Chapter 6
SIX
CALEB
When I open my eyes, I’m reminded of just how peaceful long dark winter mornings are under the covers with Ariella. There’s no sun chasing us out of bed and it feels even cosier knowing the cold that awaits the second you leave the comfort of her body under the duvet. There is something almost sacred about waking up in the bed Ariella grew up sleeping in, with her body wrapped around mine. I really don’t want to get out of bed when I look at her face as she sleeps peacefully.
With intense regret, I plant a long, soft kiss on her head, then carefully untangle myself while trying not to wake her. I look at the time and it’s almost seven. I quickly check my emails to see if I need to respond to anything urgent, because I was supposed to have started my day at four in the morning. Thankfully there is nothing pressing I need to attend to, but it’s time I disappeared. I’m meeting Jasper just before lunch and training the boys with Honey later, but the main reason I need to leave is Hugh Mason. The last thing I want is for Ariella’s father to find out that I spent the night. The house is quiet, so I might be able to sneak out before everyone gets up. I pick up my shoes and make my way down the stairs slowly to nothing but silence. Yes. The front door. I’ve made it.
‘If you’re going to stay over, you could at least have the decency to thank us for our hospitality, Caleb.’
Fuck. Hugh Mason. He may not be actively hostile towards me any more, but he isn’t exactly friendly either. Thankfully, Hugh and Dahlia aren’t aware of what’s going on between Ariella and me. When I offered to come clean to them about how much I’d hurt her, she insisted that we keep our issues between us while we worked it out, which relieved me no end. She also made Jasper promise not to say anything. I turn round to see him sitting at the dining table with his nose in the paper.
‘Good mor?—’
‘Hugh, don’t be so antagonistic. Just because Jasper never stayed over doesn’t mean Caleb can’t. Besides, Isszy was here all the time.’ I see Dahlia’s radiant, smiling face pop into view from the other side of the kitchen door frame. ‘Come. Join us for breakfast,’ she says, beckoning, before disappearing again. I see Hugh Mason’s effort to keep his face neutral and decide that I’ve missed Dahlia too much to decline.
‘Wait,’ a tiny caramel-skinned older lady with wavy grey hair shouts at me from beside him as I approach. Her mouth is turned down at the edges as she gives me a scathing look. She must be Ariella’s gigi – I’ve heard so much about her. ‘Are you the American whose brother called her a gold-digging house Negro?’
‘What?!’ Hugh Mason, Dahlia and I ask, shocked, at the same time.
‘Clearly not. Forget I said anything. I promised I’d keep my mouth shut.’
‘Momma, how was that keeping your mouth shut? Tell us, now.’
‘No I won’t. And don’t ask her because you’ll get me into trouble. She’ll tell you when she’s ready.’
‘I’m going to ask her,’ Dahlia says defiantly.
‘Don’t you dare, or I’ll tell everyone about that time we caught you in the barn with that boy from church.’ Gigi smiles.
‘Go ahead. I’m more than happy to share what happened in Vegas on your last church trip. Especially with MrRamon. I follow MsMaribelle on Instagram, you know.’
‘Dee Dee!’ Gigi threatens. ‘Stop your nonsense. You will, under no circumstances, tell Ariella anything.’
‘It was Dominic’s brother…’ I seethe, putting the pieces together as I feel the fury rise.
Ariella’s father puts his paper down and rises, his knuckles pressing hard against the tabletop.
‘The “Dominic” from her birthday?!’ he asks. I mentally prepare to fall in line with whatever vengeance Hugh Mason is planning.
‘The same,’ I confirm angrily.
‘Caleb, Hugh. Behave. She said it was his brother, not him,’ Dahlia interrupts.
‘It just goes to show, Dahlia—’ Hugh starts, but doesn’t get to finish.
‘Goes to show what? Your family called me much worse in the beginning and you told us about your family’s hobbies, Caleb,’ Dahlia says casually, and then takes a tray of warm croissants out of the oven. Damn. I love how understanding Dahlia is, but this is the one time I need her not to be fair.
‘What did your family say to my child, Hugh?’ Gigi asks.
I see Hugh Mason immediately shrink back before he sits down. I already know he’s not going to answer the question, so I deflect.
‘Gigi, I’m Caleb. I’ve heard so much about you. Is it all right if I give you a hug?’
I get an accepting smile and a single nod, so I walk round the table, bend to her height and give her a quick hug. I give Dahlia hers next, then help her move the warm croissants to the centre of the table.
‘I’m really grateful for the breakfast invitation, but sadly I can’t stay. I’ll nick a croissant though. It’s a full day today and I’m already three hours behind,’ I explain.
‘Thank you for the text last night, Caleb. Did something happen?’ Dahlia asks as she hands me a platter of sliced fruit to take to the table.
‘Sophia asked Ariella to stay away from Jasper and not contact him again. Ariella promised that she would.’
Hugh Mason’s forehead creases in frustration at the news. ‘That seems rather unfair,’ he grumbles.
‘Perhaps, but Sophia is pregnant and it seems that Jasper chose to honour her request for an alcoholic drink rather than tell Ariella.’
‘Oh,’ Dahlia and Hugh acknowledge at the same time.
‘I suspect she has been asking him to tell her for a while,’ I add.
‘How is she?’ Hugh asks.
‘Fine. I wasn’t there when it happened. I caught her as she was leaving. She was crushed, so I brought her home.’
‘Maybe it’s for the best. I didn’t like the way they followed each other around,’ Gigi says.
‘It can’t be easy for Sophia. Ariella casts a long shadow with Jasper,’ Dahlia adds.
‘But to ask her to stay away from him? It’s a bit extreme.’ Hugh isn’t taking the news well.
‘They are going to start a family, Daddy. Her needs come first,’ Ariella says quietly as she enters the kitchen. She goes straight to Hugh, who is already standing with his arms open. She disappears into his hug and stays there.
‘Ariella…’ Dahlia starts and I watch Gigi scowl at her daughter. ‘Are you okay?’
She nods against her father’s chest. ‘It’s my fault. I should have done more to embrace her. There was just so much going on. When Jas told me that she wanted to start a family…I just thought I’d have more time, I suppose,’ she says, resigned.
‘I’d better head out,’ I announce, making my way round the dining table back into the hallway.
‘Thank you for staying, Caleb.’ Ariella extracts herself from her father to give me a quick hug.
‘Chin up. Everything is going to be okay.’ I smile as I lift her chin with my index finger to comfort her. After I move away, I say a quick goodbye to everyone and let myself out.
‘Not bad, Goldsmith,’ I say, impressed, as I am escorted into Jasper’s massive office by one of the receptionists. It is located on the twentieth floor in one of Canary Wharf’s huge glass buildings.
‘Thanks.’ He rises to his feet and adjusts his sharp suit, then extends his hand. I take it.
‘Who did you have to kill to land this?’ I look out of his floor-to-ceiling window to watch a descending plane aim for City Airport.
‘My boss.’ We both laugh. ‘Coffee?’ he offers, pointing to the chair opposite his desk.
‘Nah, mate. Thanks, by the way. For all of this.’
‘No need for thanks. I offered to help. Besides, you’re going to need to resolve your finances quickly now that Melissa is out of the picture and we know her financial dealings are less than pristine.’
‘Yeah. I’m happy to give the flat back, to be honest.’
‘You don’t need to do that. Besides, you can’t. It’s yours. With the financial power of attorney you granted me, I went digging and it all seems above board.’
‘That’s a relief.’
‘I do suggest we cut all ties though, sell it now and get all your money out of Singapore. You could, of course, decide to keep it, because the Ivory Bow rent is great passive income.’
‘I don’t want any of it.’
‘For goodness’ sake, use this to get off your bicycle and get into a car, Caleb.’ Jasper’s rather hackneyed financial analogy can’t help but make me smile.
‘How do you propose I do that?’
‘Do you still want to start your Thai boxing business?’
‘Eventually. Right now, it’s a burden more than anything else. I’m paying a trainer to chase a bunch of young boys around their council estate to get them to their free class, in addition to paying for the actual class itself. I’m due to run a session that will include a bollocking tonight.’
‘I took the liberty of looking up the boxing gym you use.’
‘And?’
‘The owner has two. The one in the north-west, near you, and another in the south-west. His business is not in great financial shape. If you decide to sell the Singapore flat, and with the rent you’ve already accrued, you could make the owner a reasonable offer and buy the business and both buildings.’
‘What am I going to do with two gyms in London while I’m living in Singapore?’
‘Rent it? Keep the owner on a salary and get him to run it? I can look after the finances for you. It won’t take very long. You need a plan for when you leave Singapore, and this could be it.’
‘If the owner that’s here, doing the graft, can’t make a success of it, what makes you think I stand a chance from Singapore?’
‘You’ve got me.’ Jasper shrugs. ‘Let’s start a conversation and see where it gets us. You don’t want cash lying around. Let’s put it into something that aligns with your goals.’
‘I’ll give him a call. See if he’s willing to talk.’
‘It’s better if I make the approach. I’ll also arrange for us to see both gyms before you head back to Singapore.’
‘What’s in it for you, Goldsmith? You better not be secretly plotting to take the deal over and turn it into flats with your property bros.’
Jaspers laughs loudly. ‘No, I promised to help you get rid of your Melissa problem. This is the last thing tying you to her. Once this is done, that’s it.’
‘Thanks, mate.’
‘No problem. Besides, the day might come when you may beg me to reach out to my “property bros” to turn it into flats. But we’re not there yet.’
‘Now that’s done, where’s a good pub around here? Fancy some lunch? I’m buying.’
‘I could have lunch,’ he says, grabbing his phone and leading the way to his office door.
We exit his building and cross a couple of squares and bridges to find a quiet pub away from the hustle and bustle. Jasper secures us a table as I grab us some drinks from the traditional wooden bar.
‘I hear congratulations are in order, Daddy Goldsmith.’ I put Jasper’s pint down in front of him.
‘That sounded a little mistressy but yeah, thanks,’ he says solemnly.
‘You don’t sound like you want to be congratulated.’
‘I do, but things with Sophia are moving extremely quickly and it’s posing…well, a unique set of challenges.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We’re getting married the week after Zachary and Isszy.’
Wow. Extremely quickly sounds about right, but I keep my opinions to myself. ‘That’s great news, mate!’ I pat him on the back.
‘We’re keeping it tiny and quiet, surrounded by the people we love.’
‘Sounds brilliant. What’s wrong with that?’
‘Sophia doesn’t want Ariella there. Dahlia and Hugh are holding the date, but they have no idea what’s going on. I can’t invite them and exclude Ariella, even if I want to. But I don’t. She’s my best friend. I want her there.’
‘Jasper, you’re about to marry Sophia. She’s automatically your best friend now. To her, Ariella is your ever-present ex-girlfriend who won’t go away. Besides, after last night, if you invite Ariella she’ll most likely decline anyway.’
‘She’s not going to decline because Sophia is pregnant. She’d never do that.’
‘Hold on, what do you think happened last night?’
‘Ariella guessed Sophia was pregnant right before she got a call and had to leave.’
Normally, I’d keep my mouth shut, but I’ve grown to like Jasper and he needs all the help he can get because evidently this is an area that he isn’t very good at.
‘Caleb! What happened last night?’ Jasper insists.
‘Sophia told Ariella to stay away from both of you and not to contact you again. Ariella promised she would.’
Jasper’s phone is in his hand, he has hit a name and is holding it to his ear before I can blink.
‘Who are you calling?’
‘Ariella.’
‘Stop,’ I say. I grab the phone from him and cut the call off.
‘Caleb, give that back right now!’
‘No. You’re about to be a father. You’ve asked Sophia to be your wife. You’re trying to mend the wrong relationship right now. You need to call your soon-to-be wife.’
‘But—’
‘Ariella is always going to be there. Your bond will survive whatever nuclear blast life hits it with. It always will. It used to piss me off, but now I get it. However, you and Sophia, who happens to be carrying your child right now, may not survive this. That’s where your energy needs to go. You have a terrible habit of focusing on having what you want, Jasper, rather than wanting what you have. That’s what landed you here in the first place. Maybe it’s time you change that. It’s caused you enough problems, mate.’
I slowly place his phone back on the table in front of him and nod to it. ‘You know what to do.’
I wait quietly as he sighs heavily, looks at his phone, then unlocks it. The screen shows that he is calling ‘Fi’ before he slowly picks it up, puts it to his ear and stands.
‘Fi, I’m sorry…’ is all I hear as he walks away. I never imagined the day that I would feel sorry for Jasper would come. He has had almost everything he wants handed to him on a plate of privilege and power, but he has still managed to build a cage around himself that he struggles to see – let alone escape from.
I suppose we all have our battles to fight.