Chapter 26: Chapter 26
Annabelle's POV
"I wonder why Arielle doesn't even resemble Claudia and does not have any of Stefan's features, " I commented confusedly. I had always thought that Arielle maybe looked like her mom since she didn't look like Stefan at all.
"Stefan didn't tell you?" gran asked with disbelief. I was confused by her question.
"No, he didn't want to talk about it,'' I said, avoiding their eyes. I felt bad that he didn't trust me enough to tell me.
"Arielle isn't Stefan's daughter. Claudia betrayed us with her lies. Arielle actually resembles her real father. After her birth, after the divorce, when Arielle was 2 years old, we did a paternity test, and it didn't match. Claudia had disappeared from our lives, and Stefan already loved Arielle as his own. So we never told her, we love her as our own," Audrey explained and I listened wide-eyed, my love for Stefan increasing. I digested this news, unable to believe what they were telling me. My love for Stefan increased manifold after hearing this. It explained to me the reason why Stefan might have married Claudia. Many of my questions had been answered but they were just bits and pieces of a puzzle. I needed a heart-to-heart with Stefan. He knew everything about me but it seemed as if he was still a mystery to me.
I couldn't imagine what Stefan might have gone through when he found out that Arielle wasn't his. Yet he loved her so much. I saw a few more pictures, where Stefan had a perpetual scowl and a pissed-off expression. I hadn't believed him when he tried to tell me about his broken marriage and Claudia's betrayal. But after seeing it with my own eyes and listening to gran and Audrey, I was convinced that Stefan spoke the truth. I saw the bond that he shared with Arielle. It was from the heart. All the pictures with Arielle had Stefan smiling and laughing with her.
Arielle joined us to see her baby pictures. We turned it into a guessing game, swapping everyone's baby pictures with Arielle's. However, she could cleverly identify them all. We all applauded her and she beamed happily at us.
Soon it was dinner time and we sat and ate together. I missed Stefan more. It was late, yet he hadn't returned home to dinner. No one spoke a word about it. I helped Arielle with her dinner.
Afterward, Arielle and I went up to her bedroom. Stefan had called Martha to say that he would return late. I read two bedtime stories to Arielle and she dozed off to sleep. I switched off her light and kept her bedroom door slightly ajar, in case she woke up and got scared at night. Beth retired to the adjoining room.
Audrey took one of Stefan's cars and went home.
I returned to my room and got ready for bed like an automaton. I lay down and stared at the ceiling for hours, unable to sleep. I thought about the photographs that I saw. It was 11:30 at night and yet I couldn't sleep. The whole day's events kept playing in my head. Stefan's feelings for me, the way he kept emphasizing that I belonged to him, all confused me. Did he love me? Or was it just desire? I saw and heard how he was before we met, did that mean that Stefan changed because of me? Was this feeling permanent? Or would his feelings change once he found a beautiful girl he could truly love? I didn't want to be a temporary fling for him.
I didn't see him after lunch. I wondered where he went off suddenly. I kept thinking about what Stefan would be doing so late. Why did he not come home? I had wanted to ask Audrey but didn't want to sound creepy. I couldn't understand this craving to be near him all the time. Maybe I was turning into an obsessed woman. They say that you can never get over your first love. Maybe that was what was happening to me as well. After all, Stefan is my first and only love!
Frustrated, I dozed off into a fitful and disturbed sleep and dreamt of Stefan as usual. I dreamed of a door clicking open and Stefan coming in and kissing my forehead. He lay down beside me and pulled me onto his chest. I hugged him closer and he groaned. The dream was so real that I could smell his refreshing citrus smell tingling me. I smiled in my sleep, happy as I dozed off into the best sleep of my life. Bliss. I wished that I would never wake up from this state of bliss. I wanted to stay in Stefan's arms forever.
I woke up to bright sunlight streaming through the curtains. It was morning so soon? I groaned. I could have slept for a few hours more. I was still tired mentally. Half-heartedly I decided to go to the en-suite and freshen up first and then go for my morning jog around the house. It was my morning ritual and it helped me feel fresh and rejuvenated to face the day.
I tried to get up but something heavy was trapping me to the bed. Looking down I found a heavy muscular arm over my waist clamping me down. A tickle near the nape of my neck made me realize that there was someone else on my bed, spooning me to sleep. His steady warm breath on my neck caused a tremor down my body. My back was completely pressed to a bare muscular chest, molding me into him. I was aroused, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. Turning around I found myself face to face with a sleeping Stefan, his citrus smell tickling my nostrils. When did Stefan come in? I was so tired that I had no idea about anything that happened last night. So was it all a dream? I wondered.