Her Fairy-Tale Life

"Not yet," Kaeden ran his fingers through his hair and looked as Maggies still form on the bed. "She's going to need some clothes and stuff. Could you ask Lilly to organise that? I don't want to leave until she wakes up."

*****

"With still no sightings of the man wanted in relation to the attempted murder of Magnolia Rose Harris, the police are asking for help in locating the suspect..." Elena turned off the television.

"Never send a girl to do a woman's work!" she snarled. There was nothing to be done for it now, she couldn't admit that she knew Alecks had left on a cruise to heal his broken heart after breaking up with Suzie McMahon. They would wonder why she hadn't told them that initially when they interviewed her the day after the incident. She'd had to upgrade Ruslan and promise extra spending money, but he had gone along with the plan and taken his brother on the cruise to the Pacific Islands in place of his boyfriend, who luckily had a very nondescript passport photo that Alecks could pass for.

If that stupid little heroin addict had just taken the money and overdosed, like expected, none of this would be happening. It was Alecks' fault, of course, for threatening her child. If there was ever a chance the girl would straighten up her act it was for her kid. Still, at least she hadn't implicated Elena in her confession, and as long as Alecks stayed away, she had nothing to worry about.

With her son's both missing the police had been at her relentlessly. Alecks' face was being splashed all over the media, and she was being painted as the evil stepmother to Maggie's Cinderella story. "Except, now the girl was more like the Cinder-ugly," she laughed, amused at her own joke. If she had her way, Maggie would become a forgotten by line in the story, and her prince charming, Kaeden McConnell, would disappear as well.

She still had a week until Maggie married that idiot. If she had died like she was supposed to when that girl stabbed her, then, as the next living relative, Elena would have the farm and the development money from the McMahon's, and her life could go on as she planned months ago. She rolled her eyes heavenward. Then she wouldn't be in the position of having to deal with the fall out of Alecks mistake.

Elena picked up her bag and prepared to go and do battle with the McConnell's again. She was, after all, Maggie's only real family, and they had to let her in to see the girl eventually. Every girl needed her mother at a time like this, after all. She needed to be close to the girl if she was to have any chance of ending this debacle before it got even further out of hand.

*****

Scott and Neill sat at the bar having a beer. Their close friendship was forged by the fact that they had both fallen in love with and married strong, confident McConnell women. They'd been taken into the rowdy clan as if they had always belonged, but without the memories that bonded the other brothers together. They'd each forged their own path in the family, though, and, while Scott was known as the fixer, Neill had a knack for finding even the most elusive things the family wanted or needed.

"Ooh, look, it's show time!" Neil raised his hands, shaking them palm out at Scott who chuckled. "Hey, I know you," he rocked on his stool, leaning back to look past Scott and address the young man who approached the bar.

"I don't think so, but maybe you'd like to?" he grinned, eyeing Neil up and down.

"Sure, I do, I met you at that engagement party the other night, you were with Ruslan." Neil pressed.

"Well, I'm not with him now," the man sighed exaggeratedly.

"Bad breakup? Come sit with us," he patted the stool beside him. "We'll buy you a cocktail or two," Neil said suggestively and looked at Scott.

"Yeah, sure, why not," Scott feigned disinterest.

"Don't mind him, he's gorgeous but straight as an arrow. Gay bars are the only bars his wife will let him hang out in these days, if you know what I mean," Neill giggled girlishly and patted the stool beside him again. "I'm Neill, this is Scott, and you are?"

"Al," he shook hands with the men.

"So, what's your poison, Al?" Neil slid the cocktail menu he'd been hanging on to across to his new friend.

They spent three hours drinking with Al, and Scott had to admit Neil's hunch about the man knowing where Ruslan and Alecks were had been right.

*****

Kaeden saw Elena coming and stood in the doorway, looking belligerent. Until Maggie said differently, he could keep the woman away as long as he needed to, but he had other ideas today.

"Still no change?" she asked sweetly, attempting to push past Kaeden into the room. Kaeden gave way surprisingly easily and, startled, Elena looked up to find a matronly looking woman sitting beside Maggie's bed.

"You must be Elena, I've been looking forward to meeting you," the woman stood and held out her hand. "I'm Kaeden's mother, Hannah. Hannah McConnell."

Elena took the hand, narrowing her eyes and looking back toward Kaeden, who watched with a blank expression.

"I was hoping we could talk about this whole elopement thing. I'd be devastated not to be there when my youngest son got married. I'm sure you feel the same about your children," she said with real emotion. "For some reason, Kaeden has been reluctant for us to meet, so I have been hanging around here since yesterday hoping to find you. I have a table booked at the Marco Polo for one. Would you care to join me? I am sure we can sort out all this nonsense with the children and plan a much more suitable wedding for Kaeden and Maggie."

"You're so right," Elena said smoothly, not missing a beat. She checked her watch. "If you could just give me a few minutes to check on my daughter, I'll be right with you. The Marco Polo sounds wonderful."

"Take all the time you need, dear. It must be heart wrenching to see Maggie like this," Hannah took a few steps away toward Kaeden and raised her eyebrow, making him growl as he watched Elena fuss with the cards and gifts surrounding Maggie's bed rather than with the woman herself. She then sat on a chair, just watching her sleep for a few minutes, not talking or holding her hand, as others did, just staring as if in a daydream while Maggie feigned sleep rather than deal with the woman. After a few minutes, Elena stood abruptly and left the room, meeting Hannah in the corridor and leaving for their lunch date.

Hannah was a shrewd woman. She'd helped her husband build his mining empire while raising six children in the outback. She knew what it was to be broke and desperate for help when living off the land. She never once took her husband's good fortune for granted, and the years she spent alone on small farmsteads, or in tiny towns before the lucky strikes that made them rich, had made her tough and resilient. She could play the lady as well as anyone, but that wasn't who she truly was, and this bitch was about to find out just who's family she was messing with. Still, she smiled and talked about the wedding as if she believed Elena's opinion mattered.

They'd had a wonderful lunch of the finest food and beautiful wine, talking about their weddings and how special that should be for every girl. They were halfway through a rich chocolate dessert when Hannah's phone buzzed and her mood changed. Hannah pulled her chair closer to the table and sat up straighter. She was a tall woman, and she knew that gave her an imposing air. She began to fire questions about Maggie's likes and dislikes at Elena. And although Elena occasionally guessed one right, it was obvious that this woman had no idea about Maggie's life or what she would like her wedding to look like.

"How much?" Hannah said suddenly, startling Elena, who was beginning to feel like she was being interrogated.

"How much, what?" Elena frowned, confused, wondering if she had missed a question.

"How much were you going to get from selling Maggie's farm out from under her?" Hannah asked. "If she had have died in that stabbing, how much would you have got from selling her land to the developers?"

"I would never..." Elena started to speak indignantly.

"Save your breath. I know everything. I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but not one thing you have told me about Maggie is right or true. At the hospital, you cared more about the cards and gifts than the girl lying directly in front of you, and Wade McConnell is my eldest son, and he is every inch a mama's boy who tells me everything. So, I know who you are and what you're capable of doing." She stared hard at the woman. "So, cards on the table, Elena. How much was Maggie's life worth to you?"

"I don't have to take this!" Elena hissed, and went to stand up.

"Sit down, Elena. I have no problem having you investigated for fraud, even if my son said he wouldn't. I will have your legal licence revoked before you can put together a decent argument, and if you think I am bluffing, try me!" she said in a hard voice.

Elena took a seat. Without her license, she had nothing but her fading looks and stupid sons to rely on.

"Good choice," Hannah fixed her with a withering look. "Now, I will tell you what I want, and you will tell me what it will cost me. When you're considering the price, just remember that my husband digs very deep holes for a living, and I have no problem dropping you into one of them for a few years. The McConnell's did not make their fortune by playing nice, and you have no idea just how far I will go to protect my children and the ones they love."

"Kaeden doesn't love her. It's a joke!" Elena spat. "She's a walking monstrosity, an embarrassment, and I am not so socially inept that I haven' seen the women Kaeden is photographed with every day!"

"You are obviously stupid and illiterate if you believe that. Perhaps if you'd read any of the articles that accompanied those photographs, you would have realised the headline was not the story. Kaeden has never flaunted his personal life publicly. I assure you, the fact that he has protected her from any publicity is because he loves her and knows she would hate to have her privacy invaded."

"She has publicity now," Elena sneered. "Poor little Cinderella." She quoted the tag the media had given her.

"Perhaps you should have thought about being painted as a villain before sending that junkie to do your dirty work for you," Hannah pulled no punches. She knew a man like Alecks wouldn't make a move without his mother's say so. "You only have yourself to blame."

"You have no proof!" Elena hissed, "I wouldn't be sitting here if you did, I would be behind bars."

"Your sons have been found, didn't you know?" Hannah smiled, having just gotten a text telling her that information. "It seems the truth surrounding the attack on Maggie is about to come out." It had been Lilly who had fed the whole Cinderella angle to her friends in the media and made sure they knew who the step mother and brothers were.

Elena shook her head disbelievingly. Alecks should have been lost on a Pacific Island by now, how could they have found him? Her mind raced as she stared open mouthed at Hannah McConnell.

"Perhaps they won't implicate you in the plan to murder Maggie. So I'll ask again, Elena, how much will it take for you to walk out of Maggie's life forever?"

*****

Alecks walked toward the gangplank marshalling area. He'd signed up for a sight-seeing tour. He was carrying a backpack over his shoulder that contained everything of importance to him, including some of his mother's jewellery. Fiji was as good as any place to start his new life.

"Ah! Mr Tanat, I'm glad I caught you before you tried to disembark," the captain approached him, flanked by two other men he recognised as ship security. "It seems there's a problem with your passport. If you could come and answer a few questions, I am sure we can get it sorted out quickly and have you ready for the next tour group."

Alecks mentally weighed up his options as the two men began to move uneasily beside the captain, as if expecting his flight from the request. He could see that he had no choice but to bluff his way through this interview.

"Sure, I was hoping to hit the beach this afternoon, but it's probably best to find out what this is about," he said, quickly shrugging off the backpack, planning on leaving it with one of the passengers he'd befriended during the early part of the cruise.

"I'll take that for you, Sir, you don't want to leave any valuables lying around in the disembarkation lounge," one of the big security men offered, holding out his hand.

"It's fine, I was just getting my passport out," he said with an edge to his voice.

"If you'll follow me," the captain said, and began to walk away, leaving the two men to flank Alecks, who reluctantly followed him.

Alecks immediately saw Ruslan, who looked half asleep as he slumped on the table of the meeting room he was shown into. Two other men sat in the room, looking serious, and Aleck's stomach turned over as he realised something had gone wrong on his mother's end of the plan.

"Ruslan, what's going on?" Alecks asked, moving toward his brother.

"Is it true? Is that why you just had to go on this cruise with me? You told me it was to get away from Suzie because she dumped you. You told me you didn't want Suzie to know where you had gone to teach her a lesson until she cooled off," Ruslan looked up at his brother with tears in his eyes. "Tell me it's not true. Tell me you didn't try to kill Maggie."

Chapter 14.

Maggie had been the ideal patient for her doctors, eagerly doing all they asked in order to get out of the hospital and back to her farm. She had been fortunate that the people in the florist had acted quickly to stem the blood flow and call the ambulance, and that a specialist had been in the hospital when the ambulance had brought her in. The wounds were healing better than expected, and she hadn't lost any feeling in her arm or hand permanently.

"I promise I will stretch and wriggle and massage my arm and shoulder if you let me go home," Maggie said. "You've seen how many people there are to nag me if I don't."

"It's going to take weeks, if not months to get the full range of movement back in your arm. If you overdo things you could end up losing the full use of your arm," Allan Kruger looked at the independent young woman dubiously.

"What if she stayed in the city for the weekend rather than returning to the farm straight away," Kaeden suggested. "She can come in and see you Monday morning, and you can give her the all clear to go home to the farm."

"Or I could just go home to the farm for the weekend and still come back Monday morning," Maggie said.

"If you stay in the city, you can go home for the weekend," he turned to look at Kaeden briefly, and then back at Maggie. "I'll go and organise the paperwork, and make you an appointment to attend my clinic on Monday morning," Allan said and left the room.

"Are you ready for this? Kaeden asked gently.

"Ready for what? Maggie frowned at him.

"You've been in here almost a week, and a lot has happened, Cinderella," he picked up the newspaper from beside her bed. "You've read what's been said in the media. Alecks has been arrested, and Elena has become a virtual recluse. The media is having a field day out there. They love the whole Cinderella story. Once you leave the protection of the hospital, there will be cameras and requests for interviews."

"I know, Lilly told me what to expect. Your family has been very kind to me this week," she said and smiled. "I'm a nobody, though, it's you, Prince Charming, that they want, not me." They have my life story already," she said sadly. "Once they realise how boring my day to day life is they'll go away. I just don't look or act like a Disney princess like Cinderella, and once the trial is over no one will care about me."

Maggie had had time to process what had happened in the week since that young woman attacked her. Kaeden had made strict guidelines for their family and friends about visiting hours and had gone to work for at least half the day, spending a few hours with her in the morning and again at night. He'd given her the time alone to heal and think about everything that had happened to her in the last month since he had crashed into her life. He'd been honest with her about what was being said in the media and the investigation of her family after the young woman had handed herself into police.

"I will care about you, and I'm pretty sure a lot of other people will continue to care about you too," Kaeden rebuked her words.

"I meant the media," she laughed. "Speaking of people who care... How is Bob handing the farm? It's a busy time of year, and he says it's all under control, but I need to get back there, even just for a little while this weekend and help with the orders and paperwork."

"Maybe if you show me you can follow doctor's orders and keep resting that arm." Kaeden said sceptically, "I could take you down for a few hours on Sunday. First, though, you owe me a date night, which it seems you will go to great lengths to avoid," he chuckled.

"I have been following doctor's orders all week. I have been ready to go home for days, there's nothing wrong with me except a few little cuts and bruises, I swear, everyone is over reacting here," she rolled her eyes at Kaeden, which only made him chuckle more.

"You could have died. That woman severed an important artery in your arm, not to mention tendons and nerves. It was hardly a little cut, and, by all accounts, if you hadn't turned away from the girl when you did it could have been much, much worse," he lectured her again, even though the smile still lit his face. They'd been having this same argument since his mother had arrived on Monday.

The no-nonsense Hannah McConnell had arrived at Kaeden's apartment on Sunday after the stabbing and proceeded to interrogate him about his relationship with Maggie. Then she had descended on the hospital and Maggie, mothering her in a way that even surprised Kaeden. The following day, when she had been sweetness and light to Elena, though, before taking her to lunch, had been the most startling, and Kaeden had no doubt that Elena's sudden seclusion was a direct result of that lunchtime meeting. His mother was a formidable woman, and not for the first time in his life, he was grateful for her interference.

"Do you think Claire would mind bringing me something to wear home until I can get to the farm?" Maggie asked, happy to be finally getting out of the hospital and not wanting to have the same argument with him, Kaeden, about how badly injured she had been, or the fact that someone had tried to kill her.

"You'd probably make her day if you called and asked," Kaeden leant forward to kiss her. "Maybe get her help with a dress for date night?" he asked hopefully.

"Do you ever give up?" she laughed.

"I'm persistent, I thought you love that about me," he chuckled. "It's how I got you to say yes, wasn't it?" He took her hand. "We're still getting married, even if I have to bring the pastor in here to do it," he said seriously, making Maggie grimace. They had been arguing about that for days about that as well, but he had held up his side of the bargain before her injuries, now she had to follow through with her side of the bargain.

She did love him, not that she had ever told him. Against all her better judgement she had fallen for Kaeden McConnell, and she dreaded the day he would leave her and break her heart. She knew this was just a marriage of convenience for him. He needed it to get everything, not just his share of the family fortune, and, once that was his, he would divorce her for someone more suited his fast-paced party lifestyle.

"You call Claire, and I will check on the paperwork," Kaeden said, kissing her again before getting to his feet.