In the bedroom, Thomas rolled over.
“That’s my risk to take,” Sasha said into the cell phone. “You can’t protect me from heartbreak.”
Chapter Thirty Four
The meeting with Carla, the lawyer at Aunty Mabel’s late husband’s firm, went well. She felt they had a strong case for harassment, which would put Pippa away for a long time.
They left the swanky office and parted ways. Sasha had promised to take her mom to London, a place she had often said she wanted to see before she died. She was just headed for her taxi when she received a call from someone she hadn’t expected to hear from ever again. Kelly.
“What do you want?” Sasha said the moment she answered.
Kelly cleared her throat. “Don’t worry, this isn’t a social call. I thought you might be interested in a piece your old friend Alicia wrote. It’s about your beloved Thomas Lloyd.”
Sasha clambered into the back of the taxi. “‘My Night of Passion with Hollywood’s Bad Boy?’ No thanks. I found out all the details for myself.”
As the taxi pulled away, Sasha heard Kelly cackle on the other end of the line. “Not that one. The other one. The recent one.”
Sasha frowned. “What recent one?”
She was waiting with anticipation as Kelly lit a cigarette and took a puff. “Oh, didn’t Thomas tell you?” she said on an exhale. “He gave an interview with Alicia after you left him.”
“What?” Sasha felt her spare hand curl into a tight fist. She shut the call off.
Thomas would never just give an interview to Alicia. She was his go-to journalist, the woman he called up when he wanted casual sex. She threw her phone into her purse.
“Turn around,” she said to the driver.
***
“You absolute fucking bastard!” Sasha cried, as she stomped across the lawn.
Olivia looked up alarmed from where she’d been playing with Gertrude. She stood and pulled the dog by the collar into the house.
“What am I supposed to have done?” Thomas said, putting down his cup of tea and looking up from the paper he’d been reading.
“Alicia,” Sasha replied.
Thomas pulled a face. “Oh. That.”
“Yes, that! How could you keep something like this from me?”
Thomas took a sip of his tea. “You and I weren’t together at the time.”
“So you slept with the next available person?”
Thomas didn’t even try to deny it. “Yes. I did. It was easy and I needed comfort.”
Sasha threw her arms up in disgust. “You don’t even like Alicia!”
“So? I don’t like you sometimes, but I still enjoy fucking you.”
“I can’t believe you!” Sasha cried. “You made such a huge deal out of Chris kissing me, but you were hiding this from me the whole time.”
“I tried to tell you,” Thomas said calmly. “Back when we were at your mother’s. You declared that you loved me, and I thought it would be a good time to mention it, but you told me not to say anything. Don’t you remember?”
She did remember. She’d thought Thomas was going to tell her whether he loved her too, and at the time, she just didn’t want to know.
“Your sense of logic is twisted,” Sasha hissed under her breath. “Mom and I are leaving.”
Thomas stood. “What about the court case? We’ve just about finalized everything.”
“What about it?” Sasha cried, flashing angry eyes at him. “Do what you want. Just do it without me.”
She started to storm into the house to look for her mom when Thomas grabbed her by the arm to stop her.
“Think of your mother,” he said sharply. “She’s unwell, and you have nowhere to go, no one to look after her.”
Sasha thought of Chris. She wrenched her arm free. “Yes, I do.”
Chapter Thirty Five
Julia was furious when she found out she had to leave England. She’d grown fond of Aunty Mabel and Gerald, and even had a soft spot for Olivia, who seemed to latch onto her like she was the mother she’d never gotten to know.
“I’m not happy about you pushing me from pillar to post, Sasha,” she’d said. “You need to make your mind up about that man. Either you love him or you don’t.”
“I don’t,” Sasha replied instantly. “I know that now.”
The only bit of Thomas Lloyd she loved was his cock. However, the man attached to it was cold-hearted. They could never have a satisfying future together.
Her mother remained angry throughout the whole flight home. It was only when Chris met them at the airport that she perked up.
“See, Mom, I knew you’d be happy once we got you home.”