Page 98 of Number 10 Affair

He dragged his hand through his hair and muttered something incoherent.

“James has been trying to figure out where the money that was deposited into your account came from, but he was getting nowhere. Then, out of the blue, our old mutual friend reached out to us,” he began and told me about Dexter and Samantha’s troubles with the Polish mob.

I thought my legs were going to give out on me when he mentioned that Samantha had been living in Poland all this time. I thought she truly hated being born there. By the time Spencer was done, I gawped at him in complete disbelief.

Louise barged inside the room, pissed off.

“Prime Minister, I've no idea what is going on, but Laura is needed in the studio. It’s too late to cancel the show. This will cost the station a lot of money,” she snapped.

“I apologise for stopping it so late, but Laura will not do this interview. However, once things settle down, we will give you an exclusive one. We’ll talk about our love, and our life, to make up for what’s happened here tonight.” Spencer intertwined his fingers with mine.

I was too shocked to speak or do anything, while Louise stared at him, dumbfounded.

“That’s right, Laura Watkins. I fucking love you, I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you outside my door all those months ago, but I was too much of a coward to say that to your face.” Spencer took another step towards me.

“All right, all right, let me give you a minute, guys,” Louise mumbled and then left us alone.

There was a long moment of silence while I tried to process what he’d said to me. Did Spencer Banks just admit to me he loved me? I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. I didn’t think I believed him. He was apparently in love with me this whole time.

I swallowed hard, then I pulled my hand away from his. I needed to put some distance between us and breathe for a moment. This whole thing was overwhelming, so many things had happened. I needed some time to think about my own feelings and the roller coaster they had been on.

“So, you just realised that you’re in love with me?”

“Well, no … I knew I loved you back in Sicily,” he admitted.

I laughed, shaking my head. I suddenly felt so betrayed and angry. He loved me, even when he’d called me a liar, fired me, and accused me of being the one who’d leaked that photo of us in Sicily. He wasn’t there for me when I needed him the most. He’d upset me too much to make me forget how badly he’d treated me.

“And what now? What exactly are you expecting me to do?” I glared him, tall and confident. I was done being intimidated, done believing in his admission of love and actions of betrayal. Jake had claimed he’d loved me, too, and then he’d slept with two women at the same time. I couldn’t compare these two incidents, but I still felt betrayed both times. Spencer hadn’t believed me when I’d said I didn’t leak that photo, then he’d tossed me away like rubbish.

“Can we talk about this? I’m sorry, Laura—”

“Save it, Spencer. I don’t want to hear your apologies. I’m not going to simply throw myself into your arms, act like you didn’t fire me, and pretend that you didn’t believe in me, believe in us,” I cut him off.

His eyes darkened, and he frowned.

“I’ve made a mistake, a huge mistake, and I know you’re angry with me and you have every right to be, but we could finally be happy together. We don’t have to hide anymore, and I want to be with you,” he whispered.

“Of course I’m fucking angry. You didn’t believe me. You thought I was the one who leaked that photo,” I shouted, tears streaming. He had wounded me so much and now he was fucking sorry. “You didn’t trust me and you pushed me away. It broke me, and I won’t forget that because you just realised that you have feelings for me and someone else told you that I was innocent. You should have believed me in the first place!”

He took a deep breath, looking at me like a wounded puppy. Spencer Banks was a good man, but he was also arrogant, obnoxious, and selfish.

“Please, let me make it up to you, Laura. I know I've been a selfish prick, but with all that evidence, everything told me you were guilty.” He put his hands in his pockets.

“I’m going to leave to digest what’s happened here tonight, but that doesn’t change the fact that you hurt me and you broke my trust. I need some time to think about this,” I told him and left the room, fed up with the drama, but I was glad that this whole thing was finally over.

“I love your jewellery. I think I need to ask my daddy to take me shopping, so I can get some, too.” Maja touched Veronica’s impressive set of bracelets and earrings.

It’d been another long week for me, and I felt so exhausted with the constant drama. I thought that after talking to Spencer, this whole thing would be over, but the press was still talking about us.

I was certain I was coming down with something. Spencer kept calling me after the fiasco, not respecting my need to have space.

I wasn’t ready to see him just yet, but I missed Maja, so he’d arranged for her to be dropped off at my place today. It was Saturday, and we were planning to hang out, just the two of us, but then Veronica’s plans got cancelled, so she’d stayed over.

“You can have this bracelet. It will match with your outfit today.” My roommate handed Maja her favourite piece.

Maja’s eyes widened, and she smiled brightly.

“Thank you, I love it. Laura, look.” She giggled, showing me her wrist.

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