I looked at Frank who was scrolling on his phone. ‘Vanessa became an issue – didn’t she, Frank?’
He nodded. ‘That woman threatened to destroy everything at a key time with this film company deal. We were days away from closing the deal and Vanessa started playing dirty. She realised I was never going to commit to her or stay with her. I had to take action.’
Maddie squeezed my hand to get my attention back. ‘I couldn’t give Frank a baby because…’ My eyes flicked to her other hand which was rubbing her tummy. ‘I was already carrying Josh’s baby.’
‘What?’
She nodded. ‘I’m pregnant.’
Frank muttered something under his breath before looking away.
My mouth hit the floor and my heart ground to an abrupt halt. ‘Does Josh know?’
Maddie smiled. ‘He knew I was pregnant before I did a test.’ She rested her head on my shoulder. ‘I’m sorry to tell you this today.’
‘When did you find out?’
‘The day before you arrived in Harp Brook.’
‘And I flew her to Malibu,’ snapped Frank. ‘What a waste of time and money.’
I stared at her. ‘I knew something was wrong, but you wouldn’t tell me.’
Frank was staring at me. ‘She told me when we were in Malibu. I was ready to conceive a child. A clinic was lined up, and this happened.’
Maddie laid her hand on the table to get his attention. ‘I don’t think I could have gone through with it, Frank. The thought of having a baby as part of a business transaction felt wrong. I’d been thinking it through for weeks.’
He let out a heavy sigh. ‘My PA has got me a hotel in London. I’ll be back tomorrow.’ He rose and walked towards his driver who was busy cramming in a mouthful of buffet food. ‘We’re leaving.’
I turned to Maddie and pulled her into my arms. ‘Oh, Maddie, my lovely, sweet sister.’
She began to sob. ‘It’s a mess, Rachel. I have caused Frank so much heartbreak and I am so sorry to break the news to you like this. I wanted to tell you before I went but I was an emotional mess.’
‘So, when did Josh come back into your life?’
She lifted her face and wiped her cheeks. ‘You know I had multiple hen-dos – right?’
I nodded.
‘Well, one was back in Oxford. In the day, me and all my uni friends went horse riding. Josh was working on the farm where the stables were. It was fate. Nothing happened between Josh and me on that day. We swapped email addresses and phone numbers. There was something between us. I ended up emailing him from a bar later that evening. My uni friends got so drunk they didn’t see me sneak out and meet Josh.’ My sister had a dreamy smile on her face. ‘It was like old times. He took me to a night café, and we talked for hours. A week later, on my wedding day, I realised I had made a terrible mistake. I didn’t love Frank. He dazzled me with a lot of money, and he made Mum happy by letting her live in one of his villas in Tenerife.’
‘Aunty Bev said he bought her a villa.’
Maddie shook her head. ‘Frank has many properties. That’s one of them. She rents it at a very good rate.’
Maddie sighed. ‘I thought California would change me. I stopped emailing Josh and I tried to make myself love Frank. I went to therapy. Frank paid for the best therapist in California. Deep down I knew I had made the wrong decision. Josh flew to California, and I slept with him. I was the one who destroyed my marriage.’
I gulped in shock.
‘I came clean and told Frank I wanted to separate. He suggested this agreement. We bought this house and Josh moved down to Harp Brook Farm. Frank started seeing Vanessa soon after he’d been introduced to her.’
Maddie laughed. ‘It didn’t take Frank long at all. For the first few months it worked. We both stayed in the house in the day and at night we would go see our respective partners.’ She fiddled with a strand of her golden hair. ‘It was okay until Vanessa wanted him to divorce me. She put pressure on him and then said she would do a “kiss and tell” to a tabloid newspaper. Frank had this deal going through, so he had to find a way to end it.’
I said, ‘He tricked her into signing the NDA.’
Maddie nodded. ‘I didn’t know about all that until afterwards. That’s when Vanessa started a war against us.’
‘Tell me about Josh.’
