66
AMBER
‘Simone!’ I yell, skidding to a halt on the dusty ground.
She’s standing on a flat rock a couple of feet from the cliff edge, her hands on her hips, staring out to sea. She doesn’t turn round and dread oozes down my spine like a lump of ice.
I step forwards cautiously, as if I’m approaching a feral cat, and start speaking in a low voice.
‘Please, Simone, come back from the edge.’ I clear my throat, trying not to look at the rolling waves battering the cliffs below. She doesn’t move, doesn’t even seem to register my presence. I take another couple of steps towards her, my arm outstretched.
‘I know it’s a mess, but we can sort it out.’
Finally, she turns to me, her features sharp with irritation. ‘What?’
‘Please, don’t jump. Everything’s going to be all right.’
She starts laughing like a drain, and I force myself to smile, as if I’m privy to the joke even though I have no idea what’s so funny. But just as suddenly as she started, she stops, her features scrunching into a dark scowl.
‘You’re as bad as Dom. Such a fucking sycophant. Grow some balls, for God’s sake. I’m not going to jump.’
‘Well, what are you?—’
‘When Demetriou told me your prints were on the marble bust I couldn’t believe my luck,’ she says, as if I haven’t spoken. ‘It was serendipity.’ That supercilious look again. ‘It was meant to be.’
‘I know what serendipity means!’ I growl, losing patience.
‘At last, some spark. You might not want to hear it, but we’re more alike than you think, Amber.’
‘I amnothinglike you. You’re…you’re mad!’
‘Maybe I am.’ She shrugs. ‘But I’m not losing everything, not after all I’ve sacrificed to be here.’
‘You?’ I splutter.
Her eyes flash. ‘You have no idea how hard I’ve worked to get to where I am. No fucking idea.’
‘Don’t make me laugh. You’re a poor little rich girl born with a silver spoon in your mouth. You’ve never wanted for anything in your life.’
‘And you’re so fucking earnest. I really can’t see what Dom sees in you,’ she drawls.
‘Dominic and I are over.’
The words have a dramatic effect on Simone, who spins round to face me. As she does, her foot dislodges a stone, which skitters down the cliff and into the sea with a splash. She doesn’t seem to notice.
‘He broke up with you?’
‘I broke up with him, actually,’ I say, folding my arms.
Her lips purse in disbelief. I don’t know why but this is the final straw. I’ve had it with Simone thinking she’s so utterly superior to me in every way. Little does she know I’m about to have the last laugh. I pull my phone out of my back pocket and check it’s still recording.
‘What are you doing?’ she demands.
‘Calling Demetriou to tell him what really happened the night Felix died.’
‘You think he’s going to believe you over me?’ she jeers.
‘He will when I send him the voice note of your confession. I recorded everything.’
