Deceit. [COMPLETED.]

Chapter 27

This chapter is dedicated to all the amazing friends I have had the privilege to have found on Wattpad.
Your kindness and support has been inspirational. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
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"The forming of an alliance."
[JENNIFER STAMFORD.]

It had been nearly a year since she had lost her baby; ten months and twenty three days to be exact, plus a few hours.

Oh those precious few hours.

How she wished she could have had them back right now. She would gladly give up her right arm.

The sun was out. That at least was a joy. She looked up into its rays and closed her eyes soaking in its warmth. She felt relaxed. It had been nice for him to have suggested they come up here. The winter skiing season was well under way offering plenty of distractions and the unusually dry spell with very little accompanying wind had brought about an inner peace that felt good.

Breakfast was on the table. She was eating it out on the veranda; coffee with a few croissants and some orange juice. She ate small these days.

There was hardly a sound. Even the people below seemed to walk quietly aware of the tranquil setting that they were in.

It suited Jenny, the solitude, the serenity; not from any morbid reflection or grieving but because she was finally coming out of the darkness and she could at last begin to look to the future, whatever that might be.

But her companion was late.

She checked her watch for the second time. They were going back on the slopes this morning, trying one of the more adventurous runs. It made her smile. She was enjoying all the anonymity, being away from it all. It was doing exactly what her father had said it would, rejuvenating her, preparing her again for battle only, she chuckled, not in the way he ever intended.

She picked up her cup and held it in both hands feeling its warmth slowly seep through into her skin.

She watched a couple walk by underneath. It drew a brief frown. She had no time for romance these days. That would not happen for a very long time. She had already been served a double helping from the tray of cruelty and didn't care whether she took part in any of its culinary delights for a very long time.

She shifted her gaze up over the nearest rooftops towards the mountain range and tree line. Everywhere was covered in a thick layer of snow. It made everything seem so bright in the sunshine. She took in a few deep breaths of the crisp mountain air.

She knew she would have to leave soon. That went without saying. All good things come to an end. After it had happened she had been told she could take as long as she wanted but her brother was undertaking a new project, it meant going away for a while and daddy thought it would do her good to get more involved in the family business.

There was no talk of her health or its frailty, no mention of how she was doing; just an acceptance that she had been given time to rest, time to grieve and now that time had well and truly come to an end.

Only she didn't want to go back. Not yet. Not while the nightmares still visited. Not until the feeling of terror every time she heard a noise or sensed someone was behind her had started to subside. Not while she still had the urge to kill herself by skiing down slopes at breakneck speeds just to test God to see if he wanted to take her as well.

She sighed, that deep sigh from someone resigned to knowing something good was about to end.

She put her cup down. She took another glance at her watch. He would be here soon, her one strong foothold back to reality, her one glimmer of hope that things might actually be on the mend.