seems. He can be very complicated
and he can become obsessed with people. He was with Becky and if he has told
you that you remind him of her then you have to stay away from him. He will
focus all of his energy into obsessing over you. I don’t want history to repeat
itself so that is why I am asking you maintain your distance from him.” Adrian’s
voice is firm but soothing. He is speaking to me in a concept of love and I know
that his intentions are good. He is my husband now and when I look into his
eyes I can tell that he isn’t asking me to stay away from Michael because he is
jealous of our relationship. Instead, he is looking out for me and he is trying to
spare me from witnessing Michael’s darker side. I realise now that my actions
were childish and I feel awful that I stormed out of our dinner. I slide my hand
onto Adrian’s back and I squeeze him gently as I apologise for my outburst.

“I am sorry for acting like a brat.”

 

“I am sorry for treating you like a child.”

 

Adrian pushes me into the car and then he jumps in as well. He starts the
engine and he clutches my hand as he speeds off in the direction of our house.