A Heart Worth Healing

Chapter 14

The next morning, Kirsty woke up feeling even more terrible than she had the night before. Her head was pounding and she had no appetite for breakfast. She had to force herself to get out of bed and get dressed. It was as if her body knew what was going to happen and was fighting against it.

Looking at her trunks and other assorted luggage, Kirsty shivered in apprehension. She did not want to leave Thurston; most of all, she did not want to leave Derek. She knew he would be lonely and would soon go back to his cold, businesslike manner. Morbidly, she wondered how soon he would hire another mistress. She decided to quell such thoughts as best as she could by living in the moment instead of the future.

She took a walk through the garden before she went to Derek's office downtown. She took a long, leisurely stroll along the pathways. She looked carefully at every flower and tree as though she was memorizing them. She sat in the gazebo for a long time, feeling depressed and forlorn. She wanted Derek to find her there, to beg her to marry him and forget about their contract. She should have known better than to try to compete with his past. His past was ingrained in his memory and was much stronger than her presence. It was unfortunate that his strength was bolstered by his stubbornness. It was also unfortunate that his weakness was his unfailing cynicism.

Kirsty's musing was interrupted by Roland reminding her of her appointment with Derek.

"I'm coming," she said, getting up wearily from the bench.

When Kirsty arrived at Derek's office, she took a deep breath to remind herself to be strong. She saw Derek sitting in his usual chair with Rick Davis standing off to one side.

"Good morning, Kirsty," Derek said, in a tone Kirsty did not recognize. She could tell that he had adopted the usual distant manner for their last meeting. She found it difficult to recall how he had looked the last weekend they were at Braidwood, when she had woken him up early one morning and tousled his hair playfully. It seemed as though he had been a completely different person then.

"Good morning," she replied, nodding to both men as she sat down across from Derek.

"This shouldn't take too long," Derek said, picking up a long piece of paper from his desk.

"I'm in no rush," Kirsty replied, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

Derek ignored her petulance and explained, "This paper is a disclaimer which you must sign now that the year is over. You will basically be promising that you will not use any knowledge of my business practices against me. In return, you will keep all of the gifts I have given to you."

Kirsty thought about all that he had given her. Enough clothes to last three lifetimes, a house, a car, and a salary which amounted to more money than she ever would have earned in her entire lifetime. Plus a good dose of heartache thrown in for good measure. She did not believe it was worth it.

"Kirsty," Derek prodded, intervening her thoughts.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

"Do you understand?" he asked concernedly, holding up the disclaimer.

"Yes, of course I understand," she replied, her voice full of bitterness. "You are getting rid of me for a small fortune. I hope it's worth it."

She knew she was going to cry and she was helpless to stop it. She was feeling too emotional to let events pass by unnoticed. This was certainly an event which demanded some emotion. She knew she looked wretched with her swollen red eyes and pale, sleepless complexion. She did not care.

Derek sighed. He knew Kirsty was going to make this difficult for him. He was going to resist her ploy for as long as possible.

"Rick," he said, looking away from Kirsty's angry countenance, "why don't you show Kirsty where to sign?"