AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘No, you gave me access to all of it. Not just the art project list. I saw all the tasks for your bar, for Alfie, your personal list. I can see it all.’
‘What? No, there’s no way I would . . .’ Melanie quickly grabbed her phone from her pocket and Paige watched as her face fell. ‘Why would you not tell me this sooner?’
‘At first I didn’t know it was a mistake.’
Melanie wouldn’t look up from her phone, but Paige could see her hands were white where she gripped it so hard.
Melanie uttered something but Paige couldn’t make out what it was. ‘Sorry?’
‘What else? There’s more still, isn’t there? So, tell me.’
‘I knew you were under a lot of pressure and I used the info on the app to try and help you out. Well, not all of it was from the app. The prosecco for example when you ran out and needed more, that was just timing, same with the rucksack. Well, I was going to grab you one before you added it to the list.’
‘Why?’
‘I just wanted to help.’
‘Then why not tell me? Why keep it a secret?’
It was on the tip of Paige’s tongue to tell her that she thought she was falling in love with her. But what kind of an answer was that?
‘I didn’t mean to lie. It all just happened so quickly, and I just wanted to help.’
‘Oh . . .’ Melanie’s voice caught but she cleared her throat and carried on. ‘And the brunch with the girls and their social media. They knew too, didn’t they? All the concerns about the business, all the things on my lists . . .’ Melanie stood up and didn’t say anything further.
‘No, wait you don’t understand. I can explain better. I . . .’
‘No, I get it. You used me to make yourself feel better, to be fixed again. When that worked you felt guilty and had to pay me back in some way for using me. Helpless Melanie can’t do anything and so you and your friends took pity on me. And Alfie, he fell in love with you and I—’ Melanie cut herself off and sucked in a breath.
Paige heard what Melanie said and realised it sounded way worse than she had ever intended, and she desperately wanted to know what Melanie was about to say. ‘No, that’s not true, I . . .’
But Melanie was already out the door and Paige didn’t know how that sentence finished, or why her legs wouldn’t move, or why her chest stung. But this was bad and she didn’t need her gut instinct to know that a piece of her heart had just walked out the door and she wasn’t sure she would see it again.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Melanie
‘Right so the noise order we’ve received is a fake. I’ve checked online and yeah it’s not real. Councillor Houghton said he’s going to come in later and let us know what’s going on.’ Melanie spoke as she looked down at her list on her iPad. She’d been tempted to delete the app last night but seeing as how she ran her life off it she’d instead triple-checked to make sure Paige was no longer included. On any of it. The art project she’d sort by herself. She didn’t need Paige fixing her problems in some misguided attempt at payment. Not when . . . No she couldn’t think about it or else she’d realise her ridiculous heart was breaking.
‘The good reviews are now vastly outpacing the few bad ones,’ Melanie continued. ‘I did some work last night on our costings and I think I’ve found some ways we can recoup our costs slightly differently but also, where we can make some savings. The Instagram walls need thinking about next and—’
‘Stop. Mel, just stop.’ Louisa’s hand rested on Melanie’s arm.
Melanie hadn’t realised she could no longer see her iPad, that tears were slowly and silently rolling down her face. But when she did notice she quickly and roughly wiped them away. She wasn’t helpless; she wasn’t some weak person that needed to be looked after, to be coddled. She quickly looked around the bar to make sure she hadn’t been seen.
‘Come on, let’s go to the emergency meeting room,’ Louisa said. ‘Don’t worry, nobody’s paying attention to us.’ Louisa led the way out the back of the restaurant, past the bins and round the corner to their tiny patch of land where they tended to park, and got into Louisa’s car.
Once settled in the front seats, Louisa turned to face Melanie, who carried on as if nothing had happened. ‘So I guess, I think the business will be OK, but as always we will need to keep a close eye.’
‘Mel . . . stop. It’s not the business that has you upset. Tell me what’s happening. Was it something to do with Paige?’
Melanie chewed on her lip, almost making it bleed as she tried to physically hold in her emotions. ‘I refuse to be that helpless girl again, Louisa.’
‘You never were, Mel. Laura just made you feel that way. It wasn’t real.’
‘Yeah, well.’
‘My God, Mel, you’re an absolute legend. You’re part owner in a successful business. A business that has been reviewed by Manchester Confidential, I might add.’
