Chapter 54
Hannah walked along the jetty with Sean and checked that they were alone before she turned to look at him.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked.
‘Didn’t you get my texts?’ he asked.
‘I blocked your number,’ she told him.
‘Thought you were a bit quiet,’ he said, smiling.
As if he wasn’t listening to a word she was saying.
‘Then it was the funniest thing. I googled your name, to see if you showed up anywhere on social media and this place came up. People raving about your cakes. And what a great baker you are. That was news to me, of course so I figured I’d come here and see for myself. ’
She stared at him, barely registering his words. How had she never seen how small he looked? His greasy skin? His crumpled clothes. He was a stark contrast to Alex who was always brimming with good health.
She took a deep breath. ‘I don’t want you here,’ she told him.
He just smiled at her. ‘That doesn’t matter. I’ve decided that I want you back. That we should be together again. You’re a success apparently, although not as large as mine back in London, of course. So perhaps you’re good enough for me after all.’
‘I said that I don’t want you here,’ said Hannah, hearing how shaky her voice was. ‘I don’t want you full stop.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ snapped Sean. ‘I’ve told you that I want you. You’re coming home with me.’
‘You never listen to me,’ she said, becoming annoyed and glaring at him. ‘You don’t care about me. You never did. It was always about what you wanted. What you needed. What about me? Where do I fit in? You just kept me around to make you feel bigger and to keep me feeling small and worthless.’
‘Aren’t you?’ he asked, with a smug smile.
‘No!’ she shouted at him, beginning to feel angry. ‘I’m not worthless! I’m strong, talented, and people love me. You’re done frightening me!’
Why had she never seen before how weak he looked? Compared to Alex, Sean was a tiny man-child and he made her skin crawl.
Sean’s smooth smile dropped into a familiar scowl. He walked up to her, his eyes glaring at her with barely controlled temper.
In the past Hannah would have cowered from him. But not any more. Somewhere along the years he had lost his power over her, she suddenly realised.
‘Now listen,’ he hissed. ‘You’re coming with me.’
Then he made the mistake of taking her arm in a firm grip. She recoiled briefly before recalling the self-defence training that Aimee had taught her. In a swift move, she took his arm and quickly pinned him to the ground, face down. Then she sat on top of him and twisted his arm behind his back.
She felt Sean trying to wrestle himself out from under her but she was too strong for him. All that paddleboarding and baking, she figured, had made her arms strong and firm.
‘Now listen up,’ she told him as he lay beneath her, half his face hidden by the deck. ‘You’re nothing, do you hear me? You were and still are a horrible bully, but you no longer have any power over me. We were done a long time ago. You know it and so do I.’
Sean mumbled something but she cut him off.
‘If you ever, ever come back again, I’ll break your arm in half, do you hear me?’ she found herself shouting at him.
‘And then I’ll break the rest of your bones.’
She looked up to see who had spoken. It was her brother. Ben and Jake were both racing up the jetty towards them with Tiny trotting alongside.
‘Are you OK?’ asked Jake, his voice filled with concern as they stood next to her.
Hannah nodded.
‘Let me at him,’ snarled Ben, scowling down at the prone figure beneath her.
Hannah shook her head, feeling stronger than she had ever done before in her life. ‘I’ve got this,’ she told them, leaping off Sean.
He quickly stood up, brushing himself down before glaring at her.
‘One day, when you’re alone…’ he began, his top lip curling in anger as he pointed his finger at her.
But this time Hannah felt nothing but strength. ‘If you ever find me alone, I will do exactly what I just did all over again,’ she said, walking towards him. Sean began to back away, looking a little afraid. ‘Because you’re nothing but small and weak. You’re not a real man.’
Not like Alex, she thought. He was the strong one. A good listener, someone to lean on, someone to laugh with. Gentle, kind. And seriously hot too.
‘I’m not afraid of you any more,’ she carried on, feeling the strength surging through her veins.
Sean was looking a little unsure of the situation he had found himself in, although he still took a tentative step forward towards her. But Hannah knew better now and stood her ground. He was trying to threaten her but she no longer feared him. She would never fear him ever again.
However Tiny definitely felt some kind of threat towards Hannah and stepped in front of her to bark a loud and very deep woof.
Shocked, Sean staggered backwards in fear of the large dog and fell back over the edge of the jetty and into the water.
There was a loud splash beneath them and they all rushed to look over the edge to where Sean was flailing around in the lake.
‘Can he swim?’ asked Ben.
‘I don’t know. I think so,’ said Hannah, not caring either way.
‘Shame,’ said Jake, picking up a lifebuoy and throwing it over the side next to Sean, who took it gratefully before they all turned away from him.
Hannah felt nothing but relief in that moment. She didn’t care for Sean. Had she ever? Was he just the wrong person at the wrong time?
Suddenly the adrenaline wore off and she sagged against her brother.
‘Are you OK?’ asked Ben, holding her up. ‘Did he hurt you?’
‘I’m fine,’ she replied. ‘He didn’t touch me. I’m just a little light-headed, I guess.’
‘You were incredible,’ said Jake, giving her hair an affectionate rub.
‘I know, right?’ said Ben in amazement. ‘My baby sister just turned into Wonder Woman and I can’t believe it.’
Jake laughed. ‘Yeah and we normally leave all the superhero stuff to Alex.’
‘Alex!’ she gasped. Hannah took a swift intake of breath at the memory of his hurt expression.
He had told her that he loved her and she hadn’t said anything. What must he think of her?
‘Do you love him?’ asked Ben.
She nodded. ‘Yes, I love him! I love him so much!’
‘Have you told him?’ asked Jake, looking concerned.
She shook her head.
‘He’s not Sean,’ Ben told her, taking her by the arms and looking into her eyes. ‘He’s a truly good guy.’
‘I know,’ replied Hannah. ‘I trust him, body and soul.’
As she spoke out loud, she realised that it was true. She’d trusted Alex with so many things that she’d never told anyone. And yet she had held back regarding her relationship with Sean. But now she knew that she could rely on him completely. He would never judge her or hurt her.
He was the love of her life. She knew that now. She just had to make him trust her in return. She just hoped it wasn’t too late.
‘Where is he?’ she asked, beginning to feel anxious.
Ben glanced across the water, scouring the edge with his eyes. ‘Over there,’ he told her, pointing to the other side of the lake.
Hannah took one last glance at Sean, as he floundered back to shore nearby before dismissing him from her mind. She no longer cared about him or what he thought of her.
Finally she was ready to move on with someone a million times better.
Then she rushed off the jetty and went to find Alex. She needed to tell him the truth about how she felt and she was desperately hoping that he would still want to listen to her.