Free Forgotten Love (Derrien Island Trilogy) by Simmone Thorpe Page A

to see her sing anymore, it was just too painful.
    “I wish you would sing more often to me like you used to. You seem so happy when you do!” he commented. “In fact, I wish you would reconsider singing at the restaurant again. The customers have been asking for you.”
    “I’m sure they are,” she said a little too crisply.
    Marcus knew when to back off on the issue and chose not to respond to her final statement.
    “I wanted to share some news with you!” he said instead.
    “What is it?”
    “Well, I would rather not say, here in the bathroom, so if you don’t mind Mrs. Nicholls, will you follow me to the living room?” he said invitingly while wiggling his eyebrows.
    Natasha could not help the laugh that rose out of her. Marcus could be so funny sometimes and she always thought his eyebrow wiggling impression was hilarious.
    “Okay, let’s go!”
    After she sat on the sofa, Marcus drew up a foot rest so that he could sit directly in front of her.
    “ I have some really good news to share with you,” he said with barely veiled excitement.
    “What is it?” asked Natasha searching his face with her eyes.
    “I did not tell you about all of this up front because I wasn’t sure how it would all work out. But, I submitted my novels to a literary agent in California and they managed to get my books to Emerald Publishing House. I finally got a book deal! He exclaimed excitedly.
    “Really, Marcus, that’s great! Wow, you’ve been hiding this all this time?” squealed Natasha with delight.
    “Yes , but I did not want to get my hopes up too high, just in case it all fell through. The publishers loved my work so much that they want more books and will fly me in next week to discuss the contract.”
    Natasha could see Marcus’ excitement and she felt so proud of him in that moment. It had been his dream to become a published author for years and now his hard work and those late nights and early morning’s spent at the computer were finally paying off for him. She leaned forward instinctively and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as he encircled her waist with his arms. It felt so good to hug him and it almost felt like it had in the beginning.
    “Let’s celebrate, I am going to take you out to dinner Mr. Nicholls, you deserve it!” she said genuinely happy for him.
    “Nat, this is a real dream come true for me and I know that you know just how much all of this really means to me. Thanks for your support, I could not have done it without you!” he said sincerely.
    As he said that, a thought crossed her mind, one that she had been trying to push away for a while now ; one that always painted her green and sallow with envy. What was wrong with her? She needed to focus on what her husband managed to accomplish. She fought within herself but the more she allowed herself to feel happiness for him, it deepened the chasm of sadness that she felt for herself. What about her dreams and goals? Would she ever realize them?
    After their baby girl was stillborn, she had been devastated for months but she had recovered with the help of her therapist Dr. Moreno. During those sessions they had discussed the possibility of her going to finish her degree and still launching a singing career. But, when she broached the topic of moving to the US with Marcus, his response was always the same. He was satisfied with being in Derrien and never wanted to return to living there. Every time he said no, she felt a little angrier and a little more trapped, because she knew that if he would just cooperate a little she could get some of the things that meant a lot to her back on track too. Now he was here thanking her for her support in achieving his goals again.
    Her support ? What about his support?
    Suddenly , she drew away from his arms, stood up and walked across the room.
    “Nat? What’s wrong? ” inquired Marcus noting the abrupt change in his wife’s demeanour as she walked away from him and went to stand