Page 151 of An Unholy Affair
Eveline shivered.
‘I haven’t eaten pussy for a while,’ she continued. ‘But yours, chéri… I’m sure is as délicieux as Jasper’s cock. What do you say, pretty one? A ménage à trois? Will you share him tonight?’
No! No! No! NO!
Eveline took a stumbling step back, shaking her head, then turned and ran.
‘Oof!’ Antoinette said, raising her hands. ‘Even more English than I thought. You’d better go after her, or she’ll ask for her money back.’
Jack dashedthrough the corridors of the Manor towards the front door. He was trapped in a nightmare and every one of his demons was at his heels.
In the entrance hall, he found Eveline fumbling to find her coat on the rack.
‘Eveline!’
Her whole body was shaking. ‘I n-need to go home.’
‘Let me go with you, please.’
‘No, Jack. I’m n-not well. I need to go to b-bed.’
He followed her out of the front doors into the cold night air.
‘Eveline, I’m sorry, please—’
‘There’s no n-need to apologise. You’ve done n-nothing wrong.’ She was shaking so violently that her teeth were chattering. ‘A s-situation like this was always p-possible. I just n-need some space to p-process it. Everything will be b-back to normal in the m-morning.’
The weight of responsibility for her happiness sank into his stomach, taking his heart with it. He couldn’t ruin her life anymore. First the shitshow with Simon, and now this? Maybe he couldn’t save himself, but he could save her. He followed her down the drive.
‘No. No, it won’t.’
‘Yes, it w-will. It’s been a sh-shock, that’s all, but I will pray to G-God and he will help m-me.’
And there it was. Once again, proof that Jack had no right to crawl up to heaven and drag Eveline back down to his own personal hell.
‘It’s not going to work.’
‘It w-will. God is always there for m-me.’
‘No, Eveline.We’renot going to work.’
She stopped and faced him, the colour draining from her face. ‘What are you t-talking about?’
‘Us. It can’t happen.’
‘Why n-not? I told you, I’ll d-deal with what happened t-tonight. I will!’
Her eyes filled with tears, and the sight cracked him open.
‘Eveline. I’m not the right man for you. I’m a fucked-up sex worker and an alcoholic. I don’t have any qualifications, career, or any transferable skills. I don’t even have any fucking A-levels! I’ve got nothing to offer you.’
‘That’s not t-true! You’ve got everything to offer m-me!’
‘I don’t. You need someone like Isaac, Connor, or Finn. Someone who can give you what you need. What you want and deserve. Fuck’s sake, Eveline, can you imagine me as a father?’
She nodded, her tears flowing freely. ‘Yes, yes, I c-can!’
He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry.’
