Love or Money? (22 page)

It was also enlightening to find she no longer understood her own reasons for previously being embarrassed about falling for Dan. She wasn’t deterred anymore at the notion of being involved with someone that didn’t hold an influential position. Owen had proved to her that the simple things could make a relationship; the respect, the love, the compromise and the support. Not the money or the power.
  She’d been so blinded to think otherwise.

She thought back to Sylvia and hoped that Phillip would make the right choice and stand by her; it had been surprising to see that her friend was genuinely in love with him. The way she spoke about him was far removed from the conversation they’d had before she’d left for Australia. The baby seemed to have brought out the best side of their relationship and given it the foundation it had clearly needed. However, she wasn’t so sure that Sylvia was strong enough to deal with the current situation alone. As far as she could recall, Sylvia’s life had been quite privileged. She had
never faced true challenge. Felicity wondered how she’d fair with this one.

Her house phone rang and she got up from the sofa, noticing that once again she’d been sitting in relative darkness except for the muted television. She glanced at the clock, struck that it was already close to nine in the evening. She switched on a table lamp and picked up the handset.

“Hello?”

“
It’s me. Steve’s told me everything.”

Felicity’s breath caught in her throat as Zara’s icy words hit her.

“I don’t appreciate that you followed him without me knowing and I certainly don’t appreciate that you kept your suspicions from me.”

Felicity was lost for words. She had never heard her friend speak so coolly toward
s her. 

“
Zara, I’m sorry. I was only thinking of you.  I didn’t want to risk you being upset in your condition.”

“
It wasn’t your place, Fee. It’s my relationship. Mine. If I wanted your help I would have asked for it.”

“
But I only did what I thought was..”

“
You interfered. That’s what you did. And quite frankly, I think that’s rather rich coming from somebody who hasn’t the foggiest idea what a real relationship even is. You’re so scared of allowing anyone to come close that you’ll be the forever alone. You push away every man you meet. You’d be better placed to worry about your own lack of relationship - instead of mine.”

Felicity felt like she’d been slapped in the face as the bitter words struck a nerve, making her feel instantly inadequate and exposed.
She felt a wave of melancholy wash over her.

“
I’m sorry you feel that way, Zara” she said quietly, struggling to keep the pain from her voice. 

Zara immediately regretted her outburst, quickly tryi
ng to lessen her harsh retort. “I didn’t mean it like that, Fee. I meant that...”

Felicity cut her off. She had heard enough to know that her friend had spoken her true
feelings in a moment of anger. “It’s ok. You don’t need to backtrack or explain. You’re right. I should never have interfered and I won’t be doing so again.  You’ve made yourself perfectly clear. Nothing further needs to be said.”

As much as it crushed her to do so, Felicity gently hung up the call before Zara could respond.

Moments later in their respective homes, both women burst into tears - wounded by the other’s actions and each wondering the same thing. Was there any way back from crossing a boundary so sensitive? Both were filled with regret. 

Unfortunately, neither woman knew what to do to make things right again.
 

Chapter Twenty Six

Zara carefully packed the last of her emergency supplies in her holdall and zipped it up. The house was in stillness, except for her husband’s gentle snoring from the bed. Another wave of pain swept through her and she clenched her teeth tightly, fearing making a noise and waking the sleeping girls.  She’d already phoned Glenda who hadn’t hesitated at Zara’s request to come over and watch the children, despite the early hour of the morning. The contraction finally passed and she prodded Steve urgently. 

“
Steve, wake up. The baby’s coming.” She couldn’t quite believe that with three weeks still left of the pregnancy she was going into labour. None of the girls had made such an early appearance and even though it was her fourth pregnancy, she couldn’t help but be concerned. She briefly wondered if it could be partly attributed to the commotion of the previous night, but she pushed the thought away. The contractions were fast becoming more frequent and she suddenly regretted not waking Steve sooner.

“What?”
Steve opened his eyes slowly and tiredly, trying to focus in the dimly lit room on Zara, standing fully dressed and prepped beside him.

“The baby”
she replied with annoyance as he yawned for a second time. In all the other pregnancies he’d been more of a hindrance than help during her labour, faffing around panicked and unsure what to do. This time she’d thought that by leaving it until the last moment to wake him, it would keep the situation more controlled. She wasn’t sure now that had been such a good idea.

The realization hit Steve like a lorry as he jumped out of the bed naked and search
ed hurriedly for his jeans. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner? How far apart are the contractions? What about the kids? We need to get Glenda.”

Zara bent forward and gripped the bed stand as another contraction took hold and she wished Steve would
stop his incessant questions. “It’s done” she managed to say through gritted teeth as she took deep breaths to help her cope with the tide of pain beginning to peak inside her.

Steve tied his trainers and grabbed his jacket from the wardrobe, glancing thankfully at the zipped holdall by the door and noticing his wife’s obvious discomfort. He watched as she seemed to relax again and he knew enough to know they didn’t have long before the baby would be arriving. He was more than relieved that the hospital was less than a ten minute journey.

A set of headlights illuminated the bedroom and he rushed to the window glancing down at the taxi which Glenda was stepping out of.

“
Glenda’s here already. Let’s get going.”  He picked up the holdall and took his wife’s arm.

“
Get off, it’s fine” Zara said irritated. “I can walk. I have got legs.” 

Steve didn’t dare to argue, he had learned throughout his girls arrivals not to rile his wife more than necessary. Besides, she was bound to be telling him she hated him soon, when the contractions got worse. He’d heard it all before.
 

They made their way quietly down the stairs and got to the street door just as Glenda tapped on the glass pane. Steve opened the d
oor wasting no time on pleasantries.

“
We’ve got to rush. She doesn’t look like she’s got long.” 

Glenda took one look at Zara’s ashen face and ushered both of them to the car.
“Don’t worry about the kids, I’ll take care of everything. Just look after her and let me know when the baby’s here” she replied, noticing that Zara was bracing herself for another contraction.

“
Thanks Glenda.” Steve handed her the house keys and helped Zara into the car. He couldn’t believe that he was moments away from meeting his son. 

Felicity scrambled tiredly from her bed, her heart racing as she reached for her house phone, its weak blue display light flashing at her from the darkness. She glanced at the time as she held the receiver to her ear. Three forty seven am. She felt instantly alarmed. 

“Hello?”

“
Fee, it’s me. Sorry to wake you, love, but I thought you’d want to know. Zara’s gone into labour. I’m at hers now. She told me to tell you.”

She gripped the phone tighter. “
Already? But she has another few weeks yet? Is she ok?”

Glenda sensed her daughter’s concern and calmly soo
thed her. “No, she’s fine love. It’s natural to go a bit early when it’s not your first. She’ll be fine, I’ve no doubt about that.”

Feli
city let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, I hope so.” Her mother’s words suddenly dawned on her. “You said Zara told you to tell me?”

“
Yes, well she called me in a rush apologising for waking me and asking me to come quickly because the labour had started. You know me; I was up like a shot. Anyway, before she rang off she asked me to let you know. She looked ever so pale by the time I arrived. I shouldn’t think this labour will be a long one.”

“
Well let’s hope not. I remember how hard she had it with Daisy’s birth.” Felicity replied, suppressing a yawn as she spoke and grimly remembering the trauma of the delivery she’d been a part of.

“
Anyway, there’s not much we can do. But I wanted to let you know as no doubt you’ll want to go to the hospital first thing in the morning. Best to go back to sleep now and I’ll speak to you properly tomorrow.”

Felicity hung up the phone, unsure of her mixed emotions. She’d barely been asleep for a few hours after tossing and turning and her head was already pounding again with a migraine.

She’d tormented herself after the earlier phone conversation with Zara - replaying it over and over in her mind, each time feeling more and more uncertain of their friendship. She couldn’t imagine her life without Zara in it. She hated being on non-speaking terms with her friend. Yet she’d been at a loss as to how to make things right. 

But now – the baby was coming early. She felt overwhelmed with guilt. Could it be her fault? Had the stress of their falling out affected Zara so much that it’d prompted the onset of the labour?
 

She climbed back into bed, wrapping the duvet around her and feeling thankful for the silence and darkness. If Zara hadn’t wanted her to be involved in her life again, then she wouldn’t have told Glenda to let her know. She was relieved that their friendship wasn’t broken. She wanted to be there for her friend and couldn’t wait to see the new arrival. However, she couldn’t shake off Zara’s words. They had been right. It was time to concentrate more on her own life. Her own needs.

It didn’t take long before she drifted off to sleep for a second time. Her final thought before she succumbed to the suspension of consciousness, was of Owen’s smiling eyes.

Dan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Car and bike horns beeped all around him and he moved out of the road, ignoring the tirade of Thai abuse shouted in his direction. The first splattering of rain fell heavily from above him. Cursing, he tried to take cover nearby, sheltering his mobile.

“
Listen mate, thanks for letting me know. I’ll call you again later. Got to go as it’s about to piss down here.”

He flipped his mobile shut and put it in his pocket, his mouth watering at the smell of a nearby street vendor. He glanced toward
s the wheeled cart, Andy’s news momentarily forgotten as he eyed the freshly cooked Pad Thai and Pork Satay.

“
That two-faced bitch” he said aloud, suddenly realizing the connection to the money. It all made sense now. The texts. The voicemails. The emails.

Sylvia’s messages had been the final straw. Her crazy ramblings were enough to drive any man insane. Now he understood. He couldn’t
help but feel grateful that Andy had warned him of the situation. 

He had definitely made the right decision to come to Thailand. Although it wasn’t quite the easy transition he’d assumed it would be, he felt grateful to be out of the public eye. How would he have coped seeing his face splashed across the papers? Luckily he didn’t need to find out. He hadn’t even seen an English newspaper since his arrival. His old life was well and truly left behind.
 

Walking toward
s his rented beach cabin, he thought of his newly acquired bar and the array of Thai women that were falling over themselves to get his attention each night. He certainly hadn’t pulled the short straw.

Sylvia on the other hand, he thought – feeling a little guilty and responsible –
well she definitely had, if Andy’s story was anything to go by. 

Feeling disgruntled and put out, he decided that the only way forward was to forget the entire fiasco. It wasn’t worth brooding over. Besides, the most satisfying part was to know that regardless of everything – he’d been the one to benefit the most.
 

He turned
a corner, coming face to face with a life-size Bhudda statue and almost walking directly into it.  

Irritated, he crossed the road. Why all the Buddhist references everywhere he looked? For a moment his mind was filled with thoughts of Karma. What was it they said - what goes around comes around?
 

He couldn’t help but feel temporarily unnerved. He hoped it wasn’t true.

Sylvia made herself another herbal tea and curled up on the sofa, with a blanket thrown over her feet. It was barely breaking dawn but she couldn’t manage to sleep another wink. She could already hear the birds chirping outside her living room window and for once she was grateful for their nesting spot in the roof guttering. It was pleasantly therapeutic listening to both birdsong and the soothing sounds of the rain gently falling outside.

The panic and angst that she’d felt all of the previous day had been replaced with a calm acceptance. Glenda’s wise advice had really helped her to see that there was a silver lining in her otherwise gloomy situation. The truth of her one night fling had finally been outed and any intentions of keeping it a secret from Phillip and even Fee had been removed. Nevertheless, it was better this way, she wouldn’t have to live in fear of a skeleton in the closet, waiting to be unearthed. If - and it felt a very big ‘if’ at that moment - Phillip was willing to see past the occurrence, past the strife and hurt and give her another chance, then the relationship could weather any storm.

It didn’t matter what people thought of her. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She had simply become the victim of
a malicious money-driven action. She didn’t want to let that person get the better of her. Despite Fee’s insistence that she felt it wasn’t Dan who had sold the story to the newspaper, her own intuition was almost certain that it had been him. Why else would he be avoiding her texts and messages otherwise? If he was also an innocent victim, wouldn’t he be trying to defend his position and reputation? She knew Dan was the one to be held responsible. 

Phillip
’s message late last night had also given her fresh hope and a sense of justice. He’d called to say that his lawyer had taken a look at the proof of paternity and there was a strong case for libel against the newspaper for character defamation. It seemed likely that the newspaper would be running an alternative story from a more positive angle correcting their mistake - instead of taking the risk of being sued. The story would focus on the baby being Phillip’s and their dramatic reunite after the slanderous accusations. She didn’t mind that Phillip had asked her – on his agent’s advice - to pose for pictures mimicking a happy couple.

She was willing to do anything it took to make him look at her in a
favourable manner. Deep down, she also hoped it would reflect onto reality.

She couldn’t think of anything more that
she wanted than to be looked upon by Phillip in a special way again. She rested her hand on her stomach and thought of their baby, willing the unborn child to know that no matter what happened it would be loved by both parents.

Her phone beeped and she wondered who’d be messaging her at such an early hour. Throwing the blanket from her feet, she padded into the kitchen to collect it from its charging position by the microwave. The name beside the text made her gasp. Although she’d inundated him with outraged messages, she had given up on expecting a response.
 

Opening Dan’s message with trepidation, she hadn’t bargained for his reply to be so disclosing and sympathetic. She gasped in surprise.
 

Why hadn’t she
realised sooner? Everything suddenly became very clear to her.

Felicity awoke a few minutes before her alarm clock sounded and abruptly got out of bed, heading straight to the bathroom to shower. She suspected she hadn’t much time before receiving news that Zara had given birth. 

Her instinct proved to be correct. By the time she’d dressed and prepared breakfast, Glenda had already phoned with the good news. Zara had welcome
d her baby boy at six pounds three ounces and surprisingly a Caesarean section hadn’t been needed.

Felicity wiped a tear from her eye, any previous judg
ements and ill feeling towards her best friend, long forgotten. She couldn’t wait to get to the hospital and give her a hug. She had promised to collect Glenda and the children on the way, so they too could meet their brother.