His parents, too, had got married because of an unplanned pregnancy. They had been happy.
With him and Sharon, the jealous argument had started almost immediately. Then, two months into their marriage, an emergency call had come just before dinner, a patient of his rushed to hospital, he had to go. Sharon, suspecting he was off to meet another woman, had got into her car to follow him. Driving too fast, not paying attention, she crashed.
She lost baby for whose sake they had got married. And that was not all.
Severe haemorrhage.
Paralysed for life.
What kind of bastard divorced a woman after that, even if he couldn’t love her?
“We thought you were the perfect loyal husband.” Gerald’s voice brought him back to the office in Du Montfort Hall. “We believed in you. We would never have dreamed of taking that money. What could you possibly spend £100,000 on? A new love nest for your mistress? My daughter isn’t cold in her grave yet. It’s only been a few months. Well, we’re going to take the rest of the money because it’s the last thing we have of hers. We’ll donate it to her school in her name.”
Adam became aware he was still standing, the phone receiver to his ear. The line had gone dead and finally a dial tone jogged him, made him blink, and hang up the phone.
Yes, he had told her family he didn’t want the money. Because death didn’t lessen his guilt, only intensified it. After the funeral, full of remorse, he’d hated all that money sitting in his bank account. Nearly half a million pounds from the sale of the house, and another £100,000 in savings. Money he’d earned for her because of guilt. So, he wished someone else would take it, had even given Gerald access to the account.
But yesterday, he’d written to the bank to enquire about setting up a new account, a trust fund to pay his own salary so he wouldn’t be a burden on the new clinic’s fundraising.
The £600,000 which Gerald had now taken as payment for Sharon’s memory.
Which meant that Adam had — he pulled out his wallet and counted the cash — £55 to his name.
Chapter Thirty-Five
She walked around for hours.Fast walking, through fields and along the cliff path. It was a cold day but the physical exertion kept her warm.
No one had followed her. She’d made it quite clear to everyone that she wanted to be left alone. She didn’t want to hear Adam stumble over things likeIt’s not what you think.OrYou don’t understand.
And she certainly didn’t want her friends to try consoling her.
No.
No more being weak and a victim.
She wasn’t stupid; the looks on their faces made it very clear. Millie knew, had always known, and hadn’t been able to tell her. Probably George and Lord M knew as well, but they did that English thing of not sticking their noses in other people’s business. Nicole clearly had no such worries; she’d been storing the secret waiting for the right moment to use it. And was it ever the right moment. The best moment.
Ironically, it was the best moment for Laura too. Because she was in emotional overload. After the ruin of the dress, losing a boyfriend on top was like…Well, it was like being a French aristocrat losing her head under the guillotine and also getting COVID-19.
So, she went for a long walk and emptied her head of everything. There would be lots of time soon to grieve. For now, she would just walk.
Eventually, Millie’s words came to her again:
When George walked out on me, I could have easily curled up and died. I thought I had lost everything, all my plans and dreams, my future. I survived because I decided that the most important person in my life wasn’t George, it was me. I had to protect, love and nurture myself, do wonderful things for myself. Wonderful things that wouldn’t melt away if some man left me.
The words had become a talisman, Laura’s personal bible and chi. But how was she going to apply them?
She didn’t know yet, so she walked. Her feet kicking through the blue grass. If she took nothing else from this experience, she could take the memory of this beautiful colour. Nowhere else had she seen such grass. At least not in combination with the blue sea and sky.
That thought led her back to the day Adam had taken her to the marina to show her—
No. No and no. She would not think about that. In fact, she would turn the other way and walk among other grass, and other colours.
Eventually her feet took her round a cliff edge and she saw the Casemate.
Not being a believer in delaying the inevitable, she decided to go in and pack away her things. What remained of the wedding dress could be folded up out of sight.
She walked in and, for the second time in one day, a surprise waited for her.
