My Sweet, Sweet Valentine: The Greatest Valentine Day Gift of All Read online

  My Sweet, Sweet Valentine

  The Greatest Valentine Day Gift of All!

  by Marcia Dickson

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

  Copyright © 2014 Sunrise Publishing Group

  Table of Contents

  1. The Perfect Couple

  2. Day of Betrayal

  3. Heartbreak

  4. Going Home

  5. Passing the Bar Exam

  6. A Familiar Visitor

  7. A New Beginning

  8. Moving Day

  9. A Ghost from the Past

  10. A Valentine Forever

  10.1. Other Novella's by Marcia Dickson

  1. The Perfect Couple

  From the outside, looking in, Diane Hewitt’s life was perfect and privileged. Mrs. Hewitt worked for one of New York’s most prestigious law firms and even after a few years in the game, she was still skyrocketing towards wealth and an abundance of potential. No one, not even Diane herself, knew the limitations of her success. She worked hard, but she was always rewarded.

  Diane was also the wife of another success-story. Dan Hewitt worked at a Wall Street Brokerage firm and seemed have an eye for attracting money and investments like no one else on his floor. Mr. Hewitt was not only admired and respected by all who met him, but by all accounts, his actions had always proven to deserve every inkling of respect he received.

  The couple had met in college, while attending, “Ole Miss”, or the University of Mississippi and their love blossomed into what everyone thought would be forever, almost instantly.

  Diane had always knew she wanted to be a lawyer and so, she was primed and set to attend the renowned Law School by the time she graduated high school and Dan, having always been good with numbers and just the art of making money in general, knew that Finance would be his optimal field of study.

  Following their dreams as though they were both granted a roadmap to success, the two were married shortly after graduation and moved to New York to start their respective careers in two of the most respected institutions the state and the world had to offer them.

  Yes, everyone who met the couple would say how perfect they were, for one another, as well as for the fields of work that they chose, and for the first three years of their life, Diane Hewitt would have wholeheartedly agreed.

  Diane was happy with her life and she felt blessed to have achieved so much success in such a short amount of time. The couple had the freedom to go anywhere and do anything they pleased. They never had to worry about anything and since they were focusing on their careers and not starting a family, a luxury apartment on the Upper East Side of New York was the perfect place for the couple to enjoy their money, their freedom and most of all, each other.

  Diane loved Dan with all of her heart and soul. Everything she had, she was proud to know that she shared it with him. Their home, their success, their friends and their family was all thriving and three years into their marriage, Diane would not have changed a single thing about the life that they shared. Diane enjoyed her work as much as she enjoyed coming home to her handsome and doting husband.

  Even though the couple was still undecided about whether they wanted to have children, they were both very involved with each other’s family. Despite their busy schedules, they always promised one another that they would make time for themselves and their families, above all else; it was even in their wedding vows.

  However, happiness can be as blinding as it is blissful. For underneath the layers of the man she thought she knew inside out, Dan was hiding a nasty secret from his wife, which would shatter the very core around which Diane had built their supposedly happy home.

  2. Day of Betrayal

  One day not an hour after Diane arrived at her office, she started feeling sick. Being that she was extremely stubborn and knew that she needed to get the paperwork for the afternoon’s cases submitted to the court, she continued to work for about another hour.

  After that, Diane realized that she could no longer and told her secretary that she was taking the rest of the day off.

  On the way home, the illness which Diane deducted was a strain of the stomach virus, which had been hurling around her office for the past week, seemed to worsen so much that the ride home seemed to take three times longer than normal.

  It was times like these when she was happy that she lived in New York and did not have to drive anywhere, for she was unsure if she would have had the focus to be able to operate anything. She could barely function well enough to take a cab, which she figured would be faster than the subway. Although, three-quarters through her ride, Diane thought that perhaps a whizzing cab may not have been the absolute best decision.

  By the time Diane dragged herself off of the elevator and slunk into their apartment, all she could think about was lying down.

  However, as Diane looked around the room, she noticed there was something very strange about the apartment…It seemed occupied.

  That’s strange. Diane thought to herself as she eyed the fireplace, crackling away for no one. Did we leave it on this morning?

  Diane tried to think back into the details of their morning routine, but unless someone had mistaken it for a light switch, which was very possible, then it should have not been on. Yet, Diane was kind of glad that it was on, waiting for her when she returned and thought how nice it would be to curl up next to it and ride out her rounds of the inevitable upset stomach.

  She was about to dismiss the strangeness of the occurrence when she noticed a bra that had been discarded on the floor.

  Again, Diane stopped to think about why that might be. If she was in her proper mind and not consumed in the haze brought on by her illness, more logical, albeit more home-wrecking conclusion would have crossed her mind earlier. Although, because of the cloudiness invading her thoughts, the best explanation that Diane could come up with was that she had dropped it when she crossed the hallway as she was doing laundry.

  Hating a messy home, Diane knew that the article of clothing would bother her if she did not pick it up right that moment, even though all she wanted to do was take a nap.

  As Diane bent down, though, she noticed two very disturbing details, which she could no longer ignore. The first was that the article of clothing she was picking up off of her floor was not hers and the second, was that there was a line of castoff clothing that led to the bedroom.

  Diane stood up and instantly felt sick; but this time, her stomach issues had nothing to do with the virus.

  Her head clearing and her heart pounding, Diane forgot all about her illness as she made her way down the hall.

  Upon creeping closer to the one room, which housed her bed, her clothes and so many intimacies from her marriage, she heard shuffling.

  She tried to believe that it wasn’t true. There must be a perfectly innocent explanation. Diane thought as she inched closer, but she had heard too many cases with infidelity statements to know that was not true. The sounds that came out of that bedroom as she neared it were unmistakable.

  Once she could no longer stand to hear the sound of her whole life being ripped to shreds within the throes of passion, Diane rushed in the room and flipped on the light.

  Sure enough, a woman screamed and Dan’s eyes were the ones that glared at her as his voice had the audacity to yell, “Diane!”

  He said it as though she had done something wrong.

  Officially heartbroken, Diane was
momentarily speechless. She wanted to cry, but she knew that there would be plenty of time for that later. So, instead, she fixated her eyes on the woman, who she now recognized as Dan’s secretary, and she threw the bra at her shouting, “Get out of my home! Take your clothes and get out!”

  “Diane!” Dan exclaimed again, as though angry.

  The sound of her name caused her fury to now shoot over to Dan, “I will get to you. Shut up!”

  Then, looking back over to the secretary, who was hurriedly putting her bra on, Diane shrieked, “No! Not in my house! You are not spending another second here! There is a public bathroom down the hall. Go put your clothes on there…It isn’t like you have a problem being indecent!”

  With that, Diane shooed the half-naked woman out of her home, slammed the door and returned to her husband.

  Diane knew that she was acting like a mad woman, but at this point, she didn’t care. Her life with Dan was forever tainted anyway. She mind as well humiliate as many people who were involved as she could before word got out another way.

  As though shocked into complete stillness, Diane realized when she returned that Dan had not moved since she had yelled at him.

  However, when she came back, Dan said, “What did you throw her out like that for? What are the neighbors going to think?”

  Irate that the neighbors were his best argument, Diane crossed her arms in front of her chest and said, “They are going to think that you are a lying, cheating sleaze, which is exactly right!”

  “Diane!” Dan yelled and then searched around for some sort of explanation. However, finding none, he exclaimed, “It isn’t what it looks like!”

  Narrowing her eyes, Diane exploded, “Isn’t what it looks like? Well, than let me ask you, mister financial wizard, what exactly does it look like? Because to me, it looks like you were massaging your secretary in all the wrong places when you were supposed to be running numbers and…oh, I don’t know…working! Is this your idea of a staff meeting? In our bed, naked…and moaning?” Diane spoke until she physically could no longer utter a noise. She was not sure if what she had said was even coherent, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t even talking to him anymore. Diane was just talking so that she would not become overwhelmed with emotion. She did not want to cry.

  However, her voice was then taken over by a sob and she glared at Dan, who had not said anything else. Her anger, although still burning like a raging wildfire inside of her was drowned in her disbelief and a feeling of regret. “What did I do wrong?” Diane sobbed. “I thought you loved me! Did I not love you? Did I not share everything I had with you? Did I not show you enough attention,” The thought made her feel sick, but she had to say it anyway, just to get it out, “We…we were just together…We had a great night…How could I not be enough for you…Especially when you were always enough for me?”

  Dan sighed heavily, the anger dissipating from his face and quickly being replaced by regret and pain, “I am so sorry, Diane. You didn’t do anything. I just…” Dan hung his head, “I never meant to hurt you.”

  Diane would hear none of his excuses or his apologies. All she wanted now was for Dan to be out of her life. Now that he has cheated once, Diane knew that she could never trust him again. “You did hurt me, Dan and I know that I have done nothing but love you. However, now, I will be filing for a divorce.”

  3. Heartbreak

  “Divorce?” As Dan boomed the word back to her, she felt his anger return as he said, “No. Diane, can’t we talk about this?”

  Diane shook her head, “No. If there was a problem, the time to talk would have been before you hopped into our bed with your secretary. The time for talk is over. I’m taking action.”

  Dan responded and tried to follow her into the bathroom as she quickened her pace towards it, but feeling sick in more ways than one, he only viable response was to slam the door in Dan’s face and quickly lock it before turning around and getting sick in the toilet.

  Diane could have sworn that she heard Dan ask her if she was alright, but she did not answer him. In Diane Hewitt’s mind, Dan Hewitt no longer deserved an answer from her about anything.

  ********** ********** **********

  March of the following year could not have come quick enough for Diane; Dan had made sure of that.

  On March 14th, the “perfect” Hewitt couple was finally a notion of a past, but Dan had fought the divorce, tooth and nail for the longest time.

  At times, Diane thought that it was almost sad, how desperately he had clung to the thought of them being together, but a quick reminder of what he had done to her changed all of that rather quickly.

  Diane was never going to be taken for a fool, by Dan or anyone else, ever again. She had made her decision that day, over a year ago, and she had never once waivered. Diane knew that she could never trust him again, because the relationship she thought she had with her husband had disintegrated into nothing the moment that she caught him cheating. Therefore, there was virtually nothing left to return to.

  In a way, although Dan’s betrayal hurt her more than words could say, his act of infidelity made her unwavering resolve to leave him behind her easier than if their marriage simply had not worked out. If either Diane or Dan had fallen out of love, but had never done anything to end the marriage but file for divorce, there may still be questions that would prolong the process.

  This way, it ended without questions. Dan did what he did and there was no turning back.

  Dan apparently had not seen it that way though and so he did not make any of this easier on Diane. Yet, Dan trying to make things more difficult for Diane only added insult to injury and caused her to want to be rid of him even more.

  Then, when the divorce was finally solidified, Diane felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders. It was an absolutely wonderful feeling to know that Dan and his cheating ways could never interfere with her happiness again.

  Keeping with that ideal, Diane decides that if she is going to begin again, she should return to her roots; far away from Dan and the life that was now so tainted that she wished she could forget altogether.

  So, after much deliberation, Diane decided the only proper way to do that was to quit the job that she loved so much.

  4. Going Home

  Diane knew that this would be another terrible casualty of their failed marriage and that caused her to feel even more anger towards Dan. Not only had he destroyed the sanctity of their home, but ultimately, his actions caused her to resign from her dream job in order to start anew.

  Walking into the Senior Partner’s office, resignation letter in-hand, she knew this was going to be a difficult and emotional moment for her.

  “Hello, Sir,” Diane said as she walked into the room.

  “Diane!” He answered cheerfully, waiving her inside, “What a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  The Senior Partner, Mr. Baxter, had always been a very patient and cheerful man, which usually made Diane enjoy his company. However, now, with the burden of her task weighing heavily upon her, his cheeriness made her feel all the more melancholy.

  “Mr. Baxter,” Diane said, unable to help her sullen tone, “I am very sorry to say that I am resigning.”

  Diane handed the letter towards her boss, who took it with a sense of disbelief. Before even reading the letter, he replied, “I am very sorry to hear that. You are one of our rising stars. Is there anything that I can do to make you stay?”

  Sadly, Diane shook her head, “No, Sir. I assure you, it has nothing to do with you, or the firm. I have enjoyed working here, more than words can say. You personally gave me a shot, straight out of college and I will never be able to thank you enough. Professionally speaking, I could not have asked for a better firm, nor a better working environment. It is with a heavy heart that I resign. Personal matters,” Diane nodded, trying desperately to fight back the tears.

  Don’t cry, Diane. Be strong! She thought. Leave with dignity.

/>   Diane was never forthcoming about her home life, especially since she had begun the process of divorce, but nonetheless, everyone she worked with knew exactly what had happened.

  Mr. Baxter nodded, understandingly, “I see,” he said, “Well, just so you know, if you ever do decide to return, for as long as I have any say about it, you will always have a home at this firm. You were one of the best lawyers I have ever had the pleasure to meet.” He then got to his feet and out his hand.

  “Thank you, Sir,” Diane said, shaking his hand, “Thank you very much! I will never forget my experience here.”

  Mr. Baxter smiled again as he replied, “I wish you the best of luck, Diane. You deserve it.”

  And with that, Diane was ready to begin her brand new life.

  ********** ********** **********

  Even though she hated to leave the firm, she did feel proud of herself that she had made a decision and stuck to it, no matter how bad it had hurt.

  However, as Diane arrived at her childhood town, Birdwell Tennessee, that was located just east of Memphis, which had a running population of 5,000, at the most, Diane had a thought that perhaps, she had made a mistake.

  New York had been her home for so long, that she feared she would no longer fit in as she did growing up.

  Besides that, Diane and Dan had pursued their dreams in New York for a reason; that was the best spot to prosper in their respective occupations.

  However, now that you are well-off, there is no reason you should not return home. Diane thought as she pulled up the long, dirt-road driveway that led to her parent’s horse farm.

  Seeing the farm assured Diane that she was doing the right thing. Since she had been going through the messy divorce, she had not made a trip out to the farm in almost a year and seeing it now, in all its beauty and grandeur, just as she remembered it, gave Diane a sense of home that she had been unable to feel since the day she caught Dan in bed with his secretary.