Chapter 51
Aria rang Sophie and downloaded the story in less than sixty seconds.
‘The damage is catastrophic. The hut’s gone.
My memories, my family history, my freakin’ childhood.
Nic pressurised my dad to sell for years, and when he died, he realised this was the perfect opportunity to work his charm on someone more susceptible.
It was such a clever campaign. He persuaded me to move my valuables into his house so most of them wouldn’t be in the hut when it was demolished.
He worked on making me fall for him. I reckon he always intended to knock it down after he banged me into submission. ’
Sophie listened rapt to the rest of the story before delivering her verdict on the situation. ‘What an unbelievable arsehole.’
Aria fell silent. She’d run out of steam now he’d been correctly labelled. But her friend hadn’t. ‘You need to take him to court. Fight for your right to camp out in the woods. Or send him an invoice for the hut. And never do bits with him again.’
‘I can’t afford to take him to court! And I’m not a bloody boy scout, Sophie.
I wasn’t camping. That was the only home I had.
And now it’s gone. Of course, I’m not going to sleep with him again.
Why are we in this mess, Soph? The shiny new generation.
The hope for the future who can’t even afford a roof over our heads. ’
‘I know! Everything on our shoulders and yet everything stacked against us. I’d offer you our place, but the builder is living there this week while he’s working.
Wales is lovely, in case you wondered, but Grandad keeps going walkabout and the dragons I was promised have spectacularly failed to materialise. ’
When they disconnected, Aria sat in Nic’s kitchen with her head in her hands, thinking about her minuscule options.
She needed to be out of here by the time he came back.
She had told him she had nothing and no one, but the truth was she did have one place to turn.
She was pretty sure her stepmother would fall over herself to put her up.
And perhaps Aria had been too hard on her, choosing to overlook many moments of kindness in the past. When Aria had disapproved of their foreign wedding, Felicity had insisted she should have the chance to accompany them as a witness, offering to pay for a flight and a dress.
She’d always bought in Aria’s favourite cakes when she knew she was coming round.
And she was the one who offered to drive her to London in her battered Land Rover when Justin trashed their future, sending her a ‘new home’ card in the post. A lump came to Aria’s throat as she looked up a number she had always refused to dial.
And when her last remaining relative answered, she asked if she could come and stay.
***
Aria held herself together long enough to take the bus into town and walk to Felicity’s house, trailing a bag and the dog behind her.
But she wasn’t able to keep composed when she saw her stepmother standing at the door.
When the tears came, so did the whole story, and Felicity didn’t try to stem either.
An hour later, after a hot bath, Aria found herself sitting in front of the fire being pampered, remembering all the times Felicity had offered to run her one before, even promising to throw in her best salts.
She felt a wave of shame. She’d never given the woman a chance.
‘I know it’s summer, but I think you need to feel cosy right now.’ Felicity handed her a bowl of chilli con carne, wrapped her up in a blanket and sat on a chair opposite.
‘Aren’t you veggie, these days?’
‘Yes, but the butcher was still open when you phoned.’
‘I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid,’ said Aria, tasting the chilli.
‘Con men are very convincing.’
She offered Felicity a weak smile. ‘You must think I’m pathetic.’
‘There’ll be no judgement from me, and no advice unless you ask for it. I’m here as a friend and my door – your dad’s door – is always open for you. Did Nic really knock the whole thing down?’
‘Yes, but it was partly my fault,’ Aria sobbed.
As Felicity passed her another tissue from the box she’d brought to the funeral, she informed her quite fiercely she was in no way to blame for the disaster.
‘I pretended to be his fiancée,’ Aria gulped. ‘I basically invited him to take what he wanted from me. But I didn’t know he was going to be so corrupt. He’s no better than—’
As she was too choked to finish, Felicity did it for her. ‘The Hetherington lad? The one your dad used to call the twat-in-a-hat?’
Aria glanced up at the older woman, shocked. ‘Dad didn’t swear!’
Her stepmother laughed. ‘He did where Justin was concerned.’
‘He is a dick, isn’t he? God, they’re all the same, the rich and privileged. They think they can do whatever they like.’
‘The question is, what are you going to do? You could take legal action. I can put you in touch with someone. You can also go to the council, spread the word Nic’s not to be trusted.’
‘I think what I want…what I need…for now, is to stay here and hibernate. Just for a while, if that’s OK with you.’
‘I wish your dad was here,’ said Felicity, after Aria had calmed down enough to eat the chilli.
‘Me too. I miss him so much, Felicity.’
‘He left a big hole in all sorts of lives.’
Now she felt more comfortable with her stepmother, Aria decided to get everything off her chest. ‘The last time I saw him, at his party, I didn’t say a proper goodbye.
He told me he’d left me ‘everything I’d need’ and I was really excited.
I flounced out with all sorts of plans in my head and didn’t even ask about his health.
And then he died. Just like that.’ She sighed loudly.
‘I was furious with him for bequeathing me the hut and resented you for getting the house. I didn’t even really want the dog, although I couldn’t do without him now.
I hate myself for how I’ve behaved. Maybe I deserve what happened. ’
‘Eddie believed the hut would make you happy. You were the light of his life, Aria. He would never have done anything to hurt your feelings or jeopardise your relationship. He was upset when you went to London and didn’t keep in touch much.
But he knew it was a new start, and he wanted it so much for you.
He wanted you to have friends and find a partner as he’d relied on your company for so long.
It was one of his main reasons for dating me – he told me that at our first dinner.
To free you from a suffocating relationship with him. ’
Aria fell silent. And then spoke from the heart. ‘It wasn’t suffocating. It was wonderful. We had each other and we were all we needed.’ Even as she said this, she came to the realisation that her father also needed a partner to make his life complete. And Felicity had been perfect for him.
‘While it is a beautiful thing, a daughter also needs more than just her father’s love.’ Felicity squared the circle, taking her bowl and putting it in the sink.
***
Aria slept long into the next morning and came down feeling like a slug. On the mantlepiece was a card for Justin and Lu-Lu. When Felicity appeared with a loaded teapot, Aria asked her if she was going to the wedding.
‘Definitely not, but I don’t feel bad about it. I’m getting loads of sympathy invites at the moment, and, anyway, most of the town has been invited as far as I can tell.’
‘I got one too. Justin says it was his idea, but I suspect Lu-Lu didn’t want to miss an opportunity to rub my nose in it. In her eyes, I lost the husband, lost the caravans, lost the ring. She’ll be delighted when she hears I lost my inheritance and Nic too.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Felicity. ‘The hut isn’t your inheritance, the land is.
No one can take away the ground it stands on.
Eddie left you the cabin because it was always your place and his, but also because of its lake view, and the price those acres will fetch.
Let’s face it, the hut was barely standing.
‘In fact, have you considered there are two buyers pitting themselves against each other to acquire land around the lake? I know it means a lot, but if you wanted to sell, you’d be well set up to rent or buy a nice flat in town.
I have no family, Aria, so when I die this house is yours.
It’s already in my will. And you are welcome to stay here indefinitely if you’d like to. I know I’d love the company.’