Page 13 of Easy Rumba

“I’m afraid, Simon, that if you didn’t want me to act or appear in the entertainment industry ever again, you should have stated that in the contract. I can assure you that by appearing on this show, I’m not breaking any of the rules you placed on me. Unlike you, I would never do anything to jeopardize losing my daughter. Now, please excuse me. I have to get back to learning some more intricate steps with my rather handsome dance partner. His hips, by the way, move a lot better than yours ever did when you were fucking me. Don’t call me again. If you do, I’ll have my lawyer contact you about harassment.”

I prepare to hang up, but I can hear Simon growling down the phone. His breath is ragged from the powerful rage surging through his body because I’ve dared speak to him like that.

“You hit me, Simon. You broke my arm, and you did it in front of our daughter. You got away with it, so I suggest you go back to your new girlfriend, who likes to take it up the ass, and focus on the baby boy she’s carrying before she realizes just what a bully you are.”

I hang up and collapse my head forward against the wall. I’m breathing fast, trying to get air into my lungs. I can’t believe I just did that. My hands shake, and I drop my phone, but before it lands on the floor, a feminine hand reaches out to grab it. I jump around, startled, and see Leah Winters holding my phone.

“My ex-boyfriend put me in hospital one night. He’d been drinking heavily and was angry because I hadn’t waited up for him to come home so he could have sex with me. He’s in prison now because he…” She doesn’t need to continue. I know instantly what he did to her that night. I feel every painful moment in my own body. I’ve been there. I’ve had it done to me. She continues, “This job gave me hope and a new life. I know I can be a bitch and shout a lot, but I love it.”

I feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

“Please, you can’t tell anyone about what you just heard. I couldn’t face going to court and having to give evidence against Simon. All I wanted…needed was to get my daughter away from him, so I decided to let him get away with it,” I try to explain the reason for what I did. I don’t know why I feel I need to, but I do. She was stronger than me. She got justice. I took the easier option, and I’ve just been berated by the man who controlled my life with force for over ten years.

“Nobody will hear anything about it from me. You have my word, but on the condition that you won’t leave the show. As you said, you need to do this to improve your confidence.”

“I don’t know. If he’s causing trouble now...” I already want to run for the hills and hide. I’ll need to read the contracts again and make sure there isn’t anything in there that would allow him to take Izzy from me, even if he is claiming he doesn’t want her.

Leah falls silent and looks down at the clipboard in her hand.

“You know Leo Westwood from somewhere?”

I nod.

“We grew up together.”

“Does he know about your husband?”

This time I shake my head.

“Apart from Simon and me, only our lawyers and our daughter know.”

“Would you stay if I paired you with Leo?”

“What?”

“If I pair you with him, the fact you know each other may give you the strength to fight whatever your ex-husband decides to throw at you. Elise, you can’t let him win.”

There are tears in her eyes, which I know she’s shedding not only for me but also for the memories she’s suppressed and had to work through in the past. A fellow domestic abuse survivor. She has everything she wants now but recognizes the symptoms of fear in me. I’ve just stood up to Simon, and with Leah and Leo on my side, I can do this.

I know I’m in the right.

I always have been.

“Yes, I’ll stay,” I finally respond.

“Then I’ll make it happen.”

Leah reaches out and gives my hand a little squeeze before handing back my phone and marching off in the other direction toward the ladies’ toilets. She disappears, and I look down at my phone when a text message appears on it.

‘You’ll regret that.’

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