Final Decision
Chapter 2
Rated PG
By: Mellibea

Here is chapter 2 of the story, I hope you enjoy it.  Thank you to those of
you, who emailed me, it helped a lot.  I wasn’t sure if I should continue
but your encouragement urged me on.   Keep those emails coming.  Write to
Mellibea@yahoo.com

Disclaimers:  Sailor moon is not mine, neither are the related characters.
If this sounds like your story, sorry, it was unintentional.  

On with it…
*******

FINAL DECISION
Chapter 2

Serena heard consternated whispers all around her while she gathered up her
skirts and made a mad dash for the doors.  She didn’t make it very far,
though.  Her father was quicker than she thought.  He made it to her side
just as she was stepping outside, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back
inside.
“Do you want to humiliate your parents?”  He exclaimed furiously.
“I want to be happy!” she whispered back.
She stumbled a bit, but kept her footing firm.  The whispers grew while she
looked at Darien, who was looking at her anxiously while his forehead
filled up with sweat.  Without knowing what she was doing she shook her
skirt making rose petals fall from it.
“He loves me, he loves me not” she enumerated to herself, counting
superstitiously each petal that fell.  “He loves me, he loves me not…”
‘He loves me!’
Her eyelashes stirred up excitedly, hoping that the little game held some
true to it.  And, like an answer, Darien smiled at her lovingly.  The
brightness shining through his eyes made her shiver with involuntarily
pleasure.  She was totally oblivious to the sentimental whispers at her
left, and the amused smiles at her right.  The priest’s calls were in vain.
 She was entranced, oblivious to everything.
“I love you,” said Darien lovingly with his lips.  She softened.  It would
be stupid to ignore what her mind was telling her, but his confirmation,
made all her worries disappear.  
“I love you!” she answered softly, with her heart bursting with happiness.
Darien’s body relaxed, easing out of his tense state.  
He loved her.  She would bet her life on it.  That deep gaze that made her
heart stop, couldn’t be fake.  
Serena’s small frame shivered with pleasure again as a wide smile
illuminated her features.  She suddenly realized how sad her life would be
without him.  She looked at his attractive face and knew that there had to
be more than the black mail and strange behavior her father had spoken of.
There had to be another side to this story.  Between them, they would
figure out a way to work through this so they could live peacefully.
With a new found confidence she lifted her head, and like a beautiful swan
who has left the ugly duckling behind, she walked towards Darien, the man
she loved, her face shining with happiness.  To her delight he made his way
closer to her as well, as if he couldn’t bare the separation anymore, not
being able to touch her.  They had been separated for so long…!  Hours!
For an instant, she saw her mother’s wet eyes and her wide smile, under the
small hat Darien had helped her pick out.  It made her look younger and
prettier, she thought lovingly.  She then saw she moved her gaze towards
her father, and it hurt her to see the longing look she gave him.  My poor
mom!
Serena tried to forget her father’s behavior and doubtful morals, and focus
on the fact that he could make her mother happy, after all of this
miserable years.  If they got married, her mother could stop working, and
her illness would be more bearable and less worrying.  Serena smiled with
happiness.
“I hope she knows what she’s doing…”
Serena stepped back when she heard that, but didn’t let Beryl’s comment
kill her smile.  Darien extended his hand to her and she only had eyes for
him.
“My lovely lady” he said softly.
A shiver ran down her spine when she noticed how he was looking at her.
Pleasant shivers, which made her, feel special.  Made her feel loved.
“Darien” she whispered.
With her heart bursting with happiness, she made her way to his side and
took his hand.  Then she just stood there looking at him as if she were
bewitched.
“Darien!”  She said again enthusiastically.
He loved her.
He moved her to his side and intensely looked at her, as if he never was
going to let her go.  And to her delight, he walked her the rest of the way
to the altar.  Serena moved her shy gaze down while savoring in silence her
little victory.  Her dreams were safe and her love would win him over.  She
noticed Darien’s relief, and felt privileged to be able to stir such a deep
love in the heart of a man.  
“Serena!”  He exclaimed, taking her out of her reverie.  His voice making
her shiver to the bone.  “You had me worried, I thought…” He chuckled
nervously, “I thought you were going to leave me at the altar.”
The priest suddenly moved, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently.
Serena looked at him, begging silently for him to let her have a moment
with Darien.  
“May I?”  She asked.
“I would’ve kissed you until you surrendered” whispered Darien.  Then he
smiled.  “I love you, Serena!” he said convincingly.  “I love you so much
that I can hardly breathe…!”
That was all she needed to hear.  She lifted her gaze slowly and Darien
should have seen the tears in her sweet, innocent eyes, because he gave her
a tender secretive smile, which made Serena’s face brighten. 
The intense adoration in Serena’s gaze, her beauty, and Darien’s attractive
profile produced envious whispers that resounded all around the church’s
walls.
Serena’s lips opened, but no sound came out.  Slowly, she moved her hand up
to his wide chest.  He pulled her towards him and kissed her softly before
turning back to the priest.
“Please continue.  We’re ready” he politely ordered.
Serena felt the excitement grow in her, a wave of love that gave no way for
anything else.  She absentmindedly heard the last tunes of the piano, and
then the soft voice of the priest.
“Dear family and…”
Darien held on tight to her hand.  Serena tried to listen carefully to each
word, each phrase, chosen by both out of her mother’s book of prayers.  She
wanted to savor each instant of her wedding… almost ruined.
Now she understood her mother’s unwavering devotion.  After you have
experienced true love, you are never the same again.  Serena felt inside of
her a painful and contradictory mix of feelings.  To one side she felt a
deep sensation of spiritual tranquility, and to the other she felt like an
excited nervous wreck.  Euphoria and security.  Two irresistible drugs for
her mind.  Darien satisfied all of her emotional needs.  It was enough.
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.  The wide forehead, strong
nose and determined lips, the pretty angle his cheekbones and jaw formed.
An immensely virile man.  Powerful and bewitching, mysterious. 
Serena’s knees shook.  Darien gave her a quick look; his eyes shone with
such fury that it was almost like… triumph.
“…Can’t be destroyed by flippancy or whim…”
Serena breathed deeply because deep down she was still worried; they were
marrying with secrets between them.  Maybe without a dowry, Darien would
have never set his eyes on her.  His hand still held hers so tightly that
she could feel the wetness in his, and she was under the impression that
his bones were bruising her skin.
“…But reverently, prudently, deliberately…”
The pressure in her hands increased until she sighed and raised her
quivering blue eyes to him.  It was as if Darien was afraid that she would
run away.  Serena buried herself in her thoughts, alarmed by her realization.
Somehow she swallowed her doubts and fixed her gaze on the priest.  Each
word had a profound meaning for her.  Marriage was sacred.  It could not be
taken lightly… a noise was heard behind them; one of Darien’s guest had
dropped something… a cellular perhaps.  Darien went rigid.
Serena focused on not trembling, even though her doubts were overwhelming her.
“Therefore” continued the priest, “If there is someone here, who believes
that this couple should not be join in holly matrimony, please speak now or
forever hold your peace.”
The suffocated yell heard made them jump.  The priest looked alarmed as the
church went deathly silent.  Darien held his breath and Serena noticed a
tingle in her throat.  Darien tensed all of his muscles like if he was
fearing some kind of revelation. 
Serena felt her body sticky from the sweat.  Then she heard what she was
fearing the most.  One clear word that resounded in the silence like an
accusation:
“Wait!”
A deafly yell escaped Serena’s lips and then, she fainted.
It seemed to her like she had been in total darkness for only an instant,
then she started recuperating, she heard voices… but she remained with her
eyes closed because she didn’t want to face anybody.  Humiliation,
embarrassment, and a deep disillusion hit her weakening her strength. 
She tried to clear her mind; she was no longer in the church’s marble
floor.  It seemed to her that she was sitting on a sofa; she felt something
soft under her tensed body.
Completely immobile, she started to understand what was happening: Someone
objected to her wedding.  She was feeling an emptiness in her stomach.  The
situation reminded her of Jane Eyre.  Darien had a wife.  In the attic?
She asked herself nervously.  What attic?  Where?  Maybe children!  A
regiment!  How dares he?  She wanted to hide forever…
“I’m sorry!  You know I would never hurt you…”
Serena tensed again.  That had been Beryl… Beryl, when all she wanted was
her mother’s shoulder to cry on…
“For God’s sake, shut up!”  Interrupted Darien brusquely.  “It would kill
me if I had to annul my marriage!  It means too much to me!”
Serena could only let a sob escape at the comment and the extraordinary
change in his character.  She had never seen him mad or rude.  Never
impolite.  Could it be that she had never met the real man?
“Face it, hone; she either doesn’t want to or is sick.  Realize that she
isn’t well,” said Beryl softly.  “She wasn’t exactly skipping with
happiness when she came in.”
“She was pale,” admitted Darien with a grimace.
“You noticed, even under the make up?  I’m sorry but I think she found you
out” insisted Beryl, forgetting to speak in a low voice.
‘Of course’, thought Serena, ‘Beryl would know everything’.  They had been
friends for a long time.  Last night Beryl had dared to insinuate that
Darien wasn’t sincere, even though her declaration meant she was betraying
him.  Poor Beryl… What a dilemma!
“Lower your voice, for heaven’s sake!”  Retorted a infuriated Darien.
“Leave it to me, I can convince her.”  He continued, “you can talk to her
mother, Ilene, and tell her that I’m sorry for yelling at her to leave…
tell her I was mad.  Tell her Serena is fine.  Calm her down.”
“Very brave!”  Said Beryl tenderly.
“Bee, tell the priest that Serena is coming to, ask him for ten more
minutes and tell the pianist to play something cheerful” Darien clasped his
hands together, he spoke like he was born to command.  Her father had
treated her mother the same way, remembered Serena getting frightened.
“Now leave!”
“I don’t like what you’re doing…” protested Beryl.
Darien made a noise in his throat that seemed to scared Beryl, because
suddenly the sounds of retreating shoes and the closing of the big wooden
door were heard.
The situation horrified Serena.  She had fallen deeply in love with Darien,
but she was only a gold mine that could be exploited and dried to him.  And
besides that, she didn’t like his behavior towards Beryl.  She knew what it
meant for a woman that brutal domination.
“Serena?”
The pulse in her wrists accelerated.  Darien was reclined over her, she
knew this because the air moved around her and a delicious shiver ran down
her spine.  She felt him raise the veil and his warm breath caress her
pained face.  She breathed deeply, her chest moving up, despite her efforts
of staying still.
“Damn!”  He took her by the arm and tried to lean her forward.  To her
surprise his fingers closed around her dress’ zipper!
She sighed, and heard how the zip slid down, while the pressure of her
tight dress disappeared.  The cold air entered through her firm breasts,
which opened lasciviously inside the delicate dress without shoulder
straps, she opened her eyes and found her self inside two bright eyes, so
dark and dangerous… like a tar stain.
“Serena!” he whispered in a husky voice.
Wide-eyed she raised her arms and crossed them defensively.  Her hands
rested atop her soft breasts.  Darien’s eyes followed the up and down
movement of her delicate hands.  He tried to calm her down.
“Don’t touch me!”  She managed to say, shrinking back in her seat.
“Hell!  But why…?”  He said brusquely moving back.
“How dare you?  How dare you take advantage of the first chance you have
to…?  You’re a brute, a despicable, unpleasant brute!”  She replied
incoherently.
“My God!”  He madly replied.  “You thought that…?  By God, Serena… The
dress was too tight!  I thought you needed to breath easier, honey…”
“Don’t call me honey!”  She yelled furiously.
“Listen!”  He shook her softly.  “You’re still not well?  Is me, Darien.
Up to where did you think I was going to get?”  He asked offended.
“That’s what I would like to know!”  She answered defiantly, with her eyes
filled with sadness.
Darien’s jaw set, that had been an insult to him.
“Thank you for the trust” he protested annoyed.
“Trust?  I have to trust you?”  She added scathingly.
From where did she get that attitude?
She didn’t know.  She blushed and tried to covered her almost naked breasts
hurriedly.  For a moment she thought she saw desire at the corner of his
mouth, but the tension disappeared and she knew he had desisted to attack her.
“Where are we?”  She asked coldly, looking around for any clue.
“At the church’s sacristy.  You still have a couple of minutes to compose
yourself.”  Darien eyed her with suspicion as if she were a bomb waiting to
go off at any moment.
“I can,” she said with rage.
“Of course you can” he answered softly but annoyed at the same time.
Serena was feeling violent under his irresistible gaze, which stuck to her
breasts as if it were hypnotized.  Under her fingers, she felt the
treacherous arousal that made her nipples hard, it was the feeling she
always felt when she was near him.
Between them grew a horrible silence that made them seem adversaries in a
horrible cold war.  Desperately, Serena tried to interpret his expression,
to discover something… anything… that showed any signs that he still loved
her.  But his dark and soft face was unreadable.  Serena felt that he
didn’t want to loose her… or loose the money that came with her, it was for
sure that he was going to beg her to come back to the altar.
“I’m sorry.  It should’ve been an overwhelming feeling.”  Said Darien with
infinite tenderness.  Almost irresistible.
“Very” she commented frankly.  “I need a drink of water.”
“Of course.  Forgive me, I’m a bit confused” he politely replied.
 He went to get the water and Serena took advantage of this and tried to
close her dress, but the zip didn’t want to move.
“Let me” offered Darien politely, leaving the glass on a small table.
“No, don’t touch me!”  She brusquely screamed.
“By God, Serena!  What has gotten into you?  I tell you again; the only
thing I want to do is help!  What do you think I am, an animal?”  Protested
Darien.
“I don’t know” she lamented.
The only man she knew was her father.  How did they behave?
“My God!”  He exploded, raising his fists.
“Don’t hit me!”  She warned nervously.
Darien’s eyes looked furious.  He breathed deeply before answering.
“I’m not like your father,” he said coldly.  “I don’t hit women.  What your
mother has suffered…”
“How dare you talk about my father like that?”  She interrupted
defensively, a bit embarrassed about what he could have guessed about them.
 “You don’t know anything about their marriage!”
Darien seemed to be making an effort to control himself.  Serena thought he
was like growing river.
“If that’s what you think I’m sorry to have said that, I’m nervous.  But I
don’t heat women, Serena, even if they provoke me.  Now listen, we’re in
the sacristy, there are a hundred and fifty two guests, a priest and a
chorus out there.  Even if you think that I’m of the kind that jumps at the
first chance they get” he continued sarcastically, “don’t you think it is a
bit difficult that I take advantage of you now, when I’ve had better
opportunities, at the beach, in the car, on our picnics?”
Serena blushed when she listened to the list of places where she had been
wanting him.
“No, of course not, I believe you.  I felt… vulnerable, confused” Serena
raised a hand to her head and seductively looked at him.  “I’m very sorry…
to have reacted… without thinking.  I’m sorry.”
Serena kept struggling with her zipper trying to hide it from him.
“Why don’t you let me?  You won’t be able to do it by yourself.”
“Ok… Thanks” she managed to say.  She felt like crying.
“My love” Said Darien in a husky voice.  “You have to be feeling horrible.
I hate to see you get mad.”
She wanted to believe it.  But lies seem to escape his lips easily, with
the same freedom his eyes seemed to reflect love.  It was stupid to think
that she could entrap the heart of such an attractive man, so
sophisticated, so worldly…
‘My God!’ Serena went pale.  Had this been how her father seduced his
second and rich wife, with charm, with caution, and soft voice?
He stood behind her; he didn’t do anything for a few seconds.  Serena
waited with her nerves standing on end, holding up the neck of the dress
just in case.  After what seemed like an eternity, she noticed the veil was
swept to the side, then the movement of soft silk on her shoulder produced
a soft sensation, almost erotic, that made her shiver involuntarily.  Her
whole body craved for his touch.
“Serena…” he faltered.
“For god’s sake, hurry up!”  She yelled, incapable of bearing the suspense.
 She felt a trembling down her spine that scared her.  Half of her craved
the feeling of his kisses on her back, his warm lips.  But her other half
wanted to gather up her skirts and run for cover.  A snake pit would be
less dangerous.  
“Of course, my love” he said softly, his silky voice making her doubts
disappear once again, despite her struggle to stay alert.
“There’s no time now.  I only wanted to tell you how much I love you, how
much I want to have you in my arms” he chuckled.  “But it wouldn’t end
there?  Would it?”
Yes, it would, Serena wanted to say.
One of his hands grazed her back and she trembled, desire hit her skin like
a blow.  She felt as Darien pulled on the zip and she straightened to help
him get it up.  It wasn’t so hard to put up a zipper, but she saw it as a
difficult task that lighted her desire as it made its way up and closed
over each vertebrae, terribly exciting each bit of her skin.
Maybe as a joke, Darien took his time until reaching the end.  Serena felt
hit by something savage and animal, something sexual that made her shiver
before his wise caresses.  Something strange that made her blush.
He did it on purpose, she told herself.  It was part of his seduction.  She
tried to mentally protect herself.
“Is a beautiful dress” whispered Darien, caressing her now covered back.
“You have such a narrow waist…” his voice was a hoarse whisper now.  “I
think my hands could…”
“Please!” Serena managed to say, her walls were crumbling with each word.
With a sudden move, he went to her side and offered her the glass of water.
“Tell me when you feel better” his voice sounded as fragile as his
expression.  He looked at her with serious, cold, and frightened eyes.  It
wasn’t her imagination that put some kind of menace in his words.  “you’re
mother must be worried.”
“Don’t you think I know that?”  She angry replied.  “It isn’t necessary for
you to remind me.  I hate the way you and my father force me to do what you
want.”
“I want to marry you” said Darien.  “By your tone of voice it sounds like
something terrifying.  I’m sorry if I’m hurrying you.  But do me the favor
of not comparing me to your father!”
“You two are alike” she assured him with defiance in her bright blue eyes.
“Not even close” he said violently.
Her eyes reflected confusion.  They were both tall men, both charming, and
they liked independence.  And, now that she had to tell him that she
couldn’t keep going, what would he do?  He was in shape… she knew it by the
way he ran at the beach with her over his shoulder.  He was strong, too
much:  He had pulled on Melvin O’Connor’s boat without any effort.  Serena
trembled again.
She couldn’t start their marriage with dark secrets between them.  She
loved him deeply and she didn’t want him to marry her for her money.  She
wanted him to marry her.  Her legs shook.  She tried to hide it by crossing
them under her big skirts.
“I think there’s something you have to tell me” she told him in a strange
tone.
Darien stood still.  ‘He’s guilty’, thought Serena feeling faint.  Her
hands started shaking so she had to leave the glass on the table, fighting
to decipher the expression on his face.
“What do I have to?  Like… what?”  He asked without compromising himself
too much.
“Let me see, like, why has someone stopped the wedding?”  She asked calmly.
 “Do you know?”
“Not very well” he said coldly.  “I don’t understand your sarcasm either.
I don’t like your tone, Serena.”
“And I don’t like your secrets” she furiously screamed.  “Don’t you see how
I am?  Tell me and take the load off my shoulders.  Why couldn’t we marry?”
She felt stupid waiting for an answer, she knew she needed to believe any
excuse he made up.  She would hate herself if she did!  She was his body
and soul.  It would be horrible if he also possessed her pride.
“I don’t know.  I’m not married, and I don’t have any mental illnesses, and
I have everything a woman would want in a husband.  Ok?”
“Don’t be condescending to me, Darien”
“I’m only trying to open your eyes.  You don’t have much trust in me, do
you?  God help us if something truly serious comes between us” he said
thoughtfully.  Serena looked at him with shining eyes.  “There’s nothing to
stop us from getting married.  Poor Beryl was arguing on the phone with
someone who was asking for her address, she got tired so she told him to
wait.”
“That’s all?  It sounds… a bit implausible” doubted Serena.
“Is the truth!” he insisted.  “I was shaking too, Serena.  I was nervous
since we separated yesterday.  I haven’t slept, asking myself if you would
show up today…”
“Could there be a reason for me not to show up?”  Asked Serena quickly.
“Heaps, or at least I thought” he said making a grimace.  “I’ve never felt
so insecure about someone in my life, or doubtful.  Is new for me and I
don’t like it” he ran a hand through his hair.  “I came here to take a
brake from my busy life, not to find myself a wife.  I have too many things
to do that don’t leave me any time for a stable relationship, let alone
have a wife.  But you can never let… an opportunity pass you by, right?”
“Maybe we should” answered Serena bitterly.
“Look, I know that I’ve pushed you to marry me.  But you know why.”
“Yes, I think” she said weakly.
With a groan, Darien knelt at her feet and laid a firm hand on Serena’s
knee.  His heat trespassed her many skirts, and warmed her cold skin.
Despite his submitted position, it was her who felt trapped.  His strength,
his menacing air, his imperative eyes gave him a dominant aspect.  But she
wanted uniformity.
“Thank God!”  Darien gave her a dazzling smile, and Serena thought that, he
was definitely the man she loved.  “Honey, all I want is to be with you.  I
know you feel the same.  I don’t need anyone else.  You’re my friend and
always will be.  Haven’t you ever thought that we have something special,
unique?”
Her long eyelashes closed her eyes, remembering sweet moments.  They had
been happy walking hand in hand.  Strolling quietly, without needing
anything but each other.
“Oh, Darien!”  She exclaimed strongly wishing for his love.  “How I love
you!  I love you!  I want to spend the rest of my life with you, because
you make me feel complete.  The thing is that I think about the reasons of
why we couldn’t be together, instead of following my intuition…”
“Then don’t think!” he sternly ordered.  “You’re tearing us apart!  We need
each other, is that simple.  Let’s stop talking so much nonsense and go get
married!”
Serena sighed while tears of relief threatened to spill from her sky blue
eyes.
“If you love me, if you truly love me, I’ll marry you.  I… don’t want to
get hurt, you know?  I feel horribly vulnerable, where you are concerned…
the bad experience with my mother has made me try to protect myself” said
Serena between sobs that shook her whole body.
“I understand” said Darien engulfing her in his arms.  “It would be easy to
hurt you.  Once you get involved you give yourself away wholeheartedly,
without asking for anything in return.  But you have to trust in me.  Tell
me you’ll marry me now, or I’ll get out of your life forever.”
“That sounds like an ultimatum” she answered softly, wiping away her tears
so she could see him better.
“It is, and I’m not going to ask you again” replied Darien, fixing his eyes
on her.  “This is our last chance to be happy.  Right now your decision
will change our lives forever.”
Money will change his life, she thought sadly.  He would be rich instead of
poor.
“Darien…” she started, but Darien closed her lips with his finger.
“IF you doubt me, if you turn me down now, there won’t be a second chance…”
the words didn’t reflect any emotion or compromise.  He moved back from her
boring his eyes into hers.  “My father was very proud and so am I.  It’s
hard for me to admit that I love you so much that you could destroy me.
But I take the risk because I think you’re worth it, you fool!  This is my
move.  Take it or leave it?”

On to chapter 3…
**********************************************************************
I hope you liked this part.  Please write it helps if I know someone is
actually reading this! Thank you!  Any comments or flames, send to
mellibea@yahoo.com
Mellibea