The Mag Hags (20 page)

Belle had been praying for a tornado, flood or some other biblically proportioned weather tragedy to descend upon Baywood and sweep away the marquee that had been set up in the garden, so it could stop her father making the worst mistake of his entire life. But as nature hadn't played its part, it looked like it was up to Belle to do the dirty work.

It was time to play Zeb the MP3 file that Cat had downloaded from her phone and emailed to Belle, so she would have the cold, hard proof needed to expose Reanne.

Zeb was swimming laps in the pool. As he paused for breath in the shallow end, Belle called out to him to come up to the office when he had finished swimming.

Half an hour later Zeb came wandering into the office, which seemed very quiet and dull without all the magazine frenzy. ‘What's up?'

‘Are you ready to hear what Reanne's really like?' said Belle, before hitting the start button on her computer, and the conversation between Sol and Reanne came blasting out of the speakers.

Zeb stood stock-still, clearly shocked. He couldn't believe that (a) Belle's friends had managed to get such damning evidence (b) Reanne was such a scheming cow and (c) one day their dad might be rich beyond ‘her' wildest dreams, which made him secretly wonder whether he might be getting a fancy sports car for his seventeenth birthday, which was coming up in a matter of weeks.

‘I told you,' said Belle. ‘See, she's not so cool now, despite the blonde hair and big breasts.'

‘I stand corrected,' said Zeb. ‘Why didn't you play me this earlier? I honestly thought you were jealous. When you said you had proof, I didn't know you meant you'd stalked her.'

‘I didn't stalk her!' cried Belle. ‘Anyway, I kind of just hoped she'd back out and decide the money wasn't worth it, so we wouldn't have to tell Dad all this.'

‘But now we've got to break it to him the night before his wedding,' said Zeb, not looking forward to seeing their dad in tears – he'd seen quite enough of them when their mum died. ‘That's not a job I look forward to.'

‘Let's do it in front of Reanne,' said Belle, who secretly relished the opportunity of seeing Reanne squirm like an eel on the end of a fishing line. ‘We're supposed to be meeting in the library for drinks in an hour before we go out for dinner. How about then? I'll blue tooth you the file from my computer and we'll plug your MP3 player
into the speakers in the library. That way, Dad will have to listen.'

‘Yeah well, no time is a good time to break your father's heart and destroy his future, but I guess we don't have a choice really,' replied Zeb, with a sinking sense of dread.

 

An hour later, Belle took a deep breath and walked into the library.

‘Corabelle!' said her father, giving her a full beam smile.

Seeing him look so happy nearly made Belle change her mind; there was a small part of her that thought she should let her father stay oblivious, even if it did cost him half of his vast fortune and break his heart when Reanne eventually divorced him and took off with Sol Stevens.

‘Champagne, sweetie?' asked her father, his arm wrapped around Reanne's tiny waist. ‘After all, it is the specialist of special occasions.'

‘Sure, Dad,' said Belle. ‘That would be great.'

‘Belle, you look gorgeous tonight,' said Reanne checking out Belle's outfit. ‘Where's that dress from?'

‘It's a Wanda Hong,' said Belle, who had bought the pretty pink slip dress from Wanda at the photo shoot.

‘Never heard of her and you know I've got a passion for fashion,' said Reanne, laughing the little girlie laugh that drove Belle to distraction. ‘Where's your brother?'

Just at that moment, in sauntered Zeb, still wearing
the shorts and T-shirt he'd been wearing all day. ‘Is that what you're wearing? Soigné Nourriture is a very posh restaurant, Zeb,' said Reanne.

‘Well, Reanne,' said Belle. ‘Your days of posh restaurants are over. You'll be back to eating burgers from now on.'

‘Poo?' said Reanne, turning to look Adrian.

‘Corabelle, what on earth are you talking about?' Adrian's dimples had retreated into a scowl.

‘Well, Dad, your lovely little bride-to-be here is having an affair!' said Belle, who couldn't resist letting her own dimples show at trumping Reanne.

‘What?' said Reanne. ‘What are you talking about?'

‘We have proof, Reanne,' said Zeb sternly. ‘Sorry Dad, but it's true.'

‘Proof?' said Reanne, the colour draining from her face, her voice rising a couple of octaves. ‘Poo? You can't believe this. It's nonsense.'

‘Just as ridiculous as you thinking you could get away with having an affair with Sol Stevens. But I had you pegged as a money-grubbing, insincere, self-obsessed, calculating piece of trash from the moment you started manipulating my father into marrying you,' said Belle, revving into full-throttle aggression. ‘You nearly fooled everyone, even Zeb, with your sweetie, darling, Poo-Poo nonsense. Face it, Reanne, you're so full of shit you might as well be a portaloo after a rock festival.'

‘Corabelle, what on earth has got into you?' shouted Adrian. ‘I won't have you speaking like that to my future wife in my house.'

‘Okay, Dad,' said Belle, holding her hands out to calm him down. ‘I don't want to hurt you but you've got to hear this. Are you ready, Zeb?'

Zeb plugged the MP3 player into the speakers in the library and Reanne and Sol's conversation played out loud and clear.

‘You don't have to go through with this, Reanne,'
came the voice of a man, the sound of a door slamming shut in the background.
‘Baby, honestly, there are ways out of it, you know.'

‘It's the money that's the issue.'
That was clearly Reanne.
‘When he does the deal on The Vultron, we're talking mega, mega bucks. You know, beyond your wildest dreams rich. I'll have everything I've ever wanted. That's got to make me question my decision to marry him.'

‘Whatever your decision. You've always got me. No matter what happens, we'll get through this together,' said Sol. ‘Now come over here, I think you need a really big hug.'

‘Thanks, baby. You've always had the ability to calm me down. I feel so much better now.'

‘Where did you get that?' said Reanne, looking dismayed, as the rest of the conversation played out. ‘I can't believe you've been bugging me.'

‘Just as well,' said Belle. ‘Otherwise you might just have got away with it.'

‘Got away with what exactly, Corabelle?' said Reanne. She sounded angry, and there was something else in her voice too, something Belle didn't want to hear – she sounded genuinely hurt.

‘Stealing my dad's money and then running off to marry Sol Stevens,' said Belle, who knew that she had this nasty scheming bovine on the ropes.

‘I wouldn't marry Sol if he was the last man on earth,' said Reanne. ‘We went out for five years and didn't get married, that's proof enough. I adore him but he's as thick as a door.'

‘Speaking of which,' said Belle. ‘Dad, shouldn't you be showing Reanne the door?'

‘Corabelle, I know Reanne is friends with Sol Stevens,' said Adrian. ‘She's been training with him for years, even after they broke up.'

‘Dad, don't do this! She's always around his house,' said Belle, starting to panic. Why wasn't her father taking this seriously? ‘Listen to what she said about marrying you for your money. Don't be a fool!'

‘No, Belle, you listen to what she said,' said her dad fiercely. ‘Reanne and I have already spoken about this. She was questioning why she was marrying me. I'm an older guy with a lot of money. She didn't want to marry me if it was just because I was rich, like everyone has
been implying. She had to really ask herself why she loves me. We talked it through last week. We even went to couples counselling. Sol and Reanne are friends. He's been trying to convince her that we're made for each other.'

‘I love your dad.' Reanne was crying now, and Belle had started to feel as though she was starring in the wrong movie. Reanne looked adoringly at Adrian, the tears rolling down her face.

‘I honestly do love him,' Reanne was saying, ‘and there's a hundred reasons why. He's kind, considerate, thoughtful, supportive, and hysterically funny. Success and money are way down the list. We have a connection Belle, a real connection. Just because he's older doesn't mean a thing. Love doesn't discriminate – trust me, you can fall for the unlikeliest of people. You wait, you'll see.'

Belle looked to Zeb for help but he was standing with his head hung in shame.

‘I don't buy all this love bullshit,' said Belle, choking on her own tears. ‘You've been a cow to me since you turned up in my dad's life. My friends even overheard you saying you wanted to pack me off to boarding school!'

‘I was at the end of my tether. It was supposed to be a joke, and as if your father would agree to that anyway, Belle, he loves you,' said Reanne. ‘I have tried with you. Tried to tell you all about myself, so you could get to
know me, because you never volunteer any information about yourself. I've asked you to come shopping, out to lunches and dinners. I even asked you to be a bridesmaid, even though I knew you hated my guts! But every response I've had from you has been negative. I've bent over backwards inviting all of your friends to our wedding. I don't know what else I can do to show you that I'm not the wicked stepmother you seem to think I am.'

Belle felt like her legs had been swept from under her. Her brain tried to make sense of what was going on. Could she have got Reanne so wrong? Like she had got Cat, Wanda, Belle and Maggie wrong? Could her perception of who people really were be so out of kilter?

‘Corabelle, darling,' said Adrian gently, as if he was talking to a toddler who had fallen over and hurt themselves. ‘Reanne and I love each other. Really. She even offered to sign a pre-nuptial agreement to say that if we ever separated she'd walk away with nothing.' He walked over and folded Belle in his arms; she collapsed against him, sobbing.

‘I love your dad and one day I hope you'll realise that and we can at least be friends,' said Reanne to Zeb and Belle. ‘I want to be there for you. It must be hard not having a mum, especially when you're teenagers. I know I'll never be your mother but I can be someone you can turn to. Honestly, once you get to know me I'm really quite a nice person. Just give me a chance …'

Belle looked at Reanne as though she was seeing her for the first time. Instead of the bimbo bikini blonde with all the looks but the personality of a reality TV show contestant, she saw a sweet face with soft blue eyes, smiling at her despite the fact she had been accused of having an affair, called a piece of trash and compared to a portaloo.

‘I'll try,' said Belle, through her tears, clinging to her daddy as though she really was a toddler. At the time, it was the best she could do.

The next morning Baywood was bathed in a warm golden glow that indicated the weather for the wedding that evening was going to be perfect. Teams of people scurried about busily; a van that read
Baywood Boozarama
was unloading cartons of French champagne; staff from Lunched Out, Baywood's most exclusive caterer, were setting up in the marquee; and florists with armfuls of huge exotic blooms raced around like walking vases.

Heidi High, who DJ'd at Blissed, the Under-18 night at Loud nightclub, was struggling with a box of records and a turntable into the grand Indian marquee, in its shades of exotic oranges, maroons and blues. An electrician risked life and limb covering the house and the marquee in thousands of streams of fairy lights so the mansion would be lit up like a beacon on the top of the hill.

Reanne and Belle were in the master bedroom having their hair done by Mel Hospock, who was creating some absolutely gorgeous up-dos, while Cassie Marie from the
salon did the make-up. Yesterday, the thought that Belle and Reanne could be sitting together happily had been preposterous; but it had turned out that dinner at Soigné Nourriture was fantastic, with Adrian, Reanne, Zeb and Belle getting on amazingly well, all things considered. Reanne hadn't held the snooping and stream of insults against Belle; and once Belle gave Reanne a chance, she realised that she had a wicked sense of humour.

As they were leaving the restaurant, Reanne had asked Belle if she wanted to be part of the bridal party after all. She said they could go down to Glitz and find something gorgeous for her to wear, which made Belle burst into tears yet again. First thing that morning they had popped into Glitz and found a long, royal-blue satin dress that kind of matched the designer blue silk gown of Reanne's matron of honour, Sheri Hesselbeck. Reanne said that she wasn't too bothered about everything being perfect because life isn't like that and you always had to be flexible and plan for contingencies.

Just as the sun was starting to set, Adrian and Reanne were married under the old oak tree in the middle of the garden – where Belle and Zeb had scattered their mum's ashes six years before – in front of one hundred and twelve guests, including Maggie, Mand, Wanda, Cat and Debs, none of whom could quite believe that the wedding wasn't cancelled and that their mate Corabelle was actually standing next to Reanne as her bridesmaid.

After a lavish supper of freshly shucked oysters, canapés, and barramundi with exotic salads and sweet potatoes, followed by the most indulgent wedding cake, with four layers of quadruple chocolate tiers (Reanne turned out to have an incredible sweet tooth, despite being so skinny), Heidi High cranked up the music and everyone hit the dance floor. Mand ended up rocking out with Zeb, while Wanda seemed to be spending a lot of time with Billy Prince, who had come with his dad when his mum got sick. By the end of the night, the girls had both secured dates to the formal.

The wedding party ended at midnight when Reanne tossed her bouquet. It was caught by Mel Hospock, although some of the other women complained that she had elbowed them in the ribs in the scuffle. Mel took it as a sign that her romantic drought since being dumped by Kane the stripper was coming to an end.

When Reanne and Adrian left in the Rolls to go to a tropical island hideaway for a two-week honeymoon, Belle felt sad, but her new girlfriends all assured her that they wouldn't let her get lonely even for a second. And that was a very, very, good feeling.