“How?”
“The Freya who was engaged to marry Matthew wouldneverhave run down a hotel corridor stark bollock naked.”
I give her a weak smile. “That’s a fair point.”
“What Matthew has done is pure selfishness,” she says, suddenly serious again. “He’s seen you moving on and he’s panicked. Which is unfair, because it’s not like…”
She trails off and glances at Leo. Something about her eyes, which are mildly panicked, makes me realize that she’s not telling me something. Leo doesn’t give anything away in his expression, but he shifts under her gaze.
“What’s going on?” I frown at them. “What are you not saying?”
She looks nervously to Leo again and then down at her hands. “We were going to tell you, Freya, because we didn’t want youfinding out any other way, but then when you told us he called you…”
“Tell me what?” A croak in my voice betrays my panic, as I hurriedly sit up and face whatever’s coming.
“We bumped into Akin,” Leo reveals gently. “You obviously know he lives around here.”
“All too well. What did he say?” I ask hurriedly, begging them to end this suspense.
“He told us… he mentioned that Matthew has been on a few dates,” Ruby says so softly, it’s almost a whisper. “He went out with some friends recently and brought along one of these dates and they put up some photos with her, too. Akin was worried that you’d see it on one of their Instagram pages and get upset, that’s why he told us. He didn’t know who you still followed out of the group and… I actually think he was trying to do the right thing by telling us.” She pauses, watching me carefully. “I’m so sorry, Freya.”
I can’t really speak. I think if I open my mouth, a sob might come out, and I don’t want that.
“Are you okay?”
I’m not okay. But I nod slowly and clench my jaw stubbornly as my mind races. I knew this would happen. We’re both single now, and Matthew was going to start dating other people eventually. It was always going to happen.
Still. Even when you expect it. Even when it makes sense. It’s heartbreaking.
Without saying anything, Leo stands and comes to sit on the other side of me and the two of them form a human cocoon around me. I don’t know how long I sit there in silence, but it’s a long time, because my hot chocolate goes cold and a thin layer of cold marshmallow goo forms on the top of it. Ruby holds my hand. Leo leans his head against mine. Neither of them say anything, because they both know me well enough to know I don’twant them to. And even though I feel utterly broken, I also feel safe in this little human sandwich they’ve formed on their sofa.
The brutality of a breakup is hard.
Feeling replaced is worse.
“Darling!”
Oh god, here we go. The moment has arrived. I turn round to see Mum standing in front of me wearing an elaborate purple hat with a giant bow on it. Adrian tenses next to me and I can sense poor Dad literally steeling himself by puffing out his chest.
“Hi, Mum,” I say in a strained tone, going along with her air-kiss-type greeting.
“You look so beautiful! So glowing! So sparkling!” she exclaims, a hand to her chest as she takes me in. Her eyes drift across to Adrian and she tilts her head and sticks out her bottom lip. “My baby! So grown-up! Adrian!”
Adrian is then subjected to the same greeting, but manages to look a lot more at ease with it than I do, giving her a warm smile.
“Hey, Mum. Wow, great hat.”
“Oh thank you, darling, you know me!”
“I do,” he says with a fake laugh.
We’d just had a conversation about how it was important to be nice to Mum because it was Rachel and Carley’s big day and we didn’t want any tension at such a happy occasion. Despite Adrian’s advice, I hadn’t made the effort to meet up with Mum before today, but I’ve promised him and Dad that I’ll be on good behavior for Rachel’s sake.
The wedding is on the grounds of a beautiful old house in Norwich, with a sailcloth marquee up on the lawn for the reception following the ceremony, which will take place in the Orangery. Rachel is our only cousin, the daughter of my dad’s sister, AuntyEm. We knew Mum would be invited even though it’s Dad’s side of the family—Mum is Rachel’s godmother and Aunty Em really does love her, despite everything. Aunty Em even phoned Dad to discuss inviting her, a kind gesture he felt unnecessary.
Adrian and I have always got on well with Rachel and spent childhood holidays building dens with her or creating silly plays to perform to our parents. As we grew up, we saw her less, as she moved to Norwich to work for a house-renovation company there, but we’ve kept in touch, often checking in on each other, and she’s been really supportive this summer, sending me messages and offering to come visit to make sure I’ve been doing okay.
We met Carley two years ago at Christmas, when she and Rachel were in London for a couple of days. The relationship was still new, but I knew Carley was The One—mostly because Rachel told me so when Carley nipped to the loo. Rachel wears her heart on her sleeve but it was obvious that the adoration was mutual.
