Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Exhaling a deep sigh of relief, Ellie followed Alba into a bar fifteen minutes away from the place they’d just left.
The cooler air inside and the steady thump of music pulsing through the floorboards wrapped around her immediately, and the tightness that had settled in her chest earlier in the evening already felt a little lighter.
She hadn’t said much as they’d slipped out of the first bar.
A few polite waves, a quick smile for those who noticed her leaving, and then she was gone.
The idea of explaining herself—of fielding questions about where she was going or why—had felt exhausting.
She simply didn’t have the energy for it.
Thankfully, Alba seemed blissfully unaware of the web of concern that surrounded Ellie at school.
The whispered conversations, the sympathetic looks, and the careful way people spoke to her now, as though one wrong word could shatter her.
In an ideal world, it would stay that way, but Ellie knew better.
The moment one of the staff members got their claws into the lovely Ms Clifford, the stories would begin.
Then the pitying glances would quickly follow.
And sooner or later, Alba would look at Ellie the same way everyone else did now.
Like someone fragile and already broken.
The thrum of music vibrated through Ellie’s ribs as she followed Alba towards a table tucked against the wall. She frowned when Alba walked straight past the bar without slowing.
Ellie paused beside the booth, glancing down at Alba as she slid into her seat. “Should I go to the bar?”
“No, it’s fine. Giovanna will come and take our order.”
Huh. Alba knew this place…and the staff, by the sounds of it. “Is this your local?”
“Used to be. I haven’t been here for a while now.” Alba shifted further into the booth, then nodded at the empty space beside her. “Old haunt my ex-wife and I used to come to.”
Ellie lowered herself into the seat beside Alba and folded her hands on the table. “I see.”
“As far as I’m aware, she doesn’t come here anymore. She prefers the finer things in life since she met her new partner.”
Oh. There was clearly a story there.
Ellie felt the instinctive pull of curiosity, though she resisted the urge to ask too much too soon.
Trust wasn’t something people handed over freely, especially when wounds were still fresh.
Alba might eventually open up to her, but Ellie doubted it would be tonight.
“I’d ask what happened, but I’m sure you’d rather I didn’t.
I do know what it’s like to be aware of people talking about you, though. ”
“Oh, I’m quite happy to talk about it.” Alba’s expression brightened suddenly, a grin spreading across her face as a dark-haired woman approached their table.
Her smile was dazzling—wide, confident, the kind that naturally drew attention—and Ellie found herself studying it.
She desperately hoped people still saw that kind of light in her own smile sometimes. “Gio, hi.”
“Hello, stranger.” Giovanna smirked as she pulled an iPad from her side, her eyes flicking between Alba and Ellie where they were seated at the booth. “I know you and her are divorced,” she said, eyeing Ellie, “but I didn’t think you’d be dating again so soon.”
Ellie felt Alba stiffen beside her, but there was no need. The assumption was harmless.
Alba laughed, waving a dismissive hand. “Ellie is my boss, actually. But yeah, Audrey and I are no more.”
“I always thought you deserved better than her. Good for you for stepping away.” Giovanna cleared her throat. “What can I get you?”
Alba turned to Ellie, already reaching into her clutch bag for her card. “White wine and soda?”
“Please.” Ellie offered her a grateful smile. “That would be lovely.”
“White wine and soda, and I’ll go for a whiskey. Bourbon. One cube of ice.”
Giovanna nodded, tapping their order into the screen. “Any snacks?”
“Some olives, maybe?” Alba glanced sideways at Ellie. “Is that good with you?”
“Olives are good with me.”
For a moment, Giovanna’s gaze lingered on Alba. There was something there, something Ellie couldn’t quite place. Curiosity stirred at back of her mind, but she would ask about it once Giovanna had left. If nothing else, it would keep the focus off Ellie for a while.
“I’ll be right back with your order.”
Alba leaned back into the booth once Giovanna walked away, and Ellie took the opportunity to look around the bar fully.
Wild nights out had never really been her thing.
Even in her younger years, she’d preferred quieter places, spaces where conversation came easily without shouting over music.
This place suited her. It had a relaxed energy, lively but not chaotic.
More wine bar than nightclub. The kind of venue where people settled in for hours rather than drifting from place to place.
And then she turned her attention to Alba again. “You and Giovanna?”
“Once upon a time, yes. Before I met Audrey.”
The name clicked into place immediately. With Alba’s previous school already fresh in her mind, Ellie suddenly recalled a familiar surname. Oh… “Audrey Seddon?”
“That’s the one.” Alba scoffed and lowered her gaze to her lap. “Let me guess, you’ve already received some kind of correspondence from her about who I am and the fact that you never should have employed me?”
“No. I haven’t had any contact with her.”
“Really?” Alba’s tone was dry and disbelieving as she narrowed her eyes at Ellie.
“I swear to you, I haven’t.” Ellie lifted both hands in reassurance.
The truth was, Audrey Seddon was impossible to forget.
She’d attended several teaching conferences over the years and always commanded attention the moment she entered a room.
She was confident and charismatic, but she was also sharp-tongued.
Ellie had never liked her. There had always been something cutting beneath Audrey’s charm.
“Should I look out for that sort of thing from her, though?”
“I give it a few weeks, and you’ll probably be terminating my contract on whatever grounds you can get away with.
” Alba reached for her whiskey the moment Giovanna returned with their drinks.
She tapped her card against the contactless reader and exhaled a tired sigh.
“She doesn’t know where I’ve moved to yet.
Home or job. But I’m sure she’s planning something. She always is.”
“If she’s been giving you hell, I need to know, Alba.”
Alba frowned as she lifted her head. “Why?”
“Because I’d rather be prepared to fight for you than let you go based on something your ex-wife says.” Ellie turned, lifting her wine glass. “I don’t know what conditions you’ve been working under in the past, but at Park Haven, we work together—not against one another.”
“Audrey has been in education for a long time. Perhaps I should have fallen for someone my own age who doesn’t have the ability to make people believe whatever she wants them to believe.”
“She’s…well-known, I’ll give you that.”
Alba visibly swallowed. “You actually know her, or just know of her?”
Ellie nodded slowly. “I know her. We’re not friends, not by a long stretch of the imagination, but we’ve been at conferences together.”
“Great! I can’t get away from her no matter where I go or what I do.”
When Ellie looked at Alba again, something in her expression had shifted.
The confidence she’d carried earlier in the evening had dimmed slightly, and now she looked…
defeated. But she had no reason to feel that way.
Alba’s CV had been exceptional. Every reference Ellie had spoken to had praised her abilities as a teacher.
And Ellie had always been meticulous about who she hired, so it had been a win-win.
She reached across the table and placed her hand gently over Alba’s. “Hey, I’m your friend, not your enemy.”
“I’ll remind you of that in a couple of months,” Alba laughed, though the sound lacked its earlier warmth, and the worry behind her eyes was unmistakable.
Ellie had spent enough years working with staff to recognise that kind of fear, and right now, Alba genuinely believed that Audrey could sabotage her career.
“But thank you for trying to put my mind at rest.”
“Would you like to tell me what happened between the two of you? You can tell me to mind my own business instead, of course.”
Alba slowly chewed her lip as she turned her whiskey glass on the table. “I suppose it makes sense for you to know what happened. She’ll only come to you with a different version of events, but whatever. I don’t think I care anymore at this point.”
Ellie lifted her hand and caught Giovanna’s eye across the room. “How about I get us some more drinks, and then we can get to the bottom of it all?”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
What the hell are you doing?
That question echoed in Alba’s mind as she watched Ellie settle comfortably next to her in the booth. Because right now, Alba knew exactly what she was doing. She was potentially ruining her future before she’d even had a chance to enjoy it.
Ellie was amazing. She was kind and understanding, and she was the sort of boss most teachers spent their careers hoping to work under.
Alba had barely set foot inside Park Haven, but she could already tell it was a different kind of environment.
One where people were actually valued. Did Ellie really need to hear a full account of the disaster that was Alba Clifford’s personal life?
Probably not.
Still, Ellie had asked.
And if she truly meant what she’d said about wanting to be prepared should Audrey appear on the scene, then Alba would give her the truth.
The whole truth. Whether Ellie chose to believe it or not was entirely up to her.
Because if the last two years had taught Alba anything, it was that people believed what they wanted to believe.
Facts didn’t always matter when someone had already decided who the villain of the story was.