45
Ella
July 2019
“I wish we’d been there to see their faces!” Matt smirks.
“Not that interesting, I promise you,” Nick replies with an arched eyebrow. “Anyway, you were bonding with your daughter! You’re telling me you would’ve rather watched the bloody trial?”
I smirk, grabbing my tea. Nick places Olivia down in the Moses basket as she falls asleep. The three of us all hold our breath, waiting to see if she stays asleep or whether she’s going to hate being out of the hold of her uncle.
She stays asleep. It’s literally like playing Russian roulette; you never know if she’s going to take to you putting her down or not. Luckily, on the whole, for a one-month-old baby, she seems to adapt pretty well.
“No, but I just wanted to be there to essentially tell them they’d lost,” Matt mutters. “Stand there as the orphan runt, as they so lovingly named me and show them that Ella won and got what she deserved.”
“When is the sentencing?” I ask.
“No idea. I’m sure the lovely media will tell you that.” Nick rolls his eyes. “Just seems like when you both settle down, it starts up again.”
“I just hope they’re lenient on my mum.”
“The judge took kindness to her, I think. He said that while she was culpable, he could tell through the trial that she was just as controlled as you were. I think at best she’ll get some kind of community service or whatever,” Nick says. “Are you going to let her meet her granddaughter?”
I glance at Matt; it’s a sore point for him.
“If we do, it’ll be with us there,” he answers. Nick winces.
“When are you moving into the new house?” I ask Nick, trying to move the conversation on. The surrounding tension all eases with the change of subject like lava receding into a volcano.
“Two weeks. They’re just finishing up with the painting from what I was told this morning. Hopefully, they won’t find something else to bloody hold it back.” He rolls his eyes. “It’ll just be nice to be out of that house after everything.”
“I’m sorry.” I shudder, knowing that everything is, of course, the drama my family brought with me.
“Don’t be stupid, Ella. It’s about time I moved, anyway. You just gave me the excuse to do it. Talking of, I better get going. I need to pay the carpet people.” Nick stands up. We both follow quietly, trying not to make too much noise. “By the way, if I didn’t say it enough, I’m proud of you both.” He grabs us both into a hug before walking to the front door.
I collapse onto the sofa, pulling out my phone. Three messages from Dean:
‘ All been found guilty. We did it.’
‘Sentencing for our dads and my mum aren’t happening for a year. Your mum will be sentenced later today. I’ll let you know.’
‘Your mums got a suspended year sentence and a fine. She’ll be going home, Ella.’
I sigh, pulling an article up about it on my phone. The media just love a good old family drama. They haven’t named any of us, luckily. But they have pretty much told my whole story.
Everyone kept out of the narrative of Dean’s part in everything kicking off, which made him and the business that extra bit popular. I suppose that’s not a bad thing; extra money is never a bad thing for Dean, and by proxy, me.
“I just read about your mum. You, okay?” Matt grabs my hand. I put my phone down and rest my head on his shoulder.
“Yeah, she didn’t deserve prison anyway. We wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for her,” I reply.
“I suppose that’s what the judge meant when he was lenient on her. Look, if you want her to meet Olivia, if you want to see her, I support you, Ells Bells.” He kisses the back of my hand. “We just need to be careful.”
“I know, I get it. I mean, she did ask in the back of the car that day, when all of this settles down, she would love to meet her grandchild. She did help us.”
“It’s your choice. I’m with you, whatever you decide.”
I close my eyes and inhale that new Matty scent: the usual aftershave mixed with baby formula. It’s not the same as the one I smelled on him three years ago and promised to commit to my memory, but it’s one I love. Possibly one I love even more.
“I think my parents would be proud of us, you know,” he whispers, pressing a kiss onto my head.
I smile and open my eyes. “Oh yeah, why’s that?”
“Well, I promised you, all those years ago, that I’d fight for you, that I wouldn’t stop until we could be together forever. I also said to you when we graduated that I wouldn’t let you marry someone who you didn’t love, and who wasn’t me.”
I shift and stare into those brown eyes, a smile breaking out on my face. “You pulled through for us.”
“I never go back on my promises! I think they’d be proud that I fought for the woman I love, and I think they would be proud of their granddaughter too.”
The proudness shines in his eyes as I put my hand on his cheek. “I think they would be so damn proud of you, Matty. And I think your mum would be so honoured to have her first grandchild named after her.”
“You don’t think she’d hate it? I mean, she hated attention, Ells. I feel a bit… uneasy, like she’d hate the thought of another Olivia Davenport in the family. Nick thought it was a lovely idea. Dad would’ve liked it, too.”
“I think she’s looking down at us now, feeling like she’d done a good job to be loved so much by her son that he named his daughter after her. If I were in her position, I would too.”
“I hope you never are, Ells Bells. I’ve fought too hard for you.” He smiles, but I can see the seriousness radiating at me, burning into me, filling my bloodstream with his need. I grab him closer, and claim his lips as mine, pushing the ridiculous amount of confusion and emotions into his mouth with my tongue as I thread my hands in his curls.
“I love you, Ells Bells,” he whispers onto my lips.
“I love you too.”
∞∞∞
One Month later
“D o I look a mess? I look a mess, don’t I? Maybe we should go home and change. Did we pack—”
“Ells, stop it! You look gorgeous, so gorgeous in fact, I would be quite happy ripping your clothes off right now, if it weren’t for the fact that we’re in public, and for the fact that our child is here,” Matty interrupts. “And yes, we packed enough milk. Look, she’s happy in here. Just stop fussing!”
I sigh and stare at the two of them. “You sure you’re okay with her?”
He takes Olivia’s hand and waves her hand at me; she beams her gummy smile at me. “See? She loves this bloody sling thing. Why didn’t we think of it before now?”
“Because you’re an idiot?” I suggest as we approach the coffee shop.
“Hey, I resent that!”
“Love you!” I tease, trying to calm my shaking nerves. “What if she—”
“Ells, come on. She won’t do anything. She’s on a suspended sentence, one wrong move and she’ll be in prison. Plus, she helped us, remember? Calm down.”
He presses a kiss on my forehead. He opens the door and ushers me into the shop. Immediately, I spy her sitting at the back, with three cups of coffee on the table in front of her. The instant I approach her, her eyes lock on mine, and then Matt’s, and then just as quickly, she spots her grandchild in the sling. She stands from her chair, her eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree.
“Ella!” She immediately engulfs me in a hug. She doesn’t smell like my mum. Gone is the expensive perfume, yet she still dresses like my mother. I suppose the clothes in her wardrobe are still hers. I guess the house is still hers. She smells like someone who isn’t the same woman as she was a year ago.
“Hi, Mum.”
“Matthew.” She touches his shoulder and immediately turns her attention to Olivia. “Hello, Olivia! I’m your grandma!”
“Did you want to hold her?” Matt asks. She beams and nods, so he takes her from the sling and hands her over. I sit down, grabbing Matt’s hand beside me for support.
“She’s gorgeous,” Mum coos. “Thank you for letting me see her.”
“How have you been?” I ask.
“Stressed, as you can imagine. It feels strange being in that house without your father. It’s quite freeing, though. Dean’s been a big help. He’s been trying to help me look for a job, and he’s put me in touch with a divorce lawyer—”
“Divorce?” I question. She nods in confirmation, and I feel pride bursting from my chest. “Mum, I’m so proud of you.”
“It was the two of you that helped me. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do it if you hadn’t run away from it all, and if you hadn’t gotten pregnant with little missy here.” She beams at the sleeping baby. “When the police came for us, I couldn’t believe it. I genuinely didn’t think any of you had the confidence or the power to do it. You have all done yourselves proud.”
I glance at Matt, and he smiles softly at me.
“I’m sorry you got involved in this—”
“Don’t be silly, Ella. I signed it. I’ve been complicit all these years, and I’m sorry to you, that I didn’t help you sooner.”
“Better late than never,” Matt says, and she gives him a smiling agreement.
“I hear you’re a silent partner to Dean, Ella,” she mentions suddenly, and I nod. “I didn’t think you would have anything to do with the company.”
“Dean offered, and I do nothing. It’s an income and means I can be home with Olivia, and to a certain extent, it’s a way for him to make up for everything he did.”
“That makes sense,” Mum agrees and sips her coffee with one hand as Olivia snores in her other hand. “Once the divorce is sorted, however long that might be, I’ll sell the house and move. I thought it might be nice to be a bit closer to you three if you wouldn’t mind that. I know it might be too soon now, but I don’t—”
“That would be nice, Mum,” I assure her. Matt nods as well. This is extremely awkward, but not as nerve-wracking as I thought it was going to be. I’d been feeling so guilty for labelling her as a criminal, but I knew it would be okay when Dean presented the idea that it would be the only surefire way to save Matt’s life and keep them away from making Dean and I marry. I assume Mum knew the same, that’s why she’s so relaxed about it.
“Do you know how they all are?” Matt asks, and Mum gives him a questioning look. “Anthony, Amelia, and Adrian.”
I arch an eyebrow, interested in why he cares. I certainly don’t. The three of them can rot in prison for all I care.
“Adrian’s been sending letters to me. I haven’t heard from Anthony or Amelia. Adrian’s angry. He’s in the same prison as Anthony, and they didn’t see it coming, especially now they know Dean’s taken over as CEO and fired them both, but I don’t know what more they expected, especially when it was Dean who put this whole plan in place.” Mum turns to me. “Your father still loves you, despite everything. Though, I think he’s trying to save face.”
“If he loved me, he wouldn’t have done all of this in the first place. Or at least would have let me marry Matt when he heard about it.”
“Indeed, but unfortunately, you know what he’s like. He wants to meet his grandchild.”
“Like fuck he will,” Matt interjects.
“I haven’t responded to any of his letters, and it won’t matter when I apply for a divorce, he’ll stop sending them and will probably stop caring when he gets the papers. Though I can imagine he won’t comply, and I’ll have to wait the five years, but there we go.” She sighs. “Anyway, onto happier matters. How is your new home? Well, you’ve been living there nearly eight months now, right?”
I nod. “It’s perfect.”
“I’m so pleased for you both, I really am,” she enthuses. “You both fought so hard, I’m so happy it worked out.”
I look beside me at Matt, who looks back at me and smiles. It’s weird to think a year ago, we were both graduating, and everything felt bleak and like we’d have to be apart for life. Yet here we are, having won the battle and living to tell the tale.
We both took a chance on each other, and we both won.