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Author's Chapter Notes:

On to the next chapter.

And for those who asked.Next week, you will be able to get The One in print.

Have a blessed weekend and Enjoy!




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


 

 

Julian

March 2004. Darling Point. Sydney. Australia

“ I want a divorce,” He said, staring at her harshly.

“What?” she quipped, stopping pouring water in the glass she was holding in her hand.

“Actually, I've already spoken to Todd, he's drawing the papers as I speak.” He continued, undisturbed.

“But why?” She asked, wide-eyes, letting the glass hit the coffee table with a loud sound, as her hands began to shake.

“You really don't know? You're actually going to pretend you have no idea why I want your sorry ass out of my life?…” He said with a sinister smile gracing his features.

Her grey eyes were shining with anger, but also fear.

Could it be...?

“No Julian, I have no idea, so please enlighten me....” she said caustically, feeling herself pale a little.

He looked at her, disgust all over his face and said one word,  “Madeline”.

((~~!~~))

Belinda Carmichael and Julian McCarty had meet on December 19, 2000.

Julian had just returned from Australia after attending his sister Melissa's wedding.

Christmas was approaching, and as any A list actor he was invited to countless parties on the eve of the New Year.

Gotta love LA, he said to himself while getting dressed.

Parties, sex, money, endless supply of women...

His latest film had been released only 3 days prior, the critics were excellent, and the earnings even better...

Life is good, he said to himself, inspecting his image reflected in the mirror of his dressing room.

He was glad to be back in LA after the debacle Australia had been. He needed to unwind. He needed some fun.

And in about an hour, he would get it; Marcus and Todd were picking him up to take him to what they promised was the party of all parties.

After his last altercation with his mother, Julian was more determined than ever to enjoy his life.

Splashing a dash of Acteur on, he was looking forward to be out with his boys tonight.

2 hours later, he was in Venice, perusing the women around the room. He had to hand it to the boys, they hadn't lied, and the pickings were quite spectacular: red heads, blondes, brunettes, and even a girl with purple hair. All were beautiful.

Julian had decided he would start 2001 with someone in his life. He was single and enjoying it, but sometimes more often lately, he wished he had someone to come home to.

His mother while she didn't know it at the time had hit it on the nail when she mentioned he might want to follow Ethan's example and get married. He was 33 after all, not getting any younger, and his last marriage had happened 10 years ago. Maybe the old bat was right, he needed to consider starting anew with someone and maybe create a family of his own...

He had purchased his new house in the Hollywood Hills just 2 months earlier probably unconsciously already thinking about it.

12 rooms, a pool and a mini maze, was more than enough for 1 person who needed a bit of showing off, but ideal for a couple with children had said the realtor...

Tonight was about putting himself out there, and what better place to start but a party with the most beautiful women in town?

Julian would admit, he was vain in that regards: before wanting to know if a woman was smart, she needed to pick his interest with her physical attributes! 

So, here he was: a Jim Beam and coke in hand, distractedly talking with a producer while browsing the people around him.

He was at count 4, as in 4 women he wanted to sleep with before the night was over, when his eyes crossed those of a woman who was openly staring at him with a knowing smile. He nodded his head, finished his sentence, excused himself to the producer and started to walk in her direction across the room.

He knew he was in trouble. She was so fucking beautiful; it was distracting.

Unfortunately, a director who wanted a word with him halted his quest, and by the time he looked at the spot were the woman had been, she had gone.

Trying to decide where to go to find her, he suddenly heard a voice whisper in his ear: "Saw something you liked?"

He turned around, and there she was, in all her majesty.

It was almost unfair. How could anyone look that perfect?

She had a pearly white smile, and her eyes were showing mischief.

"Well?" she demanded.

Caught red handed, he decided to go with the truth instead of a classic one liner.

He laughed and said, “My mother seems to think it is time for me to get married! I was assessing the pool.... ” he chuckled.

"Does she, now?" came the short reply, added by " Well, why don't we give her her wish?"

Julian's head tilted, looking at the stranger.

Mesmerizing.

She was almost his height, and considering he was edging the 6'2, that was something. She had the clearest grey eyes he'd ever seen, a classical straight nose, blonde hair with streaks of red in some sort of artistic bob, a bottle shaped figure, and legs running till tomorrow...

Her long red dress was simple but hugging her curves at the right places.

The woman was beautiful, and Julian knew she knew it, as she was examining him with a smile on her face during his perusal of her body...

"Are you propositioning me?" He asked smiling.

"Actually, I am proposing marriage since you are in the market for it..." she echoed.

For a brief second Julian looked at her. Really looked at her, trying to assess if she was serious or not.

Finally, he said, "You would make a great poker player!" he grinned, not quite believing he was having this conversation.

She gets an A for entertainment, he thought

"I'm already a great poker player, but I would make a greater wife..." she replied, her lips curved in a smile, but her eyes, still, serious.

He finished his drink in one gulp and offering her his arm, said, "Shall we?” his eyes matching hers.

After leaving the party, she indicated she didn't feel like being indoors anymore, but was hungry, so he drove them up to 26 beach to grab 2 Kobe burgers and 2 bottles of wine. They ended up at the beach, eating, drinking, and talking for the best part of the night, until 3 am came, and they realized it was really time to part. They saw each other almost everyday from then on, and after a month, Julian felt in love and knew he wanted to marry Belinda. Within five weeks, she had moved in with him in the house in the Hollywood Hills.

She was 29, a former model, turned actress with moderate success with TV work, and she had told him, she was ready to commit to a man and start a family.

Finding himself on the same wavelength, he asked her to move in and proposed the same night.

They were married on valentine's day 2001 in Sydney; and, a month later Belinda announced she was pregnant.

 

Madeline Sara McCarty was born August 21 2001.

 

Julian who had been filming in the Moroccan desert had to rush back home, as he didn't expect his child to be born 4 weeks ahead of her scheduled date, but he was so worried about Belinda and the baby that he didn't care about the timing. By the time he got back to LA, Belinda was getting released from Cedars, taking the baby home. He was the father of a healthy baby girl, that's all that mattered. He fell in love with his daughter the first time he saw her.

The baby had inherited her mother's grey eyes, and by all accounts her blonde hair too. She had a chubby face, and Julian thought she was the most beautiful baby in the world. He loved Belinda even more for she had given him the most precious gift a man could receive during a lifetime. If he ever had doubts about staying married - and yes, he had had wandering thoughts, he was an actor after all! - they were eradicated now that he had this baby. Belinda decided to be a homemaker and fully took on the role of hands on mom, forgoing nannies, and being present in her child's life 24/7 for the first 2 years of her life. The only help she had was Consuela, his maid, who became a live-in after Belinda came home with their child. Madeline was truly her priority; her marriage to Julian coming 2nd. Julian only took on projects involving domestic or Canadian filming locations. He simply didn't think being on the other side of the world for weeks was any good for him or his family and he would miss his daughter too much. Luckily, acting for him had always been more about having fun than actually working for money - after all, he was a McCarty-, so people in the industry understood that his A list status would not be in jeopardy and affected by these choices.

 

By the 3rd year of marriage, Belinda and Julian had a well-oiled routine established; they were parents before being lovers. Julian still loved his wife, but in a different way. The passion he had felt at the start had dwindled which he assumed was normal, and Belinda was all about her daughter. They would still go out together for diner at least once or twice a week, and take long vacations together, but she simply was no longer interested in anything that had to do with the movie or TV industry. Julian found himself attending work related events on his own or on the arms of any starlet, Ari deemed necessary at the time.  He still had his boys Marcus and Todd to maintain some extent of social life, but that was about it. His player days were long gone, and while content with his life, he sometimes found himself missing the good old days.

 

His sister Melissa had given birth to twin daughters just a year earlier, and they had decided to meet up back home in Australia, so their mother would get the chance to have all her grandchildren in the same place for the first time, so they all headed home for Christmas 2003.

((~~!~~))

 

Christmas had gone relatively well between Julian and his mother as she was really taken with Belinda, and had made a significant effort to keep the peace for the short 2 weeks they were all there. Not once did she mention Ethan, in spite of him being the current Premier of NSW, as Julian had realized upon arriving home. The only time she allowed herself to comment on Julian's life and choice of wife was when she asked him why Belinda was not pregnant with their 2nd child after nearly 3 years of marriage. Julian replied there was no hurry, and this was none of her business anyway; but the remark stayed with him. Back in LA for the New Year, he asked Belinda if she would be amenable to a 2nd child, as he wanted a son in the future. She curtly replied that she simply didn't see herself be pregnant again, and that Madeline was enough. Julian was quite taken aback and asked her to reconsider within the next 12 months. She promised she would. Julian decided to pull all the stops in order to recreate the romance between him and his wife, so she would indeed fall pregnant within the next 6 months. He became a more attentive husband instead of just being a parent to Madeline and a living companion to his wife. It seems after two months of flowers, gifts, and constant attention, Belinda was just about to cave in to his request, but a phone call from her mother in Chicago, informing her that her father had been in a serious car accident, forced her to leave LA for an undetermined length of time. It was decided Madeline would remain with Julian in LA until Belinda's return, as she didn't want her little girl exposed to the harsh realities of sick relatives at such a young age.

 

Belinda left, and Julian found himself attending to his daughter's daily needs with the help of the faithful Consuela. After three weeks, he received a phone call from his sister who was in London asking him if he could fly to Australia immediately. Their mother had been diagnosed with cancer.

 

Julian rang Belinda to inform her of the situation asking her if she was returning to LA. Her own father being at death's door, she couldn’t, so she told him he should take Madeline with him and go to Australia to see his mother and sister who was also flying over.

Julian packed and left LA with his daughter at the end of February telling Belinda to join them in Sydney whenever the situation with her father was sorted.

Melissa and her husband, Charlie, had flown over with the girls, and Julian was grateful his daughter would not be the only child while all adults were preoccupied with Helen. They had hired a governess to take care of the children while they were trying to decide what the best course of action would be for the next few months, making appointments with specialists after specialists. 

 

On March 3rd 2004, Julian's world exploded. The governess rang him in a panic telling him Madeline has had an accident while playing; she fell unconscious and it seemed, her heart had stopped. She had been taken to the hospital for immediate surgery.

 

Melissa, Charlie and Julian rushed to the ER. Upon arriving, the attending told him they were doing everything they could to save her life, and the next 24 hours would be critical, as heart surgery on children was highly dangerous. Desperate with fear, Julian asked if there was anything he could do. The doctor replied, he should be donating blood in case a transfusion was need. The 3 adults donated, and Melissa rang Belinda to inform her of the tragic news, as Julian had been so out of it, he simply forgot to call his wife.

10 hours later, Madeline was out of surgery but still in the OR until a room was assigned to her, and the prognosis she would recover was good. The doctor asked to speak to Julian privately about something that had come up in the bloods tests that had been done. Julian, mentally exhausted had replied that whatever he had to say he could say in front of his sister and brother-in-law. The doctor had cleared his throat and asked Julian if Madeline had been adopted.

 

Bewildered, Julian had asked twice what the doctor meant, as Madeline was his daughter, and he couldn't comprehend where this line of questioning was coming from or going. The doctor had replied to a stunned Julian that his blood type simply could not have produced Madeline, no matter what Belinda's blood type was.

Julian was shattered. He couldn't speak or move and fell on the hospital chair with tears streaming from his eyes. The doctor excused himself saying he would come later to give an update about Madeline's condition after she left the OR.

Melissa and Charlie did not know what to do to alieve Julian pain.

 

Belinda would be arriving the next day from Chicago, and they both knew nothing good would come out this reunion.

 

((~~!~~))

 

After 14 days in hospital, the doctor declared Madeline had a 100 % chance of recovery, and could be released in the care of her parents with appropriate medical care at home, but she would not be able to travel for another 8-12 weeks minimum.

They were stuck in Australia.

Julian had rung Todd Spencer, one of his best friends, but also his lawyer, the very next day after finding out Madeline was not his biological daughter; he wanted to know the legalities of the matter if he decided to divorce Belinda.

He needed to have all the information before confronting the bitch.

He had been cold towards her since her arrival, but when she had asked him why the sudden change after the warmth he had displayed before her departure for Chicago, he stated he had been so scared for his daughter: he simply had no energy left for anything or anyone else at the moment. She had accepted his explanation without further questioning.

 

Now, they were back at the McCarty estate in Darling point, their daughter sleeping in the next room under the care of a professional nurse they had hired on the day of her release, and Julian had decided, he couldn't bear to have his wife anywhere near him anymore.

So, he informed her he was filing for divorce.

When she asked in surprise, "Why?" His daughter's name was the single word he said.

"Madeline? What about her Julian?" she had asked with concern showing all over her features.

Belinda knew in the pit of her stomach that the day she feared the most had arrived. She didn't know how it had happened, but with the look Julian was giving her, she was certain he knew the truth.

There was no point in playing dumb and denying it, so, with trembling lips, she just asked, "When do you want us to leave?"

"I want you gone today, but I am keeping her." He had replied flatly.

Shocked, Belinda got up from the sofa she had been sitting on, approached him until only inches separated their eyes, gently touched the face of her husband, smiled and said in her coldest voice he’s ever heard from her, "Over my dead body." and she walked out of the room.

 

 

 

 






Chapter End Notes:

 

:Enjoy! 

!

 







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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.