"Christ, what a bastard!" he bites out and I love him even more for it.
"So, Jess being Jess, she did what Jess wanted to do—she had the baby. A beautiful girl called Emmerson, we call her Emme, who by the way is my goddaughter. Jess also took over being the guardian of her two younger brothers all at the tender age of sixteen. Jess is a stripper and she does it so she can support herself and the kids," I tell him proudly. Jess is the best woman I know, she's been through hell and back but she comes out fighting and on top each time.
"So, this Hunter guy, where's he?" James pulls up onto some grass and I look at him. “I want to know what happened and as soon as we hit my parents they'll steal you."
I laugh."So do you know who Hunter O'Shea is?" Hunter was a big-named footballer but he’s injured now and can no longer play.
"Of course, who doesn't?" he scoffs.
"Yeah, well, that's Emme's dad. He didn't want Jess to have an abortion. His mum is a cunt. She told Jess to have an abortion and she told Hunter that Jess had an abortion. Both of them believed the bitch and for five years they hated each other." I still can't believe that shit, it's a joke the lengths some people will go to get their own way.
"God, what the hell? That was her grandchild she did that to." Seems like everyone but Mrs O’Shea realises that she tried to have her grandchild aborted.
"Exactly, so Jess and Hunter have just reconnected and are currently taking things slow. Letting him build up his relationship with Emme first and then they'll see how things work between them." I really hope it does work between them, Jess deserves happiness. She and Richie ended on good terms but I doubt they’ll see each other again, she loves Hunter whereas Richie told her that he loved her and Jess couldn’t say it back.
"It sounds like she's been through the wringer." He indicates to pull back onto the road. “You ready for this? We're a minute away, there's still time to back out?"
I shake my head. “No, I'm ready." I take a deep breath as he comes to a stop outside the house. A short, grey-haired lady rushes out of the door, a massive smile on her face.
A balding man peeks his head out behind the door just as James opens his car door. “Sylvie, didn't I tell you not to come out?" His tone loving but resigned, like he knew that she wouldn't listen to him.
"Oh hush, Tommy, I've been waiting for this day for over seven months. Don't tell me to wait when my new daughter is here," she tells him sternly and James sighs. I think she's really sweet.
Getting out of the car, I see that James' dad has joined Sylvie. Standing in their front garden, Thomas has his arms around her and Sylvie's leaning her head against him. They're so in love, content to be in each other’s arms and that is something I hope I have when I'm their age. When I walk around the front of the car James is instantly by my side, his hand engulfing mine. "You doing okay, beautiful?" he whispers and it's times like these that I could melt against him, he's being so sweet and caring.
"James, bring her here, Son, before your mother has a fit," Thomas jokes, his eyes alight with humour. I don't feel uncomfortable, in fact I feel very much at home here.
"Alright." James and I walk up the path leading to the house. “Mum, this is Stefanie. Stef, this is..." Before he can even finish, Sylvie has me wrapped in her arms. "My crazy mum," James tells us and I can hear Thomas chuckling.
Sylvie reaches out and slaps James. "You can hush too," she tells him sternly. “It's such a pleasure to meet you, Stefanie." She pulls away from me and her eyes look glassy but she doesn't seem to mind. She takes my hand and starts to drag me towards the house. "Lisa will be here any minute, she's been dying to meet you too."
We get into the house and Thomas pulls me into a hug. Gosh, this family seems to be huggers. "It's really nice to finally meet you, Stefanie." Thomas seems to be the more reserved, laid-back one whereas Sylvie seems to be more open and in your face. I love it.
Sylvie and Thomas disappear and leave James and me seated in their sitting room; this cottage is so beautiful and homey. I never thought I'd want to live anywhere but London. I love the hustle and bustle but quite honestly sometimes I love peace and quiet. A cottage out here would be the ultimate retreat.
"Are you okay?" he asks curiously, he's worried and he really shouldn't be.
"Yes, your parents are really sweet. Don't worry about me, I love them already. You're lucky you know?"
He pulls me close to him as we lean back on the sofa. “I know, after seeing your dad and hearing you tell me about your mum and then Jess' family life. I'm so lucky and I wish you had this." He kisses the top of my head. I can hear his parents puttering around in the kitchen. "You say Jess is Superwoman but, Stef, you're Wonder Woman. You amaze me every day. Everything you do I'm in awe of."
"Shut up." I don't want to cry, not here! "Would you want to live in the countryside again or are you stuck on living in London like the most of us?"
"Honestly, it's something I've thought about a lot. I'd love to live in the countryside, but if you don't want to I wouldn't force you. I like living in London. I have my own business and it does extremely well so if you don't want to move it’s not that big of a deal." I know what he's saying is true, his business is booming but there's a part of him that wants to go back to his roots.
"I would love to have a house here, I'd love the peace and quiet. Saying that, I don't know if I could live here full time." A car horn blows ending our discussion.
"That will be Lisa. Oh, Stefanie, she's going to love you," Sylvie cries out as she rushes from the kitchen. That woman is crazy but in a good way, she's so much fun, her happiness is contagious.
"Brace yourself, Lisa is over the top." I give him a look. Over the top? Has he not met his mother? "She's worse than Mum."
"No way?" This should be fun.
"Where is she?" I hear her shout, I'm actually scared.
"Breathe, Stef," James tells me. He’s actually enjoying this.
"I'm going to apologise in advance for my daughter, she is her mother's daughter that's for sure," Thomas says coming to join us in the sitting room, his eyes glancing towards the door. I'm half expecting a whirlwind to come the way James and Thomas keep shuffling.
"Oh wow, James, you're punching above your weight ain’t ya?" This pink-haired woman walks in, again a big smile gracing her face. I feel like the bloody queen with the way I'm being welcomed. "Hi, I'm Lisa. I'm sorry that you've had to deal with the witch already."
I'm wondering who she's referring to because I think her mum is lovely. “Valerie," James whispers and my face twists in disgust. God, I hate that woman and love the fact that Lisa calls her a witch.
"Lisa..." Thomas warns her.
"No, Dad, I know that you don't want to talk about her but we have to. She's starting her shit on Stefanie now. She's never going to let James walk away." Lisa stamps her foot, she's annoyed and rightly so. Valerie is a complete cow and the look in her eyes when James and I were side by side, she's not finished yet, nowhere near it.
"Enough, Lisa," Thomas says firmly but that just gets Sylvie riled up.
"No, it's not enough. That godforsaken woman. I hate her, Tommy. She's abused our boy for too long. We watched him withdraw from this world because that vile bitch liked to use him as her own personal punching bag." Sylvie starts to cry, I don't understand what she's saying though.
"You should have taught him those who hit last hit the hardest whether they have a vagina or not. Let's face it, some women are more manly than some men," Lisa says with a straight face as she looks James up and down. “You could have decked her, the bitch deserved it."
"Lis, you can't be serious. I wouldn't lay a hand on a woman in anger," James tells her and I'm lost in this conversation. I assumed they meant when she dislocated his shoulder which he's actually managing on it pretty well.
"No, you don't hit a normal woman in anger but you sure as shit deck the bitch that's tried to stab you; she’s thrown plates, vases, glasses, and whatever else the she-devil has thrown at you.
That bitch broke your nose, she supposedly ran over your foot by accident which by the way is total horseshit," Lisa screams at him and I gasp. What the fuck has this bitch been doing to him?
"It's not only her physically hurting him, along with sleeping with every man under the sun, she has been verbally abusing him too. That cow is vicious and she has some mouth on her when she gets going! I can't believe you never told us, James, we had to find out from your brother." Sylvie sounds so disappointed but right now I'm reeling. Why the hell am I only finding out that she hurt him now? He should have told me. I honestly thought there would be no more crap, no more secrets but then I find out about this?
"He shouldn't have opened his mouth; it was none of his bloody business," James bites out, he's getting angry.
"You should know by now that Matthew likes to share things, especially those things that don't belong to him." God, Lisa pulls no punches.
"Lisa!" Thomas scolds and I get the feeling that this is normal for them. Lisa seems to say whatever it is she feels and her dad tells her off.
"What, come on, Dad, even you have to agree that Matthew is a tosser. I mean who sleeps with their brother's wife?" The disgust in her tone is clear for us all to hear.
"I know that, Lisa, but we've never asked him his side of the story," Thomas tells her and I really feel for him, he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. His kids are fighting and he doesn't know what to do, taking sides isn't fair.
"His story? I'm sorry; did he accidentally slip into her vagina?" Lisa rolls her eyes, dramatic as hell but I can't stop the laughter that bubbles up, God, she's hilarious. "No matter what he says, it'll be total lies because let's face it, making Amelia wasn't a one off. They'd been at it for months, if not longer, so as far as I'm concerned whatever happens to him from here on out is his own doing."
"I'll bear that in mind," a deep voice calls from the doorway, by the looks of things, it’s Matthew. He looks more similar to Lisa than he does James; they have the same eyes, nose, and the same round pudgy face.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Lisa demands. James reaches out and takes my hand. My instinct is to rip it away, I'm so mad at him, but I won't do that, not here and not in front of his family. So, I do what I'm good at, I plaster on a fake smile and act as though everything is okay.
"And what the hell is that slapper doing in my house?" I turn and look at the sound of Sylvie's shaken voice and, fucking hell, it's Valerie.
“Now, Sylvie, that’s no way to talk about your daughter-in-law.” She has that smug smile on her face, oh how I’d love to wipe it off.
A sly smirk forms on Sylvie’s face. “You’re my ex-daughter-in-law. Thank the heavens for that.”
Valerie’s smile fades, she glares at Sylvie until her eyes light up. “I’m also the mother of your grandchild.” Fuck, I forgot about that. She’ll always be a part of this family and it’s something that I’m going to have to deal with if James and I continue.
“Speaking of, where is Amelia?” Thomas asks as he looks around to see if he can see her.
“She’s with a friend,” she snidely replies. What the hell? You leave her with a friend while you come to her grandparents’. She’s vindictive that’s for sure.
“I heard that James and that thing were going to be here so Matthew and I decided to come and see if we could clean the air,” she says and I haven’t missed that fact that she just called me a thing. James begins to stroke my hand as though that is meant to calm me down.
“Let me start off being real clear, I want my husband back and that means that whore needs to go.” She crosses her arms over her chest as she flaunts a smug smile.
Chapter Nine
I take a deep breath and start counting, I won’t hit her; One, two, three, four, five, six, seven....
"Once more, Valerie, say one more thing about her and I'll show you the door,” James growls, his body vibrating with anger.
She starts to laugh. “Well, look who decided to grow some balls?"
I'm going to slap the bitch. I've never met anyone as rude as her. "Matthew, I'm so disappointed in you. How could you bring her here?" Sylvie cries, she actually has fat tears rolling down her face; she walks over to where James and I are seated and sits beside us.
Valerie doesn't miss it, she also doesn't miss Sylvie reaching over and placing her hand on top of mine and James' joined hands. She's showing where her loyalty lies. Thomas and Lisa take the two armchairs leaving the other sofa available, if they want to sit down, it won't be near me.
“Mum, she wants to sort things out and so do I," Matthew tells us as he sits down on the other sofa. “Can you just hear us out?"
"Talk, Son," Thomas tells him. He's the only one willing to give these two the air time that they so desperately crave.
"I know that you hate me, James, but I never intended for things to work out this way," Matthew starts. “I swear we're not together, I know that's what you think but we're not."
"I don't give a shit if you two are together; you're more than welcome to her," James tells him and I'm so proud of him, not an ounce of jealousy or anger was given off.
"What? I thought you wanted Valerie back, that the only thing that was stopping you was because you thought we were together?" Matthew looks at James' face and turns swiftly towards Valerie. “Why the hell did you lie?"
"He's my husband; I'm not letting some tramp steal him away," she screams. I really don't want to be here. I can see how this is going to go. She's going to continue her crap until I snap and I'm going to beat the ever-loving shit out of her until she's being stretchered off in an ambulance. "Why are you here, bitch? This is my family, mine!"
"Excuse you, young lady," Thomas begins, heat rising up his face as he gets angry. "How dare you talk to a guest of mine like that?"
"Guest? That slut ain't no guest. She's here to ruin my life." She stamps her foot like a child."What is it about her, James? Hmm? Is it that you have to pay her?"
I stand up, I've had enough of this shit. "Pay me? Oh, hun, he doesn't need to pay me. I'm happy to go down on him whenever he wants, give it to him however he likes. See, he's a real man and he doesn't need to be told what to do. You should know that..." Her eyes narrow. “But you don't. You were too busy getting it from everyone else, so tell me, hun, who's the slut?"
She lifts her hand ready to slap me but I saw it coming and grab her arm. “Get the hell off me! You're full of shit, he's useless in bed. He doesn't know how to make anyone cum, no matter how many times you tell him, he just doesn't get it."
I push her away and release her arm. “Maybe he didn't want to go anywhere near you. Let's face it, the amount of men you've slept with, God knows what you've got."
"Hmm, you think you're better than me? You're the one that's a fucking escort! Tell me something, Miss Almighty, how would your mum feel now if she knew how much of a whore you turned into?" She has that smug smile on her face again.
"Funny, my mum taught me to be the best I can be and not to let anyone bring me down. Yes, I'm an escort, a bloody good one. I get paid to go on dates, to escort men to fancy galas and have fun. I don't sleep with them, contrary to what you believe, and I wouldn't sleep with my client. Did I sleep with James? Yes, do I regret it? No, I don't and I never will. See, Valerie, men want women who are sweet, kind, and loving. You can be a vindictive arsehole to everyone else, but to your man you need to show some respect and you'll get some in return." I look her dead in the eyes as I tell her. Yes, I've just called her out; about time someone did. “It works two ways and it's about time you stopped thinking the world owes you something and stop spreading your legs to everyone with a goddamn heartbeat.”
She starts that false maniacal laughter she did earlier. “He's not a man, he's a joke. See, to me a husband is supposed to keep his wife happy in all departments. James, he was selfish from the beginning. I lived like a peasant, he earns loads of money, we should be living it up. We should be going on holidays every other week but no, that wan
ker spends all his time working."
"Wow, you're a superficial bitch. Let me explain something to you. He's working hard to make a life for you both, to make sure when you're both old enough to retire that you'll be financially secure." I don't really know this but I know James and he's sensible, that and he and I are similar and it's what I've done. "So instead of supporting him you decide that sleeping around is the best option?"
"Piss off, you know nothing about our marriage, we had a happy marriage until you came along. You ruined us. You're nothing but a slapper and the sooner you get it through your thick skull that we don't want you around us the better. Why don't you do what your crazy mum did and top yourself, do the world a favour?"
I hear gasps and I can feel the temperature in the room rising. She's pushed me way too far now. “A happy marriage? I ruined it? Let's get one thing straight. You slept your way around London long before I met James. You got pregnant by your brother-in-law before I met James. You abused him for years, physically and mentally and, bitch, let me tell you one thing. If James and I weren't together there's no way in hell he'd ever go back to you. You're a bitch and if I had my way I'd have you done for spousal abuse." Even saying that makes me sick. Who in their right mind does that to another human? I’ve had enough; talking to her is like talking to a brick wall. I take my seat beside James and Sylvie and the two of them instantly take my hands.
She gasps, her eyes filling up with tears. “What? Why are you saying those things?” She points at me. “Lies, I never hurt James.” Big fat tears roll down her face, she’s one hell of an actress.
"Oh, look, the whore has started the crocodile tears. Boo hoo, no one is buying them, and as for Stefanie lying, the only liar I see is you. Do you honestly believe that we would believe you? After everything you've done?" Lisa says as she gets up and into her face.
The Scandals of Life Page 8
