Page 60 of Broken Beyond Repair
“Thank you. Now tell me more about this unwanted attention.”
“For a time I avoided settling down. I didn’t exactly have the lifestyle for it. Then I naively believed the best way to avoid unwanted male attention was by marrying. Peter was on the very short list of men I could tolerate — at the time. It turned out it didn’t stop unwanted male attention and Peter became jealous and controlling.” Beatrice smiled and then let out a light laugh. “You know, he even tried to sack Alison once and told her he was taking over as my agent. She told him to fuck off of course. I do wish we could hurry this divorce along; first it was my parents and now it’s Peter. Dead weights trying to drown me.”
“Do you mind telling me what the delay is?”
“Let’s just say he’s using everything he has over me to wring my neck for more money.”
“Like what?” Sydney asked, knowing it was unlikely she would tell her but figuring it was worth a try.
“A potential career-destroyer.”
The thought that the odious man held power over Beatrice incensed her. The desire to know what the career-destroying secret could be was going to drive her to distraction.
“Give him more.”
Beatrice laughed, tilting her head back a little.
Sydney’s lips twitched upwards as she watched her. Desired her.
“I do adore your naivety. When he asks for more again, do I continue to give it to him?” Beatrice shook her head. “It’s never-ending. It’s just a game to him, to play for as long as he can. We’ve been like this for months. With the autobiography coming up, it would be nice to draw a line under it. He sees it as another money spinner and more to which he is owed. He’ll want to see how the sales are going so he can take his percentage. It’s just another attempt to control me.”
“I don’t believe anyone could control you.”
“As I said before, what you see is a façade; it’s all an act. I’m like this for a reason. So people don’t trample on me again.”
“I don’t think it’s a façade. I think it’s you. The stronger part of you protecting the more vulnerable Beatrice. That part seems slightly resentful, angry, sometimes a little vicious… for good reason.”
Beatrice fell silent for a moment before she said, “Alison advised me to take out a prenup, but I regrettably ignored her. She was never a huge fan of Peter, but I was getting on a bit by then and thought myself in love. It’s difficult meeting people when you’re famous… people you can trust. She respected my decision. It was a turning point for me to even put my trust in someone, and that was something she encouraged. I fell pregnant, and rather than give up work, we agreed that Peter would instead — he was a failing musician, so it was no hardship. All he wanted was fame, and he could get that by marrying me without lifting a finger.” Beatrice sighed. “The two of them came with me wherever I went, and it was bliss for those first few years until Alex hit school age. We bought this house, and I’d hoped Peter would stay at home with him, give him some stability; the normal upbringing that I never experienced.”
She reached for her glass of water and took a sip.
“Peter had different plans. He persuaded me that Alex should go to prep school at age seven. What Peter wanted was to continue following me round so he could drink and visit brothels and casinos on my money without our son cramping his style.”
“Shit.”
Beatrice had been betrayed by everyone she was supposed to be able to trust. No wonder she was defensive and spent most of her time in attack mode, Sydney thought. She was like a kicked dog.
“I should have put my foot down at the time, yet in hindsight, it was best he was away from his father full time. By then I think I was starting to realise who Peter really was — a leech like the rest. I don’t relish the fact I put my career before my child, and I know Alex resents me for it.”
Sydney nodded. “He thinks it’s your fault he was put in a boarding school. That you wanted Peter by your side and sent him away.”
“I guessed as much.” Beatrice picked at her fingers. “As I said before, I’m not going to be the one to tell him what his father’s really like. He needs a relationship with one of us.”
“And that should be you, Beatrice,” Sydney replied, her voice spilling over with frustration.
“I’m hardly a role model.”
“You work hard to provide for him. For this house. To give him one of the best educations in the world. You’re a better role model than his lame-arsed dad could ever be.”
Beatrice levelled her with a stare. “Nothing about Peter is to go in the book. Understand me.”
Sydney gave a reluctant nod. It was more than the creep deserved, and Beatrice was far more generous than she’d ever given her credit for. She’d let her son believe she was the evil queen just so he could have a relationship with that sack-of-shit. She was admirably insane.
“You’re happy for him to see you drag your parents over the coals and not his dad?” Sydney couldn’t help asking.
“He never met his grandparents; never idolised them.”
Sydney wasn’t so sure that Alex did idolise Peter as much as Beatrice believed him to, though it wasn’t her place to question it.
