Chapter 33
There’s no way that was just an interview between Henry and an employee! That touch. That eye contact. It’s giving date vibes.
Online comment by BookwormLily
Kate
The doorbell rang.
“I’m coming!” I called. I grabbed my rucksack, which felt surprisingly light now that it no longer contained my entire life, and went to the door. Grace and I both had the day off, and I’d asked if she wanted to go shopping.
“Hey!” I said when the door opened.
Grace grinned at me from beneath a red hat. Beside her stood a young woman in a mustard-yellow coat, and I instantly recognised her as Grace’s twin—the resemblance was uncanny. They had the same brown eyes, the same blond hair, and the same even features with soft, feminine contours.
“Hi. I brought reinforcements,” Grace said. “This is Amy.”
Amy raised a hand. “Hey, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. I’m Kate.”
Grace clapped her hands impatiently. “Can we leave?”
I nodded and pulled the door shut behind me.
At reception, I handed Naomi my room key—for security reasons, keys had to stay on the premises.
We left The Darlington through the underground car park, since the press was still camped out in front of the main entrance.
I didn’t know how they weren’t getting bored.
Once we were sure that the coast was clear and no journalists were about to pounce on us, we slipped outside and crossed the street, heading towards Soho.
Grace shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. “So, what are we shopping for today? Are you looking for something specific, or are we just window-shopping?”
“I need a dress for the Halloween ball,” I replied.
Grace’s steps slowed. “The masked ball?”
“Yes. Henry asked me to go with him.”
I was pretty sure Grace’s squeal could be heard two streets away. “Oh my god! Are you kidding? I knew it! He has little heart-emoji eyes whenever he sees you in the corridor.”
I laughed. “No, he doesn’t.”
“He really does! Henry is totally into you.” Grace sighed theatrically. “Oh, man. I like you, Kate, but I’m so envious. I want a hot billionaire to fall madly in love with me too, and take me to a ball.”
“You could try your luck with Ethan,” I joked.
“I doubt that devil’s spawn is capable of feeling love. And even if he were, I’d rather spend the rest of my life living under a bridge than getting involved with him.”
No, you wouldn’t, said a voice in my head.
“I don’t like the guy,” Amy said, her chin buried deep in her scarf, her cheeks rosy from the cold.
“No one likes him,” Grace clarified, before turning back to me. “Enough about Beelzebub and back to Henry. You do know that’s a date, right?”
“Yes.” I grinned.
“What kind of dress do you want?” Amy asked.
I shrugged. “No idea. A pretty one.”
She laughed. “OK. And do you know where you want to go?”
My thoughts drifted to Henry’s credit card, tucked into the sewn-in pocket of my leather jacket.
Although it would get me into the most high-end, expensive boutiques in the city, I knew I wouldn’t feel comfortable in them.
Besides, I was paying Henry back, and I didn’t want to waste my savings on a dress.
I wanted to use that money to build something—my own life.
I couldn’t stay at The Darlington forever, after all.
Sooner or later, I’d have to learn to stand on my own two feet.
“What about the secondhand shop at Seven Dials?”
“Good idea,” Grace said, and we decided to walk the half hour to the shop.
Though it was cold and the wind cut through my leather jacket, the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue.
It struck me that I’d practically barricaded myself inside The Darlington over the last month.
I had only left the hotel two or three times, usually just to buy snacks from a shop down the road.
Otherwise, The Darlington had everything I needed, and everything I had craved: a warm bed, a clean bath, and privacy.
“Kate!” someone called behind us, and a chill colder than any gust of wind gripped me. I knew that voice and had hoped to never hear it again. “Kate! Wait!”
No.
No.
No!
What was Randell doing here? My stomach clenched, and I quickened my pace. It took all my willpower not to run like I used to. But Amy and Grace didn’t speed up to match my pace. They slowed down instead, and I could feel their curious eyes on me. I had no answers for them.
“Kate!”
A hand gripped my upper arm, stopping me in my tracks.
Dirty fingers dug into my skin—firm, but not painful.
Still, I knew all too well how it felt to be beaten by those hands, and my body remembered the pain.
My heart pounded fiercely against my ribs as I turned to face Randell, meeting the eyes I despised so much.
He stared back at me, his pupils dilated.
I wanted to scream at him, curse him, wrench myself free, but doing so would have required an explanation. And if there was one thing I dreaded more than confronting Randell, it was Amy’s and Grace’s inevitable questions. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs, and forced myself to stay calm.
“Randell.” My voice was cool. Detached.
He looked even worse today than he had the day I’d given him the money. As if he’d spent it all on getting high and drunk. The acrid stench of cigarettes hung over him like a cloud.
I looked at Grace and Amy. “Can you give us a moment?”
They looked worried—they must have noticed the stench of alcohol emanating from Randell—but I forced a smile that seemed to reassure them. They stepped back hesitantly, still not taking their eyes off us.
I turned back to Randell. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he was here. London was far too big for that. He must have been lying in wait for me. He had probably got wind of the news that I worked at The Darlington. “What do you want?”
“Justice.”
I snorted. Justice would have been Randell dead instead of my mum. Or at least Randell locked up in prison for what he had done to us. “Leave me alone, you bastard!”
I made to turn away, but Randell grabbed my arm again. It took every shred of self-control I had not to wince.
“What do you want?” I repeated.
He came closer. “Money.”
“Do I look like a bank?”
“You owe me.”
My face hardened. “I owe you nothing!”
“Oh, believe me, you do!” Randell hissed, spittle flying.
Disgusted, I wrinkled my nose. “I’ve paid off my debt.”
Randell gave a grim smile, revealing a chipped front tooth. It looked like his face had collided with the edge of a table—or with a fist. I was betting on the latter. “You paid off your mum’s debt, but not your own.”
“And what debt would that be?”
“For the rent. And the food.”
I rolled my eyes. He had to be kidding. The initial panic I’d felt at seeing him again had faded, replaced with a burning rage that coursed through my veins.
“We gave you half the rent every month, and if any of us was buying food, it was me. Most of the time, you were both too high to go shopping. So don’t tell me I owe you something. ”
“I need money,” Randell hissed, ignoring my words. He knew I was right, but he was desperate and wanted to squeeze every last penny out of me. I refused to play ball.
I crossed my arms. “Then get a job.”
“Or you give it to me.”
“I don’t have any money.”
“Maybe you don’t, but your rich boyfriend does.”
I blinked. So that’s what this was about. Not only had he found out that I was working for The Darlington; he’d also seen the photos of Henry and me together.
“Henry isn’t my boyfriend. He’s my boss. The only thing I get from him is my salary, and that money belongs to me.”
“So you’re going to leave me in the lurch?”
I didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy, only satisfaction. “Yes. We’ve gone our separate ways, Randell. The only thing that ever connected us was my mum, and she’s dead—because of you. Now leave me alone. My friends are waiting for me.”
Without waiting for a reaction, I turned and made my way back to Amy and Grace, who had been watching our conversation from a distance. I could feel Randell’s gaze drilling into me.
“See you soon, Kate!”
I ignored his threat. I was done with him.
“Is everything all right?” Grace asked when I caught up with them.
“All good.”
“Are you sure? That guy was weird.”
“Yeah. He was just an old friend of my mum’s.”
Amy glanced over her shoulder. “He doesn’t look too good.”
“He doesn’t. But that’s not my problem.”
We walked, none of us saying a word for a few minutes, until I couldn’t stand the silence any longer. I turned to Amy. “Grace told me you’re studying medicine.”
She smiled proudly. “Yeah, in my third semester.”
“You need pretty good grades for that, right?”
“My twin is super smart!” Grace interjected, throwing an arm around Amy’s shoulders. “She’s always wanted to be a doctor. When we were kids, she’d make me pretend to be her patient. I usually survived, but sometimes, she’d make me die on the operating table. The little sadist.”
“Hey! I only made you die when you talked.”
“And I only talked when you were doing a crappy job.”
Amy laughed. “Yes, but you weren’t supposed to be able to talk. You were under general anaesthetic.”
“It was boring to play a game where all I could do was lie there.”
I smiled at their bickering and found myself wondering, not for the first time, what it would have been like to grow up with siblings.
I couldn’t rule out the possibility that I had some.
Perhaps my dad had had impregnated other women, or he’d settled down and was living in a cute terraced house somewhere with his wife and my half-siblings, who didn’t know I existed.
But I had come to terms with that, because there was no point in mourning something I’d never had—or that perhaps didn’t even exist.