Betrayed

Story co-written with Megiliel. (Meaning that there are two writers, it's not just me)
Reviews= more chapters.
This is where I shamelessly beg you to review... =P

CHAPTER 1

Gwen gazed at the foggy London skyline through the window of her flat, while sipping the usual morning coffee. It was an espresso. She couldn't help but smile when her brain automatically linked the word 'espresso' to Italy and then to Alex, her dearest friend.
Alex had first gone to London to attend an English course almost ten years before, when both of them were nothing but two rowdy girls in their teens. They'd met by chance, on a rainy Friday afternoon, and immediately got along quite well. So well that in fact, even after all those years, their bond was stronger than ever. From that Friday afternoon they'd shared what Mark, Gwen's boyfriend, used to define 'a pleasant and cosy kinship'. And he was right, indeed. He always was.
She set aside the empty mug and sat behind her desk, turning on the computer. A small smile slowly curved her lips as she glanced at the framed pictures aligned in front of her, while waiting for the computer to boot. There were pictures of her with Mark, her with Alex, the three of them together. A thousand beautiful memories lined up right in front of her.
A few minutes later Gwen was quietly checking her email, when she read something that almost made her fall off her chair. It was a message from Mark.
He's found it.
Well, more or less.
She somehow reached for the phone and quickly dialled Alex' number, while reading once more the words on the screen in front of her, as if trying to convince herself that it was actually true. When a sleepy Alex answered she didn't even bother to greet her, too overcome with excitement, and just too eager to tell the news her friend had awaited for so long.
"I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news. What do you want to hear first?"
“Gwen?” Alex asked in a raspy voice, yawning.
“What? Mark finally asked you to marry him?” she mocked her friend, checking for the clock.
"No, though I'd definitely love him to." Gwen replied, sighing. "And you know that, so I suggest you not to remind me of such things, especially when I've got something of this importance to tell you. I could change my mind, you know." she grinned cruelly, teasing Alex in return.
“What great news do you have? I want to go back to sleep, so let’s hurry, girl!” she yawned at her.
Alex definitely knew her friend, and she was aware that if Gwen wanted, she would be able to make her wait, even for hours, just to make things worse.
In her past, Gwen had teased her like that even for weeks, but she’d always had her revenge.
They were investigating on that diary from years, and she had almost lost all hope.
"All right, all right, I'll make it brief, then." Gwen replied, suddenly serious. "The good news is that Mark's found it, or at least he's found your grandparents' house. And here comes the bad news, for his agency sold said house about a week ago. He didn't know. You must come here."
“Shit!” Alex yelled, jumping out of the bed, brushing a hand over her eyes, giving her total attention to her friend.
“I need to go into this house, Gwen. I really need it. What could we do?”
"First, pack your things and jump on the next flight, I'll call Mark and ask him if he's got any ideas. I've only read an email from him. It says that some famous actor bought the house last week, and that he'll move there as soon as they finish to renovate the roof and some walls. So we haven't got much time, it seems."
“A famous actor?” Alex asked then, a disgusted expression on her face.
“The worse race…shit…Listen. I’m coming there; I’ll call you from the airport to let you know when I’ll arrive. See you later!”
And with that she sprinted through the house, packing her things while phoning to buy a ticket from the next flight to London, in about two hours.


When a few hours later, she landed at Heathrow, Gwen and Mark were already waiting for her at the terminal.
Gwen almost squeaked with glee when she saw her. "Oh my! Give your baggage to this guy here and hug me right away!"
“Hey, hey, hey!” Alex sang, running to hug her, smiling like a fool.
Mark looked at them, and couldn’t help but smile, a thousand of memories flashing through his mind.
“Alex? Will you cook for me if I help you?” he asked in a pleading voice.
The girl smiled at his request. Every time she went to England she prepared a bag just with Italian pasta, tomatoes, coffee and things like this, knowing even too well how he liked Italian food.
“Okay, Markie. But you have to help me to enter this house...” she smiled wickedly, hugging him fiercely when he nodded.
Once in Mark's car, Gwen settled on the backseat, listening attentively to their conversation about the house. Suddenly she chuckled, and leaned forward to peer at Alex from between their seats.
"I guess they don't air Sharpe there in Italy?"
“Uhm…no, what is it? Some soap opera?” she asked then, glancing at the almost shocked expression on Mark’s face.
“What?”
“Sharpe? A soap opera? Geez…we should work hard if you want to meet him, babe…” he sighed.
“Love? Why don’t you explain to her our plan?”
"Sure." Gwen smiled, leaning back onto her seat again. "Well...Our actor, Sean Bean, happens to be looking almost desperately for an interior decorator...so we thought that my big guy here could recommend...well, you. Thus you'd be working right into the house everyday, and you'd have the chance to search for the diary. What do you think?"
“An interior decorator!? Me?” Alex asked, a little confused.
“Decorating...it’s just a passion of mine, I’m not a pro! And what if he starts with those VIP designs? Actors are strange people!”
"C'mon, we'll help you out anyway!" Gwen said hotly, leaning forward to look at her again. "It's your chance to get that diary, the chance you've awaited for years, you can't back off now...oh, c'mon Alex!"
The diary.
She had grown up with her aunt, not even knowing her parents’ faces. They had died in a car accident when she was just a little baby.
All of the photos were in possession of her grandmother, an English rich lady that she had never known.
Studying hard, Alex had become an interpreter, and she started her research to find her grandmother’s diary, where she usually put all of the photos.
The diary was the key to her existence. It could let her know her origins and finally she could finally feel as if she was part of a family. A real family.
“Okay, I’ll do it.“ she told then, looking resolutely at Mark.
“Call him. Now. Ask him where do we have to meet. It’s my last chance.”
Smiling, Mark flashed a happy look to his beloved, and took his cell phone.
“Hello? Mr. Bean? Well, I’m Mark Nichols, and I’m calling from the agency. Yes, I’ve found what you need. She’s an Italian decorator, and I can assure that she’s got an excellent taste. Okay. Perfect. Bye”.
The two girls were looking expectantly at him, and for a moment he just drove, without saying what they were waiting.
“What?” Alex almost barked then.
“You’ll see him at the Two Roses. You’ll have a lunch with him, so be nice, polite, try to be professional, and if he’ll like you, he’ll let you see the house.”


When they arrived to the restaurant, Bean was already sitting at his reserved table, quietly sipping red wine as he read some newspaper.
Although she didn't dare to say it out loud, Gwen was quite thrilled to have the chance to meet him. She didn't miss a single Sharpe episode, and she found herself silently cursing her bad luck when she realized that she couldn't even ask an an autograph. Such a pity.
So Bean was already there with a glass of wine and a newspaper, dressed with jeans and a plain black t-shirt as an absolutely ordinary person and looking utterly relaxed. When he saw Nichols approaching in company of the two women, he quietly folded the newspaper and set it aside, standing to greet the newly arrived.
“Mr. Bean. Nice to meet you.” Mark greeted him, shaking his hand, and smiling friendly, before to turn his attentions to the ladies.
“This is my girlfriend, Gwen. And she…” he told him, indicating the chestnut haired woman at his right.
“…is Alessandra Corsi. Our interior decorator.”
Alex looked at the man, smiling and shaking his hand.
“Nice to meet you.” she said, politely.
She was expecting an eccentric superstar, but the man in front of her was completely different.
Sean shook her hand warmly, and smiled back. "I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Corsi." he said. "And I'd be even more pleased if you'd allow me to offer you lunch. Please, have a seat."
“You don’t have to pay for me, Mr. Bean.” she said immediately, gaining an angry look from Mark.
“Well, why don’t you sit there and talk to him? We’ll go at home now,” told then the man, silently cursing her stubbornness. “Mr. Bean, it has been a pleasure. Would you accompany Alex at home? She’s without car, in fact she’s arrived from Italy just this morning.”
“There’s no need. I can call a taxi.” she answered quietly from her seat.
Sean couldn't help but chuckle at her reply, already aware of the fact that dealing with this girl was certainly not appearing to be the easiest of tasks. No problem, though. Of all things, stubbornness surely wasn't something that bothered him too much. He exchanged an indulgent glance with the other man and nodded, smiling.
"I will take care of this." he said gently as he sat down, flashing a quick glance to his guest.
She smiled politely at him, biting her tongue to avoid another of her salacious answers, and followed Mark and Gwen with her eyes as they were going away.
When she finally was alone with him, she looked a little awkward, not knowing what was she supposed to do there.
Sean didn't even have the chance to start a conversation, for only a few moments later a smiling waitress was there, staring intently at him.
"I see that your guest has arrived, Mr. Bean. Would you like to order?"
"Yes, thank you. Let's see..." he mumbled, browsing the menu. "I'd have a roast beef with horseradish Yorkshire pudding...and a mixed green leaf salad."
The waitress scribbled everything on her notebook, and smiled at him again before turning her attentions to Alex.
“I’d have a mixed salad. Thank you.” she smiled to the waitress, and looked at her while she walked away.
“I’m not accustomed to your food. I prefer to cook by myself something like pasta, pizza…Italian food, you know.”
The man pursed his lips, almost pouting for a split second, and then looked at her. "Are you sure you'll be all right with just a salad?" he asked, seemingly truly concerned, while leaning towards her over the table. "We can still countermand the order and search for an Italian restaurant. Shall we?"
“No, thank you, I’ll be fine.” she smiled, amazed by his behaviour.
“So, Mr. Bean. Have you got any ideas for your home?”
"Yes. A lot of ideas, actually. But I won't tell you anything if you keep on calling me Mr. Bean." he smiled back, arching an eyw. \w. "Just call me Sean."
Chuckling, she looked at him for a long moment, as if considering his words.
“Okay, okay. You can call me Alex.” she finally grinned.
”What kind of ideas, Sean?”
"Primarily...Spanish style." he replied pensively, leaning back onto his chair. "I want it all in Spanish style, very colourful, and...I don't know. Mediterranean, maybe."
Alex thought about it for a while, chewing her lower lip.
“I should see the house, but I would sar exr example dark red colours on the walls, such as terracotta colour, maybe a granite patio, arcs, classic Mediterranean plants…” she started, gesturing with her hands.
Then she looked at his amused look.
“Yeah…I’m a typical Italian…we gesture a lot…almost as if we would try to explain the concepts by moving our hands…” she grinned, shrugging.
“But what do you think of my ideas? You should know that it will take a long time to realize them. Spanish style... it’s not simple to recreate.”
"Take your time." Sean replied quietly, pouring her some wine. "My bed's already there and its all I need for a start, for anything else you can take all the time you need. And, of course, I'll show you the house after lunch."
Just then the waitress served their meal, and Sean couldn't help but stare worriedly at Alex' salad, sighing, a hint of a pout curving his lips again.
"Here," he said, handing her his plate with roast beef and pudding. "Sample it. If you like it we'll order another one."
“No, Mr...ehm…Sean, don’t worry for me I’ll be fine…” she smiled awkwardly.
Yes, definitely he wasn’t the kind of man she had been expecting.
“I promised to Mark that I would cook for him this evening, so I think that we’ll eat a lot…” she chuckled.
“He likes the way I cook. I’ve tried to teach it to Gwen but…it’s too different from English food…”
Then, understanding that he could be offended, she smiled again.
“But I like your cakes…when I come there I always eat a lot of cookies, muffins, scones…I definitely love them!”
"All right, all right." Sean chuckled, flashing her an amused glance. "I give up. At least now I know that next time I'd better choose upon Italian food."
When they finished their lunch, they went to his car, and he drove her to his house.
While he was driving, Alex looked at the beautiful landscape, withsayisaying a word, feeling awkward again.
Sean glanced at her once in a while, but since she was looking out of the window he figured that she wasn't in the mood for a talk. He remained silent, too, until minutes later they reached Hampstead and then the gates to a large, white house.
"Here it is." he smiled, driving down the avenue and then parking the car just in front of the porch.
“It’s really…huge...” she murmured, eyes wide in surprise, and a little excited to think that in this house she would find a piece of her past.
But she had to seem an interior decorator.
“So, Sean, were you planning to leave it white?”
"Definitely." he nodded, and then took Alex' arm to lead her to the front door, opening it. "Now tell me what you think, honestly…would you change the layout?"
Looking around, Alex took her time to answer, imagining how the house would seem when she had finished.
“No…it can do if you like it…I think that we’ll have to work hard, and maybe you’ll come to hate me,” she grinned.
“But in the end…it would be incredibly beautiful…”
Sean nodded as he walked across the room, looking around for a while, before nearing Alex again. "I strongly doubt that I'll come to hate you anyway." he grinned back. "I think we'll get along nicely."
“Do you? Oh, well, you have to know thacan can be very boring…” she smiled wickedly.
“And I’m stubborn. Yeah, I admit it…”
"Oh, trust me, I quite noticed that." he said amusedly, trying his best to be polite and not just chuckle openly at her admission. "And by the way..." he added, still smiling. "Do you already have accommodations? If not, we c arr arrange a room for you here."
At his words, Alex passed a hand in her hair.
She had completely forgot to take a hotel room, and Gwen and Mark’s home was too little for three people.
“No, but I’m sure I’ll find a room in some hotel, it’s not a problem for me.” she told him, trying to seem sure, even if she knew that it was really difficult to find a place to sleep that night.
"You don't give up, do you?" he chuckled, shaking his head and placing both hands on his hips. "Then stay here at least tonight, and we'll think about the hotel tomorrow. What about that?"
Sighing, she walked along the room, trying to decide what to do.
“Sean…I know you’re a famous actor, and that you’ve been really a good person to me but…I’m not like you. I’m not rich, I don’t like all of those parties full of strange people…I don’t want to bother you, I know you’ve got important things to do and I’m not among them. So...” she looked intensely into those piercing green eyes, murmuring softly.
“…Don’t worry for me. I’ll find a place…”
At those words, Sean frowned and shook his head, but for a while he said nothing and just ed ced closely at her, as if trying to read into her eyes.
"I'm just a person, too." he said softly then, without averting his gaze. "We are quite alike, Alex, for I don't like parties full of strange people, either. And I'd love to have you here, I didn't ask you to stay just for...politeness."
“Okay…I’ll stay here.” she murmured, lowering her eyes to the floor.
“I’ll just have to take my bags from Gwen’s house”.
"Let's go then." he smiled, leading her towards the front door. "Do you remember the address?"
“Yes.” she smiled back, following him towards his car.
Just then a blond, tall woman stepped out of her car, looking intensely in her eyes, as if challenging her.
A small smile curved Sean's lips as said woman stalked decidedly towards them. Once close enough she looked at Alex one more tibefobefore smiling at Sean in return and hug him indeed quite tight, winding her arms around his neck.
"Hey there." he chuckled, ducking his head to look at her. "Plannin' to choke me?"
"No." the woman replied mischievously. "Plannin' to kiss you breathless."
"I don't think it's actually a good id--" Sean was cut short by what could only be termed a breath-stopping kiss. He somehow managed to back off almost instantly, though, clearly embarrassed by Alex's presence. The blonde merely smiled, purposefully raising an eyebrow, and looked at Alex once more.
"Who is she?"
"Alex. She's a wonderful interior decorator, sll tll take care of the house."
The woman then nodded, reaching to shake Alex' hand. "Abigail Cruttenden."
“Alessandra Corsi. Nice to meet you.” the said girl replied, shaking her hand.
The display in front of her had really embarrassed her, and she was feeling as if she was invading their privacy.
“Listen Sean, I can call to Mark, he’ll come there and take me at his home, ok?” she told him, fumbling in her purse, searching for her cell phone.
"No, why?" he asked, looking er wer with concern. "We'll carry your things here, it's not a problem, really. I'll see you later, sweetie."
Before Abigail could protest about the news, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and took Alex' arm, leading her to the car.
While he was driving her at Mark’s place, she tried again.
“Sean, I don’t want to give you any problems. I don’t think your girlfriend would be too happy to see me there. I’ll find another place…”
"Don't worry," he replied, turning to look at her for a moment. "Please. You're not giving me any problems at all. And I think it's quite convenient, too, for you won't have to drive around everyday to reach the house."
“Okay…if you say so…” she murmured, still a little awkward.
They went back to the white house only late that afternoon, and while entering the avenue, Sean noticed with relief that Abigail wasn't home. The last thing he needed was a fight, or one of her scenes. He stepped out of the car and took Alex's baggage, guiding her inside and then to the upper floor.
"So…just choose." he said gently, putting her bags down on the floor.
“What room do you two share?” she asked, smiling politely.
The last thing she wanted was to be awakened in the middle of the night to hear them fuck.
She had looked around the house, but there weren’t any traces of the diary.
"She's not sleepin' here," Sean replied, shrugging. "Or at least she's not been sleeping here until today. Anyway, that's my room." he said, pointing to the last door down the wide corridor.
“Okay, I’ll take this one.” she smiled then, choosing the one in front of her.
Getting the hint, Sean couldn't help but grin wickedly as he picked up the bags and flashed her an amused glance. "I'm not that noisy, you know."
“I’ll stay there just for tonight. I don’t want to invade your privacy.” answered the girl, following him and looking around.
In the room there was just a large bed in Victorian style, carved in dark wood.
“The bed is really beautiful.” she stated, and then her stomach made a noise to remember her that she had eaten nothing but aed sed salad that morning.
"Hungry, are we?" he smiled. "Since we don't have a kitchen, I suppose we should look for a nice Italian restaurant. Is it okay?"
“Sean, it’s not a problem for me, I don’t want to bother you, really.” she sighed, knowing that his girlfriend would not be happy at all to see them always together.
"Well, anyway I'm quite hungry, too, and you don't have a car." he replied matter-of-factly. "So I'm afraid you don't have any other choice, ma'am."


Sean drove to Piccadilly, and after parking the car he led Alex to a small side street, stopping in front of what seemed to be a quite refined place.
The signboard read 'Al Duca Restaurant'.
"How 'bout this?"
“I’ve never been here, so…let’s try, ok?” she smiled wickedly at him.
“Anyway I hope that one day I’ll repay you by cooking some Italian food by myself, even if I’m not one of those famous cooks that you actors seem to love…”
"Yeah?" he grinned, taking her arm to lead her inside. "Then I could stun you by saying that I'm quite a fish'n'chips kind of guy. Which is true, by the way."
A waiter immediately received them. "Good evening and welcome." he said politely, "Two?"
Sean nodded and the waiter then guided them to a small, cosy and candle-lit room, furnished quite differently from the main hall. When he was gone, Sean couldn't help but chuckle, and he leaned towards Alex over the table in a confidential way.
"I guess that this is the romantic hall." he mumbled, smiling. "And also that he mistook us for a couple. Hope you don't mind."
“I don’t mind. It’s beautiful here…but…I think that if your girlfriend would find us there…well, I think she could kill me.” she chuckled, looking intensely into his eyes.
"Nah, she'd rather kill me." he replied with a small shrug, returning the intense stare. "She's not as tough as she seems. And she'll kill me anyway. I didn'tl hel her, so let's not worry and just enjoy the moment."
“Why don’t you go and call her?” she asked her, staring curiously at him.
After all, she was feeling more at ease with him, understanding that he was a regular mand nnd not one of those superstars like she had thought.
And he was quite a sight, also. She could understand perfectly the other woman. In her place, she would have killed him, for she would have been extremely jealous.
Sean smiled, shaking his head, anlterltered a little before to reply. He liked that girl. A lot. Even though she seemed quite prejudiced against the acting class, but that was something that could be easily repaired. They just had to know each other.
"Because…well, because she'll be mad at me anyway by now." Sean eventually chuckled, staring at her with interest. "I'll try to fix things up tomorrow. Now, tell me, where do you live in Italy?"
“Near Rome.” she smiled at him. “In a great home with my aunt. There’s just this big, big place, and no one that lives there. When you walk among those fields you can hear…nothing. No traffic, no noises…it’s beautiful. We produce wine, oil, and meat.”
"Must be a wonderful place indeed." he smiled back, propping up on his elbows over the table and staring at her. "Will you ever invite me there?"
Suddenly a couple of quick flashes came from the door, and Sean turned just in time to see that guy rush away, colliding with an approaching waitress in the process.
"Shit."
“Oh, shit…” she muttered, sighing deeply, not daring to meet his eyes.
“Sean…I’m sorry, I’m just giving you problems…”
In that moment, she had forgotten the diary, and just felt a strong desire to come back at her home.
"No, Alex…no." he replied with a sigh, reaching for her hand over the table. "I'm the one who's sorry…I'm…used to this. But I don't think you were dreaming to end up on some cheap tabloid with me. Ths whs why I worry…"
She stared at their entwined hands for a while, then she shifted her gaze to his eyes.
“I-I’m not used to all of…this. I was just here to…”
Yeah, what then? She couldn’t say the truth to him.
“…to do my job, but everything is so…difficult…I don’t know how to deal with a famous actor, I’m feeling awkward, and this afternoon I invaded your privacy while you were kissing your girlfriend, I’m sleeping at your place, and now this…It’s so…stressing…”
"Alex... listen to me." he said softly, leaning towards her over the table and clasping both of her hands into his. "There is no need to feel awkward when you are with me. Please…can you try to see me as…Sean, and not as a conceited movie star?"
That contact seemed to burn her, and she felt somewhat dizzy, 'cause the tone of his voice and his accent were incredibly sexy.
“I-I’ll try…”
A moment later, she grinned at him, squeezing gently his hands.
“It’s not so difficult for me, cause I’ve never seen this Sharpe, which so famous here. I thought it was a soap opera!”
At her words Sean burst into a deep, throaty laugh, and shook his head with amusement while squeezing her hands.
"Oh my!" he chuckled. "I swear, I swear to God it's not a soap opera. You can see it tomorrow night on TV, if you don't believe me. But I must warn you that there'll be Abigail too, playing Sharpe's wife."
“That’s how you two met?” she asked, curiously.
They almostn’t n’t noticed that their hands where still entwined tightly.
Sean nodded, lowering his gaze with a pensive expression. Just then he instinctively started to caress her hands with his thumbs, and smiled when their eyes met again.
"I've had a whole lot of troubles with my ex wife for that." he said. "Ours has not been exactly what you can call a friendly split, but I can't certainly blame her."
Glancing at their hands, and then back to him, she smiled, too.
It was incredible how sweet this man was.
“What happened? “ she asked, and suddenly. “You don’t have to answer, if you don’t want to…”
"She saw us." he replied bluntly, taking another deep breath. He was amazed to see that she wasn't judging him, and the thought made him smile again. It was just so easy to let go, so easy to like this peculiar girl. And so easy to find comfort in the warm closeness of their entwined hands.
"It was already a quite messy time for our marriage, I guess that's was the definitive knock-down."
“You know, if…if you’d told me that…before, I would have thought that this is what actors do. I’ve always believed that they can’t just have one woman, or a normal love life.” she answered, honestly.
“But now...I just think that maybe she wasn’t the right woman for you, even if it’s really difficult to accept the fact that your man has been cheating on you. And…I know it because it has been difficult for me, too.”
"I am sorry." Sean whispered, looking steadily into her eyes. "I didn't mean to remind you of…such bad things. And I hope I'll make you change your mind about the acting class someday." he said, chuckling. "We're not all the same, you know."
“I know that…you…are not like the actor I was expecting.” she smiled, looking intensely at him.
"That's good for a start."


A couple of hours later they returned home, and once entered the avenue Sean realized with utter horror that Abigail was there. Perfect.
Just what he needed, a rough and tumble in front of Alex. By this time, he knew Abigail quite well, and thus he also knew that she could be very, very stubborn and combative at times.
He reached for the door, sighing, and opened. There she was, sitting by a window and reading what seemed to be a movie script.
"It's about time." Abigail said curtly, flashing him an icy glance and then shifting her gaze to Alex a moment later.
"Pray tell id yid you enjoy yourselves?"
"We just had dinner."
"Sure."
"Christ, Abigail." Sean sighed in an exasperated tone, rolling his eyes. "Can you trust me for once?"
"Trust you?" she snapped, slamming down the script and standing to near him. "You were fuckin' me whilst you were married and you ask me to trust you?"
"Enough of a show for tonight." he hissed, "I'm goin' to bed."
"And I'm goin' home. Have fun."
Alex was left there, watching towards the door, as Abigail’s car drove away.
Sighing, she went to her bedroom, taking one of her pyjamas, and some moments later she started to walk around the house.
She had to find that diary and go out of his life as soon as possible.
Her presence there had brought just troubles to Sean and he didn’t deserved such a treatment.
About half an hour later, she came back to her room, exasperated.
The diary was nowhere to be found.