Man Seeks Woman 2, Man Seeks Wife (25 page)

I just had to
hear the truth. I already had a feeling what the answer was going
to be anyway before he even opened his mouth.

Sebastian’s
stubble coated cheek rippled with the grinding of his back teeth.
“After.”

A bitter laugh
left me. “How did I know that?” I said more to myself than him. I
shook my head as I continued to huff out disbelieving laughs. I
didn’t know how we were supposed to be a proper couple with shit
like this hanging over us and happening behind the scenes.
Obviously during the six months that I wasn’t around, Naomi had
gotten her clutches into him again and just like a sap, he’d
allowed it. The thing that bugged me and really got on my wick was
that he said it was because of the kid yet there was a part of me
that niggled away in the back of my mind telling me that maybe it
wasn’t all the kid.

I just didn’t
know what to believe anymore.

Where did this
morning end up going so wrong?

“So let me get
this straight.” I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “you
sat there in your Mother’s house listening to not only Naomi
degrade me in front of everyone with not only her mouth, actions
and the recording but afterwards when I left and you didn’t come
after me, you gave her a house?” I finished off shouting with
incredulity.

“It wasn’t
like that.” He said quietly.

“Then how was
it?” I persisted.

His cheek
rippled again and his eyes flashed in warning. “I don’t have to
explain myself to you.”

I licked my
lips and smiled but it wasn’t a nice smile. I felt my lips
stretching into a snarl. “No, you’re right. You don’t have to
explain anything to me. After all,” I leaned forward into his
space. “I’m just Victoria; your bit on the side.”

“Oh don’t
start that. You know you’re more than she could ever be, more than
anyone else could ever be.”

“I’m sorry.” I
chuckled. “Did you not just tell me that you gave your ex wife a
house—your house to live in after she’d done what she did to me—to
us?”

“I’ve already
apologised a million times to you for my solecisms. I said I was
sorry and I meant it. If it helps all that much I’ll apologise for
helping Naomi too. In supplying Naomi with the house, I was doing
what felt was right. Could you imagine if I had gotten her pregnant
and not benefitted her with housing how bad I would feel. Leo could
have been my Son.”

“But he’s
not.” I answered quietly.

“No.”
Sebastian sighed almost regretfully. My head snapped up at his
tone. Was he gutted that the baby wasn’t his? Was he secretly
hoping he was? No, he couldn’t be, could he? “You’re correct and we
know that now.”

Stifling
silence settled around us making me fidget around, uncomfortably.
“So?” I shrugged, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. “You’re
chucking her out now, is that it?”

“Evicting her,
asking her to leave, whatever way you want to put it. Now I know
for sure the baby wasn’t fathered by me, she’s been ordered to
leave. I have no more responsibility to either one of them.”

He didn’t have
any bloody responsibility in the first place. Wasn’t he the one
that told me he didn’t think he was the Dad to Naomi’s baby when
she announced she was pregnant? Did he suddenly forget that?

I nodded
slowly. “What will you do with the house?” not that I was really
bothered but I had to know if this was going to be springing up
again.

Now Sebastian
shrugged and frowned. “I don’t actually know. I should have sold it
but in this climate, it’s not the best move to make. Perhaps I
could see if any of my brothers want it.”

God, he was so
spoilt. There were people dying in the world and there he sat
willing to hand over a house that I knew would be worth
millions—like it was a bag of crisps. Damn, and there was me
looking for a place to live with a deposit of not even five hundred
pounds.

“Listen,” I
ran my hands through my damp hair. “I’ve got to go and get my stuff
for work tomorrow. I’m gonna go get dressed and I should be back
some time later.”

“Victoria.”
Sebastian started.

I shook my
head and chewed the inside of my cheek to stop my mouth running
away from me like it really wanted to. I wanted to scream and shout
at him, perhaps slap him a little or maybe hit him with my six inch
heeled shoe to knock some sense into him but...I wouldn’t.

“I’ll be back
later, Sebastian.” With that, I walked out of the dining room and
down to his bedroom where my clothes had been placed and sorted
into his huge walk in wardrobe. I snorted as I pushed through the
lines of his expensive suits. None of the clothes I was about to
put on were truly mine anyway but hey ho.

“Victoria.”
Sebastian’s voice sounded from behind me. I looked over my shoulder
at him as I idly flicked through the trouser and jeans hanging up
on the shiny metal bar. I raised a brow for him to carry on. “Don’t
walk out like this. If we can’t have conversations even difficult
ones, what does that say about us?”

“I’m not
walking out, Sebastian. I’ve got nothing here for work tomorrow and
I need a couple of extra bits anyway.”

“You’ve got
plenty of clothing here for work. Most of it is better than the
stuff you have at your flat.”

My teeth
gritted together at his insult but I breathed through it. “It’s not
mine though.” I argued.

“Fuck,
Victoria, don’t be pedantic, it doesn’t suit you. You know exactly
what I mean.”

I took a deep
breath and blew it out. “Honestly, Sebastian, I’m going home and
I’m fine.”

Sebastian
pulled me into his arms, wrapping them around me snugly. I pressed
my hands to his chest as he stared down at me, his nose inches away
from my own. “Tell me you’re okay. Tell me to my face you’re
okay.”

I was far from
okay. I was pissed but not. I was angry but yet I wasn’t. Hell, I
didn’t really know how to feel but I knew I didn’t feel happy.

Looking
directly into his eyes and even smiling a little, I told him, “I’m
okay, I’m fine. I’m just...okay. Don’t worry about anything,
Sebastian. I’m going to my place to grab some of my stuff, do some
cleaning up and empty the bins, shit like that, and then I’ll come
back here...to you.”

I was a great
big fat liar.

“You’ll come
home, you mean.” He didn’t ask. It was more a fact, an order of
sorts.

Not home. This
wasn’t my home and I didn’t know if it ever would be. Even if he
asked me to move in with him, I wasn’t entirely sure I could do
it.

“I’ll come
back here, to you.” That was the best I could do without lying even
more.

Those blue
eyes of his narrowed and stared into my own hazel ones for a long
time. I held my ground and refused to move around or fidget until
he nodded slowly. Sebastian’s hands came up and held my face in his
palms and kissed me hard, thrusting his tongue into my mouth. Our
teeth clinked together and I think there may have even been a
little bit of blood leak from my bottom lip

“You
will
come home to me.” Then he turned and left.

Oh the
joys.

Instead of
going home like I’d told Sebastian, I drove to Jen’s. I pulled into
her driveway next to Rick’s Jeep and Jen’s Audi and cut the engine.
Leaning forward in my seat, I looked up at her windows searching
for any sign of life.

There was
movement in one of the top bedroom windows so I wasn’t going to be
invading on anything private.

With a sigh, I
grabbed my bag and got out of the car, slamming the door behind me.
I stopped at the front of the car and flicked the fob listening to
the doors lock and lights flash.

The gravel
crunched under my feet as I walked towards the house. All the
colourful, bushy plants that normally crowded the path up to the
house were gone to be replaced by reindeer statues. I felt my nose
wrinkle at the sight of them and the Christmas bulbs plastered
along the edge of the roof. Jen was a real celebrator of Christmas
and it bugged the shit out of me. It was the only real true time of
the year or ever that we had an argument and fell out over it. Of
course, the moment Christmas was over, we were best friends again.
Because Jen was a Christmas bunny and I wasn’t, she tried
converting every year but I wasn’t having any of it. Christmas was
not meant for people like me, end of.

Just as I got
to the front door, it opened and there stood Rick. He was dressed
in a light pink t-shirt that went well with his blonde hair. He
looked as handsome as he normally did but a little ruffled too, not
his usual slick self.

“Hey,
stranger,” He pulled me into his arms and wrapped them around me,
pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

I buried my
nose in his chest and inhaled for a long time. His homey smell
settled something deep inside me. It was hard to think that for a
long time Rick and Jen were my only friends and family. Now, I had
Sebastian but that was a whole different story.

“How have you
been? I haven’t seen you.”

I shrugged and
scratched the side of my face. “Yeah, sorry about that, I’ve been
busy but I’m good, how about you?”

Something
passed over his eyes but he smiled and it was gone. “Excited about
the baby and nervous all the same,”

“Where’s Jen?”
I asked as I pulled away from him and closed the door after me. The
smell of freshly baked sausage rolls made my stomach growl a
little.

“She’s
upstairs in the bath. You want some coffee?”

I nodded as I
followed him through to the kitchen. I was right, there were two
plates full of freshly baked sausage rolls just sitting there
waiting to be had. I grabbed a small one and stuffed it into my
mouth as I slipped up onto a bar stool.

“What’s up?”
Rick asked as he put the kettle on.

“Nothing, I
just thought I’d come round. Got nothing better to do, you
see.”

There was
something about sitting at home by myself that didn’t really appeal
to me. I knew if I did go home, I’d think and probably end up
thinking too much.

Rick snorted
and got the cups ready. “I’d rather have you here than Julie. She’s
been a nightmare.”

My eyebrows
shot to the top of my head. Rick didn’t usually speak out of place
about people; he was too polite for that. Julie—Jenna’s Mum must
really be pushing the boat out—verbally and annoyingly— lately.

“I can scare
her away if it’d make you feel better.” I offered. Nicking another
sausage roll, I watched him move around the pumpkin coloured
kitchen. The place was filled with stuff cluttering the counters
but it wasn’t untidy. In one of the corners there were boxes of
nursery items that needed to be put together still.

“That’d be the
day. She’d have more luck scaring you away.”

Hmmm, that was
probably true. All Julie really had to do was invite me for dinner
in her big posh family home and I was already making excuses not to
go.

Rick handed me
a cup of coffee and a cup of hot chocolate. “Can you take that up
to Jen for me?”

My mouth
opened to ask why he wasn’t coming up with me but he walked off
leaving me in the kitchen. Something was seriously wrong here or
maybe it was me reading into things that weren’t entirely
there.

“Thanks Rick.”
I called, climbing the stairs. Walking along the carpeted passage,
I stopped at their bedroom and slipped my shoes off outside the
door, kicking them to the side. “Hello.” I hollered as I opened the
door with my elbow, nearly spilling the hot drinks over my hands
and the floor.

“In here.”
Jen’s voice came out muffled.

The moment I
stepped inside the room, the smell of jasmine hit me and made my
nose tingle. Setting the cups on the side and dumping my bag on the
big bed, I rubbed at my nose as I walked through to the peach
coloured en-suite. Jen was there lying in the shell shaped bath
with bubbles all the way up to her chin.

“Oh it’s you.”
She said. Her tone wasn’t nasty but it wasn’t exactly nice
either.

“Nice to see
you too, so what have I done?” I asked as I closed the toilet lid
and perched myself down on top of it slowly. The bathroom looked so
dainty and porcelain, I was afraid I’d break something.

Jen’s dark
eyes flashed. Her hand that had been under the water splashed
upward and knocked bubbles and heavily scented jasmine water over
the edge. “What haven’t you done!” she shouted, her eyes blazing at
me. “You haven’t called me or come to see me. Do you know what it’s
like to be in this house by myself day after day or even oh my
God?” She gritted out. “Having my Mother fussing around me
foretelling her tales of wisdom about birth and everything to do
with it?”

Okay, I wasn’t
even touching that.

I bit my
bottom lip to stop the laugh that wanted to escape but I couldn’t
stop it. It burst through and made me bend over with the strength
of it. Tears appeared at my eyes when Jen flicked water and bubbles
at me to shut me up but when that didn’t work; she threw her sponge
at me which hit me with a great big wet plop.

When I calmed
down, I crawled off the toilet seat and along the floor so I was
resting on my knees beside the tub. The water soaked into the
material of my trousers but I wasn’t too fussed about that. I
reached into the bath and picked up a handful of bubbles and blew
them, watching them sail through the air like mini clouds.

“What’s the
matter?” Jen asked quietly.

I shrugged and
let out a long breath. “I don’t know.”

“That’s such a
typical Victoria answer.” She rolled her eyes. “Is it
Sebastian?”

“When is it
not Sebastian?” I muttered and played with more bubbles. “On the
way over here, I was sat in traffic along the high street and I was
thinking what my life would have been like if I’d not met
Sebastian. I was trying to imagine not seeing the ad ‘Man Seeks
Woman’ that day in the paper.”