by S M Mala
Onya’s expression was a picture. The shock was clearly slapped across her face. Her mouth opened, as if to ask a question, then shut again, not wanting to persist.
‘Onya, you know I care for you deeply,’ began Harry and Sophie knew he was wriggling his way out of it. ‘But I’m a free spirit and this seemed like a good opportunity.’
‘What? To screw Jonah?’ she asked, gasping. ‘Harry, I don’t understand. You said-.’
‘Why did you take my child from the playground the other day?’ Sophie asked, the anger and emotion making her voice shake. ‘That was completely out of order.’
‘Pardon?’ Jonah looked up at Sophie. ‘How do you know this?’
‘Excuse me.’ Sophie felt like she was going to be sick, so got up and rushed out of the room, bumping into Madison and Lorraine, then managing to get to the toilet in time.
After choking up her dinner, she sat on the toilet and thought it was a good time to find out something else.
‘You better not have touched my daughter!’
Jonah looked furiously at Onya. ‘Did you do it?’
‘Your wife is lying!’ Onya replied angrily, getting to her feet. ‘She brought me here against my will to talk utter shit.’ Letting out a little laugh, she refilled her glass and took a sip. ‘And the child isn’t even yours.’
‘She’s as good as mine. I was there when she was born, and love her unconditionally.’
‘Pity you couldn’t do that when it came to me.’
‘You were fucking my agent! Any respect and love I had for you diminished long before I found out.’ He noticed her eyes flared with anger. ‘I was waiting to find Sophie. That’s all I wanted.’
‘You bastard!’ she said and the next thing, he felt a sharp slap across his face.
‘I deserve that,’ he said, touching his cheek. ‘But you’ll get a whole lot worse if I find out you took Milly.’
‘Can we calm down?’ asked Harry, turning to look at them. ‘Let’s wait and see what Sophie has to say for herself.’
It was clear to see the deceit that had happened with his so called friend and girlfriend.
Yet he didn’t feel anything.
The only thing he wanted was to never see the pair again.
Slowly the door opened and Sophie came back in. Jonah noticed her exhausted expression.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, quickly getting up. ‘Soph, you don’t look well.’
‘I’m fine,’ she said and he noticed the sigh she let out. ‘Let’s get this over and done with then we can go home to our baby.’
Onya sniffed at the comment as Sophie went to her bag and pulled out her small tablet.
‘I don’t want to take too long over this, but the reason I wanted you both here was to show you something.’ Sophie switched it on before turning it around. ‘It’s clear enough for you to see.’
Jonah noticed Onya wasn’t looking and Harry just stared at Sophie.
‘No,’ he said, looking at it closely, not believing his eyes. ‘Where did you get it from?’
‘The police,’ replied Sophie, touching his arm. ‘They showed me today and I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to sort this out.’
Right then, Onya ran for the door but Jonah went forward and grabbed her arm.
‘You better tell me what you’re up to!’ he shouted, wanting to strangle her. ‘Why did you take Milly?’
‘You better say what happened,’ added Sophie, walking towards Harry. ‘Unless you know something.’
‘Harry?’ Jonah said, turning to look at him.
His heart was thundering as he looked at the man, sitting with no emotion.
‘You can’t prove a thing,’ came the reply.
‘I think I can.’
Sophie looked at him in the eye. ‘You see, Harry James, you got her to do your dirty work. And now I can identify Onya. It’s a matter of time before she mentions you.’
‘Really?’ he said, still smirking. ‘I wasn’t there, so you can’t prove it.’
‘Bet you I can.’
That’s when Sophie heard the massive sob coming from Onya’s mouth, as she collapsed against the wall, and started to cry.
‘She’s going to talk when under duress,’ said Sophie, seeing Jonah was at a loss on what to do. He then marched straight up to Harry and yanked him by his collar. ‘Don’t hurt him, Jonah.’
‘You better talk!’ her husband shouted, going red in the face. ‘Or so help me, I’m going smash you into little pieces.’
‘You wouldn’t.’ Harry looked confused and partially scared. ‘That’s not like you.’
‘Try me.’
‘Harry, did you tell Onya to take Milly?’ Sophie asked and watched him look defiantly at her. ‘No more games.’
‘Talk!’ shouted Jonah as Harry laughed.
He pulled Jonah’s hand away and walked to the centre of the room.
‘You know what? It has been a lovely evening but I’m going to have to go. Feel free to get the police to question Onya. It has nothing to do with me.’
Sophie looked at Onya, who immediately stopped crying.
‘What did you say?’ the woman asked, gulping hard. ‘It was your idea to do it! You told me to take the child!’
Closing her eyes, Sophie knew he would be behind it.
As soon as Amelia pointed to Onya, it was evident she didn’t do it on her own.
And the only person who was going to benefit from this was Harry.
‘Either way, I’m going to the police. I wanted to speak to you both first.’ Sophie then walked closer to Harry. ‘Don’t be a shit all your life. I was worried sick that something bad had happened to my baby. How could you?’
All he did was take his two fingers and ran then across his bottom and top lip, a sign he wasn’t going to speak.
‘Did you do this so Jonah would fall into your arms, and you could take advantage of the situation?’ she asked and his smile simply slipped. ‘Was that the idea?’
‘Shut up,’ he said, glowering at her.
‘You’ve declared your love for him unless you wanted to wind the pair of us up. Spit it out, Harry. What did you want from this?’
‘I wanted to show you how easy it was to lose everything you loved, and the fact I am the person that can do it to you!’ he hissed in her face, and she felt Jonah move behind her. ‘Why should you have it all? Why him?’
From the corner of her eye, she saw a flurry of activity, as Onya jumped on Harry and started pounding hard.
‘I hate you Harry James!’ she screamed, her fists flaying all over his body. ‘You told me to do this! You said it no-one would find out!’
‘Had you done a good job, and not got cold feet, they wouldn’t have got her back until the following day!’ he yelled, pushing Onya so hard, she fell back to the ground. ‘Now fuck off and leave me alone!’
‘I’ll tell the police!’ Onya shouted.
‘You can’t prove a thing!’
Realising she was going to have to be calm, Sophie looked down at Onya.
‘Get to your feet now,’ she said, glancing at her before looking at Harry. ‘I’m going to prove that you arranged it and you will get arrested. You can’t be trusted anywhere near my child, do you know that?’
‘Onya’s’ not going to say anything,’ he replied, straightening himself out before running his fingers through his hair. ‘Whatever you’ve got can’t be proved. And who’s the witness? A two-year-old child? How’s that going to stand in court?’
‘We can only try,’ said Jonah, stepping forward. ‘You took Milly just to upset Sophie?’
‘It’s best we don’t speak about this,’ said Harry, instantly looking uncomfortable when his eyes met Jonah’s. ‘I did something stupid and we’ll draw a line under it.’
‘I don’t think we can,’ Jonah whispered, leaning forward. ‘I think it’s you who can’t be trusted with my child.’
Harry glared angrily at him before catching Sophie’s eye.
‘You t
hink you’ll be happy with her?’ he asked, moving closer as Jonah stepped in front. ‘You’ll feel trapped and tied down like I told you. Women do that. They make you feel inept and God, they want it all. Jonah, you’re a fucking idiot!’
Just as Jonah was about to pull a punch, Sophie quickly grabbed his arm and held it.
‘Don’t lower yourself. He’ll stitch us up,’ she said, making him turn to face her.
Suddenly Harry stormed out and slammed the door shut. There were raised voices, mainly Madison’s, and then silence. The door opened.
‘Hi there,’ Madison said, looking pleased with herself. ‘Shall we take your guest back home? I think she might need a lift.’
‘Don’t you touch me!’ shouted Onya.
Sophie, trying to hold onto every bit of anger in her body, walked towards Onya. She braced herself, knowing not to scream, shout or slap.
‘What you did was an awful thing,’ she began, seeing Madison turn to scowl at the dishevelled woman. ‘No parent wants to have their child taken from them; not even for a minute. It was cruel and nasty. As much as you might hate me, it was Jonah who suffered too. You could have hurt my child.’
‘I was never going to do that. Harry told me what she liked and I got the things. He said Jonah was always going on about the child liking pigs and crackers,’ sobbed Onya, her hard-faced attitude disappearing. ‘She’s such a happy little girl and I couldn’t keep her away. Milly kept asking about her daddy and mummy, and then I realised Harry wanted me to do the dirty work. Please don’t tell the police, please?’
Not knowing how to respond, and wanting the scheming bitch locked up, Sophie knew it wasn’t her call.
‘Go home and have a long hard think about the men in your life.’ Then she gulped. ‘At least you now know he wasn’t interested in either one of us.’
‘How come?’ asked Madison, looking quizzically at her.
‘Another time, another place.’ She glanced at Jonah. ‘Take her home and thanks.’
‘No more attempted kidnappings,’ Lorraine said, staring to yawn. ‘It’s playing havoc with my sleep pattern.’
Onya stared at Jonah, who seemed to be focussing on the floor. He looked lost in thought.
‘I’m sorry, Jonah,’ sobbed Onya. ‘I really love you.’
There was no response, as he stayed perfectly still.
When they had left the room that’s when he looked up at Sophie; his eyes full of pain and hurt.
‘I know how much you wanted to thump that man. I could see it,’ she said and walked closer. ‘But it’s Harry, and you can’t trust him for a minute. He’d use anything to get one over on us, on you.’
‘I feel sick.’
‘You and me both.’ Sophie smiled and touched his face. ‘And I’m going to be really sick in the next coming weeks.’ She reached inside her bra, pulling out what she was hiding then pushed it in front of his eyes. He double blinked, unsure of what he was seeing. ‘I’m pregnant, Jonah. We’re going to have a baby.’
‘Did you sort it?’
Sophie was waiting for him as he walked through the door, late in the evening.
Looking at his wife, he felt a wave of happiness, though she still seemed anxious.
It was over a week since the impromptu evening meal and he had things to sort out; both business and personal.
‘All done and dusted,’ he replied, smiling.
‘Are you sure you’re okay about finalising the split? I don’t want you to think I’m forcing you.’ Sophie stood up and he laughed. ‘What’s so funny?’
‘We’re having a baby.’
From wanting to smash Harry’s head into a wall, his heart suddenly melted. Even though she found out during that dinner, she was carrying his child. It made him worry that Harry could have pushed her as hard as he shoved Onya.
All in all, it was an evening he never wanted to repeat, other than the one piece of wonderful news.
Jonah glanced at the table covered in goody bags she had prepared for the party that weekend. Amelia was turning two and they were going to hold the celebration at their home.
‘Let’s go to bed,’ he said, walking up to her and tugging at her dressing gown. ‘You should by lying down with me.’
‘What did he say?’ Sophie frowned. ‘I got Dana to contact his lawyer to find out if he’s going to ever sign the adoption papers. She’s not had any response and it has been over a week.’
‘There might be a reason why.’
‘He loves you.’ She stood in front of him as he flopped onto the sofa. ‘He declared the fact he wanted to screw you. Do you think he had the plan to set up a love nest?’
Jonah started to laugh and let out a sigh, as he rested his head against the back of the couch.
‘And he asked to sleep with you, my lovely wife.’
‘I said no, but I think you didn’t say anything, husband.’ Sophie started to smile. ‘Were you pondering over the suggestion?’
‘Put it this way. If he wanted me so much, he would have turned up this afternoon, but he didn’t.’
Sophie sat down and frowned.
‘He’s scared there’s going to be some comeback. As much as I think your ex is a nasty, slutty, whore, doesn’t mean I think she should get all the blame. It was his idea.’
‘She was obviously upset about the split.’ Then he knew he would have to tell her the rest. ‘I saw Onya today. She thanked me for not getting her into trouble. The police called her in and she said it was because she hadn’t been thinking straight.’
‘Did you tell her to say that?’ she asked, turning away. ‘So you’ve been in contact since our dinner?’
‘Soph, I needed to tell her what I was going to say so our stories matched.’ Jonah sat up and touched her arm. ‘And I knew she wouldn’t do anything to harm our child.’
‘But she took her.’ Suddenly he noticed the anger in her eyes and the hurt. ‘That’s not a nice person. And Harry gets away with it, once again, until he comes up with another plan to piss us off!’
‘She was upset and remorseful. Said I broke her heart.’
‘You and Harry both.’
She walked off towards the kitchen and he heard her put the kettle on. It was just past nine o’clock and he didn’t want to go to bed if she was annoyed.
Slowly getting up, he walked towards her and wrapped his arms around Sophie’s waist.
‘You have every right to be angry. How do you think I feel, knowing that she was once my girlfriend?’ Jonah heard Sophie grunt a response. ‘It’s Harry, you see. He makes you agree to things and there’s always some logic there. I’m not sure what he thought she was going to gain from it, other than stressing us out.’
‘Keep her away from my child and me, or else I will say she did it on purpose. I mean it. And what about Harry? Where’s he gone?’
‘I have no idea.’
And that was the most troubling thing.
Jonah had no idea where and when he would turn up next.
‘Nearly home, baby.’
Pushing Amelia in her buggy, she felt happy and worried.
It had been six weeks since the restaurant meeting, and she hadn’t heard a word from Harry.
She wasn’t quite sure if that was the case with Jonah. He had been quiet and thoughtful since finding out about impending fatherhood; she wondered if he was trying not to get her stressed out on anything.
As she approached the house, she noticed the car and froze in horror.
Harry’s flash wheels were glistening at the entrance of the drive.
Jonah was working from home, and she wondered if they had arranged to meet. Sophie was in two minds whether to turn around and walk away.
But that’s what Harry would want; for her to leave him alone with her husband.
Going up to the front door, she opened it and realised there was no sound. Taking Amelia out of the buggy and watching her walk around, she could see figures in the studio down the end of the garden.
Harry was stan
ding in front of Jonah, who was shaking his head.
Trying not to be spotted, she checked that all the doors were locked and her child safe.
She wouldn’t put it past Harry to try some trickery again.
Just to split Jonah and her up because he thought he could.
‘I’ve got nothing to say.’
Jonah stood with his hands in his pockets as Harry glared at him. ‘You played a nasty trick on us by taking Milly. There is no way I’m going to work with you again. I can’t put my family at risk.’
‘She is my child, legally and biologically.’ Harry smiled, making Jonah wary. ‘Come back to my agency and I’ll give you all the paperwork.’
‘You shouldn’t be here. Sophie put an injunction against you making contact.’
‘But you let me in, didn’t you?’
‘Where have you been? No-one has been able to get hold of you.’
‘Around and about.’
Shaking his head, Jonah knew Harry was up to something. He watched the man stroll around his studio, looking at his new work.
‘You’re such a talent,’ he said, glancing at the wall. Then Harry looked up and smiled. ‘One night with me and I could legally hand Amelia over to you.’
Jonah didn’t want to show how upset he felt about the sentence, wanting to push it out of his head. It would be so easy for him to take up the offer, but he could neither take it up the arse or put it up Harry’s which was the underlying problem.
Though right now he wished he could, just to have Amelia and get rid of Harry, but he knew Harry would never let him go.
Not without a fight.
‘I’m not gay.’
‘Neither am I, but I have an open mind. I like you, Jonah.’ Then Harry took a deep breath. ‘A lot more than I could have imagined.’
‘I can’t give you what you want,’ Jonah replied, trying not to flinch. ‘I love Milly, can’t you see?’
‘Are you sure you love Sophie?’ He walked up to him and stopped millimetres away from his face.
‘Most certainly.’ Stepping back, he checked his watch and knew Sophie would be home soon. ‘And that’s all you came here for? To try and convince me to work with you again?’
