Page 48 of Midnight Secrets

He glanced up from his phone. “No. I took the rest of the day off from work with the guys. This is Dad bombarding me with emails about the latest financial arrangement for his mistress. Mum has been texting me with the details of what she wants in the redecoration of her house. She redecorates every time Dad is unfaithful, as if she can cleanse his sins with a coat of paint.”

“Does she redecorate a lot?” I asked, starting to see another aspect to Ash’s life.

“Too much to be healthy.”

I chewed the inside of my mouth. Papa was still faithful to Mama’s memory twenty years later. He had probably had girlfriends to satisfy his needs over the years, but he’d never brought anyone home or indicated that he had someone he cared about. Sometimes he spent eight or nine months at a time at home before travelling for business. I doubted he could fit a relationship around that schedule.

“I’m sorry,” I said and took his hand in mine.

He stared at our joined hands for what felt like an age before he finally looked up at me. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because every child is a product of their parents’ choices. Papa hid us from the world until the only thing we knew was the inside of the prison he created. Your dad disrespects and abuses your mum, until it is normal for you to redecorate to cover his indiscretions. You shouldn’t have to be responsible for his actions, he should be atoning for his own sins.”

His thumb caressed the side of my hand. “I never considered it that way before.”

“You’re enabling him because he never has to face the consequences of his actions. We did the same with Papa for years. Sofia was the first one to call him out on his behaviour because she wanted to go to university.”

Ash’s lips twitched. “How did that go for her?”

“Not well. It took her a year to convince him to let her go.”

His laugh washed over me. “That sounds like Lucas.”

“Come on, this is the company who brings my designs to life in precious metals. I sketch the outline of what I want and the graphic designers make it into a model and create a mould for it. I sent them over all my stuff a few weeks ago, so they should be ready.”

Ash followed me inside, sliding his mobile phone into his back pocket.

“Hey, Stefan.” I waved at the owner when we were inside. “I’m here to see my designs.”

He shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting to the side. “Sorry, Lucy, we’ve had to cancel your order because we took on a new client who has insisted on exclusivity.”

Everything froze inside me because a necklace without a chain was nothing. I’d worked with them for the past few years and nothing like this had happened before.

“Did I miss your email?” I asked in a low, hurt tone.

He pursed his lips and didn’t reply.

“Can I see the contract you have in place?” Ash asked smoothly from beside me.

Stefan eyed him warily. “It is a standard contract we have with all our customers.”

“Was it initiated for this work?”

“It was.” Stefan straightened, his assessment of Ash becoming more pronounced.

“Did you send a cancellation intent to Lucrezia’s solicitor?”

“No, we tend not to use our solicitors. Who is this guy?” He looked to me as if I was supposed to help him after what he’d just done on me. All my dreams were crashing down around me.

“Who I am is no concern to you. Did you initiate the agreement through a solicitor?” Ash asked me and I nodded.

“Excellent,” Ash replied. “Tell Nigel Billingham I’ll see both of you in court.”

“Wait a minute!” Stefan almost shouted and stepped forward.

“What for?” Ash asked. “You breached contract and allowed a company to coerce you into deliberately and negligently disrupting the supply chain of another business for profit.”

“Hold on!” Stefan started to wave at some of the guys out the back. “We’re just trying to stay in business.”

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