Page 123 of All Wrapped Up
Molly didn’t seem at all surprised that his name had come up.
‘Well,’ she said, ‘that’s because the head is far simpler to work with than the heart and of course,yourheart, Clemmie, has been battling feelings of disloyalty most likely right from the very first moment you set eyes on Ash.’
‘You mean,’ I frowned, ‘you think I’ve loved him as long as…’
‘He’s loved you?’ she picked up. ‘Yes, I do think that.’ I was flabbergasted. ‘And I do also think that you are now finally listening to your heart again, even if you don’t realise it. You’d already started to long before today and these words from Callum here have prompted you further, but you’re still not quite there yet.’
‘You’re right.’
‘So, what is it, Clemmie? What’s now stopping you telling Ash that you’re in love with him and embracing this new dawn?’
We both looked at Aurora again.
‘Oh, Molly,’ I sadly said. ‘There’s no point in me telling him now because I know he’s seeing someone else. I saw him at the barn, with another woman.’
‘No,’ Molly gasped. ‘No, that’s not right. It can’t be…’
‘I saw her with my own eyes,’ I sighed. ‘And of course I’m not judging, but I can’t risk my heart for someone who isn’t going to be… all in, can I?’
‘Ash is all in,’ Molly said firmly. ‘You need to talk to him.’
‘I’m not sure if I can…’
‘But before you do,’ Molly interjected, ignoring the doubt I’d expressed, ‘you need to let Callum’s hold on your heart go.’
‘I still haven’t managed to do that, have I?’
‘You almost have,’ she said, standing up again. ‘But not quite.’
According to Molly, autumn was the perfect time for letting go in a big way. Clarifying, she explained, that shedding the feelings that no longer served me and acknowledging that change was both beautiful and necessary would be a huge help going forward. She told me this while encouraging me to write down everything I could think of that I wanted to be free from in preparation for performing a simple fire ritual.
I still didn’t know if a relationship with Ash was in my future – Molly assured me that it was, but there was still the issue of the other woman – however, the one thing I was very clear on was that I no longer wanted my life, more specifically, my heart and my potential love life, to continue to be so bound to my past.
I would never forget Callum, but I did now want to love again and I wanted to do it without the associated feelings of guilt and disloyalty that my heart was already nudging me to release. It was time.
Molly and I sat together in front of the wood burner. She said a few words and I repeated them and then I cast my note into the fire. We watched the paper burn and the flames fly up the chimney, taking my former feelings with them.
‘There,’ she smiled, letting out a long breath. ‘How do you feel now?’
‘Like a weight has actually lifted.’ I smiled in response, as I rolled my shoulders and stretched my neck.
It was true. I did feel very different.
‘Well, you needn’t sound so surprised,’ she laughed in that tinkling way of hers. ‘You obviously believed in the magic, otherwise you wouldn’t have gone through with the ritual.’
I gave her a sheepish smile.
‘You know,’ I confessed, ‘I was a bit scared of you when we first met.’
‘I know,’ she simply said.
‘But I’m not now.’
‘I know that, too,’ she grinned and I laughed, just as my phone pinged with a notification.
‘Hayley’s just pulled up,’ I told her once I’d read it.
‘Perfect,’ she nodded, and said goodbye to Pixie while I collected her cloak. ‘Do you know what you’re going to do now?’
