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Chapter 35
Theadora
Thesmellofroast beef hit me as I entered my new flat. Embracing domesticity and relishing in the comforts of a fully equipped kitchen, Lucy sang along to Bruno Mars as she stirred a pot.
I think my rich upbringing must have subconsciously asserted itself when signing the lease to our apartment in an upmarket suburb.
Offering her free rent, I asked Lucy to move in with me. I was so jumpy, after everything that had happened, I feared being alone.
“How was your exam?” she asked.
“Good. I think I’ll pass,” I said, running my finger along the rim of the pot for a taste of the gravy. “I’m looking forward to a break. Maybe we can go to Spain or something. Interested?”
It was amazing what heartbreak did for one’s productivity. I’d buried my head in work to avoid thinking about Declan. Even though he was with me every damn, agonising minute, especially at night.
It had been a month since I left Bridesmere, and my tears had finally dried.
I think I’d cried myself empty.
“I’d love a trip to Ibiza. Only I can’t keep living off you, lovie.”
I smiled at her sad face.
“I’m loaded.”
“It’s expensive here and you aren’t working.”
“That’s about to end. I’ve just landed a gig teaching music to preschoolers.”
“Oh, really?” Her face brightened. “Great.”
It hurt to smile. My underworked facial muscles strained each time my mouth curved.
“Have you called him?” she asked while stirring the gravy.
Puffing out a breath, I shook my head.
“He keeps coming into the hotel. And then there’s that red-haired man in the limousine. He followed me home today.”
The sprinkling of warmth from hearing of Declan’s persistence quickly turned to ice. “Reynard Crisp came into the hotel again?”
“It’s my day off. But I could swear I saw his car drive past earlier. He knows where we live.”
“Fuck.”
I thought of the spine-chilling encounter I’d had with Crisp a few days back.
He’d somehow traced my college and was waiting outside.
The door of his chauffeur-driven Bentley swung open, which had fellow students gawking as though a celebrity had arrived.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“Let’s go somewhere away from your audience, shall we?” He wore a menacing smirk which turned me to stone.
“I’m not getting in there with you.” I just kept walking while looking out for a cab. Normally I rode the Tube, but it was a block away.
The car crawled along, and when we were away from the college, I stopped and gave him a filthy look and the finger.
