Rose of Sharon |Courting Trouble BK 2|

CHAPTER 6 (Part 1)

"

Truths and roses have thorns about them." -

Henry David Thoreau

"I do not understand..." Katrina frowned as she inclined her head to look out against the cliff valley and the valley that was spread below.

She had returned to the drawing room once again and this time her grandmother accompanied her to listen to her play. However and despite how much she tried Katrina could not concentrate as a mind was on Ryan's words, the words that he had spoken to her earlier on in that day. For some reason these words kept replaying in her head and eventually they saw her put her violin down and give up playing all together. In the end she left her station and pitched camp at the window, staring hard into the valley as if it possessed the very answers that she was struggling to obtain.

"What don't you understand?" her grandmother finally asked her. Katrina had been very quiet about that particular episode and apart from asking her to call Mrs Beufont to cancel their appointment, there had been no other words shared between them about the issue. Now, the older Mrs. Maracheli found that she could not make up her mind whether her decision to allow Ryan see Katrina had been a good one. Her doubts were many and so were the regrets but still and at this point, she knew that she had little say concerning the issue that was between Katrina and her husband. Their confrontation had been long due and now, the old woman knew that it was time. It was time for her little girl, the little girl that she nursed since her mother passed away, to fully grow up into the marvelous woman that she was and confront her demons.

Hadn't she told her son the same?

Dominic was stubborn and she knew that it was hard for him as her father, but they all owed it to her. To give her a chance to plot her own future and to do so without interference. To plan her child's future and that, that could never happen if they kept on running to save her every time some thing bad happened. For all she knew, they were the cause of all the misery that this girl had to endure. They had tested it then, toyed with the idea, but as time had proved it to her, some things needed to be left alone for nature to ran its course.

"It was something that Ryan said..." Katrina said as she turned to regard her grandmother with green thoughtful eyes. "Grandma? Why would Ryan talk about a divorce?"

"Because things are not so great between the two of you?"

"No... Things have never been great between us, period. So why now? I looked into his eyes and what I saw... I am now fully convinced that he was telling me the truth when he mentioned those divorce papers."

"Oooh... Crap!" her grandmother cursed in a most unlady like fashion. "Katrina..." she started to explain.

"What did you do?" The girl's eyes widened as she exploded into a fit of rage that was so much unlike her.

"Katrina, I--" her grandmother started again but was cut off by her granddaughter who was now seething with rage.

"Was it you, or dad?"

"Katrina! You wouldn't think that I would do something like that to you?"

"Come on grandma." Katrina laughed half heartedly. "I do not need to be a genius to know that you had something to do with it."

"Take that back Katrina! Take that back at once! " the older woman scolded her.

"Fine! But this is not the last you will hear of it." with that Katrina stormed out of the room and marched up the stairs, her feet stomping as she the stairs in a hurry, fueled by her anger and the sudden urgency to confront her father with that piece of news.

She came to his door but her feet stalled. Her hand raised, her fist curled ready to pummel the door, but her knuckles drew back hesitant as to the manner in which she would do this.

"Am I really doing this?" She hesitated again, then made up her mind and pushed the door as if to give answer to the inner turmoil.

The doors responded and moved forward. Fuelled by the momentum of her adrenaline laced hands, the dark vanished mahogany double doorways slammed against the walls surprising both her father and Katrina who had just performed the act.

In Dominic Maracheli world, nothing was always as it seemed. He had long learnt to always expect the worst and be prepared for it, but when his daughter barged into his office unannounced, the shock of it was not something he had been prepared for. For how could he when the very action was untypical of his very mellow and calm daughter. What was even more surprising was the expression that was on her face. The rage that he could see there. The unspeakable hurt that had him wondering if it had something to do with that ruffian from earlier in the day.

"Princess, what happened? Did he hurt you? Do you want me to..." the words hurried out of his mouth as he rose up to meet her.

"Dad!" she stopped him with the palm of her hand and took a step back out of his embrace.

"What--"

"What did you do dad?" she cut him off to accuse him and slowly, Dominic Maracheli found that his temper was steadily rising.

"Look here princess! His voice rose up a notch higher. "I am your father and you will NOT barge into my office and disrespect me."

"Fine dad."the girl smiled ruefully. " if you will not listen to me then l'll... "

" You'll do what? " the man thundered. If there was anything that this Maracheli hated was threats and the fact that they were coming from his daughter did not make that any easier.

" Then I'll leave! "

Silence. Then more silence as both father and daughter digested the words that had just been spoken.

"Katrina..." a soft voice and concerned called from the doorway and the pair turned to look at the old lady. "you cannot possibly mean that..."

The words had come out of Katrina's mouth in a rush. A last result of a drowning man that was clutching at straws, but as Katrina continued to think about it, the more convinced she was that that was the thing that she wanted to do.

"Yes, I am leaving. I am not a puppet that you two can draw strings and play around with. I am human and you..." she pointed at the both of them. "... cannot continue to control every little aspect in my life."

"And where will you go?" her father laughed as if laughing at the rantings of his three year old child.

"Dominic!" His mother scolded as she moved to stand in between him and his daughter. "Katrina's sentiments are right. Look at what you are doing to her now?"

"So she has your blessings in this?"

"Not really, but to be fair we have wronged her."

"Does that include you mum?" he laughed incredulously.

"Yes," his mother held up her chin high. "I was wrong in mentioning to you about where Katrina's affections lay and in that I allowed you to instigate that alliance. I agree that I should have worked harder to stop you."

"Oh mother..." Dominic laughed again as he turned back to walk to his seat. "When you two are done, could you please shut the door on your way out? I have work to do. Real work that pays your bills and allows you to have the luxury to seat around and become sentimental."With that he turned back to his computer and continued working.