31. Amanda
Amanda sat on the edge of the bed, watching her husband pace up and down.
‘She came to the office! How could she do that? Jesus, my workplace!’
Amanda didn’t blame Ruby Rose for turning up at the agency.
If she had been in her position, she’d probably have done the same.
Ross had been avoiding her and not returning her calls.
What choice did she have? This baby was arriving whether Ross was ready for it or not. ‘You should have contacted her.’
‘I was going to!’ Ross said. ‘I was just waiting for my lawyer to draw up an airtight contract. I told her I’d be in touch as soon as I’d figured things out.’
‘She’s over seven months pregnant, Ross. She could go into labour early and she wants to know what’s going on.’
Ross stopped pacing and faced his wife. ‘Whose side are you on?’
‘Yours.’ Mine and Theo’s actually . ‘But you need to get this sorted ASAP.’
‘I know. I’m doing my best.’
Are you, though? Seems to me like you’re dragging your heels .
‘What have you decided?’
‘I’m going to offer to cover half of all the childcare costs and visit once a month. Is that okay?’
Now you’re asking if it’s okay. Didn’t think to ask me if it was okay to screw a younger woman, make her pregnant and ruin my life, but now you want my opinion?
‘As long as you can rent a decent house for us, pay Theo’s school and, hopefully, college fees, I don’t want to know what you do with her and the baby.’
Ross crouched in front of his wife. ‘I promise I will always look after you and Theo. You are my priority. I’m so sorry.’
Sorry, sorry, sorry. It was just a word people used after they had hurt you.
‘What did the others say?’
Ross groaned and filled her in on the showdown at the agency, with Nancy and Ruby facing off like two prize bulls.
Amanda exhaled. ‘Wow. That sounds incredibly tense.’
‘It was.’
‘Your mum is some woman. I wouldn’t cross her, and I doubt Ruby will either.’
‘She was incredible. I feel like such a let-down. She went into her office, closed the door and I haven’t seen her since. I sent her a text to thank her for her help and support, but she hasn’t replied.’
‘It had to come out, and obviously the situation wasn’t ideal, but at least everyone knows now. Hopefully, if you’re fair to Ruby, she won’t make a fuss.’
Ross lay down on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. ‘You should have seen Melanie and Jamie. They were shocked, and then bloody Katie appeared from nowhere. I’ve blown any chance of heading the agency now. Melanie will use this against me.’
Amanda pulled her husband’s arm from his face.
‘Get a grip, Ross. Seriously, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You created this mess, own it and move on. Stop assuming everyone is against you. Of course Melanie’s shocked.
Of course it weakens your position in the agency, but if you take responsibility and behave correctly, you can put it behind you. Show Nancy that you’re in control.’
He sat up. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry, I was just blindsided.’
Stop saying sorry and sort out your bloody mess.
‘I understand, but you need to get back on track, get us out of this house and make damn sure that Theo and I are always your priority.’
‘Of course you are.’ Ross put his arms out, but she stood up and left the room.
Strangely, she felt relieved that the whole sorry mess was out in the open.
No more pretending, no more lying. Now everyone in the family knew about Ruby, she could be honest and not have to hide why they had come home or pretend that she and Ross were a happy couple.
She felt lighter. All the hiding and faking had been exhausting.
It was freeing to have the worst things about you out there for everyone to see.
No more shame and fear of exposure. No more knots in her stomach in case anyone found out their horrible secrets.
Now Nancy knew that her eldest son had behaved so badly, maybe she would be nicer to her.
Maybe she’d value that Amanda had stood loyally by Ross … for now anyway.
Melanie and Katie were sitting on a rock, sipping coffee, when Amanda arrived. As she approached she overheard Katie saying, ‘What a prick.’
‘I presume you’re talking about my husband?’ Amanda came up behind them.
Katie jumped. ‘Oh, my God, you gave me a fright. But, yes, I was.’
‘Well, now you know the sordid truth.’ Amanda placed her bag beside them.
‘I’m so sorry. I had no idea you were dealing with all that. You poor thing,’ Katie said.
‘Yes, I’m really sorry too, Amanda. What a nightmare for you,’ Melanie added.
Amanda shrugged. ‘Honestly, I’m glad the secret’s out. It was like a poison festering inside me. It’s actually easier this way.’
Katie handed her a coffee and patted her arm. ‘You must have been so lonely holding on to all that pain.’
Amanda’s eyes welled. It had been a while since anyone had been sympathetic to her. ‘I was.’ She sniffed. ‘It was so painful and hurtful and … just awful.’
‘Oh, babe.’ Katie put her arm around her and hugged her. ‘You should have told us. That’s what family’s for.’
‘I couldn’t. Ross had to do it, and in the end he didn’t even do that. I’m so glad Ruby contacted you pretending to want an agent. I’m glad it’s all out now. You must have been so shocked.’
Melanie looked at Katie. Amanda saw the glance between them. Hang on, there was more to this.
‘What am I missing here?’ she asked sharply. ‘Did you know?’
Melanie shook her head. ‘No. I swear I didn’t. But I saw Ross and Ruby arguing at the Goldstone awards and then she contacted me out of the blue. When I googled her and saw she was pregnant but not naming the dad, I admit I had suspicions. So I invited her over to meet.’
‘And Katie just happened to be in the agency that she’s banned from at that exact moment?’ Amanda began to piece things together.
Katie looked a bit shamefaced. ‘Melanie told me she was suspicious and I wanted to see if it was true. Ross has been such a prick to me that, yes, I’m not proud, but I did want to see him forced to come clean.’
‘So it was kind of a sting operation?’ Amanda asked.
Melanie stared at the ground. ‘I suppose it was.’
The two of them looked mortified now. ‘Well, you’re quite the pair of detectives, aren’t you?’ Amanda said angrily. Then she grinned. ‘I wish you’d told me. I’d love to have been there too.’
Melanie laughed, looking relieved. ‘God, no, we’d never have put you in that position. Besides, we weren’t a hundred per cent sure what the full story was or how much you knew,’ she added. ‘We wanted to be sure so we could tell you the truth.’
‘Well, you’re sure now. Ross is about to be a daddy again. Whoopee!’
Katie slapped her hand against the rock. ‘How could he cheat on you – you’re the perfect wife – and then be thick enough to get this one pregnant? I mean, hello? What age is he? Fourteen? Has he not heard of condoms? Like, seriously?’
Amanda began to laugh. Once she started, she realized she couldn’t stop. It was as if a release valve had been opened. She laughed and laughed and soon the other two joined in.
Other early swimmers were staring as the three sisters-in-law cracked up.
Melanie wiped tears from her eyes. ‘I feel bad laughing about your awful situation.’
‘I don’t. It feels so good,’ Amanda admitted. ‘I’ve been so upset and low for months, and it feels wonderful to just let it all go.’
‘Nothing more healing than a good laugh,’ Katie said. ‘And a swim. Come on, I know it’s freezing but this will be brilliant for you, Amanda.’
They walked down the steps. Without hesitating, Amanda dived right under the water. The shock of the cold was liberating. She broke the surface. She felt free. Free from secrets and lies. She thought about all the months of pain and loneliness. They were over now. She could breathe again.
‘Look at you, turning into a mermaid,’ Katie said.
‘God, it feels so good!’ Amanda beamed at her.
They got out and sat in their towels, facing the weak winter sun.
Amanda saw that Katie’s knees were cut and bruised. ‘Oh, Katie, what happened? Did you fall?’
Katie blushed. ‘Yes, I got a bit drunk at a dinner with Jamie and some Italian clients and fell over. Jamie was furious with me. I made a bit of a tit of myself, to be honest. I can’t seem to do anything right, these days.’
Melanie winced. ‘Yikes. With clients? Maybe cut back a bit on the wine when you’re at work events,’ she suggested.
‘I’m an idiot. I honestly didn’t think I’d drunk that much. Anyway, enough about me and my stupidity. What did Nancy say to you, Amanda?’ Katie turned the focus back to her sister-in-law.
‘She just said it was unfortunate, that we needed to control the narrative, and I was a very loyal wife.’
‘That’s it? Not “You’re amazing, you’re wonderful, you’re a rock”?’ Katie asked.
Amanda laughed. ‘It’s Nancy we’re talking about.’
‘Did Nancy say anything to you in the office?’ Amanda asked Melanie.
Melanie pulled on her socks. ‘Not much. She was quiet yesterday. I think she’s still processing it all. She just said we need to make sure we see Ruby’s social-media announcement before she posts it. She wants Ross to look as good as possible.’
‘What about Jamie?’ Amanda asked Katie.
‘He came home in total shock. He said he felt sorry for Ross being blindsided by Ruby in front of everyone, but he really just feels bad for you and Theo. Theo knows, right?’
‘Yes, we didn’t realize that Theo knew all along.
’ Amanda was happy to tell all now. She had grown to trust these women.
They had her back. ‘He said he was upset about the affair and was messing about with cocaine and he brought some into school and got caught and expelled. So that was the cherry on the cake.’
‘You poor thing, that’s just so much to deal with,’ Melanie said.
‘It was. But he’s stopped now. It was just a cry for help. He was devastated about Ross’s affair and the baby.’
Katie cleared her throat. ‘I’ve got something I need to tell you and this is not easy. It’s about Theo.’