After a long ride around town, Laura dropped Lisa off at Kelly’s. All Lisa wanted now was a good night’s sleep. She opened the door to her room and glanced around. Somehow, everything here seemed smaller now, like her world had constricted. She turned on a small light next to the bed.
She flopped on the bed, sitting so she could wrap her arms around her knees. She thought back to those first few rocky weeks of her marriage to Stefan.
Six years before, she was just 18 and quickly married. Now she was afraid of her husband. Together they walked into the living room for the first time as man and wife.
Stefan looked at his child bride. She was badly bruised from her encounter with Erik Wilhelm the night before. He knew he had to tread very carefully where she was concerned. “Does the house look any different now that you are a Cassadine?”
Lisa looked at him and then looked quickly around, “Was it supposed to change?” she asked nervously.
Stefan smiled. “No, of course not. It was just a matter of perception.” In a way, she reminded him of Lasha. Lisa had learned a lot from Laura Spencer while she was on the island. Stefan only hoped that Lisa wouldn’t leave as abruptly as Laura had.
Lisa was quiet, very nervous, actually. She wondered what was expected of her now. She sat down quickly on the sofa, trying to keep her nerves steady.
“It’s been a long day, you should get some sleep.”
“I’m not tired,” she quickly responded. Maybe a little too quickly. She glanced up at Stefan, but turned away before their eyes could meet.
“Very well. I’m tired, so I’m going to bed,” he declared.
“Goodnight.”
Lisa watched as he left the room. She pulled her legs up to her chin and rested her face on her knees. She ran her hand along one of the bruises on her face and cringed. She knew that this time was much worse than all the others. She remembered crawling to get back to the main house, while all her bones and muscles screamed for her to stop.
She yawned. She really was tired, but there was no way she was going to admit that to Stefan. It was her wedding night, but she was too scared to move off the sofa. She wondered if her new husband would understand if she just went back to her own room. She shook her head. He was a Cassadine. She be lucky if she survived the next week.
Lisa woke up sometime in the night and pulled the blanket tight around her. Something clicked in her head. Blanket? She sat up quickly. She was still on the sofa in the living room. The room was dark, but her eyes were quickly adjusting. She looked around carefully.
Stefan was asleep in the chair next to the sofa. Lisa smiled. He must have been the one that covered her with the blanket. She watched him as he slept. His face looked so gentle. Lisa wanted to reach out and touch him, but she was afraid he would take it the wrong way.
She reached down slowly with her hand hovering mere inches away from his face. She’d never felt this way about anyone. Was this love? In a way, she hoped not. Stefan could never love her, she wasn’t his type. She was just a commoner.
Stefan opened his eyes. Lisa jumped back, but before she could move too far, he grabbed her hand. Lisa’s heart rate nearly went through the ceiling. What was he going to do now? She was actually shaking.
Stefan smiled sweetly at Lisa. He brought her hand up to his face and kissed it ever so gently, then released her. She sat quickly back down on the sofa. “It’s okay, Leezia. I won’t hurt you.”
She nodded, “I know,” she said quietly. Then she gave him a funny look, “What did you call me?”
“Leezia. It is the Greek form of your name, what I will be calling you and what I ask that you be called, now that you are a Cassadine.”
A noise quickly brought Lisa back to the reality of her room at Kelly’s. She looked around, but didn’t see what caused the noise. “Have I lost my mind?” she asked herself. She remembered more about her marriage...
It was weeks before she would allow herself to go into the bedroom. She sat down on an old wicker chair as Stefan laid on the bed. “Leezia, you can sleep here. I’m not going to bite you.”
“I know,” she said, looking at the floor.
He stood up and walked over to her. “Leezia, please. You need to sleep in something more comfortable then that chair.” He stretched out his hand to her.
Slowly and shakily, she reached out and took his hand. She stood up as he led her to the bed. She laid down as he crossed to the other side of the bed and laid down. She jumped slightly as he leaned over and kissed her on the head. “Goodnight, sweet Leezia.”
Looking around her room, Lisa sighed. Stefan had not made any attempt to make love to her until she was ready. And when he did, it had been wonderful, loving and caring. Nothing like Billy. She was thankful for that. She remembered nights that she would sleep with his arms wrapped tightly around her, protecting her. Like that night after Billy had first attacked her at her father’s club. She wasn’t always sure what he was protecting her from, but she missed him now as she laid back down on the bed, completely unaware that Stefan was mere inches from her.
*****
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lisa sat bolt upright in bed. Someone else was in the room. Her eyes wouldn’t adjust fast enough. Her heart was flying, especially since she couldn’t see anyone. She wanted to cry out, but her voice was gone.
She could barely make out a figure as a hand reached out and clamped over her mouth. The figure sat next to her on the bed. Lisa braced herself for the worst.
But the worst didn’t come. The figure leaned closer to her ear and when he spoke, she realized who it was.
“Leezia, don’t yell, it’s just me.”
Lisa relaxed and nodded. Stefan let her go. Lisa reached over and turned on the small nearby light, but didn’t get up from bed. “Stefan, what are you doing here?” she asked harshly.
“You left in such a rush.” He tried putting his arms around her, but instead of returning the embrace, she struggled against it. “Leezia, what’s wrong?” He kept his arms wrapped tightly around her.
All she wanted him to do was let go. She’d made her decision, and she intended to stand by it. But she felt so strongly about him. Her emotions battled within her. “Let me go, please Stefan,” she begged. She refused to look at him. She knew her eyes would give away her true feelings.
He couldn’t bear to let her go, because it could mean losing her forever. He was so used to her being there. Even when she started traveling, she would call every night. Lisa was everything to him, he realized that the moment she threw the pendant at him. “Not until you agree to take back your pendant, and your rightful place as my wife.”
“What about Bobbie?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said quickly.
“I imagine it does to her,” she said with tears in her eyes.
He sighed deeply, without saying anything and without letting Lisa go. “Leezia, please,” he begged of her. Her was back to Stefan, so she leaned back against him and quit struggling, hoping to get him to relax his grip. Just as he loosened his grip, she broke free and jumped up.
He was afraid that she would bolt out the door and he’d never see her again. He jumped up behind her and grabbed her again, this time with such force that they both lost their balance and fell backwards on the bed. She landed on top of him, looking directly into his eyes. For the first time in a long time, Lisa was scared of him.
He had his arms around her like he had so many times before, holding her close. But unlike before, he could feel her trembling. She had not trembled at his touch since the first night they were married. Her eyes gave away a fear, like a wild animal caught in a cage. “Leezia, you act like you’re scared of me.”
She glared at him, thinking sarcastically how perceptive that was of him. “Maybe I am,” she was barely able to say.
If she had physically shot him, he thought it would be less painful. After six years and all they had been through together, to think that he had destroyed it all in just a few minutes. He quickly released her, practically pushing her away.
Lisa refused to look in his eyes any longer. She quickly stood up, but instead of running out the door like he expected, she took about three steps toward the door, then collapsed, sobbing, into a ball in the floor.
Stefan got up from the bed and knelt down beside her. He touched her gently on the shoulder. She jumped slightly, but neither of them budged. “I’m sorry, Leezia. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I know you didn’t. I’m sorry.”
Stefan reached up with his free hand and wiped the tears from her eyes. “My sweet Leezia. I never wanted to scare you. You are my life, and I can’t bear the thought of losing you. Especially after all that we’ve been through.” He began to softly stroke her face and hair.
He slowly pulled her into an embrace, rocking with her as her sobbing subsided. This time, she returned his embrace. She could feel her defenses breaking down. She had to remember what she was doing and not get carried away with emotion. “I’m going to stick to my decision about us,” she said defiantly.
He smiled gently, “I realize that once you set your mind to something, you don’t like to change it, but please don’t push me away tonight.” He began to kiss her softly, slowly, in case she resisted.
She didn’t. She allowed him to collect her into his arms and carry her to the bed. She tried to rationalize what she was doing, but quit trying after his kisses became more passionate. She allowed her emotions to carry her away and back into the place she reserved for her husband.
*****