Oh. Dear. God. There was a lot to unpack, here.
First– although probably not foremost– Amy bristled at ‘life in the sticks’. Admittedly, this was a phrase she’d previously used herself when she described where she’d lived before heading to London … But for Hugh to talk as if she’d moved to some culturally barren backwater was different. It was patronising. She felt suddenly protective of Rowton, its unassuming prettiness and its quirky, good-hearted residents, in a way she wouldn’t have imagined possible just a few short weeks ago.
‘Good heavens,’ Grace said from over Amy’s shoulder. ‘He spins a good line. Nice present, too.’
‘Gran,’ Amy said, shaking her head at the invasion of privacy. Grace was right, though: Hugh’s message read like something from a previous century.
There was something self-consciously Mr Darcy-ish about penning amea culpalike this, which would have been all very well if the apology had felt sincere. However, there was nothing in this note that acknowledged the truth of how badly Hugh had reacted to a mess that was largely of his own making. Amy hadn’taskedto be proposed to, let alone a thousand feet up in the air. As for her ‘feeling the need to leave’ London … The implication was that it might all have been an overreaction on Amy’s part: an unnecessary step, rather than a move directly inspired by his very heavy hint that if there was no chance of a reconciliation between them, she should consider her position professionally. At best, he was being disingenuous– and at worst this was a blatant attempt at gaslighting.
Then there was that final line about her absence, and his hope that it wouldn’t be for long.Seriously? He’d insisted she leave his flat inside hours of their break-up, then reduced her to a quivering wreck within five minutes of bumping into her at work. After making it clear that he couldn’t stand the sight of her, did he really think a posh candle and some snazzy moisturiser would convince her they could comfortably coexist again? It made Amy queasy to think he believed she could be so easily– if expensively– bought. She might have been persuadable once, but she didn’t want to be that person anymore.
She snapped several photos of the package and card, then opened WhatsApp and typed a message to Kit. She needed to sense-check her reaction to this with someone who’d give her a no holds barred opinion, and Kit could always be relied upon for those, provided you could raise him.
Amy: Just received this from Hugh. WTAF?
Two blue ticks. Thank God.
Kit:OMFG
Kit is typing …
Several minutes later, Amy concluded that Kit clearly wasn’t typing. Or if he was, it was taking far too long.
Amy:Well??? What does this mean? What do I DO?
Kit:Sorry, back now– was just messaging Julius
Amy:Not a question for now, but who TF is Julius?
Kit:A very smart, somewhat nerdy sex god who is thus far annoyingly resistant to my charms
Am trying to wear him down with words, since– unbelievably– my hot bod alone doesn’t have him convinced
Amy groaned and instructed herself to dig deep for some patience.
Kit: Okay, so re: what this means …
Tbh I am shocked but not surprised by this development.
Hugh thought by chucking you out of his swish flat and making you question your job security, you’d realise how shit life was without him in your corner.
Being so harsh and acting so fast was a power play– his Blitzkrieg, you might say.
You disappearing altogether was NOT in his plan.
Basically, you’ve flummoxed him by fucking off.
Amy frowned at her phone as she read Kit’s words, all of which clanged with the ring of truth.
Amy: What are you saying? That he didn’t intend for me to take him seriously when he suggested we shouldn’t work together?
Kit: Hmmm. I think he wanted you to take it seriously enough that you were scared, the massive bastard.
HOWEVER, he didn’t think you’d have such an easy out. He didn’t expect you to up and disappear to a different part of the country by the time the week was done.
My spies (aka Jo on reception) tell me there was quite the row between him and Carolyn on the Monday when you weren’t at your desk. First he’d heard of it all apparently.
Amy: God. I feel bad if it’s caused an issue between them. That’s awful.
