Chapter Four
Bella
I’m leaving the coffee shop when a young woman walks past with a little girl screaming in her pushchair.
Her mum looks stressed, and I recall the days well.
I smile at her sympathetically, remembering the number of times I would get dirty looks from other mums who were judging, making me question everything.
“Meli,” the mum says, crouching down in front of the pushchair, clearly trying to rationalise with the toddler. “We can’t get ice cream yet. Dinner is soon.”
“Noooooo,” she cries, pulling a frown. “Daddy, say yes.”
“Daddy’s going to get my foot up his arse,” she growls under her breath, and I let out a giggle. I put my hand over my mouth, conscious I’m interrupting in their moment.
The mum looks my way and smiles.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.
The mother laughs too, standing in front of the pushchair.
“Please don’t be. We’ve had half an hour of this. She’s relentless.”
“She’s beautiful.”
The child lets out another whine.
“Meli,” her mum says sternly. “You aren’t even crying.” She lets out a fresh wail, and her mum runs her hands over her face. I crouch down to the little one in the pushchair.
“Hey, Meli,” I say, and she stops squealing to look at me. “Meli is a beautiful name.” She grins from ear to ear and looks up at her mum.
“My name is Bella. It’s lovely to meet you,” I say, putting out my hand. She high-fives me and giggles.
“Wow. Do you want a job?” Her mum laughs. “She’s very particular and doesn’t talk to strangers at all, so you must have the magic touch.”
“Plenty of experience,” I answer as I stand. “At least she knows what she wants, she won’t be walked all over in a hurry.”
“Fancy joining us for a walk around the park?” she asks casually, and I look past her towards the route home. Her eyes plead with me, and I battle with myself.
“Of course,” I say, even though it goes against my usual grain.
She sighs in relief. “Sorry,” she giggles nervously. “I don’t get much other mum company recently.”
“I’m not great with company, and in all honesty, I am not the easiest person to get on with,” I say as we start walking in the direction of the park.
“Oh, me neither,” she waves her hand. “I sometimes wonder where Meli gets it from, then I remember she’s my daughter and I’m the most challenging woman out there.” She laughs, and I instantly feel at ease. “By the way, I’m Lizzy.”
“I’m Bella. I’ve not lived here long, so haven’t really connected with many people.”
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Bella. You said you were experienced with the monsters? You have children?”
“Two boys, Mason and Noah.” Just mentioning their names brings a lump to my throat and I look away.
“Awww, little boys. How old?” she asks.
I swallow hard. “Mason is nine, and Noah is four.”
“That must be amazing having a nice age gap so the older one can help out.”
A small sob leaves me, and I slap my hand over my mouth.
Lizzy stops, placing her hand on my shoulder to stop me in my tracks. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
I sniffle, nodding. But when it’s clear the tears aren’t stopping, she pulls me into a hug, gently rubbing my back. When I start to calm down, she guides me over to the nearest bench and we sit. “I didn’t mean to upset you,” she murmurs, her expression full of concern.
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “I’m sorry I cried on you. It’s all I seem to do just lately.”
She grabs hold of my hand, and it’s the first time another woman has offered me comfort in a while. She sits there, she’s not prying or asking questions, it’s almost as if she’s saving the space for me.
“Sorry,” I repeat. “It’s been a long few months. My husband left me, taking the children.” I dab at my eyes with the sleeve of my jumper. Lizzy reaches into her change bag, then hands me a tissue
“Prepared for every eventuality,” she says with a smile and I laugh.
“Thank you.”
She squeezes my hand. “You’re not alone, you know?”
I look down at her hand over mine. “It certainly feels like that most days,” I mutter.
“Well, you aren’t, you’re just discovering a new way of life. A new way of being.”
I nod, if only she knew.
Laughter carries along the path, drawing my attention.
My boys come into view, racing ahead, followed by that filthy little tramp, her phone pressed to her ear as she chatters away.
My jaw drops, and beside me, I feel Lizzy follow my gaze.
Mason spots me first. He freezes, clutching his brother’s hand.
My breath catches. Then Imogen reaches them, grabbing Noah’s other hand.
The moment he sees me, he starts to fight her grip, panic flickering across his face.
“Mummy,” he screams, and my hand trembles. I feel Lizzy’s grip tighten in silent support. “Mummy,” he repeats. Imogen walks them towards me, almost parading them in front of me, teasing me, showing me what I should have right now, what she stole from me.
“Look at the state of you,” she sneers as she walks towards us. Noah struggles against her grip to try and get to me. I feel the tears roll down my cheek, the urge to reach out and hold my boys is overwhelming.
“Have you resorted to getting pissed up on park benches now? No wonder your boys don’t want to see you,” she snaps.
Mason looks away, refusing to make eye contact. Noah continues to sob uncontrollably. Lizzy lets go of my hand and stands.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she snaps.
Imogen looks her up and down with disdain. “Ha, who’s your new whore friend?” Imogen taunts.
“You’re so fucking lucky there’re children around right now,” Lizzy growls, as I stand from the bench. I can’t let this get out of hand because they’ll only use it against me in court.
I place my hand on Lizzy’s chest. “Please don’t,” I whisper, begging her.
She looks past me right at Imogen. “Women should support each other and not kick each other when they’re down!” She gives me a satisfied nod before sitting back down.
“Imogen,” I say, my voice hoarse. “Please leave.”
“Did you hear that boys, your supposed mother doesn’t want to be in your company,” Imogen jeers as she picks a crying Noah up. “Take a good look, Noah, Mummy doesn’t love you.”
I clench my fists beside me, biting the inside of my cheek, the taste of something metallic filling my mouth. I can’t retaliate as much as it’s going against every fibre of me. She storms off back in the direction she came and rage fills me.
“Who the fuck was that?” Lizzy demands.
“That’s the dirty whore bag that stole my life. She slept with my husband and then made him believe I was unfit to care for my children.” I place my head in my hands, sitting back on the bench.
“Fuck that shit!” she shouts. “You can’t let her win! Don’t you dare fucking roll over.”
I shrug my shoulders. “What choice do I have?"
“Bella, I don’t know you, but you cannot let some woman take your children from under your nose. You have to fight. Those boys need their mum, not some young woman who doesn’t have a clue about raising children.”
I know she’s right, but there’s nothing I can do, I’ve exhausted everything. He’s got me by the short and curlys, and he knows I can’t afford the legal battle.
Clay
It’s been over a week since I last saw Belle. I’ve fought the urge to speak with her, to make sure she’s okay, but Red explained the situation with her ex and children, and that I needed to give her space. I needed to let her reach out to me on her own terms, else I’d scare her away.
Red’s been keeping an eye on her, they’ve been texting regularly. She seems to have taken a liking to her, and I know that feeling well because she’s been the only thing I can think about since that night.
I swirl my ice around the glass, watching it melt. I don’t know how long I’ve been staring at it, when Red pulls out the chair beside me. I glance up.
“She’s okay,” she reassures me.
I run my hands through my hair, frustrated.
“You like her?” she asks, although it comes across as more of a statement. I look around to see who’s within earshot. I don’t need the brothers ribbing me for this.
“Is it that obvious?”
She pats me on the shoulder like one of the brothers would, and smiles.
“Clay, I’ve known you for a couple of years now, and I’ve never seen you tied up in knots over a woman before.”
“I want to help her, you should have seen how broken she was.”
“She’s got it rough, I can’t imagine not being able to see Meli. I honestly don’t know what I would have done had Darius taken her from me.” She stares off into the distance, reliving the chaos of her own life. I bump her shoulder.
“You know we never would have let that happen right?”
“Of course, but I do wonder what would have happened had Rock not stopped that day at the side of the road. I could have very easily been Bella right now.”
I nod in acknowledgement and push my glass away.
“I’m sure I know the woman who had her kids though, it’s been annoying me for days now. I just don’t know where from.” She rubs her neck, shaking her head. “Nah, I can’t place her, I don’t know that many women around here, Darius made sure of that.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket. As I pull it out, I smile, Finally.
Beauty to my Beast: 999
Shit. That can’t be good. I stand abruptly, the chair scraping loudly on the tiled floor, and I grab my keys off the bar. “Everything, okay?” Red asks, her face full of concern.
“She needs me.”
It’s all I say before running out of the clubhouse.
My engine roars to life, and I race out of the courtyard with no concern for anything apart from reaching her before it’s too late.
I try her apartment first but it’s empty.
Then I head for her place of work. But the man in charge tells me she isn’t in today.
I’m starting to panic, wondering why she hasn’t replied to the text I sent asking where she’s at, and then it occurs to me.
Maybe I’m running out of time, and she’s exactly back where we started this whole thing.