Chapter 41
Those first couple of messages reconnected Lola and Rhys through honest vulnerability and they started messaging frequently.
They shared the mundane things about their day; not that there was anything mundane about Rhys visiting the Louvre and watching a show at the Moulin Rouge, or Lola showcasing one of the hottest pop bands in the world to a film crew.
After two more days in Yorkshire, Lola was on the train to London, and Starlight were off on the European leg of their tour.
Rhys said au revoir to Paris and started his journey to Barcelona.
Their days were punctuated with messages from each other.
Lola sensed that Rhys preferred their contact through texts so she never phoned him.
Anyway, it suited her because she got a thrill every time a message pinged onto her phone and she rarely wondered where he was or what he was doing because he told her everything.
I thought I’d like Barcelona, but wow, I love it more than I thought possible. Think it’s the mix of the architecture, being by the sea and the Gothic quarter. Oh and tapas. And wine! Off to the vineyards of Penedès for a guided tour of wineries tomorrow. May be too sozzled to message. ;)
Way to go to make me jealous! Although I will be having dinner with Deni, Sarah and Polly tomorrow at a Thai place we’ve wanted to go to for ages, followed by cocktails, so it’s not all bad here. At least that’s what I’m trying to tell myself. Have you heard from Fabs at all?
Not a thing. Has Mirabel been in touch?
Nope, not that I expected her to. It’s very strange now I’m back in the London office without Mirabel here. Her replacement is great, I mean she’s a dream to work with and I know her a bit anyway, so it’s all good, but she’s not Mirabel.
How are you coping with everything?
Dealing with it day by day. Barnaby’s been a star keeping me updated, although Jarek doesn’t seem to be in London any more.
His apartment has been put up for sale. Barnaby’s on the case and doing some investigating.
I’m just tentatively hoping that after his antics in Sardinia he’s realised he’s taken things too far and is finally out of my life like his last message suggested.
I won’t hold my breath until I know something concrete, but I have hope.
I hope that’s the case too x
23 October
Florence is my favourite city so far. The hostel is in the centre so it’s easy to get everywhere and I’m more than happy with pasta and pizza for dinner every evening.
I think you’d love it. I got chatting to a fellow traveller who’s staying at the hostel, an Irish guy in his 40s who’s taking time out post-divorce, and we’re taking the train to Arezzo, a hilltop town that feels a bit more off the beaten track. Photos will follow, I’m sure. :)
Glad you have company and Arezzo sounds right up your street. Although I’m surprised you’ve not got a wine tour of the Chianti region booked since you LOVED the winery outside Barcelona so much!
I didn’t bang on about it that much.
Or send me a million selfies of you quaffing copious amounts of wine – no, of course you didn’t! Anyway, I thought at these wine tastings you had to spit it out afterwards. Seems a waste of wine…
My thought exactly. That’s why I ended up tipsy.
Tipsy?! You looked completely and utterly drunk to me.
I’ll try to behave tomorrow.
Like hell you will! Please don’t go all boring on me, Rhys. I’m enjoying hearing what you’re getting up to. ;)
25 October
Mirabel messaged after they got back yesterday and sent a couple of photos of their honeymoon. It’s been so strange not hearing a thing from her for a month – the longest we’ve ever not talked or messaged. They sound blissfully happy. Just hope that lasts now they’re back on Sardinia.
She’ll be so busy looking for a home for her and Fabs alongside building her business she won’t have time to worry that she has to live with her in-laws for a while longer.
Well, she might mind about that, but as she’s got a handful of her old clients signing with her, she will definitely have no free time.
And then when they start talking about having kids.
Oh Mirabel’s been talking about starting a family for ages. She’s going to have her hands full. I can see you as godfather though.
And you as godmother.
Now there’s a thought. Night, Rhys.
Night, Lola. Or should I say buona notte.
30 October
Have you met any more interesting people?
Yeah, I’ve met some amazing people and had plenty of interesting conversations while in Rome so I’ve not been completely alone.
I’ve been out all day exploring the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
I like the time to myself, choosing where to eat and what I want to do.
Feels weird at times though, but there’s a freedom to it that’s refreshing.
The days are going by quickly and I can’t believe it’s been more than three weeks already.
The time’s slipping away. There’s so much to do and take in. I’m loving it…
I feel there’s a but to that?
Yeah there is because the longer I’m away, the more I keep thinking how good it would be to share this experience with you.
You are in a way, Rhys. I love hearing about where you are and what you’re up to.
It’s not the same as physically sharing all the special moments with you. What I’m trying to say in a roundabout way is I miss you.
I miss you too.
5 November
Apparently Barnaby’s got some news for me. It’s all gone quiet over the last week or two, which worries me because every time I feel like Jarek is out of my life he comes back like a bad smell. I’m hoping Barnaby has positive news to share – he’s video calling me this evening.
Let me know how it goes, although I might not have service later as I’ll be on the train to the Dolomites. Should get to the Harmony Hotel by eight, then I’ll finally be in one place for the next week. I really hope Barnaby gives you good news x
* * *
With so many nerves attacking her stomach, Lola struggled to eat her dinner. By the time she sat down to talk to Barnaby she felt wrung out.
‘So I got a private investigator friend on the case.’ Sitting in his study in Bristol, Barnaby’s face filled the screen.
Lola perched, tense, on the edge of her sofa in her loft apartment.
There was a whizz, then a bang from an early firework being let off nearby.
‘The simplified version is, I had a suspicion that Jarek had upped and left the country, but I wanted to be sure. I kept running into dead ends. You already knew his apartment had been listed for sale, but my PI friend discovered he’s relocated to New York – still working for the same investment bank – but it was when he did some further digging that the extent of his deceit when it came to you and his other life was discovered. ’
‘What do you mean “his other life”?’ Lola froze, watching Barnaby carefully.
Barnaby clasped his hands together. ‘There’s no easy way of saying this, but he duped you – to some extent he’s been hiding a lot of who he is from his employer, his colleagues, pretty much everyone in the UK.’
‘Because he has a life in the US?’
‘Yes, a wife and?—’
‘He’s married ?’ Lola heard her voice go up a notch. Although actually that nugget of information didn’t throw her as much as she thought it should. He’d kept so much hidden, why would this be any different?
Lola thought back. In the early days of their relationship, she hadn’t thought much about him travelling to the US for work or him being away for a week or two at a time.
A year or so later, it had begun to feel like a reprieve, even if he had called her every day.
But she’d never once considered he was already married.
Barnaby’s calm and authoritative voice broke through her thoughts. ‘He has a wife and a child. From the digging that was done, she seems content to be a homemaker living off him in a multi-million-dollar New York apartment.’
‘So, very much the quiet, subservient partner he craves, leaving him free to do what the hell he wanted in another country…’ Lola’s voice petered out. She pulled her cardigan tight.
Barnaby nodded. ‘I think it’s impossible to understand someone’s psyche when it’s the opposite of how a sane person would treat someone. He obviously likes the control and the freedom of doing what he pleases. Perhaps he gets off on the thrill of seducing someone new?—’
‘And trying to control them too? It’s not as if he could really have tied me down with marriage if he’s already married to someone else.’
‘In another country. From what we’ve found out, I wouldn’t put it past him. Who knows what we’d find if we continued to dig.’
‘Shit.’ Lola rubbed her fingers across her forehead and grabbed the throw next to her, clenching it tight. ‘How could I have been so na?ve?’
Barnaby leaned closer, resting his arms on the polished wood of his desk, and looked intently at her through the screen. ‘You weren’t na?ve, Lola, he was just good at lying and manipulating you. The upside to all of this is he seems to have cut his losses here and gone back to the US.’
‘You think permanently?’
‘I believe so, because whatever he was trying to get from you didn’t work – or perhaps you proved to be too much work.
His last message to you said as much.’ He gave her a grave smile.
‘You didn’t play ball; you didn’t submit to pressure.
However much he tried to unsettle and control, you were having none of it.
He’s obviously someone who enjoys playing games and getting the upper hand, but you never let him. ’
‘Thanks to you lot too; thanks to Rhys.’
‘Exactly.’ Barnaby nodded. ‘But most of it has to do with your strength and your ability to follow your gut. I’m confident that Jarek’s out of your life because he’s returned to his old one. Previous one, whatever you want to call it.’
‘And his wife and child? Are they okay?’
‘From everything the PI found out, his wife seems happy?—’
‘That could all be on the surface, though.’