“Evelyn, what are you doing? Why has this man who has been sitting in his car outside my house come in and said he’s with the security team?”
The disappointment in her mother’s voice cut her deeply. And she had called her by her full name.
Eve sat heavily on a chair at the kitchen table and looked down in shame. Her sex life had caused this. Her inability to say no to Roman. She would never be able to lift her head high again.
“I’m sorry mum. Someone at work recognised me and… I didn’t think it would get that far. I thought I could just hide here and the reporters would go away.”
“Well, because of that I had to cancel my shift last night and you know we can’t afford to do that,” her mother said. “And if you’re hiding there it means you’re not getting paid, either.”
She wasn’t going to tell her mother she had been fired from the restaurant job.
“I have some money, I’ll transfer_”
“I’m not taking that man’s money,” Tessa cut in.
“It’s not his money, I had my wages,” she said quietly, and then remembered that Roman was behind her.
She turned back and saw him leaning on a counter, looking at her, clearly listening to her conversation. She had already told him her mother wouldn’t want to be in the same room as him but she didn’t want to have that discussion with her while he was listening.
“Sorry,” he said, and then picked up some paperwork he had gathered from his drawers and left the room.
“Mum, I know you and dad are very upset with me right now. I fucked up. I’m sorry,” she said. “But now the fact my name is out there, and if someone wants to find you, they can. You need to leave the house. You need to come here.”
“Why would I move your dad for this mess? Who does he think he is? The King of England? No one cares about that rubbish. Come home and sort things out,” Tessa said.
“I can’t,” she said, looking up at the screen. “They’re so many of them waiting outside, I can’t lead them to you. But if they find you, you won’t be safe there.”
There was silence on the other end and she knew her mother was thinking of the flimsy lock on the front door, and the back door that didn’t lock even though there was a shared alleyway at the back. If anyone did get desperate enough for the bit of change they would get for selling the story, they could walk right in.
“It’s safe here. And everything dad needs is here, there’s a lot of space. If you just pack some clothes and leave before they get there_”
“How can everything that your dad needs be there? Did you plan this?”
“No, of course not,” she answered. “But he…”
She didn’t want to tell them that he had kitted out the house for them anyway after he had stolen it.
“The security team will bring you over as soon as they are told to,” she said. “I’m sorry mum. I love you.”
She hung up and prayed that she had made the right decision this time. Her dad would be happier here even if it was just for a short time. Maybe then he would start to feel better and they could repair their relationship.
Roman was on the phone in the lounge when she found him. He finished up when he saw her and came towards her. And then he pulled her into his arms.
Once again she was struck by the difference in him. He wasn’t acting cold or distant. Head been perfect from the moment she had kissed him last night.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
And he was asking about her feelings. Her heart fluttered and she didn’t even try to fight it.
“Yes. Thank you.”
He released her and she looked up at his perfect face. There was a hint of sadness on his face. She remembered about his stepmother and hoped he hadn’t just received worse news.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
A small smile touched his lips as he answered, “Yes. But we need to pack up and leave as soon as possible. The company that installed the gate has the perfect replacement and can get here in a couple of hours. That would be the perfect time to let the reporters watch us load up and leave.”
And that was what happened. She was amazed at the speed at which Roman sorted everything but she guessed money allowed people to do that. No wait times for the rich one percent of the population. When she had dressed in another pretty outfit that Phillip had bought, including a warm jacket and boots, and then carried her things downstairs, there were already several bags by the door and Roman was on the phone again. In a suit as always and not a hair out of place. When he saw her, he finished up and came towards her again, all of his attention on her.
She didn’t want to feel like this could lead somewhere but she couldn’t help it. It was a side effect of being in his bed all night. And she was being honest with herself now, the walls she had built around her heart had already crumbled.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
She nodded and then Roman sent a text. Moments later, two men came in and carried their things out. Roman took her hand and then led her out after them. As he put the security code in and closed the door, she couldn’t help looking back at the reporters. The old gate had already been removed so there was a gaping hole at the top of the driveway where cameras were going off endlessly. Roman took her hand again and led her to the car, where Phillip was already waiting with the door open.
They drove out slowly with a security team in front and behind them. By the time they joined the busy Birmingham traffic, she was sure they had all taken enough pictures to last a lifetime. Would this work? Would her parents really be safe here?
“You look very worried, Evelyn,” Roman said, pulling her attention away from the window.
She gave him a small smile as she settled back in the seat.
“I’ll probably worry until they’re safe,” she said. “I just can’t shake the feeling that this is just the beginning. Something bad is going to happen.”
Maybe they would be too late to get to the house. Or maybe her dad would refuse to leave. Maybe that feeling was about her, and she would receive a message that she had lost her other job.
Shit. She hadn’t even thought of them and now she was on her way to London. There went her second job.
“Come here,” Roman said.
He had his arms wide open. How many times had they sat in this car, so close to each other but worlds apart? She bit her lip and hesitated only briefly before she slid across the seat to him. His arms went around her, securing her against his solid chest. Her worry melted away as she burrowed against his solid chest.
How could this be the same person who’d made her feel so scared and unsafe only months ago? Her fear had felt like a living thing, eating at her slowly from the inside, and he’d managed to wash it all away with a few words and a tumble in his bed.
“Stop worrying, Evelyn. Your parents will be fine, and so will you.”
Without a job and Christmas around the corner? She didn’t see how, but she would believe that fairytale for now. She had no other choice.
Roman’s arms tightened around her, and she felt him kiss the top of her head. If this was how things were going to be like in London then she was going to have a very hard time letting him go when all of this was over.