I raise my gaze from her shoulder. ‘Do you think I’m mad?’
‘I’m reserving judgement,’ she says staring at me with a sort of sad half-smile. ‘You aren’t often impulsive without reason, but I’d like to hear the full story first.’
The air con whirls to life as I wonder where to start. Sat in the pristine kitchen, in a home that feels not like my own, I start from the beginning, and it all pours out. I confirm the man in the club, my attacker, was Essam; the man she knows fucked her friend about.
‘You know, I’ve wondered about that. You said at the time, the fecker they pulled off you was rich, you know, when you didn’t want to involve the police? I thought maybe he’d offered you money for a shag, not taking no as an answer and mauling your arse. But something didn’t seem right. The cousin,’ she adds, shaking her head. ‘No wonder you didn’t want the police involved. What did Kai do to him?’
My throat is tight, so I shake my head. ‘Didn’t get the chance to tell him, not ‘til he followed me home. To Australia, I mean.’
I swallow a mouthful of wine and grimace, then inhaling a deep breath, I dive in at the deep end.
I tell her about Kai’s dad and his offer to buy me off,another dirty cash transaction,to keep me away from Kai. I tell her about Sofia and her husband, their open marriage. Halting and stumbling, I tell her about Kai’s involvement with the pair; that he’d screwed the wife. And then, over the lump of solid emotion lodged in my throat, I tell her what I saw at Kai’s hotel suite.
All the while she says nothing, her expression unchanging, though as I ramble, she does pull away to fill her glass.
‘Days of Our Lives, the Dubai edition,’ she says once I’m done. ‘I take it the fact that you got married so quickly was that you thought his dad would pull something like this? The visa? It’s his fault, I take it?’
‘I don’t think Kai anticipated it. Not exactly. The one thing I do know is he arrived in Australia with a ring. He didn’t know the whole story at that point. He didn’t propose just to keep me. Keep me sweet, I mean.’
‘For the love of God—‘course he didn’t. That bloke loves the arse offa you! I’d say it’s a good job he anticipated something, though.’
‘I know.’
‘Firstly, you’re in heaps of shit for hiding all this from me. Second, for fecks sakes, Kate, I could’ve helped!’
I laugh. It sounds more like a painful cough. ‘How? It’s such a clusterfuck.’
‘I dunno.’ Hands momentarily in the air, she adds, ‘A problem shared and all that.’
I laugh again. Humourlessly.
‘I could’ve saved you the price of a flight, at least.’ She shakes her head. ‘Y’daft fecker. Good job you got married, though. I’d’ve missed you if you couldn’t come back.’
This is a big admission from Niamh. The nearest I’ll ever get toI love you.
‘Aw, I’d have missed you, too.’
‘And who would I have had to borrow from before my next paycheck comes in?’
‘Cupboard love.’
‘No, babe. Money love. Share the love!’ She snorts, tipping the bottle above her glass, but the wine is long gone.
‘I didn’t want it, you know. The money. I signed the wedding contract without even knowing.’
‘And that,’ she says, covering her hand following a small burp, ‘tells me that love makes people daft.’
‘So you do think I’m mad for marrying him.’
‘No, I think you’re an eejit for not reading something before you signed on the dotted line.’ She inhales deeply, looking at her glass as she begins twirling the stem. ‘Love isn’t something you have any choice in, Kate. It’s not about thinking.’
‘You don’t understand—I signed the thing without even realising what it was.’
‘Whose fault was that? Did he tell you not to read it?’
‘Of course not.’ My words are tinged with anger as I jump from my seat. ‘He maybe counted on it. He deceived me.’
Niamh gives an unconcerned shrug, and I can’t believe she isn’t stamping her feminist heels. I also can’t believe I’m labouring over this point, but her reaction is so unreal. It’s unnatural.And as successful as goading a sloth.
