Light In Darkness {Second book in the series of Eternal Love}

18. Betrayal

When you realize you have been betrayed, fear really hits you. That's what you feel first. And then it's anger and frustration. Then disappointment and disillusionment.

~Anonymous

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Stacey stared at the dress which she was working on right now. She let out a groan as she felt that the dress was not up to her desires. All of the interns stopped working and looked at Stacey. Then they looked at each other with worried eyes.

It had already been two days since Darius last talked to Stacey. He did not sleep with her. Even Stella sensed the growing tension between them but kept quiet. Darius was back to being his cold self which frightened Stella because of which she did not talk to him.

Stacey shut her eyes firmly as she felt another jolt of pain in her head. She pressed two and fingers and thumb to her temples and massaged them. Her eyes were hollow and from her clumsy steps it was easy to tell that she did not sleep well. In Darius' arms she had tasted heaven and experienced peace which she had desired for so long. Now without his company she could hardly sleep.

"Stacey, is everything alright?" Ali asked cautiously.

Stacey opened her eyes and looked at the concerned faces of her interns. Smiling feebly, she let out a sigh and nodded her head.

"You know you can talk to us if anything is bothering you." Lisa said softly.

"She is right. You yourself had said that we are a team and we should always stick together which means we will always listen to one another." Ian said firmly and Derek agreed with him.

"Thanks for your concern guys but it is nothing that I cannot fix." Stacey said and went back to her work though she was unable to concentrate on it.

After two hours of cutting and stitching finally the dress was ready. Stacey stood up and admired her work with tired eyes. Letting out a yawn, she rubbed her eyes. She wanted to sleep but she still had to work for a few hours. Suddenly she felt dizzy so she gripped the table tightly and shook her head.

"Momma." Stacey felt two tiny familiar arms wrapping around her legs as Stella pressed her right cheek against her right leg.

"Sweetie what are you doing here?" Stacey turned around and smiled at her daughter who pointed at Nathan.

"Grandpa Nat." Stella giggled as Nathan nodded vigorously.

The interns stood straight once they realized that Nathan was at the gate. As he came inside they greeted him, getting back a polite smile.

"Uncle Nat." Stacey said with a small smile.

Nathan frowned at the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. His frown deepened as he looked into her sad and tired eyes. He shook his head and hugged Stacey who desperately hugged him back and leant her head against his chest. She closed her eyes and felt somewhat relieved in Nathan's fatherly embrace.

Stella pouted and said, "Hug me too."

She hugged both Nathan and Stacey's legs with her arms and smiled at them. All the adults laughed at her antics, making her smile shyly.

As they pulled away, Nathan stared at Stacey and said firmly, "You have to tell me everything later."

Stacey nodded feebly as she knew what he wanted to know and there was no way to escape his questioning.

"I will." Stacey whispered softly.

"Momma, pretty dresses." Stella said, looking around and admiring the dresses presented on the mannequins.