Chapter 36
Elizabeth
A couple of days go by, and Theo hasn’t left the cottage.
He stayed, just like he said he would. The sun glares through the windows, making it seem like the cold outside is a lie.
I’m lying on the sofa with my head in Theo’s lap whilst he reads the morning newspaper, his spare hand absentmindedly stroking my hair.
The calm since he arrived doesn’t feel real.
I feel safe, protected, and taken care of in a way I have never experienced.
His phone buzzes from its place on the kitchen countertop, but he doesn’t move.
“Whoever it is can wait,” he whispers as he plants a soft kiss on my head. The buzzing stops and then starts again, frantic and relentless. Messages, phone calls and emails coming in all at the same time. Once it stops ringing, it starts straight back up again. I sit up, moving my weight from him.
“I think you need to check that. It might be urgent.” He grabs his phone from its place, my name all over his screen. Message after message. His phone rings again, and his PR team are on a conference call on the other end. He looks at me wide eyed, lips parted as he listens to the team on the line.
“What is it?” I mouth, but he doesn’t answer. He quickly throws a coat on and heads out to the porch.
I sit up, waiting for him to return, just as my phone rings. Fiona’s name flashes across my screen.
“Elizabeth, have you seen the news?” There is no hello, none of her usual jovial tone. She is serious. Not her usual self. Fear rushes through me instantly.
“No. What’s happened?” My phone pings multiple times.
I pull my phone from my ear to look, seeing that Fiona has sent screenshots of something.
I switch the call to loudspeaker and open them up.
As I open the first one, I suck in a sharp breath.
There, on my screen, is an image I have never seen before, but I know exactly where it came from.
The screenshots are of an article posted in the Daily Mail.
Picture after picture of me and Theo. Pictures taken when I thought we were alone.
From outside my cottage window. One of us walking along the beach together.
And the last, a picture of me walking along the beach, alone, pregnant and vulnerable.
“What the fuck,” I whisper under my breath, tears springing to my eyes. Just as Fiona is about to say something, Theo smashes through the back door in a panic. He grabs my hand and leads me to the bedroom.
“Theo, what is happening?”
“You need to pack, Sunshine. We need to leave the cottage.” I stare at him, unsure of the emotions swelling inside me. “Elizabeth,” my name sounds harsh on his lips. He closes his eyes and takes a deep. “Baby, go pack a bag. Please.” His voice rises with fear.
“Fiona, I’ll call you back,” and I hang up on her just as Theo throws a suitcase on the bed, crosses the room, grabbing me around the shoulders.
“Olivia has released your address online. She’s written some disgusting things about you.
Baby, please…” There is desperation in his voice.
“Please go and pack.” He releases my shoulders, and I head to the suitcase.
It feels like I’m watching myself pack from somewhere outside of my body.
I’ve gone numb, unable to make a single decision. What am I supposed to be packing?
****
Theo
Not only do the papers now know that I’m in a new relationship, they also know where she lives.
I gather what I can, Bear’s lead, his food and bowls, whilst Elizabeth packs in the bedroom.
I look around the cottage like it’s suddenly a foreign world to me.
I have no idea what she would want to take with her.
My eyes land on her laptop on the desk, and I know she will want that, along with her notebook and pen.
I open the front door and find Nigel waiting, the car doors open, ready to leave at a second’s notice. My team must’ve filled him in.
My mind flashes back to the call. The panic in their voices told me just how serious it was.
“Theo, it’s everywhere. You need to get her out NOW!” I didn’t waste a second.
I stride across the cottage to the bedroom to find Elizabeth staring at the half-packed suitcase on the bed, her hand gently stroking her baby bump.
A wave of guilt hits me when I feel the fear vibrating off her.
I did this. I brought danger to her door.
Slowly, I place my hand on her hips and spin her to face me.
“I’m sorry, Sunshine.” I pull her body close to me and rest her head on my chest, my hand cupping the back of her head. In that moment, I vow to never be the cause of this woman’s heartache again. I will never be the person who causes this hand-shaking fear.
“I don’t know what to pack, Theo. What’s happening?” Her voice is so soft and tears spring to her eyes, making her look so vulnerable.
“Whatever you have will be fine. It’s just a couple of days until we come back for the rest.” Her hand rests on my chest, so I rest mine over the top.
“It’s me and you now, Sunshine. I’ll protect you.” I close the suitcase and lift it from the bed, taking her delicate hand in mine.
I lead Elizabeth down the cottage path, and I can’t help wondering whether she will ever see it again.
We sit in the car in silence as the outside world flies by.
Her silence is unsettling. The worry is written all over her face.
I squeeze her hand gently. She squeezes back.
I rub her leg the entire way out of town, unsure if I’m trying to calm her or calm myself.
Olivia received the divorce papers in the mail that morning and wasted no time starting her revenge process. I know that it is only a matter of time before the death threats start being delivered to Elizabeth’s door, or, even worse, people turning up, and I will not wait for the danger to start.
My entire world is Elizabeth and Nellie, and I will burn the earth to the ground before I let anyone hurt them.