Consequences

Part 55

The evening seemed interminable as far as Doug was concerned as he watched Isabelle from a distance and he hoped undetected by those at his table. He'd danced with Anne, maintained a conversation when warranted with all at their table and all the while he had kept one eye on Isabelle Sojour-D'Sa.

Apart from the dance with him she had danced one more time, with a man who looked like an older version of her brother-in-law. She looked serene and calm, but Doug knew that probably did not reflect how she felt on the inside. She had definitely lost a lot of weight in a very short period of time. But if anything it just made her look even more regal. More haughty.

Doug saw Isabelle head for the exit some thirty minutes after he'd danced with her. He could see from the body language that when she reached Rafe and Marina she was bidding them good night. Understandable, he figured given she was the focus of much of the conversation here this evening. Conversation that he'd overheard and no doubt she had overheard.

Without giving it much thought, Doug got to his feet offered a general and vague excuse me to his companions and swiftly made his way to the door. But she was gone from the hall before he could reach her. Not hesitating he headed for the main exit and he caught up with Isabelle just as she stepped through the main doors and out of the building.

"It's probably too late for apologies." Doug said just loudly enough for her to stop. He jogged down the handful of steps and headed for her as he said more quietly, "But I never meant for us breaking up to result in you having to deal with this crap."

Her eyes had sparked for a second and then the cool, refined, well rehearsed mask slotted into place. "I see." Isabelle replied nonchalantly. It had been a tough half hour and she had no intention of making the night worse. She just wanted to get home. She would put this all behind her. If she could.

Doug stood on the step just below the step she occupied. She was nearly eye-to-eye with him. Which was good. He wanted her to see that he was sincere. And contrite. Doug jammed his hands in his trouser pockets and looked somewhat rueful as he acknowledged his role in determining her current circumstance. "I thought they would spin some story, and until Charlie found out otherwise I thought the shelter was that spin. I wasn't thinking logically at the time." He finally admitted his poor reasoning.

"So until then I was just a high class whore who had taken advantage of you." Her words were flat. But her eyes flashed with heat. It hurt. It really hurt knowing that a man you cared about thought so little about you. That he would jump to conclusions despite knowing you better. "It's good to know what impression I made in such a short time." She told him and made to step past him with nothing more than a curt nod to signal her departure.

Doug stepped with her. This was too important. Of course she'd be angry. He had to expect that. "I'm sorry." Doug rubbed the back of his neck. "For everything." He told her as he once again took up a step one down from her but in essence blocking her exit.

Isabelle looked straight into his eyes. She read his sincerity. And for a second that reduced some of the anger she felt. But she wasn't ready to forgive him for judging her. Not when she still smarted from the pain that caused. "Save yourself the guilt trip." She looked at him without blinking. He frowned.

"It's more than guilt. I should have stood by you. You were my fiancée." He sounded as if he was making those points as much for his benefit as hers.

She nodded. Hurt lanced through her. Isabelle took another step away and said, "Short term. Temporary. Not real." She told him despite knowing that those few occasions they had spent together had meant a great deal to her. Very real.

"But still, I..."

"Look, Mr Hawke," And the use of his surname had him realizing that this was not going to be easy. She had put up walls. Barricaded herself behind them and clearly had no intention of allowing anyone past even less allowing him past. "The fact I kept them believing the family were financially sound is the real problem. And that has nothing to do with you."

"I should have stood by you." Doug repeated quietly. It was what had been playing over and over in his head over the last couple of months. The fact he had left her to face the fall out after that article appeared. He could have helped deal with the barrage of animosity that she had faced. He could have stood by her and protected her.

"Yes, true." Isabelle replied calmly. "But the engagement was a sham, so I wasn't entitled to your support." She said firmly. "You owed me nothing." She told him softly.

"Isabelle, I'm so..."

She interrupted despite knowing it was the height of rudeness to do so. "You looked at the evidence around you and, you decided I was a whore." He winced. She smiled without any warmth, "Rina said you probably believed I'd latched onto you as you probably thought that no one in our circle would contemplate marrying someone with my perceived reputation."

The fact of the matter was that he had thought that. Had wondered whether the fact that he and Ryan were bastards from the wrong side of the tracks had made her select him.

"I see you did think exactly that." Isabelle said calmly when she read the response in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He grimaced wondering how she had been able to read his thoughts. He was a good poker player, and yet this woman could see past that façade and could read his thoughts accurately.