Her mum’s face paled.
‘So, who is he?’ Sophie asked bluntly, careless of the fact that her mum actually looked like shit. As far as she was concerned, she deserved to. ‘The man you cheated on Justin with,’ she clarified, as her mum grew an impossible shade whiter. ‘You know, my father – as opposed to the man you passed off as my dad for the whole of my life!’
Her mum flinched, as if she’d just slapped her. Through narrowed eyes, Sophie watched the swallow slide down her throat, her arms going protectively around herself. It wasn’t going to work. The fragile, defensive body language wasn’t going to cut it. Not this time. ‘Well?’ she demanded.
Alicia’s eyes scuttled for the safety of the floor. ‘I don’t know,’ she said weakly. ‘Not for sure. I—’
‘You don’t know?’ Sophie stared at her, incredulous. ‘You mean it was a one-night stand?’ Lie number fucking one. She’d heard Justin asking Jess how long it had gone on. Whether it was still going on. So, obviously he thought it was. How could she do that to him? How?
‘No! I didn’t mean…’ Stumbling over her words, Alicia shook her head. ‘I meant I wasn’t sure whether—’
‘Who, Mum?’ Sophie kept eyeballing her.
‘A colleague,’ Alicia finally said.
‘Ah, an office romance,’ Sophie said facetiously. ‘How boringly predictable.’
‘No. It wasn’t like that,’ Alicia said, looking more flustered by the second. Trying to remember her lies, Sophie thought angrily. ‘There was an after-work thing. A birthday party. I—’
‘An office jolly.’ Sophie widened her eyes girlishly. ‘So, obviously it was perfectly reasonable to end it with a fun shag with the nearest bloke. What, was it his fucking birthday?’
‘No! I didn’t intend for it to happen, Sophie. I’d been drinking. I lost track of how much. Your dad… Justin wasn’t well, and I—’
‘Oh, nice one,’ Sophie sneered. ‘He’s not well, so you feel sorry for yourself and decide to get a little attention elsewhere?’
‘No. I didn’t decide anything. I… He…’ Alicia trailed off, tears spilling down her cheeks. ‘Sophie, please… You’ve every right to be angry, but please sit down and let me try to explain properly. I know how it looks, and I did lie to Justin, but—’
‘Who is he, Mum?’ Swiping tears from under her own eyes, Sophie stayed standing. ‘The man at the funeral, the man Justin was staring at, was that him? Is that why he left so suddenly?’
Alicia didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. The guilt in her eyes said it all.
‘You’re a real bitch, do you know that, Mum?’ Sophie said quietly. ‘He’s just buried his baby! And now he has to deal with this shit! Of course, that’s assuming Lucas was his baby.’
Alicia looked up sharply. ‘Sophie, stop it,’ she begged. ‘Please stop.’
‘I wish I could,’ Sophie said, her heart pounding so hard she was sure it would burst right out of her chest. ‘I wish I could stop my fucking life and get off!’
‘It was never meant to happen!’ Alicia sobbed. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt Justin. I didn’t want any of this.’
Sophie studied her mum hard. ‘So you regret it then?’
Alicia looked at her bewilderedly. ‘Of course I do. I wish to God I could turn back the clock, but I can’t!’
‘Cheers, Mum,’ Sophie said, her heart sinking without trace. ‘You know what, you don’t regret it half as much as I do. Have a nice life.’ Swallowing hard, she turned away.
‘Sophie, wait!’ Alicia tried to stop her as she grabbed up her bag and turned to push past her. ‘I didn’t mean I regret having you. I’ve never for one second regretted—’
‘I wish I was fucking dead!’ Sophie spat.
Did her mum honestly think she wanted to listen to this crap? That she would want to hang around while they split up, tearing her apart in the process? Well, stuff that. She wasn’t about to stay here or with her bitch mother – no way. And Justin was hardly going to want her living with him. He’d want out of the whole crappy situation. At least they had that much in common, she thought cynically, as she thundered down the stairs.
Twenty-Five
JUSTIN
‘Chloe, slow down.’ Holding the telephone close to his ear, Justin tried to make sense of what Sophie’s friend was saying. ‘Where and when were you supposed to be meeting her?’
‘In town, but I’m babysitting.’ Chloe still wasn’t making much sense, frustratingly. ‘She rang me earlier, and then she rang me again, and she sounded so upset. I’m worried about her, Mr Cole. I can’t take the baby with me and I—’
‘Whoa. Chloe, please, slow down.’ Justin felt a knot of panic climb his throat. ‘Take the baby where? Why was she upset?’
Chloe didn’t answer.
Justin pressed his fingers to his temple. ‘Chloe, this is really important,’ he said, working to keep the immense agitation he was feeling from his voice. ‘I wouldn’t ask you to share anything you thought was confidential otherwise.’
‘Birmingham. The Bull Ring shopping centre. Outside H&M, on the second floor. Sophie said she was catching the bus in. She’s probably already halfway there by now.’
‘Okay.’ Justin nodded. He needed to go. But first, he needed to know why she’d taken off. ‘Can you tell me why she was upset, Chloe?’ he urged her gently. ‘Is it to do with Luke and the funeral?’
Again, Chloe was reluctant. ‘She heard you, Mr Cole,’ she confided, eventually. She heard what you were saying… about her not being yours. She was really upset. I should have told her to come here, but I didn’t think, and now—’
‘Jesus Christ.’ Why hadn’t he done something? He’d known she had. Cold dread pooled in the pit of Justin’s stomach.
‘I thought you should know. I wasn’t sure what else to do,’ Chloe was talking fast now, sounding scared. ‘I’m sorry, Mr Cole. I—’
‘It’s okay, Chloe. It’s fine. I’ll find her,’ Justin reassured her. ‘Let me have your number and I’ll text you.’ He snatched up the newly delivered loan car keys and his mobile, noting several messages from Alicia as he did so. ‘Meanwhile, will you let me know if she gets back to you?’
‘Uh-huh, yes, I will, I promise.’ Sounding relieved, Chloe reeled off her number. ‘Do you want me to text her?’ she asked tentatively. ‘I thought maybe if I told her I was coming, but I was running late, that, you know, it might buy you a bit of time.’
‘Good idea. You did the right thing, Chloe.’ Justin quickly keyed in her number and sent her his. ‘I’ll be in touch.’
He was halfway out of the front door when Alicia rang. ‘Justin, it’s Sophie – she’s gone!’ she said frantically when he picked up. ‘She heard… What you and Jessica were discussing. She… She’s taken her overnight bag. She’s not answering her phone. I’ve tried her a hundred times. I don’t know what to do. I—’
‘Fuck!’ Justin’s chest constricted. If she’d taken her overnight bag, she clearly intended to stay away from Jessica’s. Would she come back here? Justin very much doubted it, now that he knew what she’d overheard. She had her key, but… Dammit! He needed to find her.
‘I know. Chloe rang me.’ Drawing in a tight breath, he braced himself. ‘Is it true?’ Do not lie to me, Alicia.
An agonising second ticked by, before she delivered the blow that would surely kill him. ‘I… I don’t know.’
‘I see,’ Justin said quietly. He felt close to exploding. ‘So, what did you expect her to do, Alicia? Sit down and have a nice, calm conversation over a fucking cup of tea?’
‘Oh God. Justin, I…’ Alicia broke off with a sob. ‘I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry. I never intended to hurt you or Sophie, I swear I didn’t.’
‘Right.’ Yanking his car door open, Justin threw himself behind the wheel. ‘That’s not how it looks from here, Alicia.’
‘I know. I’m sorry.’ Alicia sobbed harder. ‘I know you can’t forgive me. I know you won’t ever, but please, please help Sophie.’
‘Jesus!’ Justin slammed the car door. ‘Did you honestly think I wouldn’t?’