Page 28 of The Temp

‘No, Bella, he necked a can of cola,’ Zelda snaps. ‘Of course drugs.’

‘You let him do drugs in your home,’ I exclaim. ‘Where Georgia has sleepovers?’ Only occasionally, but still.

‘He did it once, and I told him off. He promised it was a one-off, but then started spending ages in the bathroom. I saw a bit of powder on his nose a couple of times, but I didn’t want to argue with him. I’m not his keeper.’

‘Zelda, you should’ve given him his marching orders the first time he did it.’

‘Oh, will you get off my case?’ Zelda yells, head in hand. ‘I don’t need this shit right now.’

Linda gives me a look, then turns to Zelda. ‘Go on, Zee.’

Zelda takes a few breaths. ‘He was acting a bit weird after we left yours. Almost fell asleep in the cab, could barely walk in a straight line when we got out. I knew it was the booze. I told him I’d put the kettle on and make us both a nice cuppa. He agreed; he had a headache earlier.’ I nod but don’t say anything. I don’t want to snitch on Daisy. ‘He even asked me for a slice of my lemon cake.’

‘People get the munchies on coke,’ Linda says, ‘Or is that weed?’

‘Weed,’ I say, as if I’m an expert.

‘Anyway, I left him to his tea and cake and said I was going for a shower. Chris had been texting me all afternoon but I didn’t reply in case Frank got suspicious.’ That’s why she was reluctant to hand over her phone earlier. ‘Once I was safely in my bedroom, I replied to Chris. We exchanged a few emotional messages and agreed to meet up to discuss things. Don’t give me that look, Bella, you can’t help who you fall in love with.’

Liam flashes in my mind – his pleading face, his soft voice saying things he shouldn’t be saying, things that were buried long ago. ‘I wasn’t going to say that. I’m not judging you. None of us are saints. Carry on.’

‘I was going to let Frank down gently. I mean, I don’t even know why I agreed to marry him. He just took me by surprise, that’s all. I got caught up in the moment.’ Linda gives me a look. ‘When I came back into the kitchen, he was acting bizarre.’ Zelda pauses, takes a sip from Linda’s glass, which has an imprint of her crimson lipstick on it.

‘Go on,’ I urge, covering her tremulous hand with mine.

‘He was sitting at the table with my laptop staring at my bank’s log-in page, and then he asked me to lend him some money.’ Linda and I frown. ‘I was like, what the fuck? I wasn’t going to give him any.’

‘Of course not,’ I tut, ‘you’re not stupid.’

Zelda looks at me for a moment, and then. ‘He asked me to do a bank transfer for fifteen hundred quid – the landlord was breathing down his neck – threatened him with eviction – he promised to pay me back next week when he got paid. I told him I didn’t have that kind of cash.’

Linda shakes her head. ‘He must’ve thought you were a pushover.’

‘More fool him,’ I add, ‘he really doesn’t know the Villin sisters at all.’ I laugh lightly.

‘You’re not going to like this next bit.’

‘Go on,’ Linda says gently. ‘You can tell us anything, we won’t be judgy.’

Zelda takes a deep breath. ‘I already lent him two grand.’

Chapter 25

‘Are you winding us up?’ I exclaim. Zelda shakes her head. ‘You actually handed over two thousand pounds to a man you’d been dating for five minutes?’ I cringe at my hypocrisy – wasn’t I willing to give him ten thousand to leave her just hours ago?

‘It was to make a payment on his car – he was in arrears. What? They were threatening to repossess it,’ she exclaims, ‘He showed me the emails.’

‘How could you be so bloody naïve?’ I cry.

‘Bella,’ Linda says wearily, ‘calm down.’

‘Calm down? She got fleeced by a moron. Have you any idea how many cakes she has to bake to earn that much cash?’

‘I felt sorry for him. He was always so generous, paid for everything – bought me expensive stuff. Took me on that luxury break. He was even talking about booking an overnight stay at The Savoy for my birthday, with a west-end show and dinner at the Ivy Grill. That watch he wears is a Patek Phillipe. It’s worth over a hundred and fifty thousand pounds.’ The one I saw on his wrist the Friday before last. It looked expensive, but I didn’t think it was worth that much. ‘I thought he was good for it.’

Folding my arms, I shake my head at my sister. ‘If it was so valuable why didn’t he flog it?’

‘It was his grandfather’s. An heirloom.’

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