Confrontation
Fortunately, Cordia did not have to search further for find her alleged fiancé. “Cordia!” Carey exclaimed smiling that wicked smile of his as he pulled open the door. “Whatever brings you here this time of day?”
She didn’t bother to come inside. Even as he spoke, she was pulling the ring off of her finger. “How dare you?” she exclaimed, throwing the small circle of gold at him and hitting him squarely in the chest. “You are the most despicable person I have ever met, and please listen carefully when I tell you I never want to lay eyes on you again. Ever!”
He looked puzzled, watching the ring bounce off and roll across the porch. “Now, Cordia, whatever has gotten into your little mind now?” he asked, belittling her.
Cordia could not keep the tears from trailing down her cheeks. The anger and devastation were welling up in her now, and she didn’t know if she could even find the words to tell him off. “You know full well what has gotten into my ‘little’ mind.” She shook her head in anger and turned to go.
Carey caught her arm and pulled her back around, forcefully, but Cordia shook her arm loose. Though he was still smirking, his eyes showed that he was beginning to grow angry, and for the first time in several months, he thought there was a possibility she may be serious this time. “Cordia, whatever it is you think I’ve done, I assure you, you’re mistaken. Is this about Will Tucker?”
“You knew he was in town, didn’t you? You confiscated my mail. You meddled in my affairs. You had no right to....”
“No right to what? Prevent my fiancée from philandering with another man?” he said, the anger apparent in his voice. He reached out and grabbed her upper arm again, this time with even more intensity, and Cordia winced in pain. “I have every right to do whatever it takes to control you, Cordia Pike. You see, you’re mine now.”
Cordia attempted to shake her arm free again but could not do so. “I’ve never been yours!” she said, shoving him away with her free hand. He took a step backward but did not let go. “I have been engaged to Will for two years! I never even agreed to marry you!”
“Yes, yes you did,” Carey replied. “When you consented to wear that ring, you became my fiancée, my wife for all intense and purposes, my property. Some poor dirt farmer returning does not change that, Cordia, and I’ll see you both in hell before I see you married to anyone but me.”
Cordia slapped him across the face, the rage she felt inside finally surfacing in one crescendo. She hoped that he would finally release her, physically and emotionally, that the blow would be enough to let him realize she was serious in her assertion that she was leaving him.
Carey didn’t let go, however. Instead, he laughed, a menacing sound echoing through the air, and Cordia could see that evil presence she had noted as a child peeking out at her from behind his eyes. Though she was still outraged, she also began to grow fearful of what he might do, and she felt the urge to get away from him as quickly as possible. “You’ve ruined everything, Carey,” she said, staring into those malevolent eyes. “Will doesn’t want to have anything to do with me now.”
He smiled back at her in triumph, releasing his grip just a bit. She took advantage and shook her arm free. “That had to be difficult for you,” he snickered. “See, it’s fate telling you that you’re destined to be with me.”
Cordia did not reply. Now that she had her physical freedom, she wanted to flee as fast as she possibly could. She began to back toward the steps, hoping he would not follow.
“You just need some time,” Carey said, sure that he would be able to find a way to re-entrap her, particularly if Will Tucker had washed his hands of her. He stooped down to pick up her ring off of the porch and held it up so that she could see it. “You’ll be getting this back soon, Miss Cordia,” he added, placing it securely in his shirt pocket.
Cordia continued to back away, not feeling at ease enough to turn her back on him. Once she made it to her waiting wagon, she climbed aboard, taking her eyes off of him only briefly enough to climb into the seat without tripping. As she picked up the reins with one hand, she dug into her own pocket with the other. “If I can’t wear this engagement ring, I won’t wear any at all,” she assured him, holding the ring that Will had given her up for him to see.
Even from that distance, she could see the anger growing in his face as he began to turn a bright crimson color, and his eyes darkened. She did not wait around to see if he would come after her again. Slipping the ring onto her finger where she realized it had always belonged, she flicked her wrists, and the horses were off. She prayed that this would be the last time she ever saw Carey Adams, though she was quite certain that it would not be.
When Cordia arrived home, she went straight upstairs. She ignored her mother’s call to join her in the parlor. Though she knew she would have to explain everything to her parents eventually, she couldn’t bear to do it just then. Tears were already threatening to pour as she hastily made her way into her bedroom, and she knew she would be spending the next several hours rereading every single letter Will had ever sent to her and crying in anguish.
As she drew the hatbox out of her closet, the one where she had hidden his correspondence, she let the tears flow freely. All of this time, all of those days of missing him and praying that he was safe, every night dreaming of the day when he would return and they could start their lives together. Now, all of those hopes were dashed to pieces. She knew it was all her fault. If only she had been courageous enough to do what she felt was right instead of attempting to protect the feelings of others, perhaps she would not be in this situation now. Her entire life, she had been told how strong-willed and opinionated she was. Now, when it had counted the most, she had bent to the will of others, and this is where it had gotten her.
She re-read every word he had ever sent to her, her heartbreaking as he confessed his undying love for her again and again. When she had finished, she carefully placed the lid back on the box and slid it to the foot of the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Surely, if the words he had written were true, even a mistake as enormous as the one she had made could not completely change his feelings for her so drastically. She began to doze off, praying that she would find a way to show him she had never meant to betray him and that she wanted to be with him more than anything in the world.
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