Page 28 of Her Kensington
“Is Dad here?”
My chin drops as I stare at the two dark-haired kids looking at me like I’ve got three heads.
“I…uh…” Just at that moment, Danni comes walking up towards the house with her arms full of bags. One look at my face must tell her everything because she immediately turns her focus on the kids.
“Alfie, Cass, give us a hand, will you? There are doughnuts in it for you,” she adds with a wink.
With one final look my way, they both turn, take a bag each off her and move towards her apartment.
“Don’t go anywhere, don’t do anything,” Danni warns me with a hard stare. “I’ll be back in a few.”
Not waiting for her to walk away, I slam the front door closed and flick the internal locks. I fall back against the solid wood, my head spinning with everything that’s just happened. The words “Is Dad here?” are on repeat in my head along with the two pairs of dark, familiar eyes.
Anger fuels my next actions. Scrambling up from the floor, I rush towards Harrison’s office. There’s one thing on my mind and I’m about to find out the truth.
Rummaging through his drawer, I pull out the keys I found a few days ago.
Grasping them tightly in my trembling fist, I march towards the doors. The two locked doors.
When I get to the last key of the set, I start to think I’m not going to get to see what’s inside, but as I hear the click of the lock, my stomach knots. I know exactly what I’m about to find, but it doesn’t stop the huge breath I suck in when my eyes land on the inevitable.
A pink horse-filled bedroom.
My eyes run over everything before I step inside and walk to the door at the other side of the room. Gingerly pushing it open, I find an identical room, only this one is blue with soccer memorabilia everywhere I look.
“Holy shit.”
Something catches my eye as I walk over to the bed. Stopping, I find a stack of photo frames. As I go through each one I find all the evidence I could need about those two kids on the doorstep.
Harrison’s a dad.
A dad to twins.
I stare down at their smiling faces and my heart falls into my stomach. How could he keep this from me? They are obviously such a huge part of his life. The way he’s looking at them in some of these photos clearly shows how much he loves them. How could he do this?
A banging from downstairs has me jumping into action. Leaving the photographs where they are on the bed, I race from the room, pull a holdall from one of the wardrobes and start filling it with stuff. My head’s in such a mess I’ve no idea if I actually grab anything useful. My only focus is getting out of here. He’s going to come back any time, and right now the last thing I want is to look at him.
The banging is insistent at the front door, and as I descend the stairs I can hear Danni calling my name. I might feel sorry for her if it wasn’t for the fact that she was clearly in on this little secret. How could Harrison tell his whole family to lie to me?
I sneak out of the back door feeling more defeated than I think I ever have in my life. All of them lied to me and I totally fell for it. I thought Harrison had truly welcomed me into his life, I thought I was his wife, yet he seems to have forgotten the two most important people.
I walk down the street with my purse over my shoulder and the holdall in my hand with no idea where I’m going or what I’m doing. The only thing I know is that I need some space. I can’t be there waiting for him. I need to get my head together and consider what’s next for me.
My love for Harrison isn’t in question. I think I’ll always love him no matter what, but can I plan a life with a man who’s lied to me so easily?
My stomach turns over like I’m about to throw up on the sidewalk and I stop for a few seconds to take a couple of deep breaths as realization suddenly hits me.
“You stupid bitch,” I whisper, earning myself a few strange looks from the people walking past. It’s not enough I’m standing here with makeup running down my face with as many possessions as I can fit into a bag, but I’m now talking to myself.
Once I’ve calmed down a little, I continue walking until I find a shop. It doesn’t take all that long—I’m in the middle of London, after all. After taking out a load of cash I walk inside and hurriedly grab what I need. I keep my head down the whole time, ashamed at what my life has become. Only this morning I thought I was on top of the world. How quickly things can change.
Shoving my purchases in my purse, I head back out. I need somewhere to stay so when I see the first sign for a hotel I turn and walk into reception.
I didn’t see anything other than the kind woman behind the reception desk as I asked for a room, but as I walk into the one she gave me the key to, I realize it’s much fancier than I was expecting. The cost didn’t even register; I just handed over a load of cash and let her sort it out.
Dropping my bags to the floor, I fall face-first on to the bed and allow my love for Harrison to pour out of me.
Harrison
