The party hall was crowded that evening. Silhouettes of women wearing elegant dresses, of different colors, and men wearing suits were seen everywhere, making that romantic atmosphere feel more intense that night. Somewhere in a corner, a young woman wearing a white evening gown was delicately touching the piano keys, perfectly and rhythmically following the notes of the jazz music that was played by a street group that had been invited there that night by the organizers of the annual event of Westport. A piece of music so beautifully played by them but so few listened by the other guests, who were more focused on their talks with important people, who they hadn’t seen for a long time or with those they had just met there, important people with whom they intended to have a relationship for a very long time.

A lot of couples were seen that evening at the dinner party. Couples that seemed to be happy and this was clearly seen in the large smiles sketched on their faces. It was also seen at the gentlemen’s hands, which were so delicately touching the back of their partners, who looked gorgeous in their long evening dresses that perfectly outlined their appetizing silhouettes. Thus, touching the backs of their partners, the gentlemen let other men know that they had been forbidden to conquer those women’s hearts. At the same time, the ladies’hands were shyly sneaking beside the men’s arms, looking not only for support and comfort but also to be seen by other women that they were accompanied by a worthy man and that they were happy.

Looking at all this, from the threshold of the door, because he’d just entered the dinner hall, Alex smiled. „Such a weird atmosphere is felt here. Yes, it undoubtedly feels strange, even if this evening has nothing special.” Then, somehow shyly because he didn’t feel comfortable being at such parties, Alex made a sign to one of the waiters, who approached him eventually. And, taking one champagne glass in his hand, Alex forced a smile, letting the other one know that he was grateful for the service.

All these weren’t new or unusual to Doyle. Yet, they weren’t something specific to him or something he liked or parties he was often frequenting. No, undoubtedly all this wasn’t something he liked because he didn’t feel comfortable in crowded places, surrounded by people or asked questions when all he wanted was to be alone in some corner and, with a glass of wine or champagne in his hand, to look on the sly at others’love and happiness.

Yet, he was forced to act differently that night because Erin asked him to be there on her behalf. Erin asked him this that morning when she summoned him to the hospital and she told him that he must be at that dinner party on her behalf while she had to be with Mark. She did that even if it was a known thing that Flynn wasn’t a patient who needed someone with him 24/7. No, it wasn’t anything like that. Even so, Erin preferred to be with him and told her brother that it wasn’t the perfect time for her to have some fun while her heart was still bleeding after all that happened to Mark, who still suffered. And, knowing all this, Erin preferred to send Alex to that party in her place.

„Do I have to be there no matter what?” Alex asked her, frowning, seeing that avoiding going to that party wasn’t something he could do.

„Of course, you have to be there,” Erin rushed to answer, sipping from her coffee because after Alex showed up at the hospital, both siblings went to have breakfast. It’s when she told him about the dinner party. „You know very well how important such events are for our company.”

„Of course, I know. Yet, you are usually going to such events. Plus, you know that I hate crowded places and such „sweet” evenings when you have to smile at everybody and show them that you have a great time when it’s nothing like that.”

Erin smiled. „Yet, I’m sure that this night will be special.”

„The reason?”

„Just… a hunch,” she replied in a cunning voice. „I will rather call it a pleasant thought that I have, one that I’m sure will delight you too.”

What his sister tried to tell him that morning wasn’t something Alex understood very well. Even so, he didn’t ask for more details. Doyle only frowned when he saw her smiling. Then, he reproachfully shook his head, finding Erin weird lately, and sipped from his coffee. He didn’t say anything, not even after that: neither that he accept to go to the party in her place nor anything else, although he thought that Erin wanted to ask him about something else. What about? Undoubtedly about Kate.

Alex sighed. Yes, he did that, just as he was doing each time he thought about her, at least this happened to him lately. After that, he looked at his glass, slowly rotating the champagne on the crystal wall of it. He liked it: the man madly liked the delicate touch of the champagne on the crystal wall of the glass, something that reminded him of a kiss - one stolen from him that day at the docks.

Then, he sipped from his champagne and smiled. Not even he understood why he smiled but he still did that. After that, raising his glance, he looked in front, trying to see at least one familiar face or someone he could approach and have a talk. Alex did that, finding it weird to be there and do nothing when the atmosphere of the night was still a vivid one.

Instead of a familiar face, the man saw a silhouette. It was the beautiful outlined silhouette of a woman, who wore a black dress that night. She was standing in front of the window at that moment, looking into the distance, while the delicate fingers of her right hand were so gently dancing around the glass of red wine she was squeezing in her hand.

The red color of the liquid from the glass, something that reminded him of blood, made Alex attentive eventually. At the same time, he became attentive because of her delicate fingers, which were as white as the milk, with red painted nails that seemed to have stolen the color of the wine. Nails that weren’t either long or short. Yet, they were so gently touching the wall of the glass, making a pleasant sound. At least this was what Alex thought: that the noise produced by those nails was a pleasant one, although he didn’t hear it from where he was.

Even so, Alex caught himself smiling. It was not probably because of those red nails or of her delicate fingers but because of their perfect combination with the wine from that glass and with that black dress, which was so pleasantly shining in the light of the room. A dress that was a perfectly form-fitting one, touching the ground with its bottom, and having two thin braces wrapped around her delicate shoulders to keep the balance of the dress.

And, oh… those shoulders fascinated Doyle that night. Their perfection fascinated him, their white marble charmed him, even if the skin of that woman had a healthy color - the one of the perfect ripe peaches. Nevertheless, they looked so white that night, and this undoubtedly was because of the cold light of that room, which suddenly turned on when the musical band started another song, inviting the couples to the dance floor this way.

At the same time, that music seemed to spur others to dream. Especially, the melody spurred Alex to feel more than he felt by then - fascination and longing. Why exactly longing? Because of that young woman’s hair that fell in perfect waves down her back, curls that were the color of ripe chestnuts, a hair he’d seen so many times before and which he fell in love with on that rainy day, seeing it at „Kate.”

His own whisper made Alex wince. Yes, he undoubtedly winced because of her. Who was standing in front of the window and looking into the distance was Kate. She looked so beautiful at that moment, standing with her back to him, perfectly outlining the beauty of her body while wearing that black dress, which she chose for the dinner. That one was a perfect dress, in fact. She heard the other ladies talking about it when she entered the room, ladies that said that she made the best choice wearing it that night, just as those women praised her for being accompanied by a handsome man that night, not knowing that, soon after this, she’d be left again alone.

Such words made Alex look at those ladies for a while. He insistently looked at them, trying to understand whom they were talking about. None of them saw him looking at them but focused their attention on their talk, speaking about another lady this time, one that wore a red dress and had blond hair, a woman who passed in front of them at that moment, heading toward a group of men.

Looking at the same group, Alex finally recognized Ward among those men. This made him frown. Yes, he frowned because Jonathan seemed too focused on the conversation he had with the other gentlemen and that he had forgotten about Kate, whom he left alone that night when he should have kept her close to him, been proud of her, and bragged about her because she was really beautiful that night. Ward had to do that at that dinner party, once Kate was about to be his wife. He should have done that no matter what and not allowed anybody to approach her even for a second, just as Alex was sure that Ward should have left that group of men and approached Kate, whom he should have invited to dance.

Yet, Jonathan seemed not to have time for this: neither for the dance nor for Kate. He just smiled when the blonde that wore a red dress approached him and, stopping to his right, she whispered something into his ear. After that, he discreetly nodded, hinting to her that he understood the message, returning to his talk when she moved away from them.

Actually, the stranger in the red dress didn’t stay for a long time next to Ward. She, right away Ward nodded, even if he did that discreetly, moved away from the group toward one of the doors, seeming to be about to leave the dinner party. Yet, all this was only an illusion, a wrong one as it seemed to Alex after this, because she stopped eventually next to a group of four women, whom she warmly greeted, all of them bursting into laughter shortly after this.

The five women seemed to have a fascinating talk at that moment, just as they seemed to be in the spotlight because enough gentlemen looked at them with interest after this. Alex also saw Ward turning his head and looking at them, just as the whole group that accompanied him did. This look seemed to bother Doyle, making him feel that it wasn’t right for Jonathan to do that. What Ward should have done, in Doyle’s opinion, was to look for his fiancée and make sure, even if it was only by a glance, that she was fine. What Jonathan did instead was to allow himself to be charmed by that lady in red, completely forgetting about his girlfriend, who looked so well in that black dress that outlined her silhouette, a beauty that was so visible due to her chestnut curls too, something that spurred men to dream, admire her, and want something more with her than admire her by a glance.

At least all this spurred Alex to dream. It made him feel that it was time to approach Kate and make peace with her. He had to do that because he felt that it was the only way his heart could calm down a little and beat with no pain eventually but with admiration for her.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

With such thoughts in his head, Alex headed toward her eventually. Meanwhile, Kate stood in the same place: in front of the window, looking at the outside night and not around her. And, while approaching her, Alex felt that she was nervous or maybe sad because a strange aura of melancholy was felt around her.

Alex was right in thinking all this because Kate didn’t feel comfortable there. Even so, she knew that she couldn’t run away from there because she willingly accepted to accompany Jonathan to that dinner party. She accompanied him, thinking that they would spend some time together, that they would get closer to each other a little, and that he’d introduce her to others as his future wife. Something that didn’t happen eventually because, right after entering the hall, Jonathan apologized to her, telling her that he had to greet someone he knew. Then, he moved away from her and never approached her after that.

Left alone and knowing nobody at that dinner party, Kate felt really weird. Even so, she had to comply with this because she wouldn’t make a hysteria crisis there or reproach Ward for his imprudence of leaving her alone in a place where no familiar face smiled at her. What Kate did instead was to approach one of the tables, take a glass of wine, and approach one of the big windows. Staying there, she preferred to look at the night that was lurking on them through the window, closing herself in the castle of her sad thoughts… those thoughts related to her regrets. At the same time, she needed time to think about delusions because she had had one more that night - Susan Loyle.

Yes, Ward’s secretary was also there that evening, although Jonathan had told her a few days ago that he had sent her to Dublin to solve some things. Did he lie to her? Kate had no idea. Would she have found this out? She also didn’t know. All she knew was that she felt a harsh pain in her chest, and this happened because she had the other woman close to her, someone who looked gorgeous that night in that red dress, something that highlighted her blond hair and her beautiful green eyes, which completely charmed all the men that night.

Because of Susan, Kate didn’t fully enjoy her victory that night. It’s better to say that she didn’t realize that all the glances were focused on her since she entered the party hall. The men especially looked at her, smiling when they saw her eyes. Kate even saw them whispering to each other, having her as the main subject to talk about. Whispers that would have made her happy other times, but not that night, not when the „other one” was also there.

Thinking about Susan, Kate turned sad. She even slowly frowned at one point, carefully looking at the glass of wine she kept squeezing in her hand, whose sweet-bitter liquid was slowly dripping on the glass’s wall. Kate didn’t care about the wine though but about the blood that slowly flowed through her veins - it happened because of the disappointment because if she had been furious, that blood would have undoubtedly madly flown through her veins.

A light touch on her back made Kate wince. She looked over there right away, thinking that Jonathan finally remembered her and approached. Yet, it wasn’t anything like that. Instead of Ward, Kate saw Alex smiling at her. She also smiled: not shyly but happily because she was really happy to know him there. She wished that for days: to see him, smile at him, talk to him, and make sure he was fine… She wanted to know that the man who had stolen her heart on the sly and for her entire life was fine.

„Are you okay?” Alex asked her, clinking his glass off hers.

„I’m fine. Why shouldn’t I be?” Kate lied to him, looking elsewhere.

„Just… thoughts,” whispered Alex, shyly looking elsewhere. He looked at the other guests, as though he’d been afraid to be seen with her. No, Alex was lying to himself because he didn’t feel fear but admiration. It’s better to say that he was envious and wanted, at any cost, others to be envious of him. Alex wanted that at least for that evening to be envied by other men because he was accompanied by such a beautiful lady. The man wanted that because he had to accept that Kate really looked good in that dress, being the dream of many men that night, those who undoubtedly dreamt of that black dress falling to their feet. Yet…

„All these are only thoughts eventually,” replied Kate, making the man look at her.

„Thoughts about what?” The man asked. He was a little confused.

„About everything that happened. Especially about what we experienced… together. And, you know, I feel weird after that day at the docks. I shouldn’t have…”

The delicate touch of the man’s fingers, who suddenly wrapped them around her right wrist, slowly moving down toward the edge of her glass of wine, made Kate wince. Looking at his hand touching her hand, she felt something pleasant inside. She was vibrating. Not because of desire but because of delight because it was a sensation she hadn’t felt for a very long time: something born from love, from a heart that madly beat in her chest, and because of his in-love soul.

Kate didn’t withdraw her hand, although she felt that she had to do that. Eventually, she was with Ward that night there and it wasn’t fair for him to let another man touch her. Nevertheless, she allowed this to Alex because his touch was so similar to the touch of the man from her dream - that delicate touch that made her dream so much that night - to dream of a future together and of a love that’s often seen only in books.

„Alex,” Kate’s lips suddenly whispered. Raising her glance and fixing it in his glance, she finally saw a warm light shining in them. „Is he happy?” She thought. „With so little? With a holding of hands? With us being together and, on the sly, touching each other’s skin although both of us want more than we can’t have? No, it’ll be too much. It’ll be cruel and unfair to do that.”

Because of this thought, Kate suddenly withdrew her hand. She didn’t do that to hurt him but to sip from her glass of wine, which she seemed to have forgotten about during the night. By doing this, she gave the man the chance to admire the perfection of her red lips and her black eyes that contrasted so powerfully in the warm light of the hall at this time. Or was it maybe because of his eyes that looked at her? Most probably yes because it couldn’t be different when his eyes watched her with love… they looked at the woman that had irremediably stolen his heart.

„I should probably go,” she whispered again.

„Why?” He sadly asked her.

„It’s just… time to do that,” she lied to him. Then, not to prolong that agony anymore, the one from her soul because her eyes, which admired his face and lips on the sly, had suddenly dreamt of more. Her eyes and heart dreamt of continuing that kiss from the docks. They dreamt of a kiss born from the heart, a kiss that could complete them both and make them want more.

Actually, in her head only, Kate’s hands delicately touched the man’s white neck. Then, she stood on her tiptoes, on her black stiletto shoes, which she was wearing at that moment, and closed her eyes. She closed her eyes the moment her lips hungrily touched his lips, and he answered that kiss with all the fire from his heart and chest.

When she wanted to go, Kate felt that Alex’s fingers wrapped around her wrist again. Looking at his hand, which delicately touched her wrist, Kate smiled. She smiled even when she raised her glance and looked into his eyes, which were desperately asking her to stay there for more, next to him, and never go. The man’s eyes were asking her to stay for more because they dreamt for each other for so long… they dreamt of such a night… of a night spent together. They had the chance to live all this that night, at that moment when they seemed to be alone in a crowded hall, and this meant only one thing - they had permission for madness, even if it was only in their heads.

Yet, all this wasn’t fair in Kate’s heart. She thought that, by staying there, she’d prolong the agony in their hearts. That’s why she suddenly looked around, trying to see where Jonathan was and approach him. Not seeing him, Kate frowned. She also didn’t see Susan Loyle there and this broke her heart. Because of this, Alex suddenly felt a slight twitch of her arm, something that made him attentive.

„Something happened?” He asked her in a shaking voice.

„Yes, I’d like to go if possible,” she rushed to answer, harshly, not giving the man the chance to understand that she did that because of him. „I just feel that it’s time to go and as soon as possible.”

Alex didn’t understand the reason for her rush. He also didn’t understand where the magic between them vanished when he felt it so intensely before that. Yes, he felt a certain connection between them and that Kate felt the same as he felt. Yet, after she looked through the room, her calmness vanished somewhere and, instead of peace seen in her glance, he felt the agitation in Kate’s soul.

Also looking through the room, Alex understood that Ward wasn’t there. He also didn’t see the lady in red, whom he’d seen whispering something into the ear of Kate’s fiancé. „Is it that… the two of them…” Alex stuttered in his head.

He had to leave such thoughts for later when he felt Kate’s hand wrapped around his hand and squeezing it. „Can you take me out of here?” She whispered, eyes almost bathed by tears.

Without thinking twice about this, Alex held her hand and pulled her after him toward the exit room. He didn’t care about the others, who focused their glances on them. The man didn’t even care about the whispers of others, those who were asking each other what happened and why that beautiful lady in black held the hand of another man and not of the one with whom she came there.

Alex didn’t let go of her hand, not even when they were in the corridor already and other pairs of eyes were carefully looking at them. Eyes that followed them until they got to the locker room, from where he took his coat. Alex asked for Kate’s coat too, but she whispered to him that she left it in Ward’s car and that she’d take it from there once they got to the parking lot.

After her whisper, Alex said nothing. He just put his coat on her shoulders to protect her from the cold. Then, squeezing her hand, he pulled Kate behind him, rushing to descend the stairs because he felt that Kate needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He felt that she needed to breathe fresh air, something he wanted to make sure that would happen once they had been far away from that place.

For this to happen, they had to get to the parking lot. Once there, he intended to take her stuff from Ward’s car and force her to follow him. Alex intended to do that because he wanted Kate to spend that night with him, far away from sad thoughts and twisted feelings. Yes, he wanted to keep her away from tears no matter what, and he wanted that because he felt that Kathleen O’Connell had cried a lot in her life.

Yet, getting to the parking lot, Alex had been forced to stop when Kate did that first. She did that so suddenly that Alex felt a powerful tug in his right arm. This happened because he quickened his pace to get to her car, take her things, and leave that place as soon as possible.

Looking at Kate, he saw her eyes bathed by tears. She didn’t look at him but somewhere to her right at a white Audi that was parked a few meters from them. Glancing over there too, Alex finally saw what tore apart Kate’s heart that evening… on the back seat of that car, he saw the lady in red, the one he’d seen at the dinner party. She wasn’t alone but with a man in whose lap she was sitting at that moment, a man that hungrily kissed her white long neck, after moving her blond hair away. And, for a second only… only for a second… Alex saw the face of the man who had completely forgotten where he was if he allowed himself to have such heated moments with a lady in an open parking lot… Jonathan Ward.

„Dog!” Alex suddenly hissed through his teeth. Then, he stepped in front of Kate, trying to avoid her seeing that scene that he was sure was tearing her apart. Alex even covered her eyes after that, holding her to his chest. Then, a few moments after that when he felt her body powerfully shaking at his chest, he wrapped his arms around her, taking her in his arms, and heading in the opposite direction to Ward’s car.

Where exactly did Doyle head at that moment with someone else’s woman in his arms? Nowhere. Or maybe he was looking for happiness this way? He wasn’t also sure of that. All the man knew at that moment was that he had to get to his car, which he and Kate entered soon after this, leaving the parking lot seconds after that, rushing to pass by Ward’s car.

Passing in front of that car, Alex covered Kate’s eyes again. He covered her eyes, trying not to let her see what pain looked like. Then, arriving on the territory of freedom, he squeezed her hand in his, giving her the chance to cry with her heart that new betrayal… something that trampled her heart again, although all she did was dream of happiness…