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I have a feeling he’s going to need all the luck he can get.
Chapter Nine
When I left for work I had this daunting, sinking flutter within, a peculiar nagging that something wasn’t quite right. At first I thought it was because Nathan is ill. Now I’ve discovered it was a sixth sense, my instincts warning me of something coming my way.
A woman I haven’t seen in years, whom I never want to see again, is sitting only four tables away from the kitchen with a man who I don’t recognise.
Nathan’s mother.
She’s so pretty. It doesn’t suit her ugly soul.
I’m surprised when she leans around her companion and peers into the kitchen.
“The nerve of her!” I gasp and my hands tighten around the carrot and the knife that I’m slicing it with.
“The nerve of who?” Harold asks, flipping a fish in a sizzling pan.
“Nothing,” I mutter, still seething over the fact that vile woman just waved and smiled at me. As though she knows me! How fucking dare, she?
“Calm. You’re going to cut your fingers off.” Kerim’s hands cover mine. “I notice you have seen her?”
I nod.
“Do not let her bother you. She’s not worth it.” Kerim doesn’t know about what happened to Nathan but I have no doubt that he’s aware of Nathan’s sour relationship with the bitch. “We don’t have time for drama. Come.” He pulls me towards the desserts. “You can finish these.”
I nod, willing myself to keep my mouth shut for fear of losing control and running it where I shouldn’t. The urge to go out there and slap her across the face, job be damned, is just unbearable. So I distract myself with the desserts.
From my position in the kitchen I can no longer see her, but that doesn’t stop me from tensing every single time I think I hear her laugh. How dare she find any joy when her poor son suffered for so long?
“These look great,” Kerim compliments as he passes. “Keep up the good work.”
That small gesture has helped me smile a little bit. Though only a little.
I need my break so I can call my fiancé and vent to him about this.
What are his parents playing at? First his dad calls and now his mum is where I work. Why can’t they just leave us alone? Haven’t they done enough? Does she know that I work here? If this is intentional, what does she want?
Patience, adding to my discomfort, decides to sneer at me from over the metal table on which she is now preparing plates for table delivery. Which was my job. Her beady eyes narrow to almost slits and I now know that Kerim’s kindness towards me has earned me an enemy in this kitchen, which is disappointing because I don’t want any conflict. I just want to work in a hassle free environment, where I enjoy coming to every day.
“Don’t mind her.” Harold winks at me as he passes. At least now I know I’m not going crazy because I’m not the only one to notice her animosity towards me.
There is one thing I’m grateful to her for – her dramatic glaring has distracted me for long enough to almost forget about the infamous Mrs Patricia Weston.
Hopefully she’s gone already.
I daren’t look to see. I just want her out of my mind. Her and that poisonous husband of hers.
How on earth he got away with what he did just sickens me. Nathan needs to come forward. I know it’ll be hard but that man is roaming free. And what will happen if something happens to Nathan and I? They have money. They’ll gain custody of our children if they wanted! What if his father is as vile as his father before him?
My heart stops and tears fill my eyes at the thought of my babies, my beautiful babies, being subjected to such a torturous life.
With trembling hands and a roiling stomach, I plough through my work, willing it to end so I can go home and speak to Nathan. We need to safeguard the future of our children. If this is the only way to do so, it needs to be done. His feelings be damned. He has me. I’ll help him through this. I’ll be there every step of the way.
Unfortunately, when I get home and I see my beloved Nathan snuggled into our blanket, his arm around my pillow, I just can’t bring myself to disturb his peaceful rest to bring up such awful times. My revelations and worries can wait until he’s better.
“Mm.” Nathan’s arms come around my middle and his chest presses against my back. “Something smells amazing.”
“That’d be me,” I joke, tilting my head so that he can kiss the tender space beneath my ear.
“Bacon scented perfume? You spoil me.” He licks the space he just kissed, leaving a cool trail of tingles and unfortunately no small amount of saliva.
