Page 68 of Abigail's King

Part of me was relieved that no one had spoken to him. At least it wasn’t just me that he was pushing out of his life. But knowing he was in that dark place worried the hell out of me.

“Mateus did mention that when I spoke to him. You know he accused Mateus of having an affair with me? Said that he was trying to turn me against him. I’ve even spoken to Sofia. She’s an amazing woman and devastated that Kye has pushed everyone away. I’ve promised to go out and meet his entire family once I know everything is okay with the baby. I don’t want to get their hopes up and then have to tell them something is wrong. Only Mateus and Sofia know. I’ve asked them not to tell Kye’s parents. I will tell them myself when I go out there.”

I looked at the shock on Kelsey’s face as I spoke. No one expected Kye to turn the way he had, and I knew everyone was worried about him. Sienna had said that everyone had tried to call him and that he had emailed a resignation letter to Mason, which he had refused. But since then, no one had been able to get through. I needed to know that if she spoke to Kye, she wouldn’t tell him about the baby.

“Kelsey, I need you to promise you won’t tell Kye.”

“Doesn’t he deserve to know?”

“He does, and he will know. Just not yet. I don’t want his pity and for him to come back to me because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. If he comes back to me, I want it to be because he wants me, not just the baby. I would never keep him from seeing them and would like him to be in their life. I just don’t think Kye is in the right place to find something like this out.”

I could see Kelsey was conflicted, and I understood that. If I had been in her shoes, I would have wanted to tell one of my best friends the truth. But it wasn’t down to her to tell Kye. I had made everyone else promise; I just needed Kelsey and Nathan on the same page.

“I don’t want to agree, but I know I must. It isn’t my place to say anything, and I will make sure Nathan doesn’t say anything, either. However, if we do speak to him, I am going to try to get him to call you.”

“Thanks, Kelsey. I’m not sure I’m ready to talk to him yet, but I will if he calls.”

She smiled and squeezed my hand. Much as I hadn’t wanted anyone to visit me, I had enjoyed our time together.

“Well, I’m going to let you get some rest. I’d love to keep coming around, even if it is just on a Friday afternoon. If that is okay with you? I don’t have many friends anymore, and it saves me driving all the way home and then coming back to pick Nathan up. We are trying to find a place nearer to the centre of London, but neither of us can agree. Plus, the price of houses up here is astronomical.”

“I’d love you to come over. I’ll admit I thought I didn’t want to see anyone, but having you here has been a welcome change. I need to get out of the flat and not wallow in my own despair. It’s not good for me or the baby. Thank you, and thanks for telling me about the tea.”

“You’re welcome, and you can keep the tea. I got them for you, anyway. I’ll let myself out.”

With that, she gave me a hug and headed out the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts again.

I just had one last person I needed to speak to today, and that was Jo. She knew the situation, but not that I had made a decision about my career. I was heading over to the office to tell her my decision. I was positive now that this was for the best. I wouldn’t be able to look after a baby and continue my modelling career, so I was going to start up my own agency. I just hoped she understood that I didn’t want to take business away from her.

Arriving shortly before four o’clock, I parked up and walked into the building. This was the first time I had been here since I had left to go to Madeira. I wasn’t sure how much the staff knew about what happened there, but I was about to find out. I walked into the reception just as Nicola, Jo’s PA, was about to leave.

“Lila, it is so good to see you safe and sound. We can’t believe that Bianca was behind this all along. How are you?”

That immediately answered my question, which of course meant that I had a lot less explaining to do and would make my life a lot easier.

“I am fine, thank you, Nicola. It’s been a tough few weeks, but I’m just about recovered. Is Jo in her office?”

“When isn’t she? Go right in. She said she was expecting you at some point this afternoon.”

I thanked Nicola and then headed towards the back of the main office where Jo’s office was based. I knocked on the door, waiting for her to call me in. I may have been her most prestigious model, but that did not give me the right to just barge in. When she called me in, I opened the door and walked into her office.

“Abigail, you don’t know how pleased I am to see you safe and well. You’re looking amazing, if I may say so.”

“Thanks, Jo. I’m just about over the morning sickness now. So at least I am getting an extra hour or so in bed.”

I had told her that I had been struggling, more so she didn’t set me up with any last-minute modelling jobs before I showed too much that the designers wouldn’t want me around. I sat down on the settee as Jo came and sat in the chair opposite me. I didn’t want to delay this any further. I had said I would make a decision soon, and I owed it to Jo to be honest with her.

“I have to be honest with you, Jo. I’ve decided that enough is enough. I’m not going to be able to hold down a modelling career and look after a baby. I know plenty of women have done that with the help of nannies, but that just isn’t me. I’ve decided that I am going to retire and start my dream earlier than I had anticipated.”

I looked over at Jo and saw a smile come over her lips.

“I’ll be honest with you too. I hoped that would be your decision. You want to start up your own agency, don’t you?”

“I do. I just don’t want you to think I am going into competition with you.”

“You won’t be. One, because I know exactly what you were planning on doing: bringing those who wouldn’t usually be accepted for whatever reason by a standard agency. And two, because I am retiring as well. Things are getting tough out there, and I’m not as young as I used to be. I want to spend time with Martin before we are too old to appreciate it. I was going to sell the agency, and I want to give you first refusal to buy it. There are no prerequisites. You don’t have to keep the name, and you can change it as much as you like. The only thing I would ask is that you try to keep as many of my staff as you can on the payroll.”

I was shocked that Jo was even considering this. She hadn’t even turned sixty yet. She was far too young to retire. However, this would be a perfect opportunity. Having staff that already knew how the industry worked would be a great help to me when starting up my own business. I could also have two sections to the business. The current models could continue to be represented by us if they wanted, but we could have a second side, the one I wanted for plus size, disabled, and other models who would usually be overlooked by other agencies. The only thing I had to worry about was the price. I had plenty of money, more than I needed, but I had to think of my unborn child as well. I could tell that Jo was worried about my hesitation when she spoke.

---