Page 69 of Fallen Legacy

“By some miracle,” I sigh. “Hey, I was thinking earlier, why don’t we elope?”

Archer takes his cuff links and places them in his drawers. “Elope?”

I walk over to him and sit facing him on the edge of the unit. “Yes, elope. You know, just bugger off and get married.”

Archer smirks down at me as he loosens his ties and throws it in the laundry basket. “Is this another ploy to piss off Wilbur?”

I bob my head side-to-side. “Partly, yes, but it’s also about us having control over our own wedding. No doubt Wilbur has some grand, expensive event planned with half of the bay in attendance.”

I’m feeling so out of control over my own life right now and it’s unsettling. Eloping and getting married without Wilbur’s agreement would be a big ‘fuck you’ to him, but it would also mean that I took back some modicum of control. We could do our wedding the way we want to, not the way Wilbur insists upon.

ELIZA

I’m eating custard for breakfast when Archer comes downstairs, looking edible in a pair of gym shorts and a grey vest.

“What on earth are you eating for breakfast?” he asks me, scrunching his face as he looks at the bowl in front of me.

“Custard,” I tell him with a shrug of my shoulders. “You should try it sometime. It’s the breakfast of champions.”

“I’ll pass, thanks,” he says grimacing as he fills up his water bottle. “Anyway, put that down because I have a surprise for you. Come on.” He’s smiling at me, holding his hand out for me to take.

Intrigued, I hop off the bar stool and place my hand in his. He leads us through the house and out of the front door. He gestures with his hand to the driveway and my mouth falls open.

“Why is there a car with a giant ribbon on the drive?”

“It’s yours, Scar,” he explains, and pulls out a set of keys from his pocket, dangling them in front of me. “I hope you like it. Kit assured me you have a thing for these cars.”

“I do,” I agree as I walk around the gleaming cherry red Mercedes. “I can’t accept this. It’s too much,” I protest, holding out the keys to him.

Archer tilts his head at me. “You’re a strange girl. Few women would react the way you do when being given their dream car.”

I nod my head. “That’s because I know how much these cost brand new. Trust me, I have a picture of one on my vision board.”

Archer tugs me into his space and wraps an arm around my waist. “I need to know that if I’m not around, you can get about safely.”

“I don’t have my licence,” I argue back. I admire the car, dying to sit behind the wheel and turn the engine over and see how she feels.

“You have your provisional. You can drive if one of us is with you. Maybe now’s the time to think about some professional lessons. You could take the accelerated course and pass in no time.”

Curiosity gets the better of me and I click the keys and open the driver’s door. I slide onto the cool, leather seats. “She’s a beauty,” I exclaim as I run my hands over the steering wheel and take in the leather upholstery.

“You want to take her round the bay?” Archer holds up two L-Plates.

“Hell, yes,” I reply, and turn on the engine as Archer sticks the plates on the car. He jogs round to the passenger side to climb in.

“Take her for her first spin, Scar.”

She drives like a dream. She’s super quiet, being electric, and steers like a boss. I drive us down to the beach and then back up to the cliff tops into the grounds of the Savage mansion. When I turn the engine off, I look over to find Archer grinning at me with a whimsical smile on his face.

“What?”

“Only you would react to a car like this. You’re looking at this car like it’s the hottest thing you’ve ever seen.”

“It is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” I reply with a wink, stroking my hands over the leather interior.

Archer’s response is to snigger. “We both know that isn’t true.”

So vain.

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