Cordelia bursts out laughing. “She loves those chickens more than anything. Did she tell you about Lord Cluck?”
“I met him!”
“Lord Cluck is the light of her life, not me or Tom. He really is her pride and joy.”
“He’smagnificent!”
She giggles, shaking her head, then slides off her stool announcing she’s going for a cigarette. I wait for her, scrolling through Instagram. When she gets back, she looks determined, sitting down and leaning toward me.
“About tonight,” she begins. “About what Annabel said. The reason I threw the drink over her.”
I can tell this is serious, and I put my phone away. “You don’t have to talk about it.”
“I want to,” she says slowly. “I want to explain. It’s quite tiring to keep it all a secret. I shouldn’t have thrown the drink at her. And I shouldn’t have been in her room. I wasn’t snooping, I promise. Everyone was asking about the wedding and I got a bit overwhelmed and wanted a time-out. I knew Annabel’s bedroom best from when we were friends, so I ducked in there without thinking about it. Stupid of me to think she wouldn’t mind. I’m going to have to apologize and there’s nothing worse than apologizing to Annabel Porthouse.”
“I was there, Cordelia. She was nasty to you, too.”
She nods appreciatively, before launching into her story. “Annabel and I used to be best friends. There was a group of us. We went to the same school from the age of eleven and were with each other all the way up to the sixth form, so we were super close. We did everything together, told each other everything. Annabel and I were inseparable. I couldn’t live without her. Like sisters. Do you have a mate like that?”
“My cousin and I are very close.”
“You know, then. We partied a lot together. We were both in the public eye, so were invited to all the same events, the nightclub openings, the premieres, the dinners, all that stuff.” She waves away her glamorous past. “It was fun, especially when we left school. At first, I wasn’t interested in drugs.” She looks up at me, her eyes gleaming. “I knew my parents would kill me if theyever found out. But Annabel and Georgia, along with my group of girls, were always big on that scene and, eventually, I started doing them with Annabel. A lot.”
She pauses, taking a drink of water. I don’t say anything, waiting for her to continue, concerned about where this story is going.
“One night, I was out with Annabel. I overdosed.”
I blink back tears, having guessed that it was coming but still finding it hard to hear. “I’m so sorry.”
“It was a long time ago. My own stupid fault. I was taken to hospital, almost died.” She starts to chew her thumbnail. “My poor parents. And Tom. I’ll never forgive myself for putting them through that night.”
I swallow the lump in my throat, desperate to reach out and put a comforting hand on hers. She drops them to her lap, clasping them together, as though she knows what I’m thinking.
“When I came round, they were there. But no one else was. Not one of those friends visited me in hospital. Not even Annabel.” Lines form on her forehead, as though she’s deep in thought, still not understanding an event that happened years ago. “She was embarrassed. She dropped me. Just like that.”
“But why?”
“I was a social pariah,” she explains. “Annabel wouldn’t go near me. The rumors were all flying. The only reason the press never found out was thanks to Mum and Dad, who spoke to Annabel’s parents and begged them to make sure she never told a soul. They were like my second parents so were just as protective. We were at least safe in the knowledge that Annabel wouldn’t tell the press. Her dad would have killed her.” She gives me a sad smile. “So that was something.”
“And you and Annabel?”
“Were never friends again. I tried talking to her about it, desperate to salvage our relationship.” She hesitates. “It turns out that the night it all happened, her boyfriend at the time tried iton with me. I would never have done that to her, but he had a very different story. Apparently, Annabel and I had argued about it, but I can’t remember.”
“And she believed him?”
“Yes, she did. And, in the end, they broke up a few months later because he cheated on her with one of her friends. Twice. But by then his lie about what happened with me didn’t matter. She hated me. And I felt betrayed by her.”
“I don’t understand why your friends weren’t there for you. It must have been so horrible going through that.”
“Because they weren’t really my friends. They liked my title and my fame, but they didn’t like me. It was all a lie.” She reaches for the water, gulping it down. “That was when I decided friends were a waste of time. I could only rely on my family and myself. I dropped out of the public eye and focused on the real things in life. I pushed everyone away. I figured if everyone hated me, I wouldn’t have to like them.” She smiles to herself. “Then, years later, when I thought I was happy by myself, Jonathan came along, and as much as I tried not to fall for him, I couldn’t help it. I had no choice in the matter.”
“He’s crazy about you.”
“Who knows why? I think he finds my outlandish comments funny.”
“He has a great sense of humor.”
“So, there you have it, the full story.” She’s spinning a beer mat around absentmindedly. “The truth is, Annabel broke my heart. And it hurt much more than the breakdown of any romantic love.”
