One Chapter A Day - Re-Read Of Bared and Entwined

[Donnad]

<<====== I just exceeded one thousand posts, but didn't get another cool new title. Board Master, it would appear, is the top-tier designation.

 

I think we should tell SD that there should be a Plantinum Member.

[Kirsten]

Hi everyone,

So many people have been asking where they can find a copy of the first chapter.  For those who are computer savvy, would one of you ladies please be kind enough to post the link so that others can access the first chapter of Entwined In You too, please?  Thanks in advance. 

 

Hi GiGi,

The first chapter, and part of chapter two can be found here: http://www.sylviaday.com/2013/05/07/entwined-chapter-one/

I posted the chapter in the thread here. Come on over and join us.

[Kirsten]

I think we should tell SD that there should be a Plantinum Member.

You are a Platinum member Donnad.

 

We have to pick another cool name for those with posts over 1000 and then put it in the suggestion box.

[GiGi]

good afternoon Gigi.

I'm sure your asleep now. Probably tired out after all that typing.

I was quoting your post regarding destroying Corrine . I don't think he will destroy her, but I do think he will cut her off, after the way she treated Eva. He has taken her out a couple of times, for him it was as a friend/alibi. But I don't think he would have led her on, implying that it was going to go anywhere. I think she was assuming that herself.

Eva and Gideons relationship is fragile because its still early days as a couple, given that they both have issues in their personal lives. As has been said, they are both virgins in this relationship.

As for Gideon killing Nathan. I don't think anyone is happy that he killed Nathan , but I can understand why he did. You could argue, it was kill or be killed. Detective Graves said it was only a matter of time before she was murdered.

I do think Monica Gideon and Stanton should have confided in Eva, but as we all know communication is lacking in this story.

As for Monica. Well I have already had my rant about her. See previous posting.

Getting ready for chapter one now. Speak later julie

 

Hi Julie,

I have been reading all of the postings; not just yours.  What has been coming across isn’t that Gideon would have just cut Corinne out of his life, but that he would have lead her on (promises or implications of romance and such), used her deliberately  and then destroyed her  emotionally (all in a bid to have Eva back or to avenge the horrible wrong doing to Eva).

 

From my perspective and 42 years of life; that kind of reaction would be extreme to say the least.  Yes, yes I know this is a novel and that many of us like to have fun and come up with our theories and such, but I get to a point where I don’t find that kind of “revenge†fun.   I think it is mean and petty and spiteful. 

 

The entire purpose of rereading these chapters was for each and every single member to read said chapter, think about that chapter and how it may or may not relate to their lives (i.e. each person takes the information presented and applies that) and what each person’s thoughts are about that chapter.  What has been happening thus far doesn’t even come close to what the main objective was supposed to be.  I miss the days when a lot of members used to post and present their theories. 

C’est la vie.  At the end of the day, this is just a book. 

[Kirsten]

Hi Julie,

I have been reading all of the postings; not just yours.  What has been coming across isn’t that Gideon would have just cut Corinne out of his life, but that he would have lead her on (promises or implications of romance and such), used her deliberately  and then destroyed her  emotionally (all in a bid to have Eva back or to avenge the horrible wrong doing to Eva).

 

From my perspective and 42 years of life; that kind of reaction would be extreme to say the least.  Yes, yes I know this is a novel and that many of us like to have fun and come up with our theories and such, but I get to a point where I don’t find that kind of “revenge†fun.   I think it is mean and petty and spiteful. 

 

The entire purpose of rereading these chapters was for each and every single member to read said chapter, think about that chapter and how it may or may not relate to their lives (i.e. each person takes the information presented and applies that) and what each person’s thoughts are about that chapter.  What has been happening thus far doesn’t even come close to what the main objective was supposed to be.  I miss the days when a lot of members used to post and present their theories. 

C’est la vie.  At the end of the day, this is just a book. 

Hi GiGi,

I don't think Gideon would have done that. Again that's just my opinion. I think Gideon was up front about needing someone to go to social events with him (God forbid he show up stag... grrr... I know that wasn't Corrine's only purpose) and Corrine of course happily agreed because she thinks she is "in love" with him. Of course she is hoping this turns into more, but Gideon is never allowing that to happen. Corrine is never going to admit to anyone that she and Gideon are just friends because she doesn't want to even accept that herself. I do think Gideon will cut her off eventually because she has been a b**** to Eva, and she is always going to be a problem for Eva. Do I blame Corrine for being a b**** and doing whatever it takes to have Gideon Cross... nope. I would probably do the same thing. At the same time I realize actions have consequences. Corrine acting in such a way will ensure that Gideon can never even have a friendship with her. I feel bad for Corrine because she believes she loves Gideon (she doesn't really "know" Gideon so I'm not sure that is even possible IMO) and realizing she will never have a chance with him is going to leave her broken. I don't want to see her shattered, but she has brought some of this upon herself.

[Andie]

Hello, ladies

 

Chapter 15

 

My Favorites

 

1. line: Your past doesn't have the power to push me away (p. 226)

 

2. paragraph: "I never stopped wanting you," I whispered. "I can't stop. But you hurt me, Gideon. You have the power to hurt me like no one else can." (p. 226)

 

3. scene: Ireland's conversation with Eva

 

Peruse away, ladies

[julie54]

Hi Julie,

I have been reading all of the postings; not just yours.  What has been coming across isn’t that Gideon would have just cut Corinne out of his life, but that he would have lead her on (promises or implications of romance and such), used her deliberately  and then destroyed her  emotionally (all in a bid to have Eva back or to avenge the horrible wrong doing to Eva).

 

From my perspective and 42 years of life; that kind of reaction would be extreme to say the least.  Yes, yes I know this is a novel and that many of us like to have fun and come up with our theories and such, but I get to a point where I don’t find that kind of “revenge†fun.   I think it is mean and petty and spiteful. 

 

The entire purpose of rereading these chapters was for each and every single member to read said chapter, think about that chapter and how it may or may not relate to their lives (i.e. each person takes the information presented and applies that) and what each person’s thoughts are about that chapter.  What has been happening thus far doesn’t even come close to what the main objective was supposed to be.  I miss the days when a lot of members used to post and present their theories. 

C’est la vie.  At the end of the day, this is just a book. 

morning Gigi

I am hoping that Gideon drops Corrine gently. Making it clear that romance between them isn't happening. After all, they did have a shared history years back. Both Gideon and Corrine have been manipulating situations to get what they want. I suppose we're all guilty of that.

Poor Eva became a pawn in this situation, being blindsided by Corrine, and emotionally hurt by Gideon. Yes, what he did saved her life, but he broke her trust, he has to amend this.

Now Eva knows the score, and understands the ramifications of Gideons actions, she can hopefully have her input about how things shall move forward.

[Sheens263]

Hi GiGi,

I don't think Gideon would have done that. Again that's just my opinion. I think Gideon was up front about needing someone to go to social events with him (God forbid he show up stag... grrr... I know that wasn't Corrine's only purpose) and Corrine of course happily agreed because she thinks she is "in love" with him. Of course she is hoping this turns into more, but Gideon is never allowing that to happen. Corrine is never going to admit to anyone that she and Gideon are just friends because she doesn't want to even accept that herself. I do think Gideon will cut her off eventually because she has been a b**** to Eva, and she is always going to be a problem for Eva. Do I blame Corrine for being a b**** and doing whatever it takes to have Gideon Cross... nope. I would probably do the same thing. At the same time I realize actions have consequences. Corrine acting in such a way will ensure that Gideon can never even have a friendship with her. I feel bad for Corrine because she believes she loves Gideon (she doesn't really "know" Gideon so I'm not sure that is even possible IMO) and realizing she will never have a chance with him is going to leave her broken. I don't want to see her shattered, but she has brought some of this upon herself.

Hi Kirsten

 

I don't think Gideon will be cruel to Corrine, she has afterall been his aliby and he must appreciate that, I do think though he probably made it clear to Corrine at the beginning that nothing will really happen in the relationship like Marriage as he would probably said to her he does not want that and I actually think he has probably made it clear that he does not a sexual relationship with her either.

 

I also think that Corrine knows this that is why when Eva turned up at Corrine's flat and Corrine was all mussed up Corrine had another man in the appartment but tried to make Eva think it was Gideon, even though we all know Gideon would not cheat on Eva.

[LN Cronan]

morning Gigi

I am hoping that Gideon drops Corrine gently. Making it clear that romance between them isn't happening. After all, they did have a shared history years back. Both Gideon and Corrine have been manipulating situations to get what they want. I suppose we're all guilty of that.

Poor Eva became a pawn in this situation, being blindsided by Corrine, and emotionally hurt by Gideon. Yes, what he did saved her life, but he broke her trust, he has to amend this.

Now Eva knows the score, and understands the ramifications of Gideons actions, she can hopefully have her input about how things shall move forward.

 

Interesting observation that both Gideon and Corrine are guilty of manipulating situations. Both of them very calculatedly hurt Eva. 

 

Gideon did it because he believed he had to for Eva's own protection: her physical safety (eliminate the Nathan threat to her life forever) and her legal safety (make sure that if he got caught, she wouldn't go down with him too for having been involved.) But there were selfish motivations in there too -- trying to control her so that he could forever shut her out of yet another set of his dark secrets, and to keep her waiting in the wings for him. Especially to keep her in limbo because an ex-lover, Brett, was after her.

 

Start to finish, Gideon really screwed up on many different levels. If he felt he absolutely had to create a safety-zone between him and Eva, and to use Corrine as a cover story to protect himself from motive, then he ought to have had the decency to have asked Eva for a break in their relationship. Let her assume he wanted to attempt to work through his unfinished business with Corrine. Yes, Eva would have been insecure and jealous, but she also might be more apt to believe Gideon was staying platonic with Corrine. He'd have stood a much better chance of getting Eva back, as soon as the coast was clear, by kicking Corrine out of his life permanently and telling Eva he wants her (Eva) as his wife.

 

Instead, Gideon tried to manipulate Eva's emotions and sent her mixed messages that just made matters worse, leaving her writhing. Then he lost control of the situation when she found out about the rape photos and assumed the worse -- including that he was a cheating coward. His attempt to keep her on hold blew up in his face and broke her heart. 

 

He's got to now live with the ramifications of that for a long time. Even though she knows now why he felt he had to do it, she also knows he committed a form of emotional violence toward her -- he very calculatedly used her own feelings of love to manipulate her and hurt her. She knows he's capable of it, and she's afraid it could happen again. There he was, so afraid she'd think he was a violent person because of Nathan. In fact, she's now afraid he's capable of emotional abuse.

 

As for Corrine, her motives for hurting Eva were entirely selfish. She very carefully laid out a plan to destroy Gideon's new relationship. Corrine hurt Gideon too -- Corrine sparked some very serious fights between Eva and Gideon and undermined Eva's trust in him. And triggered very deep demons inside of Eva, which prompted Eva to fall into old destructive patters. Like slapping Gideon, pulling runners, turning to an old lover to get revenge. Corrine, of course, had no way of knowing the basis for Eva's awful insecurity problem. All Corrine knew is that Eva did have a serious problem, and Corrine used it as a weapon.

 

Even if Gideon does the decent thing of letting Corrine down gently as he can as soon as it's safe for him to do so, still Corrine is going to come out of this situation devastated. Gideon's actions led her to believe she'd succeeded in winning him back. He even let the whole world believe it. I'm willing to bet, too, he's been brutally manipulating her ever since he became chief suspect in Nathan's killing. The week before, he was taking her out as a friend. Now he's got her believing she's his girlfriend. They may not be sleeping together yet, but they are a couple once again. When what's really going to happen is Gideon is going to reject her for Eva. Years ago, Corrine had walked away voluntarily. This time she's going to get rejected -- and thrown out of Gideon's life forever. She won't even have friendship left. She bet it all, and she's going to lose it all.

[LN Cronan]

Chapter Fifteen of Bared To You - The Readers Guide

 

This chapter starts Friday (day 12) and goes into Sunday (day 14)

 

Key plot developments:

• Gideon ended four days of zero contact with Eva on Sunday, tracking her down at the afternoon party his family was holding at their estate.
• Gideon begged Eva for another chance, sorry about how things had gone Wednesday night (her walking out on him) and Thursday (him dumping her via a "Dear Jane" note.) As a show of his commitment to work on their relationship problems, he'd entered individual therapy and had set up couples therapy.
• They made love in the library of his parents' mansion.

 

New characters:

Gideon's family members were mentioned in passing earlier in the novel, but previously, only his half-brother showed up directly in a scene. In Chapter Fifteen, the rest of Gideon's family members appear directly for the first time:

Elizabeth Vidal

Christopher Vidal Sr.

Ireland Vidal

 

Eva (and Cary) meet Gideon's family

Eva went through with going to the music industry party for Vidal Records held Sunday afternoon on the grounds of the Vidal estate, the party Gideon's half-brother invited her (and Cary) to. At the time she accepted the invitation, Thursday, she hadn't yet been dumped by Gideon - that happened later Thursday. Eva went through with the party because she'd been told Gideon never attends such events, so she wasn't afraid of running into him.

Looking at the Vidals lined up, she realized Gideon strongly resembles his beautiful mother, especially in coloring. His half-sister looks like their mother too. Christopher Vidal Sr. comes as a surprise - looking more like a "college professor than a music company executive." (page 220). Christopher Jr. resembles his father, not his mother.

Elizabeth came off as too touchy-feely for Eva's comfort level, to the point where Eva's anxiety level about people touching her got triggered. Christopher Sr. comes across as harmless. Christopher Jr. continued to flirt with Eva. From the questions Ireland asked Eva, it became clear Ireland barely even knows Gideon. He'd moved out when she was little, and he's obviously had next to no contact since then.

Interesting is that Vidal Records isn't a privately-held family business. It's a publicly-traded company, which means it's owned by shareholders. The biggest shareholder - Gideon. He owns so many shares he's got controlling interest of the company. This raises Cary's eyebrows - what's up with that. It's something Eva would wonder about too: what is Gideon's motive for getting control of his stepfather's business.

 

Gideon shows up unannounced

Eva was startled on the dance floor to find an angry Gideon had marched up to her, demanding to know why she's there -- and telling her he doesn't want her to be. It would turn out he's angry not at her but at the fact she's at the Vidal family home. To Gideon, his parents and half-brother are poison, his half-sister is a stranger, and no way does he want Eva anywhere near the Vidals. He's mad because he's afraid for her.

However, Eva most definitely interpreted things as him being angry she'd dare try something to continue to try insinuate herself into his life despite the fact he'd rejected her for good. She ran away from him with the goal to reach the safety of the car before she start crying and have the driver take her home (her mother's driver brought her and Cary.)

He caught her as she fled, and so she turned her bitter fury on him, her insecurities raging, saying vicious things to wound him. She was so upset that her anger problem escalated to physical violence. She slapped him very hard across the face, and when he tried to kiss her, she bit him hard enough to draw blood.

Trying with his body to say communicate the feelings he couldn't verbally, he carried her into the library. There the fight went out of her. It took him continuing to kiss her and hold her to get her to calm down enough to talk.

 

Gideon's side of the story

He thought she ran out on him Wednesday over disgust about the nightmare she saw. He didn't know how to handle it. He expected she'd come back -- even despite what he'd done Thursday. He didn't understand it actually was a break-up. He went after her Sunday because he couldn't stand being apart from her any longer. He was bound and determined to make her want him again.

Gideon sought out Dr. Petersen on Friday for a consultation. Petersen agreed to take Gideon on as an individual patient -- and if Eva is willing, Petersen also would accept them for couple's therapy.

Then he begged Eva with his body as well as his words, making love to her there in the library. In the middle of it, unbeknownst to him but spotted by Eva, Magdalene walked in on the pair of them, saw what Gideon was doing to Eva, and ran.

 

Eva's side of the story

She told him the real reason she left that night was because he lied to her and shut her out. She thought they were over, because he dumped her.

When he learned the lying -- not the nightmare -- was how he screwed up, he promised to try to let her in. But he pointed out, truthfully, her tendency to run away is how she in turn keeps screwing things up between them. Unbeknownst to her, his own big issue is abandonment.

" .... your first response when I screw up is to run away. You do it every time and I can't stand feeling like any moment, I'm going to do or say something wrong, and you're going to bolt." (page 226-227). When he told her this, she realized he's right - her runners are as much of a problem as his shutting down.

She gave him the hard truth - they need real help, because they're seriously dysfunctional and cannot keep going on through the highs and low. The end result of their talk is to agree to get professional help via Dr. Petersen.

 

In the news

Even out in San Diego, via the media grapevine, word reached Eva's father that she supposedly was dating Gideon Cross - something she denied. (With honesty - she and her Dad spoke Saturday night, she and Gideon already were broken up.)

The media frenzy surrounding Eva helped Cary's own career, because he'd come up in some of the stories as supposedly another one of Eva's boyfriends. Thanks to her, Cary was a hot commodity.

[LN Cronan]

Chapter A Day Re-Read Project - Today is Chapter Sixteen of Bared

 

This chapter unfolds Sunday (day 14)

 

Key plot developments:

• This chapter continues one of the longer scenes in the book, Gideon and Eva in the library at his parents' library. In the last chapter, he'd begged her to give him another chance, and they had make-up sex.
• In this chapter, they continue making love. But this time, both of them are -- at Eva's request -- testing limits. It's the start of the dominant-submissive dynamic.
• Later that night, Gideon would directly broach the subject with Eva: he's a dom and she's a sub.
• An important early clue about what's behind Gideon's sexually violent nightmares comes out -- something happened to him in that library sometime in the past.
• This chapter is the first time we see Gideon interact with his mother and his sister, showing he's distanced himself from his mother and is a stranger to his teen-aged sister.

 

Once each of us has read Chapter Sixteen, our homework assignment from Sylvia herself is for each of us to pick our favorite quote or paragraph. (Of course, tearing ourselves away, if possible, from Chapter One and the part of Chapter Two of Entwined that got released yesterday. SQUEEEEE!!!!

 

The chapter re-reads also have been the springboard here for lots of discussion. We're continuing to touch upon the chapter of the day, but even more, discussion has been jumping backward into the earlier chapters and forward in the story (even into Reflected and the Entwined snippets) as the re-reading leads us to analyze how different parts of the Crossfire saga have been connecting.

[Kirsten]

Hi Kirsten

 

I don't think Gideon will be cruel to Corrine, she has afterall been his aliby and he must appreciate that, I do think though he probably made it clear to Corrine at the beginning that nothing will really happen in the relationship like Marriage as he would probably said to her he does not want that and I actually think he has probably made it clear that he does not a sexual relationship with her either.

 

I also think that Corrine knows this that is why when Eva turned up at Corrine's flat and Corrine was all mussed up Corrine had another man in the appartment but tried to make Eva think it was Gideon, even though we all know Gideon would not cheat on Eva.

I agree Sheens.

[Sheens263]

Interesting observation that both Gideon and Corrine are guilty of manipulating situations. Both of them very calculatedly hurt Eva. 

 

Gideon did it because he believed he had to for Eva's own protection: her physical safety (eliminate the Nathan threat to her life forever) and her legal safety (make sure that if he got caught, she wouldn't go down with him too for having been involved.) But there were selfish motivations in there too -- trying to control her so that he could forever shut her out of yet another set of his dark secrets, and to keep her waiting in the wings for him. Especially to keep her in limbo because an ex-lover, Brett, was after her.

 

Start to finish, Gideon really screwed up on many different levels. If he felt he absolutely had to create a safety-zone between him and Eva, and to use Corrine as a cover story to protect himself from motive, then he ought to have had the decency to have asked Eva for a break in their relationship. Let her assume he wanted to attempt to work through his unfinished business with Corrine. Yes, Eva would have been insecure and jealous, but she also might be more apt to believe Gideon was staying platonic with Corrine. He'd have stood a much better chance of getting Eva back, as soon as the coast was clear, by kicking Corrine out of his life permanently and telling Eva he wants her (Eva) as his wife.

 

Instead, Gideon tried to manipulate Eva's emotions and sent her mixed messages that just made matters worse, leaving her writhing. Then he lost control of the situation when she found out about the rape photos and assumed the worse -- including that he was a cheating coward. His attempt to keep her on hold blew up in his face and broke her heart. 

 

He's got to now live with the ramifications of that for a long time. Even though she knows now why he felt he had to do it, she also knows he committed a form of emotional violence toward her -- he very calculatedly used her own feelings of love to manipulate her and hurt her. She knows he's capable of it, and she's afraid it could happen again. There he was, so afraid she'd think he was a violent person because of Nathan. In fact, she's now afraid he's capable of emotional abuse.

 

As for Corrine, her motives for hurting Eva were entirely selfish. She very carefully laid out a plan to destroy Gideon's new relationship. Corrine hurt Gideon too -- Corrine sparked some very serious fights between Eva and Gideon and undermined Eva's trust in him. And triggered very deep demons inside of Eva, which prompted Eva to fall into old destructive patters. Like slapping Gideon, pulling runners, turning to an old lover to get revenge. Corrine, of course, had no way of knowing the basis for Eva's awful insecurity problem. All Corrine knew is that Eva did have a serious problem, and Corrine used it as a weapon.

 

Even if Gideon does the decent thing of letting Corrine down gently as he can as soon as it's safe for him to do so, still Corrine is going to come out of this situation devastated. Gideon's actions led her to believe she'd succeeded in winning him back. He even let the whole world believe it. I'm willing to bet, too, he's been brutally manipulating her ever since he became chief suspect in Nathan's killing. The week before, he was taking her out as a friend. Now he's got her believing she's his girlfriend. They may not be sleeping together yet, but they are a couple once again. When what's really going to happen is Gideon is going to reject her for Eva. Years ago, Corrine had walked away voluntarily. This time she's going to get rejected -- and thrown out of Gideon's life forever. She won't even have friendship left. She bet it all, and she's going to lose it all.

I can understand that Corrine is going to be left with nothing and that will probably hurt her and yes she hurt Gideon when she left him and got married but Gideon will have to tread carefully there as she could be another Woman Scorned if he does things the wrong way.

 

He has manipulated Eva's feelings for a long time really since meeting with her and I think he is that kind of guy who likes control in everything but it may have worked with previous relationships but I don't believed he thought for one moment that Eva would slap him or walk out on him or even dump him like she did at the time of the murder and he was in the police station.  I think he got a real shock there and even a taste of his own medicine to feel the amount of pain it caused him with Eva saying she was done, just like the pain he is causing her.

 

Gideon needs to be very careful if he wants to win Eva back, it cannot be all about the sex, there has to be some opening up as well on his side, he needs to talk to her more and not control her as he does and not take her for a silly girl that does not have the knowledge to deal with things, like Eva has staid time and time again "she is stronger than everyone thinks!", yes she has been through a lot and I think that has helped.

 

I was bulled emotionally and physically when I was young by my brother and I know how it strengthens you so that it never happens again so I am hoping Eva will still grow in strength and Gideon will see this but it will also take note that he cannot manipulate her anymore and he needs to be honest and talk to her not keep shutting her out as if he keeps doing that he will lose her forever.

 

my thoughts .............

[Kirsten]

Interesting observation that both Gideon and Corrine are guilty of manipulating situations. Both of them very calculatedly hurt Eva. 

 

Gideon did it because he believed he had to for Eva's own protection: her physical safety (eliminate the Nathan threat to her life forever) and her legal safety (make sure that if he got caught, she wouldn't go down with him too for having been involved.) But there were selfish motivations in there too -- trying to control her so that he could forever shut her out of yet another set of his dark secrets, and to keep her waiting in the wings for him. Especially to keep her in limbo because an ex-lover, Brett, was after her.

 

Start to finish, Gideon really screwed up on many different levels. If he felt he absolutely had to create a safety-zone between him and Eva, and to use Corrine as a cover story to protect himself from motive, then he ought to have had the decency to have asked Eva for a break in their relationship. Let her assume he wanted to attempt to work through his unfinished business with Corrine. Yes, Eva would have been insecure and jealous, but she also might be more apt to believe Gideon was staying platonic with Corrine. He'd have stood a much better chance of getting Eva back, as soon as the coast was clear, by kicking Corrine out of his life permanently and telling Eva he wants her (Eva) as his wife.

 

Instead, Gideon tried to manipulate Eva's emotions and sent her mixed messages that just made matters worse, leaving her writhing. Then he lost control of the situation when she found out about the rape photos and assumed the worse -- including that he was a cheating coward. His attempt to keep her on hold blew up in his face and broke her heart. 

 

He's got to now live with the ramifications of that for a long time. Even though she knows now why he felt he had to do it, she also knows he committed a form of emotional violence toward her -- he very calculatedly used her own feelings of love to manipulate her and hurt her. She knows he's capable of it, and she's afraid it could happen again. There he was, so afraid she'd think he was a violent person because of Nathan. In fact, she's now afraid he's capable of emotional abuse.

 

As for Corrine, her motives for hurting Eva were entirely selfish. She very carefully laid out a plan to destroy Gideon's new relationship. Corrine hurt Gideon too -- Corrine sparked some very serious fights between Eva and Gideon and undermined Eva's trust in him. And triggered very deep demons inside of Eva, which prompted Eva to fall into old destructive patters. Like slapping Gideon, pulling runners, turning to an old lover to get revenge. Corrine, of course, had no way of knowing the basis for Eva's awful insecurity problem. All Corrine knew is that Eva did have a serious problem, and Corrine used it as a weapon.

 

Even if Gideon does the decent thing of letting Corrine down gently as he can as soon as it's safe for him to do so, still Corrine is going to come out of this situation devastated. Gideon's actions led her to believe she'd succeeded in winning him back. He even let the whole world believe it. I'm willing to bet, too, he's been brutally manipulating her ever since he became chief suspect in Nathan's killing. The week before, he was taking her out as a friend. Now he's got her believing she's his girlfriend. They may not be sleeping together yet, but they are a couple once again. When what's really going to happen is Gideon is going to reject her for Eva. Years ago, Corrine had walked away voluntarily. This time she's going to get rejected -- and thrown out of Gideon's life forever. She won't even have friendship left. She bet it all, and she's going to lose it all.

LN I agree that Gideon is kicking Corrine out of his life for what she has done, but you say... "Now he's got her believing she's his girlfriend. They may not be sleeping together yet, but they are a couple once again." Do you believe that Gideon has been kissing Corrine? I know it probably seems silly on my part, but after the whole kissing Brett incident and Gideon telling Eva in NC what her kisses mean to him, is Gideon actually kissing Corrine? Has he let this "dating" thing get that far? I am trying to work this all out in my mind.

[Sheens263]

LN I agree that Gideon is kicking Corrine out of his life for what she has done, but you say... "Now he's got her believing she's his girlfriend. They may not be sleeping together yet, but they are a couple once again." Do you believe that Gideon has been kissing Corrine? I know it probably seems silly on my part, but after the whole kissing Brett incident and Gideon telling Eva in NC what her kisses mean to him, is Gideon actually kissing Corrine? Has he let this "dating" thing get that far? I am trying to work this all out in my mind.

I hope not Kirsten, like you said Gideon went mental with Eva kissing Brett, would he be that cruel in kissing Corrine?

[Kirsten]

I hope not Kirsten, like you said Gideon went mental with Eva kissing Brett, would he be that cruel in kissing Corrine?

I think it would be cruel for Corrine, and forget about the implications to Eva. That is why I don't know that I can accept that from Gideon. Yes he has hurt Eva emotionally and he has to work on building that trust again, but I don't know that I could take that he physically was doing anything with Corrine.  

[Sheens263]

I think he would be cruel for Corrine, and forget about the implications to Eva. That is why I don't know that I can accept that from Gideon. Yes he has hurt Eva emotionally and he has to work on building that trust again, but I don't know that I could take that he physically was doing anything with Corrine.  

I am with you there, we all know Gideon has been emotionally draining on Eva and we all know why he connected again with Corrine but to deliberately hurt her by being physical with Corrine I am not sure if I could respect him if that ever happened, I would want better for Eva she has been through enough.

 

He may have to kiss Corrine to keep the pretence up but hopefully it stopped there, like he said in Chapter 1, he missed Eva so much and cannot survive without her "I can survive anything if I have you".  I think it also cemented the emotion Gideon felt for Eva when he started to cry while making love, he must have been so scared that he would never be with her again and that was probably crushing him emotionally, I don't think he has ever loved anyone as hard as he loves Eva. 

[Kirsten]

I am with you there, we all know Gideon has been emotionally draining on Eva and we all know why he connected again with Corrine but to deliberately hurt her by being physical with Corrine I am not sure if I could respect him if that ever happened, I would want better for Eva she has been through enough.

 

He may have to kiss Corrine to keep the pretence up but hopefully it stopped there, like he said in Chapter 1, he missed Eva so much and cannot survive without her "I can survive anything if I have you".  I think it also cemented the emotion Gideon felt for Eva when he started to cry while making love, he must have been so scared that he would never be with her again and that was probably crushing him emotionally, I don't think he has ever loved anyone as hard as he loves Eva. 

I agree with your most of your thoughts in the second paragraph Sheens. I cannot however as petty as it might seem get over Gideon kissing Corrine. It's one thing to peck her on the cheek or kiss her hair, it would be another for me for him to be kissing her on the mouth. When Eva kissed Brett I was outraged. I get why she did it, but it didn't make it acceptable in my eyes.

[LN Cronan]

LN I agree that Gideon is kicking Corrine out of his life for what she has done, but you say... "Now he's got her believing she's his girlfriend. They may not be sleeping together yet, but they are a couple once again." Do you believe that Gideon has been kissing Corrine? I know it probably seems silly on my part, but after the whole kissing Brett incident and Gideon telling Eva in NC what her kisses mean to him, is Gideon actually kissing Corrine? Has he let this "dating" thing get that far? I am trying to work this all out in my mind.

 

My theory is he hugs her hello and good-bye, and possibly even kissed her a couple of times in order to manipulate her. Not the deep, passionate kisses Gideon gives Eva (and that Eva gave Brett that one time.) But kissed her a couple of times in order to keep Corrine in the limbo he needs her to be. He'd have trouble if she tried to force things by either threatening to walk away or demanding sex. As long as he can keep her in that middle ground, making her think she's making slow progress, he can keep her where he desperately needs her to stay -- and to stave off any ultimatums she might try.

 

We know definitely though, that he has touched her in a way that goes beyond what "just friends" would involve. In that party picture, he had his arm around her lower waist and his lips almost to her face. The pair of them were very deep into one another's personal spaces, way beyond what "just friends" would go into personal space. And Eva caught him red-handed (pun intended) with his hand at the small of Corrine's back, when he and Corrine walked out of the Crossfire two days before Entwined started. Putting a hand at the small of someone else's back is a sexually-proprietary gesture, a gesture Gideon started pulling with Eva that very first week he started in on her, trying to seduce her.

 

So yes, on a low-grade level, Gideon has been physical with Corrine and thus untrue to Eva. But she got physical on a more serious  level with Brett, so she's not exactly blameless in the ex-lover department.

[LN Cronan]

When I re-read, in Chapter Fifteen, the scene in which Eva and Gideon fought, it made me put into a larger context the fact that Eva has reacted differently each time Gideon distanced himself from her. Sometimes, her reaction was healthy, and other times her old dysfunctional patterns completely took over. Here are three examples.

 

Situation: Gideon mistreating her on their first date by emotionally freezing her out.

Response: Healthy. Gideon had wanted strangers with benefits - just f******. Eva negotiated friends with benefits. But given what happened immediately after they did have sex, Eva concluded Gideon couldn't handle combining sex with any additional emotional involvement. So her decision was to cut him off, because she felt they'd be bad for one another. (Of course, Gideon worked hard to persuade her to give him a shot, this time as boyfriend, not friend with benefits.)

 

Situation: Gideon lied to her about the nightmares and then dumped her -- did so very coldly, sending her a note instead of at least having the courage to break it off face to face.

Response: Unhealthy. four days later when they did come face to face, and things quickly got tense, Eva reverted to her "wound and run" pattern that Dr. Travis had worked so hard to try to break her of. She literally ran away, and when he caught up with her, she turned verbally vicious. Then she got violent: she slapped him hard enough to snap his head, and bit him hard enough to draw blood. I viewed this as a glimpse into the Old Eva that ended up being persuaded by her Dad to get some help.

 

Situation: Gideon froze her out and started taking Corrine out again.

Response: Mixed: both healthy and unhealthy. The good part of her response had been to finally put a stop to his mistreating her. She dumped him because he hadn't had the decency to end things face to face before he (so she believed) full-fledged got back together with Corrine, romantically and sexually. The bad response, though, was to beat herself up with the belief she was permanently damaged goods because of Nathan. She actually forgave Gideon for what she believed (wrongly) was a perfectly acceptable reason for him to reject her sexually. She cut him some slack for his own issues, but she did so at the cost of her own self-esteem. This, actually, is what I view as the deepest damage Gideon did to her when he totally mishandled the whole situation. He ripped open some of her rape victim wounds.

[LN Cronan]

One thing to add: Gideon never intended to rip open her old rape victim wounds. That was never part of his plan. But his plan spun out of control. Once she found out about the pictures and video Nathan had possessed -- something Gideon never, ever wanted her to find out about -- that knowledge combined with him pushing her away at the time, made her assume the worst. She believed he viewed her as permanently damaged goods.

[sscrph]

Hi GiGi,

I don't think Gideon would have done that. Again that's just my opinion. I think Gideon was up front about needing someone to go to social events with him (God forbid he show up stag... grrr... I know that wasn't Corrine's only purpose) and Corrine of course happily agreed because she thinks she is "in love" with him. Of course she is hoping this turns into more, but Gideon is never allowing that to happen. Corrine is never going to admit to anyone that she and Gideon are just friends because she doesn't want to even accept that herself. I do think Gideon will cut her off eventually because she has been a b**** to Eva, and she is always going to be a problem for Eva. Do I blame Corrine for being a b**** and doing whatever it takes to have Gideon Cross... nope. I would probably do the same thing. At the same time I realize actions have consequences. Corrine acting in such a way will ensure that Gideon can never even have a friendship with her. I feel bad for Corrine because she believes she loves Gideon (she doesn't really "know" Gideon so I'm not sure that is even possible IMO) and realizing she will never have a chance with him is going to leave her broken. I don't want to see her shattered, but she has brought some of this upon herself.

I agree 100 percent with this assessment Kirsten you are right on!!!

[sscrph]

When I re-read, in Chapter Fifteen, the scene in which Eva and Gideon fought, it made me put into a larger context the fact that Eva has reacted differently each time Gideon distanced himself from her. Sometimes, her reaction was healthy, and other times her old dysfunctional patterns completely took over. Here are three examples.

 

Situation: Gideon mistreating her on their first date by emotionally freezing her out.

Response: Healthy. Gideon had wanted strangers with benefits - just f******. Eva negotiated friends with benefits. But given what happened immediately after they did have sex, Eva concluded Gideon couldn't handle combining sex with any additional emotional involvement. So her decision was to cut him off, because she felt they'd be bad for one another. (Of course, Gideon worked hard to persuade her to give him a shot, this time as boyfriend, not friend with benefits.)

 

Situation: Gideon lied to her about the nightmares and then dumped her -- did so very coldly, sending her a note instead of at least having the courage to break it off face to face.

Response: Unhealthy. four days later when they did come face to face, and things quickly got tense, Eva reverted to her "wound and run" pattern that Dr. Travis had worked so hard to try to break her of. She literally ran away, and when he caught up with her, she turned verbally vicious. Then she got violent: she slapped him hard enough to snap his head, and bit him hard enough to draw blood. I viewed this as a glimpse into the Old Eva that ended up being persuaded by her Dad to get some help.

 

Situation: Gideon froze her out and started taking Corrine out again.

Response: Mixed: both healthy and unhealthy. The good part of her response had been to finally put a stop to his mistreating her. She dumped him because he hadn't had the decency to end things face to face before he (so she believed) full-fledged got back together with Corrine, romantically and sexually. The bad response, though, was to beat herself up with the belief she was permanently damaged goods because of Nathan. She actually forgave Gideon for what she believed (wrongly) was a perfectly acceptable reason for him to reject her sexually. She cut him some slack for his own issues, but she did so at the cost of her own self-esteem. This, actually, is what I view as the deepest damage Gideon did to her when he totally mishandled the whole situation. He ripped open some of her rape victim wounds.

Hi LN I agree with most of this except the last response of Eva's to Gideon's supposed break up with her because I think if she had really reverted to old patterns due to her feeling like damaged goods I think she would have engaged in some one night stand type sexual relationships if she was really feeling that way instead she just hibernated a little to heal and eventually after a couple of weeks new Eva emerged especially when she realized that her parents still loved each other but were happy in their chosen paths in life despite that...

[LN Cronan]

Hi LN I agree with most of this except the last response of Eva's to Gideon's supposed break up with her because I think if she had really reverted to old patterns due to her feeling like damaged goods I think she would have engaged in some one night stand type sexual relationships if she was really feeling that way instead she just hibernated a little to heal and eventually after a couple of weeks new Eva emerged especially when she realized that her parents still loved each other but were happy in their chosen paths in life despite that...

 

I see the fact that Eva did not immediately go out and start sleeping around as proof that she did not break apart over Gideon. If anything had the power to eff her up permanently, it would have been what Gideon did to her. Indeed, toward the end of the relationship, Cary was afraid her relationship with Gideon was going to mess her up for good. Had Eva's full set of demons taken over, that kiss with Brett would have been mild in comparison to what she might have pulled next. And she'd have done more than go out to eat with some guy - she'd have taken him home to bed knowing full well Gideon was having her followed and so would find out about it.

 

She came out of the break-up with some of her old wounds torn right open, but she didn't fall apart. Instead, she licked her own wounds in order to start the process of letting them close back up again and heal as best they could.

[julie54]

Interesting observation that both Gideon and Corrine are guilty of manipulating situations. Both of them very calculatedly hurt Eva. 

 

Gideon did it because he believed he had to for Eva's own protection: her physical safety (eliminate the Nathan threat to her life forever) and her legal safety (make sure that if he got caught, she wouldn't go down with him too for having been involved.) But there were selfish motivations in there too -- trying to control her so that he could forever shut her out of yet another set of his dark secrets, and to keep her waiting in the wings for him. Especially to keep her in limbo because an ex-lover, Brett, was after her.

 

Start to finish, Gideon really screwed up on many different levels. If he felt he absolutely had to create a safety-zone between him and Eva, and to use Corrine as a cover story to protect himself from motive, then he ought to have had the decency to have asked Eva for a break in their relationship. Let her assume he wanted to attempt to work through his unfinished business with Corrine. Yes, Eva would have been insecure and jealous, but she also might be more apt to believe Gideon was staying platonic with Corrine. He'd have stood a much better chance of getting Eva back, as soon as the coast was clear, by kicking Corrine out of his life permanently and telling Eva he wants her (Eva) as his wife.

 

Instead, Gideon tried to manipulate Eva's emotions and sent her mixed messages that just made matters worse, leaving her writhing. Then he lost control of the situation when she found out about the rape photos and assumed the worse -- including that he was a cheating coward. His attempt to keep her on hold blew up in his face and broke her heart. 

 

He's got to now live with the ramifications of that for a long time. Even though she knows now why he felt he had to do it, she also knows he committed a form of emotional violence toward her -- he very calculatedly used her own feelings of love to manipulate her and hurt her. She knows he's capable of it, and she's afraid it could happen again. There he was, so afraid she'd think he was a violent person because of Nathan. In fact, she's now afraid he's capable of emotional abuse.

 

As for Corrine, her motives for hurting Eva were entirely selfish. She very carefully laid out a plan to destroy Gideon's new relationship. Corrine hurt Gideon too -- Corrine sparked some very serious fights between Eva and Gideon and undermined Eva's trust in him. And triggered very deep demons inside of Eva, which prompted Eva to fall into old destructive patters. Like slapping Gideon, pulling runners, turning to an old lover to get revenge. Corrine, of course, had no way of knowing the basis for Eva's awful insecurity problem. All Corrine knew is that Eva did have a serious problem, and Corrine used it as a weapon.

 

Even if Gideon does the decent thing of letting Corrine down gently as he can as soon as it's safe for him to do so, still Corrine is going to come out of this situation devastated. Gideon's actions led her to believe she'd succeeded in winning him back. He even let the whole world believe it. I'm willing to bet, too, he's been brutally manipulating her ever since he became chief suspect in Nathan's killing. The week before, he was taking her out as a friend. Now he's got her believing she's his girlfriend. They may not be sleeping together yet, but they are a couple once again. When what's really going to happen is Gideon is going to reject her for Eva. Years ago, Corrine had walked away voluntarily. This time she's going to get rejected -- and thrown out of Gideon's life forever. She won't even have friendship left. She bet it all, and she's going to lose it all.

Interesting observation that both Gideon and Corrine are guilty of manipulating situations. Both of them very calculatedly hurt Eva. 

 

Gideon did it because he believed he had to for Eva's own protection: her physical safety (eliminate the Nathan threat to her life forever) and her legal safety (make sure that if he got caught, she wouldn't go down with him too for having been involved.) But there were selfish motivations in there too -- trying to control her so that he could forever shut her out of yet another set of his dark secrets, and to keep her waiting in the wings for him. Especially to keep her in limbo because an ex-lover, Brett, was after her.

 

Start to finish, Gideon really screwed up on many different levels. If he felt he absolutely had to create a safety-zone between him and Eva, and to use Corrine as a cover story to protect himself from motive, then he ought to have had the decency to have asked Eva for a break in their relationship. Let her assume he wanted to attempt to work through his unfinished business with Corrine. Yes, Eva would have been insecure and jealous, but she also might be more apt to believe Gideon was staying platonic with Corrine. He'd have stood a much better chance of getting Eva back, as soon as the coast was clear, by kicking Corrine out of his life permanently and telling Eva he wants her (Eva) as his wife.

 

Instead, Gideon tried to manipulate Eva's emotions and sent her mixed messages that just made matters worse, leaving her writhing. Then he lost control of the situation when she found out about the rape photos and assumed the worse -- including that he was a cheating coward. His attempt to keep her on hold blew up in his face and broke her heart. 

 

He's got to now live with the ramifications of that for a long time. Even though she knows now why he felt he had to do it, she also knows he committed a form of emotional violence toward her -- he very calculatedly used her own feelings of love to manipulate her and hurt her. She knows he's capable of it, and she's afraid it could happen again. There he was, so afraid she'd think he was a violent person because of Nathan. In fact, she's now afraid he's capable of emotional abuse.

 

As for Corrine, her motives for hurting Eva were entirely selfish. She very carefully laid out a plan to destroy Gideon's new relationship. Corrine hurt Gideon too -- Corrine sparked some very serious fights between Eva and Gideon and undermined Eva's trust in him. And triggered very deep demons inside of Eva, which prompted Eva to fall into old destructive patters. Like slapping Gideon, pulling runners, turning to an old lover to get revenge. Corrine, of course, had no way of knowing the basis for Eva's awful insecurity problem. All Corrine knew is that Eva did have a serious problem, and Corrine used it as a weapon.

 

Even if Gideon does the decent thing of letting Corrine down gently as he can as soon as it's safe for him to do so, still Corrine is going to come out of this situation devastated. Gideon's actions led her to believe she'd succeeded in winning him back. He even let the whole world believe it. I'm willing to bet, too, he's been brutally manipulating her ever since he became chief suspect in Nathan's killing. The week before, he was taking her out as a friend. Now he's got her believing she's his girlfriend. They may not be sleeping together yet, but they are a couple once again. When what's really going to happen is Gideon is going to reject her for Eva. Years ago, Corrine had walked away voluntarily. This time she's going to get rejected -- and thrown out of Gideon's life forever. She won't even have friendship left. She bet it all, and she's going to lose it all.

hi

You put it so much more eloquently than I do! Lol