Time To Heal [COMPLETED]

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE SACRIFICE

The week which followed passed so quickly that Ana felt like time was sifting through her hands like sand dust. Thankfully, she was gradually recovering from her ailing predicament, the after effects of her medications fading, and her drugged state improving. A condition she couldn't associate to her deteriorating relationship with Dev.

Although he'd regularly been visiting her, sleeping on a chair within confined space, dutifully bringing her flowers and chocolates, Ana could literally feel his withdrawal. It was scary and not to mention eerie that she was so attuned to him that she could read his mental affliction. Not a word had been spoken about their torrid lovemaking, both tiptoeing around the issue, and she knew it was merely the eye before the storm.

Feeling like she was walking on eggshells around him, she was stunned when one fine day, without any prior warning or insinuation, he burst into her room with someone in toe. His announcement was even more uncalled for when without preamble, in his usual unceremonious manner, he blurted out. "I brought someone to meet you."

Puzzled, her focus shifted to his left where stood a woman who was breathtakingly beautiful with similar idiosyncratic burgundy hair like hers, with a pair of livid grey eyes staring back at her almost with awe.

A sudden unfounded jealousy gripped her, so fierce that she had to blink it away, summoning her model persona to blank out the feeling. Was that his girlfriend? With horror, she realized that her heart was hurting – no make that breaking into billions of pieces at the mere probability.

Then suddenly, a revelation stuck her. It was as if every piece of a puzzle fitted and everything made perfect sense; she still loved him, had never stopped. How was she supposed to react when all color must have leeched from her face, her mask crumbling with fatal drama? Mind tumbling with limitless possibilities, she stared back impolitely when the woman outstretched a hand in guise of greeting.

"Hi, I'm Alyssa Turner," she finally proclaimed when Ana remained perversely unreactive, the announcement serving as a cold shower on her. She flinched back in shock, hands going up to her throat as the impact of the name hit her. That woman was her sister.

One look in the direction of Dev confirmed her theory, and she watched his retreating back with a sinking heart. While she had been nurturing foolish hope about their relationship, he'd managed to maintain his single-mindedness, outrunning her even when she'd been bedridden. And she was not even allowed to scream for foul play. She had been the one stupid enough to injure her legs, lying in hospital for one whole week wasting precious time.

He had not even deigned to respect the pact they'd made, that she was allowed to see her sister first before he bulldozered her into marriage. While she had foolishly thought that Dev would be touched by their lovemaking, enough that he might even reconsider that twisted opinion he had of her. Those damn nurses had been feeding her with crappy romantic stuff about how lucky she was to have that kind of devotion at her heel 24/7. They had assured her that her husband had spent every night at her side, holding her hand until they had to intervene with medical attention.

With shame, she realized she hadn't dissolved their misunderstanding. Even for a few ludicrous insane seconds, she had loved pretending to be his wife, even if it had been just a sham. Nostalgia had filled her with the decadent thought that had he not walked away, they would have actually been man and wife presently. What kind of dork did that make her?

She sighed. Defeated.

"I am feeling better," she answered warily, biding her time to buy information from her. "So... how have you met Devin?" What if they were already married? She cringed at the thought, praying feverishly that it wasn't true. He wouldn't do that to her? Would he? Would he?