Page 29 of A Second Chance in Seabury
Hannah had just finished stirring in a generous dollop when the loud peal of the telephone made her jump. The teaspoon clattered onto the counter, and she frowned. That wasn’t her mobile. She knew that for certain, because the thing was on silent and abandoned somewhere upstairs.
That meant it had to be the old landline! But no one she knew had that number…
Suddenly, a smile replaced the confusion. Of course! It must be David, or Jason… or maybe even Sarah calling from next door. Perhaps David had left something in one of his pockets? Abandoning her tea in the kitchen, Hannah hurried through to the little study and grabbed the receiver.
‘Hellooo?’ The smile was evident in her voice as she prepared to dive back into the fun of the evening.
‘Where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling for ages!’
The nasal whine was all too familiar. Hannah pulled the phone away from her ear, feeling like she’d just been slapped. All of the joy, all of the ease she’d been feeling, drained right out of her.
Gareth. Her ex-husband.
‘Answer me, where have you been!’
‘Out.’
Even as she bit out the one-word response, Hannah considered simply hanging up on him… but she knew from long and painful experience that it wouldn’t do any good. He’d just keep badgering her until he got whatever he wanted.
‘Why didn’t you answer your mobile, then?’ he huffed.
‘Because I didn’t take it with me,’ she said. Wait, why was she explaining herself? She didn’t owe this idiot anything. ‘What do you want?
‘Alright,’ he scoffed, ‘keep your wig on!’
Hannah felt her fingers tighten into a stranglehold around the receiver. ‘Actually, let’s start with how you know I’m here?’
‘Your friend Willow told me,’ said Gareth, sounding smug.
‘You went to the shop?’ Hannah cringed at the thought of him throwing his weight around in her workplace.
‘It’s not your private domain, you know,’ he grumbled. ‘It’s a bloody jewellery shop. Anyway, it wasn’t just me.Wewent to the shop.’
‘We?’
‘Me and Amber,’ he said, and by the tone of his voice, the three little words were clearly aimed to do as much damage as humanly possible.
Not so long ago, the idea of her ex-husband taking the mistress who’d ended their marriage into a jewellery shop would have laid her low for weeks. Now though…? The thought barely ruffled the hair on her head.
Hannah took a deep breath, filling her lungs with David’s honey and cinnamon scent.
‘We’re shopping for a ring,’ he continued, clearly still fishing for a reaction. ‘I mean, not that there’s anything classy enough in that dive you work for. Anyway, I asked where you were, and Willow said you were getting a much-needed break by the sea. I put two and two together.’
Of course he had.Poor Willow. She’d have to send the girl an apology text in the morning. Hannah could only imagine Gareth had been about as pleasant to deal with as a dog turd on white satin slippers.
‘So, you found me,’ she said. Suddenly, Hannah realised she wasn’t angry, or sad… just…was that boredom creeping in?She’d divorced this idiot. She was done with his games! ‘What do you want?’
‘Actually, there’s a couple of things. First, congrats on making it to five years. Now you can finally sell that shithole. Second—when will I be getting my cut?’
Hannah rolled her eyes.Not this again!
‘In case you haven’t noticed, we’re divorced,’ she tutted.
‘Yeah, and it cost me.’
Hannah bit back a weary sigh. In theory, it should have cost him a whole lot more. She’d bent over backwards to sever all financial ties and hadn’t fought for much at all - despite her solicitor’s encouragement to the contrary. All she’d wanted was a swift resolution. An escape. An end to the pain. Unfortunately, this had only made Gareth treat her like even more of a doormat than he had before.
‘Look,’ she huffed, ‘if you still don’t understand the terms of the divorce, pay your lawyer to explain them to you again. Because you and me? There’s nothing between us anymore.’
