Loving Annabelle Read online

  Loving Annanbelle

  Priscilla Melinda Visser

  Copyright © 2016 TherealPriscillam

  All rights reserved.

  Distributed by Smashwords

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  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Prologue

  “Are you sure you’re okay with putting her to bed; I really feel crap about you having to do it all the time while I’m forever busy with my book… I’m such a bad mother.” She says with a pencil stuck in her hair arched in front of her laptop busy with her latest novel. I look at her and smile. She gets so caught up in her writing that I swear she forgets the world around her exists. I stand looking at her holding our beautiful baby girl of ten months. She is wide awake looking at the world around her and listening quietly to her mother’s voice. She looks up from her screen at me and I smile. She gets up and walks over to me. I see her love for me burning hot in her eyes and my heart melts all over again. She rubs gently over Alex’s back and smiles softly at me but her eyes are naughty and flirtatious. I feel hot under her stare. I can’t believe that she still has this effect on me. I need to get out under her eyes or I might just shame me in front of her not that she would mind, but she needs to work and finish her book. If she doesn’t then I receive very ill treatment and that I can’t deal with. “Just finish your book so that you can go back to being the awesome mother and wife you have always been to us” She pulls an evil eye at me and I know that I have open a can of worms that should have stayed closed. “Stop it” I say as I feel her hands going under my shirt and she strokes the hair on belly with her nails. I start walking towards the stairs and out of her reach and she starts pulling on my shirt and I look over my shoulder at her scolding. “I’m holding the baby…” I say and she comes walking closer to me eyes filled with hot passion and lust. Oh God, I loved her when she is so hungry for me but the baby’s not sleeping yet and I have some work I have to finish too. “The baby is not sleeping yet. So let me put her to bed and I will come and join you in few. I have some work to do as well” I say and she frowns not saying a word. She lets out a defeated sigh and I feel my body relaxing. Never had I loved a woman as much as I loved her and I doubt that I ever will. “Well… I will put the kettle on and make us some hot chocolate babe” I hear her talking behind me and then her voice disappears into the kitchen.

  Now loving Annabelle has not been the easiest thing in the world. In fact getting her to love me was the hardest challenge I ever had to face but with me being a sports man and medical student I welcomed it with open arms. I lay our beautiful Alexandra King in her cot and stroke her soft hair. She is tired her eye lids are heavy but she still manages to smile at me. I couldn’t believe my luck. Though I always knew that I would spend the rest of life with Annabelle Spencer the very first day I laid eyes on her, convincing her to allow me to love her was the real dilemma. I walk to the window and look outside as the wind blows through the trees in our back yard. The winter is coming and I smile. Annabelle loved the winter. She made me buy this house in Stellenbosch. She wanted to live nowhere else it was the place of her birth and she refused to leave it again. It wasn’t my first choice since I loved the city and it was where my office was based but the place grew on me and with time it was the way she wanted it and that to me was all that mattered. I look over at our sleeping child and sigh at how wonderfully our lives came together in the end. I walk to the side table and switch on the baby monitor and start walking down stairs.

  I see the light had been turned down low and I hear soft music playing. My insides start to quiver and I know that she still wanted me. I see her standing at my desk wearing nothing but my blazer and smiles at me alluring. She loosened her hair and it shimmers beautifully in the soft light of the lamp on my desk. I walk over to her completely intoxicated by the sight of her and I feel my need growing hard in my pants. I put my hands on her hair and stroke it softly. She closes her eyes under my touch and moans softly. I kiss her forehead and trail my fingers around her shoulders and lift off the blazer and let it fall to the floor. Her eyes are hot as my body and I see her biting her bottom lip softly. I scoop her up and sit her down on my desk and spread her legs so that I can stand in between them. She opens her mouth at my roughness with her and I bend down and bite her bottom lip. Her hands find my belt and she loosens it swiftly and my pants fall to the floor. She unbuttons my shirt and let it slide off my shoulders. I feel her wetness and taste her lust on her lips and I know that she is ready to have me. I want her. She opens herself up to me and I enter her softly and she moans again. There is nothing more wonderful then making love to her. I had not experience pleasure like this in my life and I never want it to end. I look at her as she enjoys me and I feel overwhelmed with love and affection. She touches my lips with her soft fingers and I bite them gently. She smiles at me and then she climaxes… No no… Not yet…

  “Wow… That was…” She says as I lie on her panting. She holds my head to her bosom and I feel her raising heart against my ear. “Don’t… That was all you…”I say as she pushes my face up to her with shocked splattered all over it. “Me… How was that all me?” She says and I laugh. “You get me too worked up… I had to stop myself or it would have been over in like thirty seconds” I say in my defence. She was wonderful in every aspect of the word. She laughs out of her throat and I pull her back into a sitting position. She smiles at me as I put my underwear back on. She sits there naked and gorgeous. I feel like a school boy whom is experiencing it like it was my first time having sex. She smiles and pulls me by my underwear closer to her and kisses my lips hot with passion. I’m still hard and she touches it softly. She was the only woman ever to still leave me hard after we had been together. “This… is all you.” She says and I know that it’s true. I smile at her and she jumps off the desk and start walking towards the lounge again. She puts on her panties and jersey and takes the cup of hot chocolate and comes walking towards me. “At least the hot chocolate is still warm” She says and hands it too me. I take it and sip on it slow. She was right it was just right. She turns to walk back to the lounge where she insisted she wanted her desk to be and I follow her. “I love you” I say and she looks up over her shoulder at me. Her eyes are wide and glistening. She presses her lips together and smiles at me softly. “I love you too.” She says and I decide not to work. It can wait. I plant myself on the couch next to her and switch of the TV. She puts her head on my shoulder and we sit there enjoying our hot chocolate watching whatever was on.

  True love. This is what it should feel like. Like nothing and like everything.

  Our love story is not as comp
lex as you might think… Oh no… It started many years ago long before Annabelle was even born, and that which had happened then had led me on my journey to loving Annabelle… And by God do I love her.

  Chapter One

  The wars of the world were raging and I was just there. There was nothing I could do but sit stand or lie down and watch. Snap. Click goes my camera and I have captured the world and mankind at its worst. My life changed when I documented my first riot and I knew that that was what I wanted to do. Never did I think it would shape me in such a way that I would lose everything I hold near and dear to my heart. That is what I thought the day I returned from Syria and she was gone. She left me a note saying that she couldn’t do it anymore. She wanted a life a husband and a family. She called me selfish and said that the worse thing to her was the waiting. Not sure if I would ever come back. I must admit it was to some point really selfish of me to expect of her to live this kind of life, but I thought she understood. That is what she said when we first talked about life after high school. I told her I wanted to be a photographer and she said that she wanted to be a journalist. We would dream about working together traveling together, but soon that one dream became two different dreams. She started writing for magazines and I… I became a war photographer.

  The days after the divorce were hell. I tried to find my place in our now empty apartment but the bare walls and empty bed was no comfort for me. At first I was sad and I would cry without even noticing the tears. I tried calling her begging her to come back and I even threatened to leave and never come back and later I offered to stop and rather work here at home but I knew that it wasn’t true and she knew it too. The war was in my blood I could not escape it even if I wanted to. I loved the guns, the hurt and the suffering more then I loved her, maybe even more than I loved myself. Then I became angry and resentful. I hated her for not understanding. I hated her for turning her back on me after ten years of marriage and fifteen of being together. How could she just leave me like this? Did she not love me? Maybe she was right maybe I loved my camera more than I loved anything else in this world. Six months passed and I had given up. She wasn’t going to come back and I couldn’t stay either. I put the apartment up for sale and sold most of my things. The rest I put in storage.

  “I’m going to Afghanistan” My sister looks at me not saying a word. I can see the worry in her eyes but she doesn’t say a thing. “You know you don’t have to go; it’s not our war” She says after she takes a sip of her tea and looks at me again. “I know… But I can’t stay here and do nothing” I say to her and she sits up straight in her chair. “Adam… you really don’t have to go thousands of kilometers around the world to take pictures. There is so much going on here in our country that you can take pictures of… I mean looks what’s happening in Soweto with the foreigners and the xenophobic attacks…” She says and throws her hands up in the air and I smile at her. “I love how you have adapted that British accent from your husband… It’s quite cute” She narrows her eyes at me and smiles. “Well it is quite adorable isn’t it…? Plus I’m doing research for my new book so I’ve got to get into character.” She says and we both laugh. She gets up and I see her pregnant stomach showing now. It was strange to see my little sister married and pregnant. She married an English man she met on her book tour in London and surprisingly she got him to follow her back to South Africa. They suddenly got married, true love she says and now here she was two years later expecting their first child. Cole Ferguson was… I really don’t know how to put it; strange maybe. He was a doctor but he had look in his eye I saw too many times. Crazy. Something that was between violence and lust a very bad combination I would say. I saw it in many of the soldiers at war. They would kill and rape as if their lives depended on it. I get up from the garden chair and follow her inside. She was on the phone with someone and I see her smiling bright. It must be him. She sees me and hangs up. “Well I must get going” I say and mimic her new found accent and she smiles. “Do you have too?” She mocks and I smile at her. “Yes…I have too” I say and she walks into my arms. I sigh holding her close and feel sad for deciding to leave. But she was married now and really didn’t need me worrying about her anymore. She had a husband now and it was his job to make sure that she was taken care off and happy. “How long are you going to be away for?” She asks and I wish I could give an honest answer and I decide to lie. “A couple of months… I will be back before the baby is born” I say and I know that this tour might not be over that soon. “You promise?” She says and looks up into my eyes and I smile at her stroking her hair. “I promise.” I say and she smiles brightly.

  *****

  But I hadn’t made it back in time for the birth of my nephew Ethan. In fact I had missed his first and second birthdays as well. Almost three years had passed. After I was kidnapped and held hostage for more than eight months I had time to reflect on my life. I was still young and could still make a career out of this back home away from all the guns and the death and the suffering. When we were finally found and rescued I decided that it was my last run. I was going back home and I wasn’t coming back to the war any time soon. I had captured some of my best work while being in Afghanistan and I know these will open doors for me wherever I go. It was the break I had waited for the break I had given up everything for, lost everything for and sold my soul for. “Welcome back Mr. Spencer…” I hear the desk clerk say as she hands me back my passport and I board the plane enroot to South Africa. It was truly a miracle that I had made it back to Dubai in one piece. I had so many new found friends to thank for saving my life back there. Men and women the world will now know of once I publish my book in the next couple of months. It was a risk I was taking exposing the war like this but I had to be done. People needed to see the truth. As the plane take-off I feel the anxiety grip at my heart and I close my eyes and say a little prayer. I was going home; home for good.

  I get off the plane in Cape Town International airport and for the first time in almost three years I felt like crying. Never had I felt more grateful for this life I had and the family here waiting for me. Also had I never felt so much regret for all my past mistakes? I needed to make peace with the past and I needed to get her back. I was ready to give being a normal photographer a shot.

  “Adam… Oh my God! Adam.” Adele looks at me and I see the shock and surprise written all over her face. This was the last thing she expected this time of the night. It was well after eleven when I got to her house. She runs into my arms and starts sobbing uncontrollably. I hold her tight against my heart and feel the sadness and gratitude rip at my heart. We stand holding each other for a long time until we hear Cole’s voice behind us. He looks completely blown out of the water when he sees me. He comes running to the door and pulls me into his arms and we embrace for a moment. “Come in… Gosh get out of the cold what is wrong with you” Cole says in his strong English accent. I step inside still at loss for words and not really sure what to make of it all. Being home and seeing them all was something I never thought would happen. I was in captive for what felt like eternity and they had become only a distant memory and I beacon of hope. We sit and talk for hours until Cole excused himself knowing he had work in the afternoon and he needed to get some rest. Adele and I sat and talked until the sun came out. My sister seemed happy in her life although her attitude towards Cole was some what unsettling. She looked more tired but happy I guess that is the life when you’re trying to keep up with a two year old little boy. Ethan was his name; oddly Adele said he strongly resembles me. I think it was the spikey dark hair and the thick brows that made her think that. In fact thinking back now, he does resemble me quite to the tee. I had never had such peaceful sleep like I had that first day or days rather, because I can’t remember how long I was out for really. Adele had fixed their guest room for me and said I could stay as long as I wanted, but I knew I couldn’t impose. I still had my share of the money we got from the selling of the apartment I could get by on that until the book
was finished and ready for publish. When I got up I see him standing by my bed looking at me with a very naughty smile on his face. Yes he does resemble me more and more. He laughs and then runs off. I hear someone talking down the hall and trying to get my thoughts in order. I could not remember how long I had slept for but it didn’t feel enough. “Hi…” I see Adele standing in the door way looking at me. I smile at her and squints my eyes as I pull myself up and out of the bed. “How long was I asleep for?” I ask as I stretch my body out. She quickly turns around and clears her throat and then I realize that I’m naked. I was too tired to put my pajamas on the night or rather morning before. “Oh… Sorry” I say and grab my pants and put them on swiftly. “Please Adam the nanny’s in the house…” Adele says and starts walking down the hall. I follow her quickly and look around to see if anyone was behind me. We walk down the stairs and I hear soft music playing. I hear laughter coming from outside. I walk to the open patio doors and see Ethan and his nanny playing in the sand pit. The sun was high up so it must be close to mid-day. I could not believe I had slept for almost two days. “You were very restless” I hear Adele speaking behind me and I turn around and walk inside. She was busy preparing lunch. “Shouldn’t the nanny be doing that?” I ask as I watch her taking the chicken from the pot. “She is the nanny Adam, not the maid or the cook” Adele says to me and presses her lips together. “Besides she only comes in the afternoon when Ethan gets home from crèche. We hired her to help with Ethan since I hadn’t written a single thing since we had him and I need to get back into the game as soon as possible. I can see my restlessness was getting to Cole and he came up with the idea really. But I don’t know…” Adele finally stops and looks out the window at the nanny playing with her son. “What don’t you know?” I ask seeing the concern in her face. She shakes her head and lets out defeating sigh. I know something was up but she wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet. “Chicken mayo sandwich?” She asks and I smile at her brightly. We sit eating in silence. The nanny and Ethan had joined us and I watch my sister watching the young woman with her son on her lap. Something about the picture wasn’t right. The girl seemed very comfortable with Ethan and she seemed to care a lot more than normal. “Candice… Do you have a boyfriend?” I look over at Adele as the words come running out of her mouth. Candice looks up at Adele and turns bright red. “No… I don’t. Too busy with my studies” Candice says and smiles politely. She suddenly excuses herself from the table and I look at Adele questioning. “His fucking her…” She says and puts the rest of her sandwich down. I see the despair in her eyes. I could not believe what I was hearing. “Who?” I ask fearing the worst. “Cole” She says and gets up from the chair and walks to the window. I sit up and watch her closely. “Are you sure? I mean this a very serious accusation” I say and she closes her eyes and presses her lips together. “A couple of weeks ago he said that he needed to go into hospital said that they were under staff and they could use all the hands they could get…” She begins telling her story. “He left the Saturday morning early and only came home very late that night. The Sunday the same thing happened. The Monday she came her with a hicky in her neck and it looked like the one I had when had first met Cole… he would get so caught up during sex he never even knew he made me one. She tried hiding it from me but I saw it. She was very uncomfortable around me and started treating Ethan differently. She would hold him while he was sleeping and she would talk to him like he was hers. A couple of weeks after that I had a meeting with my publisher and I had to leave in the morning early, Cole were on nightshift duty so he was still here when I left. I asked her to come in earlier because I knew he needed to rest before his next shift started. The meeting didn’t last as long as thought and I ended up coming home early…” She stops and I can see the hurt in her eyes and I know that she was broken by this. “They don’t know that I saw them.” She says and looks at the young girl playing with her son. Ethan was a sleep so I left and went out to the park where I sat in my car and cried my eyes out. I put my hand on her shoulder and squeeze it tight. “What are you going to do?” I ask after she had regained her composer. “I’m going to leave him. He is being summonsed as we speak” She says and walks out side and calls to Ethan to come to her. He gets up out of the sand pit again and jumps into his mother’s arms. She looks down at Candice and then suddenly she walks away. Candice gets up and comes walking into the kitchen. She looks confused and not really sure what had just happened. “I’m sorry Adele… But I don’t understand.” Candice says clasping her hand in front of her. “What don’t you understand Candice… You’re fired” Adele says and I feel like bursting out laughing. “I want you out of my house right now.” Adele says and Candice turns around and to leave the kitchen. Suddenly Adele starts speaking again. “On the table in the foyer is your last pay check.” Adele says and Candice takes the envelope off the table. She opens it and sees pictures of her and Cole weeks earlier naked in their bed. Candice looks up at Adele and the shame washes over her face. She throws the envelope on the ground and runs out the front door. Suddenly there is a screeching of tyres out front and we hear Cole yelling at Candice but she doesn’t want to hear anything from him. He walks in and finds the envelope with the photos of him and Candice on the floor. I stand firmly beside my sister waiting for him to say something, but he doesn’t. He looks at her as she holds Ethan close to her. I had never seen a woman so calm and collected. It was as if she had made peace with everything and was ready to move on with her life. Cole turns around and walks out of the front door. “I guess now I need to start looking for a new nanny…” Adele says and walks out of the kitchen to the staircase. Ethan had fallen asleep. I could not believe that through all that tension he managed to fall asleep. My sister was a strong woman and her son had become her only priority.