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Stella looked at Percy sitting beside her, gazing up at her. She stroked his head. If Simon was where she thought he might be, at Annabel Collins’ flat in town, it would take him about half an hour to get to the park. She checked her watch, then typed in a reply.
10 a.m. today. The bench opposite the house.
Stella had waited long enough. She wasn’t going to waste a single day more.
29
Walking back across the park, Stella felt elated and nauseous all at the same time. It felt good to take control of the situation, finally. That and the fact that she knew if she left this confrontation any longer, she might lose her nerve. She let herself back into the house and dashed upstairs to have a shower and change out of the leggings and hoodie she’d thrown on in such a hurry that morning.
But instead of opening her own cupboard, she found herself opening Simon’s and taking out the clothes in bundles, throwing them on to the bed. Soon, the pile of clothes, including suits and shirts, jeans and jumpers, covered the bed. She took out his shoes and made another pile on the floor.
Stella ran down into the kitchen to grab some bin liners and took the roll back upstairs. She started putting the clothes in, taking them off their hangers and stuffing them in as fast as she could. Shoes went in too.
Next, she opened the drawers in his cupboard, taking out T-shirts and gym kit, socks and boxers, stuffing them straight into more bags. She threw in ties, noticing the only one he’d taken was the one he’d been wearing that day, the one that had started this all off. She opened the huge sash window in their bedroom and, one by one, dropped the bags out onto the small lawn in the front garden below. By the time she’d finished, she was breathless.
Stella checked her watch. Fifteen minutes to go. She went back downstairs, deciding to forgo the shower, and sent an email to the office instead. She let Lily know she had a meeting with Simon and would be in later that afternoon. Catching sight of herself in the mirror in the hall as she passed on her way to the front door, she stopped for a moment and looked at her reflection. Her face was flushed, her hair escaping from the ponytail she’d put it in that morning. She looked into her own eyes, a sense of determination running through her.
Stella went to the sitting-room window and looked out to the bench on the other side of the road between two sweet chestnut trees. It was empty. She glanced at her watch, it was still five minutes before they were due to meet. Just then, a man came into view. Her heart lurched; she knew that walk. She watched as Simon took a seat in the middle of the bench, taking his trench coat off (since when did he wear a trench coat? she wondered) and folding it up next to him on the bench. She watched him from the window for a few moments, then went to the front door.
Stella reached for the latch and opened it. Percy appeared at the sound of the door, tail wagging gently. ‘I’ll be back soon.’ The dog looked up at her, then sat down by the bottom of the stairs, sighing as he lay his head heavily on his paws. ‘I promise.’
Crossing the road and walking towards the bench, Stella watched Simon shift position on the bench. She walked up and took a seat next to him, without looking at him.
‘Hello, Stella.’
She turned her head to see Simon looking at her, wearing sunglasses she’d never seen before. He took them off and smiled, the creases at the corners of his eyes as familiar to her as ever.
Stella took a deep breath. Much as she wanted to keep looking at him, she found herself turning her face away after a few seconds. He looked the same, but different. His clothes were different. And, she noticed he wore trainers. Simon never wore trainers, at least not that she knew.
‘So, how have you been?’
Stella almost laughed. Instead, she pressed her lips together for a moment. ‘Fine, you?’
‘Yes, well. A bit stressed, obviously.’
Stella couldn’t believe his choice of words, but if this was going to go her way, she knew she needed to stay as calm as she possibly could. She’d run through the conversation so many times in her head since deciding she wanted to meet him. Now she just had to stick to the script. She fixed her gaze on a spot on the grass in between the goalposts on the football pitch up ahead and took a deep breath. ‘Simon, you left us with no warning. You walked out on your children.’
‘Stella, I—’
‘Simon, please let me say what I need to say. Then I’ll listen to what you have to say.’ She looked at him and their eyes met properly for a few seconds before he turned his face away. ‘I don’t know if you left me for someone else and, to be honest, I’m not sure I care any more. But I do know that you have lied to me, for years. That you are not who you say you are. Your mother didn’t die when you were young. You didn’t know your father, who may or may not have been an alcoholic. You left Emily when you discovered she couldn’t have children. You came to London, you met me, got married, had children. All pretty quickly, at your insistence, if you remember.’
‘Stella, it’s not what you think.’ He turned to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
‘Please don’t do that,’ snapped Stella. She took another deep breath. ‘You stole money. From the business – our business. I’ve seen the statements.’
Simon stared at the ground, shaking his head. ‘It wasn’t like that…’
‘You took money from your own family! And you cleared out Emily’s bank account too, all those years ago.’
Simon didn’t move. ‘Who told you that?’ His voice was cold.
‘Emily did.’
Simon let out a small laugh. ‘‘She would say that.’ He paused for a moment. ‘How do you know Emily?’
Stella ignored his question. ‘We both have proof of what you’ve done.’ Stella took out her phone and held it up. ‘It’s all here.’ She looked straight at him.
'What’s all there?’ His voice was steady, but she could see he was struggling to keep his composure.
