Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
ARIELLA
‘That bastard.’ Lara barges into the house around lunchtime the next day, waving her phone around.
‘That could be any number of people, Lara, help me out.’ I’m full of nothing but the sorrow that has accumulated over the last few days as I make myself some toast. I can’t wait to get away from Singapore and, after the other night, Caleb.
‘Dominic Miller. DMVI withdrew the job offer and cancelled my work visa application. I’m back to square one.’
‘Did they give a reason?’
‘Simply that the role no longer exists and I’ll get six months’ pay and they’ll cover any associated expenses. I didn’t even get to start.’
I retrieve my personal phone and send a text message to Dominic.
Please don’t punish Lara because of what I did.
You didn’t do anything and I’m not punishing her.
I’m really sorry Dominic. For everything.
Me too. I heard you turned down your severance package. I’ve asked them to send it to you anyway.
‘What did he say?’
‘A lot has happened in the last seventy-two hours, Lara.’
‘Oh no. He let me go because of you, didn’t he?’
‘Have you eaten? I’ll make some more toast.’
‘I will help, Miss Ariella.’ MsPat descends from upstairs. ‘Sit.’
I fill Lara in and she sits quietly, listening.
‘Caleb is a total wretch for even thinking about dragging Elsie into this, but you behaved terribly too.’
‘I genuinely just wanted to stay friends.’
‘I know, but you knew that man was into you and, every time he called, you went running. That’s enough to drive Caleb round the bend. And that’s before you add the fact that you admitted you were attracted to him.’
‘I know I messed up, Lara. And now I can’t do anything about it. I don’t even recognise myself. Who have I become?’
‘Ariella, calm?—’
‘No! Everything is too much at the moment. I can’t cope, Lara! I’m pregnant, I haven’t told anyone, Caleb and I are fighting, Dominic is going to make things hard for him and I’m not sure I want to raise this child with Caleb anyway because I don’t think he can control his temper. I’ve got two weeks to get out of Singapore, there is no way I am moving back in with my parents and I’m not living with Jack at Caleb’s. I really need Jasper’s help but Sophia will be rightfully furious if I reach out. I can’t tell Zachary because he’ll spill before I get home, and I’m leaving everyone at Ivory Bow in the hands of someone I don’t trust. MsPat won’t have a job in two weeks. Even you…I convinced you to come back to Singapore and look at what has happened. What have I done? What am I doing?’ I feel my breathing start to go shallow as I cry, and I know what’s coming.
‘Okay. I’m going to help you slow your breathing,’ Lara says. She slowly takes my hand and helps lead my counts. When we’ve managed to slow it down, she hugs me and holds me there. It’s exactly what I need. I release all the fear, anxiety and uncertainty through my tears.
‘We’re going to fix what we can. I’m going to call Jasper,’ Lara finally says.
‘No, I promised Sophia that I wouldn’t contact him.’
‘She didn’t say I couldn’t.’ Lara is dialling before I can respond. ‘Jasper,’ she starts, and waits for a response. ‘Good. No love lost then. Listen. I’m keeping this short and sharp. Ariella has been booted from Ivory Bow, she’ll be back home within two weeks and she needs your help, but Barbie won’t let her call you.’
Lara looks bored as she lets Jasper speak.
‘Yeah, okay, whatever. She needs a home. Somewhere between you and her parents. Preferably a cottage. She’ll need do-gooding, friendly and slightly nosy neighbours. Maybe one of those streets with a bunting and Christmas lights kitty. Three bedrooms. Garden. Somewhere with a swanky postcode with maybe parks, lakes, rivers, swans, rabbits and ducks and shit – but on a tube line.’
Lara mouths, ‘It’ll be fine’ at me before she continues the conversation.
‘Bloody hell, Jasper, let her live in it for five minutes first. A rental is fine, and you’re going to have to ask Caleb that.’
After a couple more short exchanges that end in Lara swearing Jasper to secrecy, she hangs up.
‘House will be sorted. He’ll arrange for you to be picked up at the airport, not by him, of course, and he won’t tell a soul. Expect him to call Caleb for details though,’ she warns.
‘Thank you, Lara.’ I just feel so helpless, I don’t know what else to say.
‘You need to learn how to ask for help, babe. I’ve been running around Singapore necking cocktails and terrorising the locals completely unaware that you needed me. You just bottle it all up, letting it go haywire in your head until it explodes. Now look at you.’
I nod and stay in my best friend’s arms until I fall asleep.
I wake up alone on the couch to Lara’s frustrated whispering.
‘Maybe if you stopped thumping innocent fucking civilians, you’d be in better shape.’
‘He’s not innocent.’
‘Who died and made you a vigilante? This isn’t Gotham. Stop your reckless nonsense and stop beating up random people because they breathed in her direction! You’re scaring the shit out of her.’
I feel uncomfortable listening in, so I sit up noisily.
‘You were out for a while,’ Lara says as she approaches me from the kitchen. Caleb walks in the opposite direction and out into the garden.
‘I can’t wait until I get my energy back.’
‘So a few things happened while you were sleeping. Honey, unsurprisingly, is taking MsPat on when you leave, I’ve reached out to my wedding thirst club to let them know I am still looking, and Jasper has already found you somewhere. Wait till you see the kitchen.’
Lara pulls up the house on her phone and takes me through the floor plans and images. She leaves the large light-filled kitchen till last.
‘It’s perfect, thank you for everything, Lara.’
‘I just can’t believe you’ve conned me this whole time that you had your shit together. You’re still as bloody useless as you were in London.’ Lara laughs and I laugh along too.
‘How are things with Honey?’
‘Good. Really good.’ She looks really happy. ‘We’re obviously lying low and definitely no strip clubs, but I don’t mind. I like it. It’s different. It feels special.’
‘Do you think you’ll move in with her while you’re looking for something else?’
‘No. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but I like that we live apart. It feels like I’m choosing to spend time with her, rather than having to be together because we live in the same house. I might crash with Caleb instead. I’ll get to see her every day and we can both still have space.’
‘I am so happy for you, Lara.’
‘I’m happy for me, too and I think taking it slowly helps.’
‘Do you think she might be it for you?’
Lara takes her time and looks into the distance to give my question some thought before she answers.
‘Yes, I think she might be, but we’ll see. I think we need to make some progress first before I know for sure.’
‘What progress?’
‘None of your business. Are you going to be okay? I’m supposed to be meeting her tonight.’
‘Yes. Thank you for today, Lara.’
‘I love you, my secretive little nutter.’
I get one last hug from my best friend before she calls her taxi and makes her way out of my front door, leaving Caleb and me alone in the house.
I’m not in the mood for a confrontation so, while he is still out in the garden and we can’t see each other, I escape into the bedroom for a shower and an early night and commit to turning things round tomorrow. I really need to start planning for this baby, packing up my things and winding down life in Singapore.
I walk as quietly as I can up the stairs to avoid Caleb, only to find him sitting on our bed with his head in his hands. I stand there considering taking a step back to leave.
‘Please don’t leave.’
‘I don’t want to fight Caleb, please.’
‘I don’t want to fight either.’ He reaches both his arms out towards me from where he is sitting and I step into them. Caleb pulls me in and presses his cheek against my belly with such longing, I feel the intensity with which he loves this baby.
‘I hate that I drove you away to the point that you could only speak to Lara. I understand why, but you asking Jasper for help rather than me is particularly devastating.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘You don’t have to apologise, it was my fault.’
‘No, it was mine. I knew Dominic wanted to be more than friends. He told me every time I saw him but I chose to ignore it and I didn’t really, fully shut it down. Instead, I wanted to keep him in my life so much, I tried to force a friendship that I knew deep down had turned into something else.’
‘Why did you want him around so much? What gap was he filling, for you?’
‘None. I’m not like you, Caleb. I don’t make friends easily. Inconveniently, he’s the only friend I have made in Singapore. I was lost and lonely for a very long time when I got out here. He saw that and changed it exactly when I needed it. He wasn’t a colleague I had to see daily or someone paid to be nice to me. He easily could have been an uninvolved client but he chose to be a friend. We were kind to each other. Inspired each other, made each other laugh. Hanging out with Dominic was my equivalent of you going for casual beers with Tim and Jack or your pub quiz. Not seeing him any more when we got back together felt like I was abandoning him and I knew that, if I let go of him, I’d miss my friend. Before you showed up, I told him that we couldn’t be friends any more. Caleb, no matter how much being friends with Dominic was important to me, it was threatening our relationship, and I want this more.’
I put my hand through his hair and hold him close.
‘Lara told me he instructed Samir to fire you because you asked him to let you go home.’
‘Yes.’
‘And you have to be out of Singapore in two weeks?’
‘Yes.’
‘Okay.’
I intentionally didn’t tell Lara that Dominic had agreed to let both of us go back to London because I knew there was every chance she would mention it. If Caleb ever found out that he had jeopardised his chance to come back with me and the baby, he’d never forgive himself. So, I lock it away and stand there for a while, holding on to my boyfriend as we figure out what the next best steps for us would be.