The One That Got Away (25 page)

Nathan sneers at him and then turns to me his
eyes burning into mine and his face showing more emotion in it than
I have ever seen. “Come with me Bella, walk away. Now is your
chance. We don’t need him I will take care of you, please baby I
love you.” I look at him and then at Ben in bewilderment. I can see
that everyone is looking at me waiting for my decision. I see
Phoebe looking concerned and then my mother who nods in Nathan’s
direction. Then I look at Ben. He is looking at me intensely, his
eyes drawing me in and mesmerising me as he always does. As I
continue to stare at him I see a sudden flash of uncertainty
followed by one of desperation. He stands in front of me and says
softly so that it is almost just a whisper, “Do you trust me
Bella?” He then gives me a look that melts my very soul. I can see
all of him in that one look and it is enough to make up my mind in
an instant.

I tear my gaze away and face Nathan. I walk
up to him and there is a gasp from the crowd. Nathan smiles
lovingly at me and puts out his hands to take mine. Looking up at
him I see the man that I fell in love with, he is so open and
honest and I know that my life would be so easy with him. I
understand that it wasn’t his fault that he cheated and the fact
that he has come here tonight and said all that he said shows his
love for me. My parents love him as do all of my friends. I can
feel Ben’s eyes burning into my back and shakily I smile at
Nathan.

“
Thank you
Nathan. I can see that you do really care for me and I am so
grateful to you for all that you have done for me. It must have
taken a lot for you to come here and do all of this, it can’t have
been easy.” He reaches up and touches my face and his eyes shine.
At this moment he looks so happy and I feel bad for him. Moving
away I look back at Ben who is watching me as if turned to stone,
his gaze never leaving me for a second. Turning back to Nathan I
say, “I’m sorry Nathan, it is Ben who I love and want to be with.
He may have done some harsh things in the past but I know that he
is kind and a good person at heart. I can’t leave him, I’m
sorry.”

The crowd is silent and I see my mother’s
shocked expression. I move back to Ben and take his hand. He
squeezes it hard and I feel him instantly relax. Nathan looks at us
with an ominous expression and without saying anything more spins
on his heel and storms off.

The crowd soon move away and leave Ben and I
standing there on our own. He pulls me towards him and I can see
the relief in his face. He traces his fingers down the side of my
face and says, “Thank you Bella. I love you, always know that, I
always have and always will. Nobody will ever hurt you whilst I am
around.” I look up at him lovingly and say, “I know that Ben. The
person that Nathan spoke of doesn’t exist. I know you and you know
me. It took us years to get here but I am never letting you go
again.” He pulls me towards him and kisses me with so much love and
passion, that I know that I was right. Ben is my soul mate. Without
him I have nothing.

Epilogue

The email flashed onto the screen and she
smiled as she saw the sender. It had taken a while to come but as
she opened it she was pleased to see that the job had been a
success. She didn’t reply, she had no need to, her work was
done.

As she flicked off the screen she thought
back to what had happened. As jobs went she had enjoyed this one.
It had been enjoyable although she would have liked more actual
contact with her supposed boyfriend. Laughing to herself she
remembered how much fun it had actually been. Nathan had been good
fun and she had been attracted to him which had helped
considerably. Seducing him had been easy, but then again it always
was. The downside had been the pretence of liking football. She
actually hated it and didn’t miss the Sundays spent at the
touchline. The sex had been good though, although she would have
liked to have tried it with Ben. He was more her type. Strong and
silent, the brooding type. If you cross someone like him you know
about it. Mind you it wasn’t the first time that they had worked
together and wouldn’t be the last.

Then there was Bella. Laughing to herself she
wondered if she would ever find out what had really happened. She
hoped not for Ben’s sake. Bella’s sort would never understand and
she wondered how long it would take before she realised that it
wasn’t really, “Happy ever after.”

Looking across at the baby scan picture she
thought what a stroke of genius that had been. Men are so gullible.
It wasn’t the only time that she had used that particular picture,
the results were always the same though, women could never forgive
a cheater when there was a possible baby on the way.

Getting up from her desk she walked over to
her dressing table. She pulled the red wig that was residing on a
tailors dummy on to her head. Hmm not bad, she had enjoyed being a
blonde but now it was time for her next job. Erica Stevens, heiress
to a billion dollar fortune, awaited her. This one may take her
longer but the end results would be the same, they always were. It
was the reason that she was in so much demand.

It was almost a shame that she would never
get the recognition that she deserved. The phone rang and she
picked it up smiling as she saw the caller. “Hi honey, I’m just
coming. I’ll be down in five. Love you.” Hanging up she smiled,
here I go again, and she grabbed her bag and slammed the door
behind her.

The End

If you have enjoyed this book
I would be
extremely grateful if you
could leave me a review on the site that you bought this from to
encourage others to read it. I very much appreciate every one and
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Carry On Reading for the Prologue of the sequel to
The One That Got Away.

A Matter Of Trust

A Matter of Trust

By S J Crabb

Prologue

Nathan was angry. He couldn’t believe that
she had chosen Ben Hardcastle over him. He had worked so hard
finding out all he could on him and still she had chosen him. The
sight of her walking back to him and taking his hand played on his
mind.

He needed her, more than she would ever
realise. He had been a fool messing around with Melissa. His lust
for her had overtaken his common sense and now he was paying a
heavy price.

He slammed his fist down on to the desk in
frustration. This couldn’t be the end; he had to find a way to win
her back. His mind starts whirring and he taps his finger
rhythmically on the desk. As he looks at his computer he gains a
small amount of satisfaction at the thought of the mess he left
behind. It would take them some time to figure out the mess he left
at the stores. Life was certainly not going to be easy for them for
quite a while.

He needed a plan to deal with his problem. It
may take him longer than he had first thought but he was determined
to win, he had to win there was no other choice.

An e mail flashes up from his best friend
Bradley. Reading it his heart sinks at the content. He would have
to explain to Bradley that he had failed. Bradley was doing well
for himself and was keen for Nathan to follow him. In giving up his
job at Kinghams, Nathan had taken a huge risk. He couldn’t work
there any longer though, that much was obvious. He would have to
take the job with the company that Bradley works for. It wasn’t
ideal and it would mean that he would have no contact with Bella.
However after last night’s confrontation he was sure that Ben would
keep her as far away from him now as was possible.

Nathan’s mind continued to work hard,
thinking of various possibilities and potential avenues to follow.
He knew that he would need to dig deeper. It was difficult to find
out anything other than rumour about Ben Hardcastle, but he knew
that what he needed was there, it may just take longer for him to
find.

He had underestimated him and the power that
he now held over Bella. I won’t make that mistake again he thought
grimly. Next time I will be ready and she will have no choice but
to come back to me, this isn’t over.

A Matter Of Trust

Now available to download or buy

sjcrabb.com

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