Page 20 of The Forbidden Fling

“Will it be alright?” Diana asked in a low whisper, raising the hairs on Faye’s arms.

“I hope so. They’re close to becoming endangered.”

That was putting it lightly. Birds in high demand in the pet trade, like the Pink Polari, were targeted for their colourful feathers. Poachers were known to clip their wings, making it impossible for them to escape and putting them in excruciating pain. As if that weren’t bad enough, they were starved and kept in such bad conditions that many wouldn’t survive the journey to be sold.

The idea that people could do this to other living things made Faye want to destroy them in a blaze of fire. She looked at the poor little bird and the net entrapping it. Could it be a coincidence? Or were there poachers on the island right now?

“Come on, everyone,” Ella called. “Let’s make our way back and give the bird some space.”

The group dispersed, talking quietly among themselves. Quin popped their head through the doorway and raised two questioning thumbs-ups.

“I’ll catch you later,” she whispered, and Quin nodded, shooting finger guns back at her.

“Are you coming?” Diana asked.

Faye’s muscles burned from crouching, but she shook her head. “I’m gonna stay with her until the wildlife team gets here.”

“How do you know she’s female?”

“See the brown patch above her beak there? That’s the cere.”

“You really know your stuff.” Diana slowly got to her feet, smiling when her knees audibly cracked. The way she moved with such care and fluidity so as not to scare the bird made Faye’s heart squeeze. “Good luck, Faye. See you tomorrow.”

They shared another look before Diana joined the others. The feeling of her gaze lingered long after she’d left.

“Guess it’s just you and me for a little bit,” Faye whispered to the bird.

She didn’t realise until much, much later, that she still had Diana’s phone in her pocket.

Chapter Seven

Diana

Diana fiddled with the gold watch around her wrist. How has it only been fifteen minutes? Blinking under the white spotlight in Marco Marcos’ office, it felt like weeks had passed. The small room carried the scent of mango and ginger, perhaps remnants of the empty smoothie resting on the bald man’s desk. She scanned the motivational poster behind him. “Thoughts are not facts.” Perhaps not, but it didn’t change the fact that Diana thought this was a waste of her time.

She wasn’t the one who needed counselling. She had a successful career and a best-selling book, for Christ’s sake. Molly needed some direction, not her. She just wanted to catch up on her work—but evidently, the guidance sessions were non-optional.

Marco Marcos steepled his fingers, each knuckle thick with dark hair. “So, Diana, tell me more about your reason for attending Sandy Springs.”

She folded her hands in her lap. “For my daughter. I wanted her to try something new and find what she wants to do.”

He peered down the bridge of his nose, square glasses tilting with the movement. “And you?”

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to spend time together.”

He nodded, scribbling something in his notepad. “Do you do that often?”

The clock ticked loudly on the wall, marking her misery. She hoped he wouldn’t notice the hesitation. “Not so much nowadays.”

“Would you like to expand on that?”

Not particularly. But judging by the intense dark eyes on her from across the room, she didn’t have much choice in the matter. “Molly and I haven’t always seen eye to eye. Since I left my ex-husband, it’s been a slow decline. It doesn’t help that I know what sort of nonsense he fills her ears with.” She shook her head instinctively as Jason’s voice swirled around her.

“You’ve abandoned me, and you’ve abandoned your daughter.”

Diana loved being a mother. But that was all Jason wanted her to be. The idea that she could be successful in other areas of her life—or, heaven forbid, more successful than Jason—was taken as an insult. A threat. His ideologies were still stuck in the Stone Age.

Diana had imagined marriage to be a partnership. Two people working together to better themselves and create a life together. But when she progressed and was offered a grant to study her master’s, she went from inspiring to selfish overnight. Jason’s tide turned, and she realised she was all alone.