THE MARRIAGE ACT, page 25
‘Your visit to Westminster was naive,’ Harrison continued.
‘I didn’t know where else to go. Hyde is ignoring my calls and you’re my only link to him.’
‘Lucky old me then,’ she replied. ‘So what do you want?’
Anthony paused as carriages rattled along the tracks. Commuters entered and exited before it pulled away again.
‘Why is Hyde targeting my wife and our marriage?’
‘Why do you think?’
‘I resigned from my job, not the Act.’
‘It doesn’t matter. He can do as he wants. And it’s not as if anyone will listen if you complain. And you know what, Mr Alexander? I’m afraid I really don’t care, as callous as it sounds. Your nearest and dearest will pay for your conscience. But as long as you believe you’ve done the right thing, then I suppose that’s all that matters, isn’t it? And I’m sure when he’s older, your son will look back fondly at his time spent in a Young Citizen Camp.’
Anthony’s blood ran cold. ‘The camps they’re proposing, they’re just wrong, you must know that?’
‘Just because I turn a blind eye does not mean I cannot see, Mr Alexander.’
‘Then why aren’t you doing something to stop them? You have a voice.’
‘For the same reason you have always done as you were told. Because you and I have a quality of life that we prefer to maintain. And there is no place in your world or mine for morality.’
‘So I have no choice?’
‘You have a child, don’t you?’ she asked.
Anthony nodded.
‘We all have choices,’ she continued. ‘You have to ensure you’re making the right ones for him.’
‘Once this project is finished will Hyde let me leave?’
Another set of carriages appeared at the station. Harrison rose to her feet and patted out a crease in her skirt. ‘I shall inform him that you’ll be back at your desk in the morning. In the meantime, go home and tell your wife this has all been a misunderstanding.’
She didn’t wait for his response. Instead, flanked by her security detail, Harrison left as she arrived, quickly and without making eye contact.
64
Roxi
‘What were your first impressions of Roxi when you met?’ the voice asked.
‘Spontaneous, quirky, funny, unpredictable,’ began Owen. ‘We’ve always been total opposites.’
‘Relationships that can handle each other’s quirks and idiosyncrasies often thrive,’ came the reply.
‘She had this aloofness about her too,’ Owen continued. ‘It was only when I started chipping away at her defences that I realized how much of her bravado was an act. What do they call that? Is there a name for it?’
‘Reaction Formation. It’s a defence mechanism in which a person goes beyond denial and behaves in the opposite way they actually feel. They protect themselves from further hurt and behave in exaggerated ways.’
‘Huh, yep, that’s my wife,’ Owen continued. ‘Even more so since this Influencing business started taking off. I’m sure it all stems back to when she was a kid.’
‘Many of our behaviours do. Can you expand?’
‘She was neglected so taken away from her parents when she was four, then spent her childhood moving around foster families. She once admitted that it was only as an adult that she understood that those foster parents weren’t rejecting her; temporary care was the nature of their job. I naively assumed that once we got married and the kids came along, she’d feel less worthless. But Roxi still needs the approval she never got as a girl, and if she doesn’t think she’s getting it from me, then she seeks it elsewhere, like social media. Even if the whole world told her she was loved, I still don’t think she’d believe it.’
‘From what you’re describing, her “attention seeking” sounds like an addiction. Have you heard of Dopamine? It’s a neurochemical found in the brain and is nicknamed the reward chemical because it releases when people behave in certain ways, like gambling or drug dependency. The need for that chemical becomes addictive in some. Perhaps Roxi finds that release in her job, gaining attention and followers for her posts.’
Roxi heard Owen let out a long, drawn-out breath. ‘Why can’t it be like it was when we first got together?’
‘Often we can look back on those halcyon days with rose-tinted glasses.’
‘You think I’m misremembering them?’
‘No, I’m suggesting that you are placing more emphasis on how happy you were then, because you’re comparing it to your relationship as it stands now.’
‘But we were happy.’
‘Most people marry because they’re happy. But today? How would you describe yourself in terms of your marriage?’
Roxi counted twenty-two seconds before Owen replied. ‘Lonely,’ he said.
She pressed the pause button on Cooper’s stolen laptop, removed her ear buds and the sound of chatter from the cafe she was visiting returned. Roxi hadn’t heard Owen speak in such depth about her or their relationship before, and especially to a stranger. Only Antoinette Cooper wasn’t a stranger to Owen. Neither was she his mistress. Roxi had killed his relationship therapist, a fact that had only come to light when she’d searched Cooper’s office and read the framed diplomas on her walls. Unless you were an official Government-sanctioned Relationship Responder, such a job was now illegal. No wonder she hadn’t identified herself to Roxi and kept glancing behind her to see if any neighbours were overhearing their confrontation. Cooper hadn’t wanted to risk being exposed. But if she’d explained who she was, she would still be alive today. It was her own bloody fault she was dead, not Roxi’s.
Antoinette had also more commonly gone by the name of Toni Cooper, which is why Roxi had been unable to find out anything about her online before their altercation.
According to dated files on the laptop, Owen had been seeing her for months, long before their Audite decided they had problems. Owen had foreseen the erosion of their relationship and only now was Roxi realizing that if she had listened when he’d tried to broach the subject, they might not have been Levelled up.
Her phone flashed with the first two lines of an email. It was from Suzanne at Talk Radio. Roxi had yet to return her invitation to appear on the station later in the week. Since Cooper’s death, Roxi had gone to ground, refusing to see anyone or update her social media content. She took another long gulp from a second glass of wine a waitress had carried over earlier. It wasn’t easing her anxiety as she hoped it might.
The guilt Roxi felt for violating her husband’s privacy wasn’t enough to stop her from listening. So she reinserted her earbud and picked another random recording, made six weeks earlier according to the date on the file.
‘I’ve done something I’m not proud of,’ Owen began.
‘Would you like to tell me about it?’ Cooper asked.
‘I don’t know if I do.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you’ll make me explore my reasoning and I don’t know if I have the energy to do that today.’ He paused and Roxi held her breath. ‘I’ve betrayed my wife.’
Roxi’s stomach sank. She didn’t know if she wanted to hear any more.
‘It’s my fault we are on Level One. I’ve been saying things to the Audite that I shouldn’t have.’
‘What kind of things?’ Roxi asked at the same time as Cooper.
‘Stupid things. Like I don’t love her any more, that I want a divorce, that I’m not happy . . . stuff like that.’
‘And is any of it true?’
‘No.’
‘Can you explain your reasoning behind it?’
‘I hoped I was being recorded and it would force us onto Level One. Maybe then she’d take my marriage concerns seriously. But I don’t know if she has. She still doesn’t seem to care.’
‘Have you considered the effect this might have on Roxi’s career if your Levelling up is made public?’ Owen didn’t reply but Roxi heard him shuffling on Cooper’s leather sofa.
‘Can I take from your silence that you have considered it but acted regardless?’
‘Yes.’
‘So – and without putting words into your mouth – have you tried to sabotage her career to regain the Roxi you fell in love with?’
Owen hesitated again before agreeing.
Of all she had heard that day, this stunned Roxi the most. But she barely had time to process it before the next revelation appeared.
‘That’s not all,’ Owen continued. ‘I’ve been trolling her online, leaving nasty, hurtful comments on everything she posts.’
Roxi clasped her hand over her mouth. ‘What?’ she said aloud. A man sitting by an adjacent table turned sharply to look at her.
‘When did this start?’ asked Cooper.
‘Soon after she revealed she wanted to be the new Jem Jones. Do you remember me telling you how my son asked me if I could find him a new mummy because Rox never plays with him like his friends’ mums do? Before I went home, I sat outside your house, set up a bogus account using your wifi and started trolling my own wife.’
‘Why?’ asked Cooper.
‘Because I want to hurt her like she is hurting our family. Because she doesn’t listen. But mostly because I’m a bloody idiot.’
Roxi slammed the lid of the laptop shut, devastated by Owen’s betrayal. Yet amongst the hurt, a part of her understood why. And her anger wasn’t only directed at him, but at herself for allowing things to become so bad between them.
Something had to change. And, as far as she could see, it had to be her. But before she could give it any more thought, her watch pinged. And when she read the message, she closed her eyes and fought the urge to hurl her wine glass against the window.
65
Jeffrey
‘I’m not doing this today,’ announced Noah before their morning session began.
‘May I ask why?’ asked Jeffrey. He noted the dark rings around Noah’s eyes and uncombed hair, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
‘These sessions are affecting my sleep, my appetite and how I do my job and I can’t afford to put lives at risk if I can’t concentrate. For my own mental health, I need a timeout.’
Luca turned to him. ‘When did you decide this?’ he asked, bewildered.
‘Last night.’
‘Have you considered that our sessions might be forcing you to confront your issues and that they’re manifesting themselves into your insomnia and lack of appetite?’ said Jeffrey. ‘Perhaps we could explore this further—’
‘I studied medicine for six years before I became a junior doctor, Jeffrey; I didn’t log in to an online course, get a certificate for turning up and call myself qualified.’
Jeffrey allowed the dig to pass unchallenged.
‘So please don’t patronize me with a half-baked diagnosis. My work is the one thing I don’t have to defend to you. Under the terms of the Marriage Act, ruling three point one, each half of a counselled couple is entitled to up to five mental health recuperation days in any one bulk course of counselling. I am taking all mine together.’
‘If you can find a medical professional who signs off on it first.’
‘Check your emails, you’ll see I had a conference call with a consultant early this morning and she has approved it.’
Someone has done their homework, thought Jeffrey. He refreshed his tablet’s emails and located the message, which had arrived as he was preparing for today’s session. Noah had timed its arrival to disarm Jeffrey. Cunning recognized cunning.
‘Where will you be staying?’ Jeffrey asked.
Noah cocked his head.
‘Under the terms of the Marriage Act, ruling four point seven six, mental health breaks cannot be taken at the property in which you reside, or you risk a delay to the recovery process. So where will you go?’
‘Um, a friend’s house.’
‘Which friend?’ asked Luca.
‘I haven’t decided.’
‘As you’ve told me yourself, many of your friends view your Level Two status as “toxic”. Perhaps you had best start calling around now until you find one who is accepting of your situation?’
Noah’s jaw tightened before he left the room and disappeared upstairs, phone in hand. Luca followed, leaving Jeffrey alone. He inserted an ear pod and switched the Audite on.
‘It’s only for a few days,’ Noah said in their bedroom.
‘And how’s that going to help us?’ Luca replied.
‘You need to trust me.’
‘About what?’
‘What I said to you before about Jeffrey.’
Jeffrey’s eyes widened. He had missed that conversation.
‘While I’m gone, keep your guard up,’ Noah continued.
‘You’re being paranoid.’
‘We’ll know soon enough, won’t we?’
Jeffrey heard no more as both men began to whisper. And by the time Noah closed the front door behind him and Luca returned to the lounge, Jeffrey was trying to mask his frustration by pretending to type notes.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
‘I’m fine.’
‘I assume Noah’s decision has caught you off-guard, but it might be a good thing for you both to have some time apart. It will also allow you to process what we’ve been discussing. And I’m here to help in any way.’
Luca opened the doors and entered the garden alone. Whatever it was that Noah had whispered was echoing. Now Jeffrey had to remind him that he had his best interests at heart.
‘Are you okay with Noah leaving you?’ he asked as he followed.
‘He hasn’t left me,’ Luca hit back. ‘You heard him. He needs to get his head together.’
‘Where will he be staying?’
‘With his friend Frank.’
‘I recognize the name; isn’t he an ex-partner?’
‘They dated for a couple of months but that was years ago.’
‘Oh, okay. Well, it’s great that you have that level of trust in one another. Not every couple I’ve worked with does.’
‘Noah would never cheat on me.’
‘I suppose you could argue that by Noah inviting other people into your bedroom as he has done, he’s already blurred the boundaries of monogamy and might not define cheating in the same way you do.’
‘He wouldn’t cheat.’
‘Look, you’ve both reached a transitional stage in your relationship. It could go either way. But it takes both partners to fight to keep it together, not just one. If Noah is already thinking of checking out of the relationship, then there is very little that the other can do to prevent it.’
‘Why would you say he was thinking of checking out?’
Jeffrey exaggerated wrestling with his conscience. ‘I had planned to discuss this in today’s session before Noah left. But now you’ve told me he’s staying with a former boyfriend, I think it’s important you’re made aware that he’s been researching divorce proceedings.’
Luca faltered. ‘How do you know that?’
‘I have access to his work account and browser. He has clicked or bookmarked twenty-four separate divorce-related pages – including what happens if you have a new partner lined up before you leave a marriage.’ Jeffrey turned his tablet around to show a screengrab of Noah’s search history. ‘He has also been emailing colleagues asking for local divorce lawyer recommendations. I can’t confirm how many he has approached yet.’
Luca ran his hands though his hair then pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Could you find somewhere else to stay tonight please, Jeffrey?’ he asked.
Jeffrey paled. ‘Err, yes, yes, of course, if that’s what you want. But I think it might be beneficial if you have someone around to talk to—’
‘I don’t.’
Luca left the garden and made his way back up the stairs until Jeffrey heard his bedroom door close. Jeffrey remained rooted, replaying their conversation to pinpoint the moment he’d misread Luca so badly. Leaving him alone had not been part of his divide-and-conquer plan.
66
Corrine
Corrine stared through a double set of glass doors leading to a balcony and out towards the River Nene. She glanced at her watch; it was almost 10.30 a.m. Last night’s sleep had been fitful. Each time she awoke, she replayed her confrontation with Mitchell and Maisy at the Family Court and his parting shot. Even in the midst of a divorce weighted heavily against him, he had found a way to conquer and control her. He had given her one day to make a decision. And there were a little under four hours left.
She took up a position on one of two adjacent sofas and took in her surroundings. There wasn’t time for that the last time she was here. The former Carlsberg Brewery dated back to the 1970s and, in its conversion into apartments, builders had retained its original exposed concrete finish, metal beams and joists. The walls were decorated with brightly coloured abstract canvases. But there were no family photographs, anywhere.
A pair of heels clicking against the metal staircase leading up to the front door caught her attention. She heard a beeping as someone input a code before opening the door. Corrine steeled herself.
Member of Parliament Eleanor Harrison was oblivious to the woman who had broken into her flat. Corrine watched her carefully as she placed an overnight bag on the floor before unstrapping her shoes and lining them up neatly next to it. Only then did Harrison turn, letting out a shrill scream when she spotted her uninvited guest.
‘Do you remember me?’ asked Corrine calmly.
Harrison didn’t wait for an explanation. She turned and ran barefoot towards the front door.
Corrine raised her voice. ‘I was here the night you claim you were attacked.’
Harrison stopped.
‘I know what really happened.’
‘My bracelet has a panic button,’ Harrison replied as she turned to face Corrine. Her finger hovered above it. ‘The flat will be swarming with police by the time you reach the lobby.’
‘Don’t let me stop you. I’m sure they’ll be interested in the footage I filmed that night.’ Corrine removed a burner phone from her pocket and threw it across the room to Harrison. ‘Open the media folder. It’s the only clip.’
‘I didn’t know where else to go. Hyde is ignoring my calls and you’re my only link to him.’
‘Lucky old me then,’ she replied. ‘So what do you want?’
Anthony paused as carriages rattled along the tracks. Commuters entered and exited before it pulled away again.
‘Why is Hyde targeting my wife and our marriage?’
‘Why do you think?’
‘I resigned from my job, not the Act.’
‘It doesn’t matter. He can do as he wants. And it’s not as if anyone will listen if you complain. And you know what, Mr Alexander? I’m afraid I really don’t care, as callous as it sounds. Your nearest and dearest will pay for your conscience. But as long as you believe you’ve done the right thing, then I suppose that’s all that matters, isn’t it? And I’m sure when he’s older, your son will look back fondly at his time spent in a Young Citizen Camp.’
Anthony’s blood ran cold. ‘The camps they’re proposing, they’re just wrong, you must know that?’
‘Just because I turn a blind eye does not mean I cannot see, Mr Alexander.’
‘Then why aren’t you doing something to stop them? You have a voice.’
‘For the same reason you have always done as you were told. Because you and I have a quality of life that we prefer to maintain. And there is no place in your world or mine for morality.’
‘So I have no choice?’
‘You have a child, don’t you?’ she asked.
Anthony nodded.
‘We all have choices,’ she continued. ‘You have to ensure you’re making the right ones for him.’
‘Once this project is finished will Hyde let me leave?’
Another set of carriages appeared at the station. Harrison rose to her feet and patted out a crease in her skirt. ‘I shall inform him that you’ll be back at your desk in the morning. In the meantime, go home and tell your wife this has all been a misunderstanding.’
She didn’t wait for his response. Instead, flanked by her security detail, Harrison left as she arrived, quickly and without making eye contact.
64
Roxi
‘What were your first impressions of Roxi when you met?’ the voice asked.
‘Spontaneous, quirky, funny, unpredictable,’ began Owen. ‘We’ve always been total opposites.’
‘Relationships that can handle each other’s quirks and idiosyncrasies often thrive,’ came the reply.
‘She had this aloofness about her too,’ Owen continued. ‘It was only when I started chipping away at her defences that I realized how much of her bravado was an act. What do they call that? Is there a name for it?’
‘Reaction Formation. It’s a defence mechanism in which a person goes beyond denial and behaves in the opposite way they actually feel. They protect themselves from further hurt and behave in exaggerated ways.’
‘Huh, yep, that’s my wife,’ Owen continued. ‘Even more so since this Influencing business started taking off. I’m sure it all stems back to when she was a kid.’
‘Many of our behaviours do. Can you expand?’
‘She was neglected so taken away from her parents when she was four, then spent her childhood moving around foster families. She once admitted that it was only as an adult that she understood that those foster parents weren’t rejecting her; temporary care was the nature of their job. I naively assumed that once we got married and the kids came along, she’d feel less worthless. But Roxi still needs the approval she never got as a girl, and if she doesn’t think she’s getting it from me, then she seeks it elsewhere, like social media. Even if the whole world told her she was loved, I still don’t think she’d believe it.’
‘From what you’re describing, her “attention seeking” sounds like an addiction. Have you heard of Dopamine? It’s a neurochemical found in the brain and is nicknamed the reward chemical because it releases when people behave in certain ways, like gambling or drug dependency. The need for that chemical becomes addictive in some. Perhaps Roxi finds that release in her job, gaining attention and followers for her posts.’
Roxi heard Owen let out a long, drawn-out breath. ‘Why can’t it be like it was when we first got together?’
‘Often we can look back on those halcyon days with rose-tinted glasses.’
‘You think I’m misremembering them?’
‘No, I’m suggesting that you are placing more emphasis on how happy you were then, because you’re comparing it to your relationship as it stands now.’
‘But we were happy.’
‘Most people marry because they’re happy. But today? How would you describe yourself in terms of your marriage?’
Roxi counted twenty-two seconds before Owen replied. ‘Lonely,’ he said.
She pressed the pause button on Cooper’s stolen laptop, removed her ear buds and the sound of chatter from the cafe she was visiting returned. Roxi hadn’t heard Owen speak in such depth about her or their relationship before, and especially to a stranger. Only Antoinette Cooper wasn’t a stranger to Owen. Neither was she his mistress. Roxi had killed his relationship therapist, a fact that had only come to light when she’d searched Cooper’s office and read the framed diplomas on her walls. Unless you were an official Government-sanctioned Relationship Responder, such a job was now illegal. No wonder she hadn’t identified herself to Roxi and kept glancing behind her to see if any neighbours were overhearing their confrontation. Cooper hadn’t wanted to risk being exposed. But if she’d explained who she was, she would still be alive today. It was her own bloody fault she was dead, not Roxi’s.
Antoinette had also more commonly gone by the name of Toni Cooper, which is why Roxi had been unable to find out anything about her online before their altercation.
According to dated files on the laptop, Owen had been seeing her for months, long before their Audite decided they had problems. Owen had foreseen the erosion of their relationship and only now was Roxi realizing that if she had listened when he’d tried to broach the subject, they might not have been Levelled up.
Her phone flashed with the first two lines of an email. It was from Suzanne at Talk Radio. Roxi had yet to return her invitation to appear on the station later in the week. Since Cooper’s death, Roxi had gone to ground, refusing to see anyone or update her social media content. She took another long gulp from a second glass of wine a waitress had carried over earlier. It wasn’t easing her anxiety as she hoped it might.
The guilt Roxi felt for violating her husband’s privacy wasn’t enough to stop her from listening. So she reinserted her earbud and picked another random recording, made six weeks earlier according to the date on the file.
‘I’ve done something I’m not proud of,’ Owen began.
‘Would you like to tell me about it?’ Cooper asked.
‘I don’t know if I do.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you’ll make me explore my reasoning and I don’t know if I have the energy to do that today.’ He paused and Roxi held her breath. ‘I’ve betrayed my wife.’
Roxi’s stomach sank. She didn’t know if she wanted to hear any more.
‘It’s my fault we are on Level One. I’ve been saying things to the Audite that I shouldn’t have.’
‘What kind of things?’ Roxi asked at the same time as Cooper.
‘Stupid things. Like I don’t love her any more, that I want a divorce, that I’m not happy . . . stuff like that.’
‘And is any of it true?’
‘No.’
‘Can you explain your reasoning behind it?’
‘I hoped I was being recorded and it would force us onto Level One. Maybe then she’d take my marriage concerns seriously. But I don’t know if she has. She still doesn’t seem to care.’
‘Have you considered the effect this might have on Roxi’s career if your Levelling up is made public?’ Owen didn’t reply but Roxi heard him shuffling on Cooper’s leather sofa.
‘Can I take from your silence that you have considered it but acted regardless?’
‘Yes.’
‘So – and without putting words into your mouth – have you tried to sabotage her career to regain the Roxi you fell in love with?’
Owen hesitated again before agreeing.
Of all she had heard that day, this stunned Roxi the most. But she barely had time to process it before the next revelation appeared.
‘That’s not all,’ Owen continued. ‘I’ve been trolling her online, leaving nasty, hurtful comments on everything she posts.’
Roxi clasped her hand over her mouth. ‘What?’ she said aloud. A man sitting by an adjacent table turned sharply to look at her.
‘When did this start?’ asked Cooper.
‘Soon after she revealed she wanted to be the new Jem Jones. Do you remember me telling you how my son asked me if I could find him a new mummy because Rox never plays with him like his friends’ mums do? Before I went home, I sat outside your house, set up a bogus account using your wifi and started trolling my own wife.’
‘Why?’ asked Cooper.
‘Because I want to hurt her like she is hurting our family. Because she doesn’t listen. But mostly because I’m a bloody idiot.’
Roxi slammed the lid of the laptop shut, devastated by Owen’s betrayal. Yet amongst the hurt, a part of her understood why. And her anger wasn’t only directed at him, but at herself for allowing things to become so bad between them.
Something had to change. And, as far as she could see, it had to be her. But before she could give it any more thought, her watch pinged. And when she read the message, she closed her eyes and fought the urge to hurl her wine glass against the window.
65
Jeffrey
‘I’m not doing this today,’ announced Noah before their morning session began.
‘May I ask why?’ asked Jeffrey. He noted the dark rings around Noah’s eyes and uncombed hair, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
‘These sessions are affecting my sleep, my appetite and how I do my job and I can’t afford to put lives at risk if I can’t concentrate. For my own mental health, I need a timeout.’
Luca turned to him. ‘When did you decide this?’ he asked, bewildered.
‘Last night.’
‘Have you considered that our sessions might be forcing you to confront your issues and that they’re manifesting themselves into your insomnia and lack of appetite?’ said Jeffrey. ‘Perhaps we could explore this further—’
‘I studied medicine for six years before I became a junior doctor, Jeffrey; I didn’t log in to an online course, get a certificate for turning up and call myself qualified.’
Jeffrey allowed the dig to pass unchallenged.
‘So please don’t patronize me with a half-baked diagnosis. My work is the one thing I don’t have to defend to you. Under the terms of the Marriage Act, ruling three point one, each half of a counselled couple is entitled to up to five mental health recuperation days in any one bulk course of counselling. I am taking all mine together.’
‘If you can find a medical professional who signs off on it first.’
‘Check your emails, you’ll see I had a conference call with a consultant early this morning and she has approved it.’
Someone has done their homework, thought Jeffrey. He refreshed his tablet’s emails and located the message, which had arrived as he was preparing for today’s session. Noah had timed its arrival to disarm Jeffrey. Cunning recognized cunning.
‘Where will you be staying?’ Jeffrey asked.
Noah cocked his head.
‘Under the terms of the Marriage Act, ruling four point seven six, mental health breaks cannot be taken at the property in which you reside, or you risk a delay to the recovery process. So where will you go?’
‘Um, a friend’s house.’
‘Which friend?’ asked Luca.
‘I haven’t decided.’
‘As you’ve told me yourself, many of your friends view your Level Two status as “toxic”. Perhaps you had best start calling around now until you find one who is accepting of your situation?’
Noah’s jaw tightened before he left the room and disappeared upstairs, phone in hand. Luca followed, leaving Jeffrey alone. He inserted an ear pod and switched the Audite on.
‘It’s only for a few days,’ Noah said in their bedroom.
‘And how’s that going to help us?’ Luca replied.
‘You need to trust me.’
‘About what?’
‘What I said to you before about Jeffrey.’
Jeffrey’s eyes widened. He had missed that conversation.
‘While I’m gone, keep your guard up,’ Noah continued.
‘You’re being paranoid.’
‘We’ll know soon enough, won’t we?’
Jeffrey heard no more as both men began to whisper. And by the time Noah closed the front door behind him and Luca returned to the lounge, Jeffrey was trying to mask his frustration by pretending to type notes.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
‘I’m fine.’
‘I assume Noah’s decision has caught you off-guard, but it might be a good thing for you both to have some time apart. It will also allow you to process what we’ve been discussing. And I’m here to help in any way.’
Luca opened the doors and entered the garden alone. Whatever it was that Noah had whispered was echoing. Now Jeffrey had to remind him that he had his best interests at heart.
‘Are you okay with Noah leaving you?’ he asked as he followed.
‘He hasn’t left me,’ Luca hit back. ‘You heard him. He needs to get his head together.’
‘Where will he be staying?’
‘With his friend Frank.’
‘I recognize the name; isn’t he an ex-partner?’
‘They dated for a couple of months but that was years ago.’
‘Oh, okay. Well, it’s great that you have that level of trust in one another. Not every couple I’ve worked with does.’
‘Noah would never cheat on me.’
‘I suppose you could argue that by Noah inviting other people into your bedroom as he has done, he’s already blurred the boundaries of monogamy and might not define cheating in the same way you do.’
‘He wouldn’t cheat.’
‘Look, you’ve both reached a transitional stage in your relationship. It could go either way. But it takes both partners to fight to keep it together, not just one. If Noah is already thinking of checking out of the relationship, then there is very little that the other can do to prevent it.’
‘Why would you say he was thinking of checking out?’
Jeffrey exaggerated wrestling with his conscience. ‘I had planned to discuss this in today’s session before Noah left. But now you’ve told me he’s staying with a former boyfriend, I think it’s important you’re made aware that he’s been researching divorce proceedings.’
Luca faltered. ‘How do you know that?’
‘I have access to his work account and browser. He has clicked or bookmarked twenty-four separate divorce-related pages – including what happens if you have a new partner lined up before you leave a marriage.’ Jeffrey turned his tablet around to show a screengrab of Noah’s search history. ‘He has also been emailing colleagues asking for local divorce lawyer recommendations. I can’t confirm how many he has approached yet.’
Luca ran his hands though his hair then pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Could you find somewhere else to stay tonight please, Jeffrey?’ he asked.
Jeffrey paled. ‘Err, yes, yes, of course, if that’s what you want. But I think it might be beneficial if you have someone around to talk to—’
‘I don’t.’
Luca left the garden and made his way back up the stairs until Jeffrey heard his bedroom door close. Jeffrey remained rooted, replaying their conversation to pinpoint the moment he’d misread Luca so badly. Leaving him alone had not been part of his divide-and-conquer plan.
66
Corrine
Corrine stared through a double set of glass doors leading to a balcony and out towards the River Nene. She glanced at her watch; it was almost 10.30 a.m. Last night’s sleep had been fitful. Each time she awoke, she replayed her confrontation with Mitchell and Maisy at the Family Court and his parting shot. Even in the midst of a divorce weighted heavily against him, he had found a way to conquer and control her. He had given her one day to make a decision. And there were a little under four hours left.
She took up a position on one of two adjacent sofas and took in her surroundings. There wasn’t time for that the last time she was here. The former Carlsberg Brewery dated back to the 1970s and, in its conversion into apartments, builders had retained its original exposed concrete finish, metal beams and joists. The walls were decorated with brightly coloured abstract canvases. But there were no family photographs, anywhere.
A pair of heels clicking against the metal staircase leading up to the front door caught her attention. She heard a beeping as someone input a code before opening the door. Corrine steeled herself.
Member of Parliament Eleanor Harrison was oblivious to the woman who had broken into her flat. Corrine watched her carefully as she placed an overnight bag on the floor before unstrapping her shoes and lining them up neatly next to it. Only then did Harrison turn, letting out a shrill scream when she spotted her uninvited guest.
‘Do you remember me?’ asked Corrine calmly.
Harrison didn’t wait for an explanation. She turned and ran barefoot towards the front door.
Corrine raised her voice. ‘I was here the night you claim you were attacked.’
Harrison stopped.
‘I know what really happened.’
‘My bracelet has a panic button,’ Harrison replied as she turned to face Corrine. Her finger hovered above it. ‘The flat will be swarming with police by the time you reach the lobby.’
‘Don’t let me stop you. I’m sure they’ll be interested in the footage I filmed that night.’ Corrine removed a burner phone from her pocket and threw it across the room to Harrison. ‘Open the media folder. It’s the only clip.’
