Post by rsafan on Mar 30, 2007 4:26:16 GMT -5
Chapter 70
Three weeks after the shooting, Luc was taken off the respirator. It was a sign that things were improving, the only sign Victoria was looking for was seeing her husband’s eyes open again. She left the hospital one afternoon with two destinations in mind. They would both require a huge amount of strength.
When Mimi opened the door, Victoria didn’t bother greeting her. She simply walked in and asked, “Why do you keep turning him away, why do you keep hurting him?”
“Maybe I want him to know what it was like for me. How no matter how hard I tried to make things work he always turned away.”
“So what is this, payback? Because he couldn’t forgive you fast enough you want to punish him.”
“This isn’t about him forgiving me; it’s about him making me pay for his mistakes. It’s about his guilt and his lies and how he went off with Belle.”
“That was a mistake, he told you that. He didn’t even know it was Belle.”
“I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about the rooftop. I’m talking about him and Belle on the rooftop when I was pregnant with Zach.”
“You know about that? How?”
“It doesn’t matter how I know does it. In the end all that matters is that he was willing to let me take the blame for the destruction of our marriage when I was the only one who even tried to make it work. He was the one who kept secrets and yet he continued to blast at me for the one secret I did keep.”
“He didn’t want you to find out because he didn’t want to hurt you.”
“If he didn’t want to hurt me then he shouldn’t have done it. If he didn’t want to hurt me then he shouldn’t have allowed me to go on to Belle about how great our marriage was and how Shawn loved me when he knew she knew the truth. If he didn’t want to hurt me then he should have told me the truth instead of allowing me to live a lie for so many months. This wasn’t about him not wanting to hurt me; this was about him protecting himself. As long as he could hold onto the fact that I kept Claire from him, he could excuse anything he did to me. Where’s the love in that?”
“When you love someone, you do everything in your power to see them happy. Why would he tell you about something that would only hurt you? Because he knew it would Mimi, he figured it was better you didn’t know than that you did and hurt all the time. There’s nothing wrong with that Mimi. You know he loves you. He’s shown it time and time again, he’s had months to get back together with Belle but he hasn’t because he doesn’t love her, he doesn’t want her. If he did he wouldn’t even bother with you because you know she’d take him back, he wouldn’t even need to ask. And sure he’s hurt you, but he’s also apologised for it.”
“And what? That makes it better? That doesn’t change anything Victoria. I apologised for keeping quiet about Claire, I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure that Claire was his but it didn’t matter. To him I couldn’t be trusted and no matter how hard I tried we couldn’t get past it, he couldn’t get past it. After the way I had that thrown in my face, why should I even bother?”
“Because you love him.”
“Maybe love isn’t enough, maybe his love isn’t enough.”
“Love is always enough.”
“Then why isn’t it enough for you?”
“It is.”
“What? It took a bullet to make you go back to Luc, not love a bullet.”
Victoria shook her head, “No, we were together before he got shot. We were together because I realised that I loved him and nothing else mattered. I had to forgive him, I had to trust that he was telling me the truth; I had to trust in his love. If you think that Shawn is going to keep coming back and begging your forgiveness or declaring his love then you’re mistaken. One day he’s going to stop coming here and then it’ll truly be over. Don’t let that day come Mimi.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand that I wanted you with my brother because you made him happy, that I fought for you when no one else wanted you near him when everyone told him to go back to Belle, I was the one that told him to hang on to what made him happy, but that’s no longer the case. I used to admire your strength, your courage, but I don’t see that in you anymore. I don’t see the person I used to know, the person I used to love, all I see is a woman so intent on vengeance that she can’t see what she’s doing to the people she loves. ”
“What if I’m not enough, I certainly wasn’t the first time around.”
“He’s shown you time and again that you are enough Mimi, that you’re enough for him. You didn’t trust the first time around. You didn’t have reason to trust but neither did he and he’s willing to try again. You have to start somewhere, why not start with your heart, what does it say?”
“Mrs. Dimera,” he commented, throwing himself into one of the available chairs, “I was wondering how long it would take you to make your way here.”
She however, remained standing, “This isn’t a social call.”
“And don’t I know it. So, what can I do for you?”
Victoria wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. “Discounting the little visit you paid me all those weeks ago; I’m here because my husband is lying in a hospital bed right now, no thanks to you. I’d really love to return the favour.”
“Would you now?” he asked with confidence, knowing that she was one of the law-abiding Bradys helped a great deal, they wouldn’t cross that line no matter how much they wanted to.
“But I’m not going to.” she said, confirming his suspicions that she was as yellow bellied as the rest of her family. Just how, he wondered, had Dimera seen fit to marry her? “I don’t want to put my parents through the pain of having to arrest their own daughter, my dad’s already been through that and from what I hear it wasn’t pretty.”
“Spare me, I don’t want to hear your family stories, say your piece and leave.”
“Oh I will, you see, I know who you work for, and they were very interested to learn about the actions you’ve been taking recently, how you were running your own little scam off their funds. Now the big boss, what’s his name, EJ Wells was it? He’s not too happy with you.”
Now he started to look uncomfortable. How had she found out so much when he knew for a fact Dimera had kept her in the dark? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But the elevated tone of his voice belied his statement.
“Good, because then I won’t have any interruptions. See, my first plan was to exact revenge, you know, and eye for an eye. But Mr. Wells, well he convinced me to allow him to handle things; I told him I wasn’t a ruthless person, that I’d give you the opportunity to show some remorse but seeing as how you aren’t willing to apologise for nearly killing my husband, I’ve decided to take him up on his offer. So I came here to give you a little heads up, in the next couple of days, you’re going to be getting a new cellmate. Of course you already know how the rest plays out so I don’t have to tell you, only this time there’s a little change in plans. See I want you to suffer and Mr. Wells, well he’s given me a guarantee that not only will you pay for shooting my husband, you’ll also pay for your misdemeanours against him.”
“You’re bluffing.” He said as he watched her walk around the table that separated them.
She leaned by his ear and said coldly, “You think so? Well we’ll just have to wait and see won’t we?”
“I believe that’s a threat, conspiracy to commit murder.” He said aloud, loud enough for the guard to here.
“Who said anything about murder? Did you here me say anything about murder?” She asked the guard who shook his head.
She turned back to James and smiled, it was not a comforting smile. “Nothing can save you James, from the hell you’re about to go through. But I could make sure you don’t go through it alone, that you partner or your boss, whichever it may be, is in here to suffer with you.”
“She’s good.” EJ commented as he watched the interaction between the prisoner and his visitor. For this sting to go according to plan they needed James to sing and judging by the way Victoria was pushing him, he would be singing quite loudly. He could see exactly why Luc was so protective of his wife.
“She’s a Brady.” Bo said proudly.
“It’s been three weeks Luc, why aren’t you waking up?”
“Don’t cry.”
Startled, she wiped away the tears that had run down her cheeks. “I’m not; you think I’d cry over you?”
Wiping the tears from her cheek, he smiled, “No, I guess you’re not crying then.”
His humour angered her, his ability to just cast the past few weeks aside, as though he hadn’t been lying there fighting for his life. “How dare you! How could you do something like that you idiot? Jumping in front of a bullet? Are you out of your mind?”
“You’re welcome.”
“I wasn’t thanking you.”
“Yeah, but you were getting around to it. I was just saving you the trouble.”
“Is that your brother I hear out there?”
“Yes, he wants to see you. If you don’t want to…”
“No, it’s okay. Send him in, I promise to buzz the nurse if he tries stuffing my pillow over my face.”
“He wants to thank you, for saving my life.”
“If he thanks me the way you just did, I can do without his thanks.”
“I’m glad you’re awake, I’ll send him in.”
“Ah, so you’re like your sister.” Luc muttered when he saw Shawn’s facial expression.
“Excuse me?” Shawn asked confused.
“She said you wanted to see me to thank me, the look on your face says you’d rather strangle me.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about your being married to my sister and I’m not sure how I feel about my parents’ quiet acceptance of you in her life but I am quite sure how I feel about you jumping in front of that bullet for her. You saved her life, thank you.”
“It’s not over.”
“What do you mean?”
“James is just a front runner, it’s far from over. I need you to protect her; I need you to keep her safe, until I get out of here and can do it myself. Can you do that for me?”
“Do you even need to ask? She’s my sister, I’d do it gladly.”
“And your girls too.”
“My girls?”
“Belle and Mimi, you’ve got to keep them safe too. Claire’s safe, as long as she stays with your parents she’s safe.”
“How are they involved in this?”
“You’re involved Shawn, that involves them. Keep them safe, these people can hurt you in ways you never imagined, in ways that’d make you wish you were dead.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“You can start by getting them out of those loft apartments, there’s no security and they’re easy to get to.”
Shawn nodded and left, leaving his sister alone with her husband. He pulled out his cell phone as soon as he turned the corner, she answered on the third ring. “Belle, I need you to get out of the apartment. Don’t ask questions just do it.”
“Shawn? What are you going on about, I’m meeting Mimi here in about ten, we’re going…” Shawn heard a door slam, heard Belle’s cry of, “What are you doing...” heard the phone drop to the floor as someone obviously grabbed Belle, “let me go you…Shawn! Shawn!” and finally heard a masculine voice, a familiar one, “Shawn’s not here to save you sweetheart. It’s time to take a little nap.”
That’s when he spun into action; Belle had said Mimi was on her way over. He hung up and dialled Mimi’s cell but all he got was voicemail. “Mimi, I don’t have time to explain but do not go back to the loft, do not visit Belle, whatever you do stay away from that area.” He hung up as he raced to his car and prayed that she checked her voicemail before heading off to Belle’s. He prayed he wasn’t too late.
Three weeks after the shooting, Luc was taken off the respirator. It was a sign that things were improving, the only sign Victoria was looking for was seeing her husband’s eyes open again. She left the hospital one afternoon with two destinations in mind. They would both require a huge amount of strength.
When Mimi opened the door, Victoria didn’t bother greeting her. She simply walked in and asked, “Why do you keep turning him away, why do you keep hurting him?”
“Maybe I want him to know what it was like for me. How no matter how hard I tried to make things work he always turned away.”
“So what is this, payback? Because he couldn’t forgive you fast enough you want to punish him.”
“This isn’t about him forgiving me; it’s about him making me pay for his mistakes. It’s about his guilt and his lies and how he went off with Belle.”
“That was a mistake, he told you that. He didn’t even know it was Belle.”
“I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about the rooftop. I’m talking about him and Belle on the rooftop when I was pregnant with Zach.”
“You know about that? How?”
“It doesn’t matter how I know does it. In the end all that matters is that he was willing to let me take the blame for the destruction of our marriage when I was the only one who even tried to make it work. He was the one who kept secrets and yet he continued to blast at me for the one secret I did keep.”
“He didn’t want you to find out because he didn’t want to hurt you.”
“If he didn’t want to hurt me then he shouldn’t have done it. If he didn’t want to hurt me then he shouldn’t have allowed me to go on to Belle about how great our marriage was and how Shawn loved me when he knew she knew the truth. If he didn’t want to hurt me then he should have told me the truth instead of allowing me to live a lie for so many months. This wasn’t about him not wanting to hurt me; this was about him protecting himself. As long as he could hold onto the fact that I kept Claire from him, he could excuse anything he did to me. Where’s the love in that?”
“When you love someone, you do everything in your power to see them happy. Why would he tell you about something that would only hurt you? Because he knew it would Mimi, he figured it was better you didn’t know than that you did and hurt all the time. There’s nothing wrong with that Mimi. You know he loves you. He’s shown it time and time again, he’s had months to get back together with Belle but he hasn’t because he doesn’t love her, he doesn’t want her. If he did he wouldn’t even bother with you because you know she’d take him back, he wouldn’t even need to ask. And sure he’s hurt you, but he’s also apologised for it.”
“And what? That makes it better? That doesn’t change anything Victoria. I apologised for keeping quiet about Claire, I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure that Claire was his but it didn’t matter. To him I couldn’t be trusted and no matter how hard I tried we couldn’t get past it, he couldn’t get past it. After the way I had that thrown in my face, why should I even bother?”
“Because you love him.”
“Maybe love isn’t enough, maybe his love isn’t enough.”
“Love is always enough.”
“Then why isn’t it enough for you?”
“It is.”
“What? It took a bullet to make you go back to Luc, not love a bullet.”
Victoria shook her head, “No, we were together before he got shot. We were together because I realised that I loved him and nothing else mattered. I had to forgive him, I had to trust that he was telling me the truth; I had to trust in his love. If you think that Shawn is going to keep coming back and begging your forgiveness or declaring his love then you’re mistaken. One day he’s going to stop coming here and then it’ll truly be over. Don’t let that day come Mimi.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand that I wanted you with my brother because you made him happy, that I fought for you when no one else wanted you near him when everyone told him to go back to Belle, I was the one that told him to hang on to what made him happy, but that’s no longer the case. I used to admire your strength, your courage, but I don’t see that in you anymore. I don’t see the person I used to know, the person I used to love, all I see is a woman so intent on vengeance that she can’t see what she’s doing to the people she loves. ”
“What if I’m not enough, I certainly wasn’t the first time around.”
“He’s shown you time and again that you are enough Mimi, that you’re enough for him. You didn’t trust the first time around. You didn’t have reason to trust but neither did he and he’s willing to try again. You have to start somewhere, why not start with your heart, what does it say?”
*****
Tory waited in the room for James. She knew what she had to do but that didn’t make her any less nervous. When he was finally let in, she stood, “Hello James. You know, orange just isn’t your colour.”“Mrs. Dimera,” he commented, throwing himself into one of the available chairs, “I was wondering how long it would take you to make your way here.”
She however, remained standing, “This isn’t a social call.”
“And don’t I know it. So, what can I do for you?”
Victoria wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. “Discounting the little visit you paid me all those weeks ago; I’m here because my husband is lying in a hospital bed right now, no thanks to you. I’d really love to return the favour.”
“Would you now?” he asked with confidence, knowing that she was one of the law-abiding Bradys helped a great deal, they wouldn’t cross that line no matter how much they wanted to.
“But I’m not going to.” she said, confirming his suspicions that she was as yellow bellied as the rest of her family. Just how, he wondered, had Dimera seen fit to marry her? “I don’t want to put my parents through the pain of having to arrest their own daughter, my dad’s already been through that and from what I hear it wasn’t pretty.”
“Spare me, I don’t want to hear your family stories, say your piece and leave.”
“Oh I will, you see, I know who you work for, and they were very interested to learn about the actions you’ve been taking recently, how you were running your own little scam off their funds. Now the big boss, what’s his name, EJ Wells was it? He’s not too happy with you.”
Now he started to look uncomfortable. How had she found out so much when he knew for a fact Dimera had kept her in the dark? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But the elevated tone of his voice belied his statement.
“Good, because then I won’t have any interruptions. See, my first plan was to exact revenge, you know, and eye for an eye. But Mr. Wells, well he convinced me to allow him to handle things; I told him I wasn’t a ruthless person, that I’d give you the opportunity to show some remorse but seeing as how you aren’t willing to apologise for nearly killing my husband, I’ve decided to take him up on his offer. So I came here to give you a little heads up, in the next couple of days, you’re going to be getting a new cellmate. Of course you already know how the rest plays out so I don’t have to tell you, only this time there’s a little change in plans. See I want you to suffer and Mr. Wells, well he’s given me a guarantee that not only will you pay for shooting my husband, you’ll also pay for your misdemeanours against him.”
“You’re bluffing.” He said as he watched her walk around the table that separated them.
She leaned by his ear and said coldly, “You think so? Well we’ll just have to wait and see won’t we?”
“I believe that’s a threat, conspiracy to commit murder.” He said aloud, loud enough for the guard to here.
“Who said anything about murder? Did you here me say anything about murder?” She asked the guard who shook his head.
She turned back to James and smiled, it was not a comforting smile. “Nothing can save you James, from the hell you’re about to go through. But I could make sure you don’t go through it alone, that you partner or your boss, whichever it may be, is in here to suffer with you.”
“She’s good.” EJ commented as he watched the interaction between the prisoner and his visitor. For this sting to go according to plan they needed James to sing and judging by the way Victoria was pushing him, he would be singing quite loudly. He could see exactly why Luc was so protective of his wife.
“She’s a Brady.” Bo said proudly.
*****
Later that afternoon, she was back by his side. She didn’t stay away long, she never could not when there was a chance he’d wake up and she didn’t want to be away when he did that. She wanted to be the first person he saw.“It’s been three weeks Luc, why aren’t you waking up?”
“Don’t cry.”
Startled, she wiped away the tears that had run down her cheeks. “I’m not; you think I’d cry over you?”
Wiping the tears from her cheek, he smiled, “No, I guess you’re not crying then.”
His humour angered her, his ability to just cast the past few weeks aside, as though he hadn’t been lying there fighting for his life. “How dare you! How could you do something like that you idiot? Jumping in front of a bullet? Are you out of your mind?”
“You’re welcome.”
“I wasn’t thanking you.”
“Yeah, but you were getting around to it. I was just saving you the trouble.”
“Is that your brother I hear out there?”
“Yes, he wants to see you. If you don’t want to…”
“No, it’s okay. Send him in, I promise to buzz the nurse if he tries stuffing my pillow over my face.”
“He wants to thank you, for saving my life.”
“If he thanks me the way you just did, I can do without his thanks.”
“I’m glad you’re awake, I’ll send him in.”
*****
Shawn entered the room, not sure whether he should be glad Lucien Dimera was awake or not. “Ah, so you’re like your sister.” Luc muttered when he saw Shawn’s facial expression.
“Excuse me?” Shawn asked confused.
“She said you wanted to see me to thank me, the look on your face says you’d rather strangle me.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about your being married to my sister and I’m not sure how I feel about my parents’ quiet acceptance of you in her life but I am quite sure how I feel about you jumping in front of that bullet for her. You saved her life, thank you.”
“It’s not over.”
“What do you mean?”
“James is just a front runner, it’s far from over. I need you to protect her; I need you to keep her safe, until I get out of here and can do it myself. Can you do that for me?”
“Do you even need to ask? She’s my sister, I’d do it gladly.”
“And your girls too.”
“My girls?”
“Belle and Mimi, you’ve got to keep them safe too. Claire’s safe, as long as she stays with your parents she’s safe.”
“How are they involved in this?”
“You’re involved Shawn, that involves them. Keep them safe, these people can hurt you in ways you never imagined, in ways that’d make you wish you were dead.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“You can start by getting them out of those loft apartments, there’s no security and they’re easy to get to.”
Shawn nodded and left, leaving his sister alone with her husband. He pulled out his cell phone as soon as he turned the corner, she answered on the third ring. “Belle, I need you to get out of the apartment. Don’t ask questions just do it.”
“Shawn? What are you going on about, I’m meeting Mimi here in about ten, we’re going…” Shawn heard a door slam, heard Belle’s cry of, “What are you doing...” heard the phone drop to the floor as someone obviously grabbed Belle, “let me go you…Shawn! Shawn!” and finally heard a masculine voice, a familiar one, “Shawn’s not here to save you sweetheart. It’s time to take a little nap.”
That’s when he spun into action; Belle had said Mimi was on her way over. He hung up and dialled Mimi’s cell but all he got was voicemail. “Mimi, I don’t have time to explain but do not go back to the loft, do not visit Belle, whatever you do stay away from that area.” He hung up as he raced to his car and prayed that she checked her voicemail before heading off to Belle’s. He prayed he wasn’t too late.
