‘Perhaps an evening in would do you good. I’ll cancel John and Ella and then draw you a bath. I’m sure a soak and time to relax will have you feeling yourself again.’ He sounds genuinely concerned and it knocks me off balance for a moment, the world tilting on an axis. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve been neglecting you. I’ll take a few days off work to look after you.’
I can feel myself sinking into his orbit, a part of me sayingsee, he isn’t all bad.Maybe I’ve misjudged him, just a little.
‘Hey,’ he says and reaches out to pull me into an embrace. ‘It’s all going to be okay.’
He senses a change in my posture as I sag into him and he tightens his hold on me.
‘I’ve got you, BeeBee.’
It’s the use of the nickname that jolts me to my senses.What am I doing?This man, this cheating horrible weasel, made this world’s Bethany so miserable she invented a machine to punch a hole in the universe to escape through. He is all bad. I haven’t misjudged him. Oh, and he slapped me. So, yeah. Fuck him.
I push him away. ‘You don’t have me. I don’t want anything to do with you.’ I keep my words measured, my tone even and each syllable enunciated clearly.
‘Oh come on, BeeBee. Don’t be silly.’
‘You hit me.’ I stand firm.
‘It was just a misunderstanding. There’s no need to overreact.’
I take a deep breath and then I push past him, picking up my handbag from where I’d hooked it over the banister at the bottom of the stairs.
‘Where are you going?’ he asks, following me into the hallway.
I open the front door and turn to face him one final time. ‘I’m going home.’
Confusion clouds his features but I don’t wait for his reply. I slam the door as loudly as possible behind me, the sound ringing through the warm air of the summer night.
Chapter Sixty
Of course I can’t actually gohomehome. But anywhere is more like home than that weird house with Nick.
I take myself to the nearest hotel and check in.
‘It’s good to see you again, Ms Raven,’ the receptionist says with a small smile.
Ms Raven? Not Mrs Ingram? I open my mouth to say something but close it again. IfI’vecome here after an argument with Nick, then perhaps this world’s Bethany did that too. And booked in under her maiden name so she could pretend, if only for a night, that the whole of her marriage was just a bad dream and this hotel was her real life.
‘I’ve upgraded you to a suite,’ she adds as she hands me a small plastic key card. ‘There’s a huge bathtub and a fabulous array of products all set up for a pamper session. I’ll have someone bring you up a bottle of wine and some of that sticky toffee pudding.’
‘Erm … thanks?’ I reply, failing to keep the question out of my tone. Why is she being so nice?
Her face falls slightly. ‘You don’t remember?’ Her tone is soft.
‘Sorry, I had an accident. I’m fine now, but my memory …’
‘You were ever so kind last time you stayed.’ She grins. ‘You helped me with my uni assignment. And I passed thecourse. Got the highest mark in the class.’ She sounds so proud and I feel my heart squeeze for this young woman who obviously has so much potential and such a life ahead of her.
‘Well done, you. And congratulations.’
‘All thanks to you. Right then, I’d better get back to it.’ She nods towards the concierge desk where a stern-looking man is standing, a scowl creasing his face.
‘Your boss?’
‘Yeah.’ The word said on an outward breath. ‘He can be a bit …’ She trails off.
‘Are you sure you won’t get in trouble? For the suite and everything,’ I clarify.
‘Oh no, no. He has no idea how to even access the computer system. He just hates people smiling.’
