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Shattered Glass

Guest Louise_2983

By Guest Louise_2983
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SAM27# Member

SAM27#

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KIRSTY!! Sorry but ewww did not see that coming....good twist thou!!! And they have a son!!!!!

So Belle and Aden were married!!!! Aww But something BIG must have happened for them to divorce..I really want to know what it was!! So many questions!!!

Can't wait for more!!

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bikinikill Member

bikinikill

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I feel so sorry for Aden. He was sooo worried about her leaving, and she promised she wouldn't. Thats horrible for him.

And as for Kirsty - that is a complete shock.

I hope Belle had a good reason, but somehow there was never really any good enough reason to leave when they were married and she had promised she would stay.

This is really good. You are a really good writer. I'm looking forward to reading more.

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Louise_2983 Member

Louise_2983

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Chapter 3

“Maybe she’ll pull through” Annie whispered and Belle instantly reached out a hand to squeeze her shoulder. Both females were perched on the sofa, their legs tucked under them, their bodies tired and aching.

“Please Annie” Belle pleaded, “Don’t set yourself up for a fall”

It had been hours since Rachel had sought out Belle on the pier and Irene was still holding on, clinging to life with every last ounce of strength her body had left to offer. The day was drawing to a close, as the sunset over the beautiful bay but on that particular day the sun could have set forever and no one in The Beach House would have noticed.

The house was crowded with concerned friends, rallying round to offer their support, but not wanting to put too much pressure on Irene it had been agreed that only one person would be with her at a time. Rachel was currently that person as the others all waited, an uncomfortable silence hovering over them, as they avoided verbalising what they were all thinking.

Belle rubbed her tired eyes with her left hand, her gaze falling on the bare spot where her wedding ring had once rested. Her heart throbbed at the memories of the day she had become his wife which had been lingering in the forefront of her mind since their confrontation earlier that day, but she battled them away, as she had done every single day for almost 5 years and concentrated instead on

Irene and rubbing comforting circles with her fingertips over Annie’s tense shoulders.

“Belle” Rachel whispered as she emerged from the bedroom where Irene lay, her life slowly ebbing away from her.

“She’s asking for you”

Silently Belle uncurled her arm from around Annie’s fragile frame and rose from the sofa. Every pair of eyes in the room followed her as she slowly tip toed across the room before disappearing into the bedroom.

“Belle” Irene smiled weakly and patted the bed next to her in an unspoken instruction.

Belle obeyed, balancing carefully on the edge of the bed and cradling Irene’s ice cold hand in her own. Shocked at the temperature of Irene’s thin and pale skin, she delicately rubbed her own hands

against it in a vain hope that the friction would cause her to heat up at least a little.

“You’re so cold” she whispered.

“I don’t feel cold” Irene assured her but Belle wasn’t sure how much truth there was in her sentence.

“Are you all right love?”

“I’m fine, gosh Irene only you could lie here ill asking if I’m all right”

“I heard you shouting at Annie this morning”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I shouldn’t have shouted at her, or at least not when you could hear me” Belle allowed a small smile to play on her lips.

“Go easy on her love” Irene murmured, her eyelids flickering in exhaustion,

“She’s going to take this hard”

“Irene, we all are”

“I know, but Annie’s the only one who still lives here. Geoff’s married, you’ll go back to LA. She’s probably going to feel really alone Belle”

“She won’t be alone Irene I promise, I’m not just going to leave her. And neither will Geoff”

“You say that now bu-“ Irene stopped, clearly thinking better of what she was about to say.

“But I always leave right? First sign of trouble and Belle’s out of here!”

“I didn’t mean that” Irene spoke, her voice croaky and barely audible.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just a touchy subject right now you know?” she replied, feeling guilty for snapping at Irene as she bit back the emotion surging through her.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No! God Irene no! I’m not going to unload all my problems onto you. I’ve been doing it ever since I met you, I’m not going to do it now too, not now”

“Love, have you ever thought I might have actually enjoyed helping all of you? If you need to talk then do it whilst I’m still here”

“Irene!”

“Love, we can avoid saying it as much as we want but we all know what’s happening here” she whispered, her admission slightly soothing to Belle as pain shot through her together with the truth of

Irene’s words.

“So we can talk about me dying or you and your problems, take your pick” Irene attempted to joke, Belle shifted uncomfortably.

“What’s it like?” she murmured.

“Knowing that...”

“Surreal” Irene replied without the need for Belle to finish her question.

“Surreal but strangely empowering. Like I know this is it so I’ve said what I wanted to say to people, done things I wanted to do, well most of them anyway. A failing body doesn’t really allow you to

climb a mountain” Irene laughed to herself.

“You wanted to climb a mountain?”

“Don’t ask me why, I always just thought that when you did and you stood at the top you’d feel like you could conquer anything. And I would have liked to feel that Belle, even just once”

“Irene” Belle whispered affectionately.

“I think you climbed to the top of more metaphorical mountains than any other person I know, and you helped a lot of people, me included, to climb there’s too. So who cares about the literal ones?”

“Thank you” Belle told Irene, brimming with sincerity, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks as she sniffled slightly.

“I haven’t done anything love” Irene looked back at her confused.

“Irene” she laughed.

“You have done so much more for me than I think you’ll ever know. I spent so long looking for Amanda but I think all along I was really looking for you. You gave me a family and you loved and helped

me in spite of everything. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you. And I realise that’s probably not the highest recommendation seen as a lot of the time who I am is not someone you could ever be

proud off bu-“

“Belle” Irene interjected, tapping her hand gently, lacking the strength to squeeze it.

“I am so proud of you. So proud. And nothing you could do will ever change that. So you’ve made some mistakes. Haven’t we all?”

“I saw Aden today” Belle finally blurted out.

“Angry?” Irene asked knowingly.

“Angry doesn’t even begin to cut it”

“Belle, he’s had 5 years to let all that build up inside of him. He’ll calm down”

“I don’t think so. I’ve only ever seen hate like in his eyes once before and that was when he wanted to kill Larry” she shuddered as the memory of that day, almost 9 years ago, flashed before her.

“Don’t let him near you with a syringe then will you?”

“Irene!” Belle spluttered in shock.

“Told you. Perk of knowing you’re dying. You can get away with saying anything!”

“I can’t believe you said that” Belle shook her head, still laughing in disbelief.

“I deserve to have him hate me” she suddenly whispered.

“I hate myself for what I did so how can I expect him not to?”

“Belle...love” Irene murmured.

“You can’t blame yourself, you weren’t in control back then”

“But I could have been if I’d just listened, let you all help me instead of...” she bit back warm tears once more and sniffled.

“Belle, you can beat yourself up about this for the rest of your life or you can do something about it”

“I think I’m at least 4 and a half years too late Irene”

“It’s never too late. Life’s too short, trust me. Don’t leave it until you’re the one lying on your death bed Belle”

“I left him Irene. I did the one thing I swore I would never do again”

“And you can’t change that Belle. The past is the past, but the future’s there for you to do what you want with it. You’re here, you have the chance to at least try and make some sort of amends, to be part of his life. If that’s what you want then promise me you’ll at least try”

“I’ll think about it”

“Good” Irene whispered, her eyes closing as she rested her head against the plump pillows.

“I’m just going to close my eyes for a while love”

“Do you want me to go? Let you get some rest?”

“No stay” Irene told her, her eyes still closed as Belle tenderly brushed her hair from her eyes. Her heart broke just a little bit more every time she watched Irene’s chest slowly rise and fall, her body

tired and weak and failing.

She continued to tenderly cradle Irene’s hand in her own as her mind wandered back to the day 6 years ago which had been haunting her all day. She tried to push it away but knew, deep inside it was

hopeless. Eventually she shut her eyes and let it all wash over her.

*

“Aden” the minister turned to him as a butterfly randomly fluttered around Belle’s head and she giggled, batting it away.

“Repeat after me. I, Aden Robert Jefferies”

“I, Aden Robert Jefferies” he smiled at her sweetly as he spoke.

“Take you, Annabelle Susan Taylor”

“Take you, Annabelle Susan Taylor” his eyes widened at the revelation, his voice placing emphasis on the names he hadn’t even known were hers.

“For my lawful wife”

“For my lawful wife”, beaming smiles graced both their faces as he reached the final word and Belle had to wipe away a tear.

“I’m not that bad am I?” he joked in a whisper.

“Yes!” a voice called out from the front of the congregation and in unison the bride and groom shot fierce looks at the immaculate blonde perched on the front row.

“Ok that’s me being quiet” Nicole muttered as Belle let out a giggle and they turned back to the minister.

“To have and to hold” the minister continued.

“To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health,” Aden stopped suddenly releasing he’d got carried away as their family and friends burst

into laughter.

“What?” he laughed, flushing a shade of crimson.

“Look, Nicole practises this stuff A LOT ok? You’d have picked it up too if you’d lived with her as long as I have!”

“Aden!” Nicole hissed, turning red herself.

“He’s lying!” she protested as a few shouts of “Whatever!” came back at her.

“Enjoy your wedding Mr Jefferies because I plan to kill you as soon as it’s over!” she looked at him in what she thought was a menacing way but only caused Belle and Aden, their hands clasped

together, to burst into more laughter.

The minister coughed and the bride and groom mumbled apologies before she continued.

“Until death do us part”

“Forever” Aden ignored her words, replacing it with his own as the crowd became animated again, a mixture of calls of “awww”, laughter and a sigh of “I think I’m going to vomit” from Nicole’s direction.

Belle smiled delightedly up at him and leant in to steal a quick kiss.

Someone whooped near the back and she pulled away giggling.

“Ok Belle” the minister tried to restore order to the ceremony, turning to the bride.

“Repeat after me. I B-”

“Actually,” Belle interrupted.

“I knew she’d back out!” someone shouted jovially.

“Run while you can Belle!” Nicole laughed.

“Will you lot shut up?” Belle laughed turning to look at them, unable to believe just how much they were disturbing her wedding.

“I know you didn’t know about all this so it’s kind of unfair” she told Aden, pulling a slip of paper out of her pocket.

“But I wrote my own vows”

“Cheat!” a male voice called out.

“Angelo, that was years ago” Aden instantly quipped back to roars of laughter and a slap on the arm from Belle who uncurled the paper she was clutching and cleared her throat nervously.

She looked up at him hesitantly and then back at the vows she had neatly calligraphed on the expensive paper, before raising her eyebrows and gently tossing them into the crowd. Somehow she

managed to hit Nicole, the paper bouncing off her forehead.

“Nice shot” he whispered as she moved so close to him that it felt like they were the only two people present, despite the crowd gazing at them.

The warm, ocean waves caressed her bare feet as they stood on the water’s edge, hands tightly clasped together and she finally began to speak.

“Aden, I stand here today loving what I know of you, and trusting what I don’t yet know. I can’t wait to grow old together, to get to know the man you will become, and fall in love with you a little more

every day. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I promise to be your best friend, to respect and support you, to be patient with you, to work together with you to achieve our goals, to accept you unconditionally... I love you” *

She finished speaking and was surprised to be greeted with sheer silence. Cautiously she turned her head to find a sea of faces staring back at her in awe, some misty eyed, others dabbing away floods

of tears. She felt Aden’s lips softly kiss her cheek and smiled.

“Now, I have to ask” the minister began.

“Whether anyone here knows of any lawful impediment why Belle and Aden should not be married here today?”

“Don’t you dare!” The bride and groom both instantly ordered the mischievous crowd in unison, before chuckling together. The minister waited a few more seconds and when no one offered her a reason

she continued.

“Now, does the best man have the rings?”

“Erm I don’t have a best man” Aden mumbled, embarrassed.

“Actually” Belle grinned.

“You have a best woman”

“Oh no!” he shook his head as Nicole stepped forward clutching the rings.

“Best woman?!” he hissed at Belle.

“You do realise she will never let this go don’t you!”

“Just shut up and marry me” she ordered as Nicole handed over the rings and returned to her seat, uncharacteristically missing an opportunity for a sarcastic comment.

They placed the platinum bands on each other’s wedding fingers and gazed adoringly into each other’s eyes as the minister finally spoke the words they longed to hear.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife”

A cheer went through the crowd as they flashed beaming smiles at each other.

“You may no-“

Aden didn’t wait for any further instruction, crushing his lips against Belle’s as her arms crept around his neck. His arms wound tightly around her waist and he raised her from the ground, swinging her

around, her right leg kicked out behind her as the crowd cheered wildly. Oblivious to the roars of encouragement and calls to “Get a room!”, they were lost in each other, in their first kiss as husband

and wife.

Finally he lowered her feet to the ground but they remained wrapped tightly together.

“I love you Annabelle Susan Taylor” he whispered.

She shook her head, her nose brushing his as they were so close.

“Annabelle Susan Jefferies” she corrected.

“I didn’t think you’d want to change your name”

“It’s just a name Aden” she shrugged.

“I’ve changed it before and it didn’t change who I was, just what people called me. That’s why I kept Susan as a middle name. I was always Susan Taylor, I always will be. I’m just not the Susan Taylor

my adoptive parents wanted me to be. Changing my name doesn’t change who I am. I can never run away from that. And I want to be Belle Jefferies, I want everyone to know that you’re mine and how much I love you”

“I love you too” he whispered pulling her back into a passionate kiss.

“Eugh someone wake me when the honeymoon’s over” they heard Nicole mutter somewhere in the distance.

Just to spite her, they upped the passion level just a little bit more.

*

“I was right Irene” she whispered.

“I’ve always known that I can’t ever really run away from who I am, so why do I keep doing it?”

She glanced up at her surrogate mother, tears streaming down her face from the memories of what had been the happiest day of her life.

“Irene?” she whispered her voice breaking.

“Irene?”

***

The house was still full of people, yet it seemed completely empty. Almost an hour has passed since the undertakers had taken Irene to the chapel of rest and no one had spoken a word. Belle couldn’t stand the silence any longer.

“We should call people” she finally dared to speak.

“I don’t want to” Annie shook her head, without removing her gaze from the same spot on the wall she’s been staring at for the past 40 minutes.

“You don’t have to” Belle assured her.

“I’ll do it”

“Of course you will!” Annie snapped, her head instantly rotating to look at her.

“Perfect Belle who just marches in here and takes over everything and expects us all just to forget that she doesn’t really care about anyone except herself!”

“Annie!” Rachel and Roman both exclaimed in unison.

“No!” She shot back at them.

“Don’t look at me like that! What right does she have exactly? What right does she have to march back in here and just take over? Like she’s been the perfect daughter to Irene? Like she gives a damn?!

We’ve all watched Irene suffer for months and yet Belle’s the one who gets to be with her when she dies! What about Finn and Damien and all the other people who care about Irene who couldn’t get

here on time because they don’t own a private jet? People who Irene meant more to than fame and money an-“

A resounding crack reverberated around the room as Belle’s flat palm made contact with Annie’s cheek. The younger girl stumbled backwards in shock, her hand instantly covering the point of contact

which was already turning bright red.

Silence hit the room once more as everyone stared in disbelief.

“I’m sorry” Belle mumbled, pain shooting through her hand from the force with which she'd slapped Annie.

“I shouldn’t have done that. But Irene wouldn’t want this. She loved us, all of us. And no matter what we think of each other, this is about her”

The harsh cry of a hungry baby filled the room.

“Mel maybe you just take Sam home?” she suggested.

“Sorry” Melody replied sarcastically.

“I should have remembered that you don’t like babies”

“Do not make me slap you too!” Belle snapped, her fists clenching together tightly.

“Belle, they’re my family and I need them here” Geoff stood up for Melody.

“Then I have to get out of here” she announced, fleeing the house without another word.

The beach was dark and cold but she didn’t care as she reached the wooden railings and held on tightly, her body shaking violently as she sobbed.

She felt his arms lift her hands and pull his jacket over her but she couldn’t see him through the barrage of tears. As he pulled her back into his broad chest and let her sob into him she held tightly onto him. His strong arms hugged her affectionately and eventually her tears began to slow and her breathing became calmer.

“I’m sorry” she whispered as she pulled away from his chest.

“Belle, you have every right to be upset. What Annie said, that was uncalled for”

“But true?” she asked, bowing her head in shame.

“Well I don’t think it is. I think you feel guilty and scared but all this” he gestured to her clothes and appearance.

“And the fame and the money, I think you’d swap it all in a second to be able to go back 5 years and do things differently”

She nodded.

“But I can’t. I saw him today, he hates me”

“What did you expect Belle? A welcome home parade?”

“No of course not Roman. I just thought he might at least hear me out”

“Belle, you know Aden. Better than anyone. If he’s not listening you just have to shout a little louder until he does.”

She smiled, through the tears still clouding her eyes.

“Come on, let’s go back to the house. I’m sure Annie wants to apologise”

“No” she shook her head adamantly.

“Belle, come on. Don’t hold a grudge. You were right, Irene wouldn’t want that”

“I’m not, Annie’s upset, I know that. I just have to go somewhere” she told him already heading off down the beach.

“Where can you possibly be going at this time of night?” he asked confused.

“I’m going to shout a little louder”

***

He saw her, through the window, as soon as she reached the top of the driveway. Within seconds he was emerging from the front door, crossing the threshold he had once carried her over.

“What are you doing here?!” he hissed, grabbing her arm forcefully and pulling her away from his home.

“I thought we agreed that you would stay away from me?”

“No Aden we didn’t. You told me to, there’s a difference. And I don’t take orders very well you know that!” she screamed.

“Be quiet, Kirsty and the kids are asleep!” he hissed.

“Oh silly me, Kirsty’s asleep! Wouldn’t want to wake Kirsty would I?” she mocked.

“Just leave Belle!”

“No!” she shook her head with sheer determination that he would hear her out.

“I want t-“ she stopped, not sure if she could complete the sentence.

“What do you want?” he laughed.

“What could you possibly want from me after 5 years?”

“I want to see Jamie” she instantly shot back at him.

“I want to see my son!”

* Wedding vows are not my own work but a mixture of various examples.

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Taniya_K Off the Scale!

Taniya_K

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:o They had a baby?! OMG so that's what Melody's remark meant...

Graet chapter once again, and once again, so many more questions than answers!

Loved Annie's outburst, Irene's last bout of advice and Romans. The flashback of the wedding was just HILARIOUS and something that I could totally see happening! :lol:

Cannot wait for more!

xoxo

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