Page 65 of Only You

Chapter Forty-two

Ana

Ana sat in silence as Millie’s mum brought them tea. Her friends had wrapped her up in a blanket and sat her in what looked to be a television room in the basement. She couldn’t believe she had called her friends and then cried all over them. That was so out of character. She was changing and wasn’t sure it was for the best. She’d been complacent, opened herself up to new possibilities and allowed people in for the first time in her life, trusted and now… well, now she was reaping what she had sowed. Life had always been easier when she kept herself to herself and held people at arm’s length. You couldn’t get hurt if you only relied on yourself. She’d done it for years. She got the power to break away. Why should life be any different anywhere else?

It surprised Ana when George was the first one to speak up. “What happened, Ana?” her voice was soft and coaxing.

“Nothing,” Ana said, offering her friends a bright smile. “It was me being silly. I’m fine, honestly.” She shrugged off the blanket they had placed around her shoulders before taking a cup of tea.

Millie looked at George before turning back to Ana.

“Well, I call bullshit,” she said, pursing her lips. “Don’t try with the,I’m fine, it was just me being silly!Outside was far from fine and silly as you can get. So, let’s start this again.” Millie’s face was a picture of frustration. Ana was sure if she’d been a cartoon character, smoke would come out of her ears.

Ana sighed and lowered her gaze. She couldn’t look them in the eye and lie, but this was her problem, not theirs. It was Boxing Day. They should be with their families, not sitting there with her.

“Stop right there.” Millie snapped her fingers in front of Ana’s face. “Get out of your head and back into the present. Ana, please, we are your friends. Let us help you.”

Emotion choked Millie’s voice, and her friend’s eyes were over-bright when Ana looked up. Ana reached out a hand to soothe her friend, only to find her hand clutched tightly.

Ana drew in a deep breath before moving to make eye contact with each of her friends. “I slept with Andrew last night,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting? Looks of disgust. Would her friends think badly of her... sleeping with an older man? Her boss? Worst of all, her brother-in-law? Instead, the hand holding hers squeezed tightly, bringing her back into the present.

“Did he hurt you?” George asked, moving beside her and placing an arm around her shoulders.

Ana’s head shot up. “No! It was amazing.” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Both of her friends looked at her, confusion marring their brows. Ana watched as they shared a look. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say. Ana took a deep breath and told her friends all that had happened the day before, how she and Andrew had ended up in bed together, and how it had all come crashing down when her sister arrived.

Both George and Millie had remained silent throughout her monologue.

“You just up and left this morning?” Millie asked.

“I couldn’t stay,” Ana said. “They needed to talk. I was in the way.”

“Did Andrew say that?” George asked.

“No, he asked me to stay... but I couldn’t. It was not my place.”

Ana looked at her hands.

Millie squeezed her hand once more. “I think you need to talk to him. He obviously cares about you... We’ve watched your feelings for him grow over the months you’ve lived with him. I’m not surprised you ended up in bed together.”

Ana’s eyes flew to her friends. How embarrassing. Is that why Andrew didn’t turn her away? Had she appeared so desperate, he felt sorry for her and did not want to hurt her feelings?

“Wherever your head is, forget it. Whatever is spinning around in your brain is not the case.”

“But what if he only slept with me because he felt sorry for me? He must have seen me fawning after him. You picked up on it.” Ana’s voice became higher pitched.

“You told us about your sex dreams,” Millie pointed out. “Andrew seems too nice of a person to play games from what you’ve told us. He also wouldn’t want to jeopardise your relationship with Olivia.”

The colour leached out of Ana’s face, causing George to sit back in horror. “What has just gone through your mind?”

“Olivia. Andrew’s been dating, as he wants to find a mother for her. I’m so stupid,” Ana shook her head frantically, wanting to get the sickening idea out of her head, “We are the spitting image. Oh, God.” Ana dropped her head into her hands and felt her friend’s hand rubbing soothing circles on her back and shoulders.

“What are you talking about, Ana?” Millie asked quietly.

Ana raised her head and stared her friend in the eye. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. There are pictures of her in the sitting room. I’m the spitting image of Eva. I am a long-haired, carbon copy of his ex-wife. What better replacement? A younger model who is throwing herself at him.” Ana put her head in her hands and let the tears flow freely again. How could she have been so blind?

It had been six years since Ana had last seen Eva. Ana had been an overweight, spotty teenager when Eva had left. A far cry from her glamorous, beautiful, and sophisticated older sister. Ana had spent years listening to her father compare the two of them and how she fell short. This morning had been a shock.

Ana had never understood why Eva decided to finish her surgical training in the US, but she had been grateful. With Eva out of the way, Ana had been able to forge her own path. But now Eva was back. Andrew didn’t have to worry about finding a partner. The wife he loved was back and could be a mother to their daughter. The mother she always should have been.

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