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Lucy typed out a response, telling Bridget she wasn’t dead; it was just a hangover and that she’d see both her and Sarah for breakfast on the terrace in half an hour. Bridget replied saying that she thought she might have food poisoning, emphasising the point with all the appropriate emojis. Lucy smiled, pulled the eye mask back over her eyes and turned on her side to doze until Stella returned.
13
Stella crossed back over the narrow Ponte Vecchio bridge towards their hotel, the old wooden shopfronts of numerous jewellery stores lining the bridge either side. Above each one, a yet unfurled canopy with the trader’s name: Biscioni, Gherardi, Cardini, Fantoni. Halfway across the bridge, Stella stopped, looking down the river towards the bridge she’d crossed earlier that morning, now busier with people heading into the centre. She took a moment to take in the river, the sounds of a city coming to life around her. Taking a deep breath, she had to concede that a change of scene really had been a good idea. Her head felt a little clearer, despite the previous night’s negronis, her body didn’t ache as much as it usually did recently. The endless questions and fears that seemed to run through her brain on a loop had been temporarily muted, too. Florence, with its sheer beauty, really was doing its best to help cheer Stella up.
Stella crossed the road at the end of the bridge and headed down a narrow street running parallel to the river, before turning left towards the hotel, or so she hoped. She found herself crossing the beautiful Piazza Santo Spirito from the night before, now clear of tables and people.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Reaching for it, she sat on a stone bench just in front of the church and pushed up her sunglasses to read the screen. It was a message from Caroline.
Hope you’re having a lovely time. Taking the girls to see Matilda the Musical today! My treat. Max is fine too… spoke to the mum last night. Have an ice cream for me x
Stella smiled to herself. Much as her older sister annoyed her sometimes, she didn’t know what she would have done without her since Simon had left. As sisters, they’d really had their moments over the years, but now they were older, they appreciated one another more than ever before.
Stella sent a message back, thanking Caroline for everything, asking her to kiss the girls for her and promising to eat lots of ice cream on her behalf.
Returning to the home screen, the familiar picture of the five of them stared back at her. She knew she should change it – looking at it was always painful – but she just couldn’t bring herself to. Just then, a missed call notification popped up. It was from the office. Stella knew they wouldn’t bother her unless it was urgent but wondered why anyone would be in the office on a Saturday. She dialled the number back. It was answered after the first ring.
‘Hi, it’s Stella, I missed a call.’
‘Hi, Stella, it’s Lily.’
Lily had been covering Simon’s role at Star Pots for the last few months. Something about her tone made Stella’s stomach flip.
‘What’s happened?’
‘I’m so sorry to call you, I know you’re away for the weekend, but I thought you’d want to know as soon as possible.’
‘What is it?’
‘I’ve found a hole in the accounts. Quite a big one, actually.’
‘What do you mean, a hole? How big?’ Stella’s heart raced. She felt sick.
‘Well, it took a bit of time to uncover. It’s been done cleverly. Over time, so, at first, I just didn’t spot it. But it looks like someone – and I’m pretty sure it’s the work of one person – has been skimming profits for some time.’
‘How much are we talking?’ Stella could barely get the words out.
There was a pause. ‘Thousands. Tens of thousands, actually.’ Lily sighed. ‘And that’s just what I’ve uncovered so far. I’m so sorry, Stella.’
‘Who else knows about this?’
‘Just me at the moment, I wanted to be sure before I came to you.’
‘It’s Simon, isn’t it?’ Stella stared up at the small round window in the wall of the church in front of her. She spoke slowly and deliberately now, trying to control the anger she could feel rising in her chest.
Lily spoke quietly. ‘I’ve put a stop on any funds leaving our accounts until you’re back, but, to be honest, nothing’s been taken for a while. I think it was a pattern that stopped when…’ There was a pause.
‘When Simon left,’ Stella finished Lily’s sentence. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again. No, it wasn’t a dream. She was still here in Florence, being told that her husband had been stealing from her, from their business, for months, probably longer. How could he do this to her? She wanted to scream, smash the phone, run. But, instead, she took a deep breath and thanked Lily, reassuring her she’d done the right thing by calling, and saying they’d go through it all next week as soon as she was back in the office on Monday. Until then, it was to be kept between them.
Putting the phone back in her pocket, Stella put her sunglasses back on, her hands trembling slightly. Slowly, she got up and walked back to the hotel. She decided to keep the news to herself, not wanting to ruin the only full day they had together in Florence. In that moment, she started to feel something she hadn’t really felt until then. Of course, she’d felt angry at him leaving, raged about him walking out on them all without a second glance. She’d also felt wretched, betrayed and broken. Now, as she walked slowly across the Piazza’s grey stones, noticing the patterns under her feet, she felt a sense of release. Until now, she’d made endless excuses, mostly to herself, about why he’d done what he’d done. Maybe she hadn’t been loving enough, attentive enough, attractive enough? But now she knew. She had always been enough. The problem was he was not what she’d thought.
* * *
By the time Stella got back to the hotel, the others were all up on the terrace sitting at a table at one end, eating breakfast. Sarah and Bridget were insisting that the other one take the last pastry from the basket in the middle of the table.
‘There you are!’ said Lucy, waving at Stella as she made her way to the table. ‘How was your walk?’
‘Illuminating.’ Stella smiled.
