Betrayed

CHAPTER TWO

Thank you for the reviews! I thought no one liked this fic!

Gypsy, I didn't know you're here, it's great! *hugs*

[This story has been written with Megili

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The next morning Sean went out early, after his usual morning shower and a little gardening. When he returned home Alex was awake, and busy measuring the walls in the main hall. He greeted her with a smile, closing the door behind him and then walking towards her.
"Good morning." he said, handing Alex what appeared to be a paper take-away bag. "I brought you some coffee. Espresso, of course. And also some muffins and scones, in case you're hungry."
“For me?” she asked then, eyes wide in surprise.
“Oh…t-thank you, Sean…”
With that, she smiled weakly at him, sitting down the floor, with her back pressed against the wall, sipping her coffee.
“Sean, I can’t stay here anymore. I’m just gi you you trouble and I know you don’t deserve it…”
He sat down next to her, sighing, and shrugged. "She'll get over it." he said, turning to look at her. "She's always been too jealous and she'll always be, nothing new. But if you're not at ease here, then it's different…in that case; I'll help you to find a good place to stay. Promise."
“No, Sean…it’s beautiful to stay here…” she smiled softly, offering him a chocolate muffin, without averting her eyes.
Sean smiled in return and reached over to take the muffin, lightly grazing the back of her hand with his thumb as he did so. It had not been a casual contact, and he knew that Alex was aware of that.
"And, to me, it's beautiful to have you here."
Smiling, she blushed lightly for the intensity of his green eyes on her, looking at the wall in front of her and sipping her coffee.
“We should start our work there…”
"Indeed." he nodded, taking a small bite of the muffin. "I think we should go and choose a kitchen first, so that you could introduce me to the wonderful world of Italian cooking." he said with a smirk, flashing her a sidelong glance.
“Yeah, I’ll be more than happy to cook for you!” she smiled.
“I’ve measured the walls, so I’ve just to call Mark, and he’ll tell us where we could go to choose the kitchen furniture”.
"Great." Sean smiled, while getting on his feet. "In the meantime I'll call Abbie then…I'll try to talk some sense into that little stubborn brain of hers."
He placed a quick kiss on Alex' forehead and headed for the stairs, needing a little privacy for what he wasn't exactly anticipating to be smoochy phone call.
“Mark?” she whispered into the cell phone.
“It’s me. Nothing. There’s nothing there, are you sure this is the house? Okay, okay. I’ll try to have a better view of the house. I’m staying there, yeah…Look, I need to go, he’s coming down. Where do we go to see some kitchen furniture? Ok, see ya!”
"Ready?" Sean asked, and when she nodded he added with a mischievous smile: "Whoever reaches the car first can decide about the kitchen. Deal?"
Smiling wickedly, she neared him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek to confuse him, looking intensely into his eyes, and then running for the door, she left him behind, smiling like a fool.
She reached the car long before him, laughing.
“What? You looked stunned.”
"You weren't supposed to actually win!" Sean playfully protested as he slowly approached her, grinning in a quite menacing way. "And you're gonna pay dearly for this, I swear…I could tickle you to death."
“Yeah?” she chuckled, backing away from him.
But soon, she found herself trapped betweean aan and the wall, and could do nothing but stare at him, worrying her lower lip.
"I suggest you to give up…" he murmured wickedly, holding both of Alex' wrists to prevent her from fleeing and staring intensely at her, yet paying attention not to touch her body with his.
“W-why?” she heard herself say, in a husky voice.
"Because otherwise I'll tickle you mercilessly,” he replied, raising an eyebrow. "And in that case you'll be begging for me to stop before the end, guaranteed. Do you give up?"
She couldn’t explain why, but in that moment her brain was filled with naughty thoughts and she felt herself suddenly aroused by his nearness and his hot breathing on her face and neck.
“Okay, okay, I give up”.
"Do you?" he whispered, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. "It's a pity I must let you go…I was quite enjoying this, to be honest."
“Yeah, me too.” she just answered, trying to free herself.
“What did Abigail say at the phone?”
This question was for him, attempting to make him refocus on the fact that he had got a girlfriend to go back to.
At the question, Sean shrugged, letting go of her wrists, and then turned to walk towards the car.
"She's moving here, it seems."
“Oh…” was her only answer.
But why was she upset? She should have been happy, because with Abigail at the house, Sean would have been away from her, and focused on his girlfriend, giving her time to search for the diary.
Once in the car, she handed him a piece of paper where she had written the address, but refused to meet his eyes.
"Thank you." he said quietly, shooting her just a quick sidelong glance. He didn't feel too happy about having Abigail around twenty-four on seven either. Primarily because he knew that she was moving just to check up on him, and also because with her there he wouldn't be able to spend too much time with Alex. They were getting along nicely, indeed. Maybe even too much, but he liked her company, her temperament, her attitude towards him. Not to mention that she was indeed a beautiful young woman. Perhaps Abigail had noticed that too.
When they arrived, Alex was surprised to see that there were also a lot of bedrooms, and other furniture.
Walking into that shop, she thought to the house of her dreams, smiling to herself, forgetting Sean for a moment.
She stopped in front of a beautiful mallow kitchen, and finally looked at him.
“I think that it’s perfect. There’s everything you can dream of…a microwave oven, a fridge, a large counter, and a lot of space where you can put on your saucepans. I was thinking that we could paint the walls in yellow, to create a contrast with the mallow colour, and we could put on some paintings with a blue or mallow background, to match with the furniture.”
Sean studied the kitchen for quite a while, opening drawers and surveying counters, and then he eventually neared Alex once more, nodding.
"I like it." he said simply, smiling at her. "Do you need something for your bedroom?"
“No, I’m just staying a few nights there, and I’m fine with my bed.” she simply stated, stunned by his proposal.
"As you wish."
Aside from the kitchen, Sean eventually ordered also a couple of large sofas for the lounge and then bookcases, a desk and other various pieces of furniture for his studio. Before leaving he came to an agreement with the owner of the business to have his furnishing delivered that same day.
No wonder he was quite satisfied when they reached the car again, and he smiled kindly at Alex while searching for the keys.
"Do you need to stop somewhere before we go home?"
“No, I’m just coming back so I can do my work.” she smiled back, worrying her lower lip, knowing that with Abigail at home nothing would have been the same.
"I need to take some things from my old flat." he said then. "Shall I drive you home first or will you come with me? It won't take long anyway."
“As you wish.” she chuckled.
“I’ll come with you, if you don’t have dirty secrets to hide!”
"Dirty secrets?" he smiled amusedly. "Nay, no dirty secrets whatsoever. You won't find much more than an ex wife and two children there, is it that bad?"
“You were planning to go to your ex-wife with me?” she asked then, stunned, focusing on the situation.
“N-no Sean. I can’t…it would not be easy…not for her and…for me…I’ve passed through this…”
"I just have to pick up a couple of things, Alex." he replied, confused. "She knows about the house and she knows about Abigail, too. What's the problem? You're not my secret lover or who knows what else. I'll take you home first, anyway."
“Okay. Let’s go home.” she murmured, stepping into the car, knowing that her face showed pain.
She knew all too well how was to see your man with another woman, and knew perfectly how it was when he came back home to pack his thing to live with the other whore…
And she couldn’t afford the sadness in his ex-wife’s eyes.
Once at home, he didn't get out from the car, but just handed Alex the keys and smiled. "I'll be back in about one hour. You can relax a bit until then, okay? Just be sure to lock the front door and the gates if you go out."
“Okay, see ya.” she managed to say, trying to smile while she walked to the house.
Once assured that he wasn’t around, she frantically searched every room of the house, trying desperately to find that diary.
Then she noticed some stairs, and she climbed them, only to find that there was a locked door at the end.

“It’s me.” she told to Gwen, her cell phone in one hand, laying near to the window, to see if Sean would come back.
“It’s going...well, like shit. His girlfriend is jealous of me, and she’s moving here. I just hope that the witch doesn’t start to check on me. I’ve found a locked door; I’ll try and find the key…okay, okay. I’ll call you later. Bye.”
When Sean came home, some workmen were assembling the kitchen, while others were busy carrying the furnishings up the stairs to the studio. One of them helped him to offload the TV and some boxes from the car, and a couple of hours before dinner everything was already in place.
"It looks more like a house now, doesn't it?" Sean smiled, eyeing the kitchen with sheer contentment, and then shifting his gaze to Alex. She looked quite upset, and he couldn't figure out why. Was it because of Abigail? In fact, they didn't seem to get along well, and he just hoped that they would somehow bear with each other.
“Yeah, and it’ll be better!” she smiled at him.
“Listen, Sean…I want to be honest with you. I noticed that your girlfriend is a little jealous and I don’t want to create other problems. I can move if you want, Mark told me there’s a room I could rent. And…I would allow you two a little privacy, I’m sure you don’t want me around...”
"I don't want you to move." Sean replied, sighing, and ran a hand through his blondish hair before nearing her. "As long as you want to stay. Listen, Alex…I don't want you to stay just to please me, so if you think you'd be more comfortable elsewhere, well, I'll find you a place to stay. But I'd definitely love to have you around." he said with a little, gentle smile, staring into her eyes.
“I’d love to stay here with you, too.” she smiled back. “But I don’t want to mess up things between you and Abigail…”
"No need to worry about that." he chuckled, shaking his head. "I'll help her to cope with it. And now... what about a nice cooking lesson? I bought something along the way, so that we'll finally be able to eat something at home."
Still smiling, she nodded and took hold of his hand, guiding him toward the large kitchen.
While they were preparing the pasta, she raised her head noting that Sean was staring at her.
She knew that with her hair in a ponytail and her face without make up she probably looked horrible to his eyes, so she just flashed him a small smile, beforeurniurning to her cooking.
"Need some help there?" Sean asked gently then, nearing her from behind to survey the cooking process. He found himself holding his breath for a moment, when his chest grazed Alex' back and a deep shiver ran down his spine. She turned her face to look at him and their eyes met, but the magic was suddenly interrupted by the front door closing. Abigail. Sean swiftly moved aside, pretending to be searching for the dishes, and only a few moments later his girlfriend entered the room.
"Oh, wow." she smiled, eyeing the room. "I see that we have a kitchen now."
"Oh, yes." Sean smiled. "Like it?"
"Very much." Abigail nodded, flashing a faint smile to the other girl. "Hey, Alex."
“Abigail.” she just said, turning away to give her back to the older woman.
It would be hard to live with that bitch.
Very, very hard.
"May I help, love?" Abigail asked then, nearing Sean to hug him from behind and rest her head against his back, while purposefully caressing his chest.
She wanted it to be clear. Sean was hers, and she wasn't willing to share him with anyone.
"You could set the table while we finish here." he replied quietly, handing Abigail a tablecloth and hoping that she'd just do as he'd said. Quite strangely, she did.
"Your wish is my command, my Lord."
Alex didn’t dare to look at them because she was too angry with that woman.
When she had finished, she just put everything on the table, trying to ignore her, but ate just a little.
She just wanted to be miles away from them.
"Any plans for tonight?" Abigail asked suddenly, while considerately serving Sean some salad. He looked at her askance, pursing his lips. She was indeed too kind those days, and he had reasons to think that she was doing it on purpose, all that playing the happy couple in front of Alex. She was an actress too, after all.
"None yet."
"Fancy watchin' Sharpe on TV?"
"I've already seen that instalment." he chuckled, "But I'm not plannin' to go out, either, I'm feelin' too sluggish for that. So be it."
"Good." Abigail nodded, and looked at Alex. "And what about you?"
“I think I’ll go to my room.” she said wryly, not interested into playing the nice guest with her.
Sean sighed, lowering his gaze to the food on his plate, and he found that he wasn't hungry anymore. Abigail, on her part, seemed truly sorry about the news.
"Why don't you stay here with us for a while? You'll bore yourself to death confined in that room, dear."
That was too much. Too much for Sean to bear.
"Enough." he almost growled, matching the warning with a glance worth a thousand words. On her part, Abigail merely shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
"As you wish. I was just tryin' to be friendly."
“Okay, I’ve had enough.” Alex sighed, standing up and walking to her room. “I’ll call my friends. Have fun”.
With that she closed the door behind her, calling Mark, who would come to pick her up in ten minutes.

Sean snorted and tiredly ran a hand across his face, while leaning back onto his chair.
"I hope you're happy now."
Abigail looked at him blankly for a while, before quietly resuming her eating.
"I don’t know what you mean, Sean."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why you behave like that, for instance."
"What do you mean 'like that'? I was just tryin' to be nice with our guest."
Sean rolled his eyes, crossing the arms behind the head, and just stared at her. It was no use trying to knock some sense into that little skull of hers, as usual. Some things will never change. He turned towards the stairs when he heard Alex climbing down, and he couldn't suppress a small smile when he saw her.
The said girl was wearing a black, short dress; as she knew it was really sexy and she put it on to make Abigail understand that she was just an old bitch.
Her hair fell on her shoulders, and her lips were glossy with lipstick.
Before to go out, she just smiled softly at Sean, then she closed the door behind her back, climbing into Mark’s car.


"Pensive, are we?" Abigail asked suddenly, lifting her head to flash Sean a sly glance, while slowly caressing his chest. They were outstretched on the couch, Abigail laying on top of him, and watching Sharpe. To say the truth, Sean was merely pretending to be watching Sharpe. In fact he was just staring at the screen, while his thoughts roamed elsewhere. Elsewhere. Towards Alex.
"Just watchin' Sharpe." he replied without real conviction, stroking her hair and forcing himself to smile when he ducked his head to look at her.
"You seem to be miles away, Beanie."
"No, I'm fine."
Yeah, sure. Perfectly fine. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't rid his mind of that smile. Oh, those full lips...he suddenly wondered if they could be as luscious and sweet to kiss as they seemed, or possibly even more. And those sparkling blue-green eyes, following his every move. And then there was that dress, and primarily what was underneath that certain dress. His brain automatically processed a thousand of different variants about the removal of said dress, including enticing ways of using one's teeth.
Sean restrained himself from growling with frustration only with great effort.
Perfect, he thought, now I'm lusting after my interior decorator.
Suddenly he noticed that Abigail was staring at him, a smug smile curving her lips and an eyebrow dangerously arched. Without a word she started to unbutton his shirt, and it was just then that Sean realized to be almost painfully aroused.
"Not here." he heard himself mumble, his voice sounding distant and shallow even to his own ears. The only problem was that he didn't want Abigail. At all.