‘Go away. Please.’ Her voice sounded strained and insistent.
Maybe she was upstairs with someone. Another man, perhaps. Edward shook his head. He knew her better than that.
‘Charlotte, I want to speak to you.’
&n
bsp; Silence.
‘I’m coming upstairs, Charlotte.’ He called up the stairs and in the absence of an answer kept walking. He could hear the muffled sounds of movement now, coming from the bedroom at the back of the house.
The door was closed and he knocked, left it a moment and then twisted the handle. The first thing he saw was the plastic taped onto the carpet along one wall. There were pots of paint on the floor, and the start of what looked like a mural on the wall—a giraffe which grinned towards the bed. Then his heart lurched. Charlotte was sitting cross-legged on the floor, in the corner of the room, crying.
‘Charlotte. Please don’t cry. I only want to talk to you.’ He knelt in front of her, afraid to touch her.
She raised her face towards him. Stained with tears and flushed with defiance. ‘So much that you broke into my house to do it?’
‘Well, technically I didn’t break in. The back door was open.’
‘Edward!’ Her cheeks bloomed a shade redder and she jumped to her feet, almost knocking him backwards. ‘It doesn’t matter. I want you to go.’
He stood slowly. He needed a moment to debate what to do next, but she wasn’t going to give it to him.
‘Just go!’ Her outstretched arm pointed the way for him.
‘No.’
‘I could call the police. You told me that.’
‘Fair enough. It’s your right to do that. But I’m asking you not to.’
‘Why should I listen? You’re not listening to what I’m saying.’
‘Because I love you, Charlotte.’ He’d blurted the words out without thinking. He stepped forward until he was almost touching her, but his head was cool now. ‘I love you.’
‘Don’t!’ She dissolved into tears, sobs racking her body. ‘Stop it...’
‘Can’t do that.’ He had to go through with it now, because after this he sure as hell wasn’t going to get another chance. ‘Won’t do it.’
‘I can’t trust you, Edward.’
‘You mean you can’t trust anyone. You just can’t let go, can you? You might just as well still be married to that husband of yours.’
One sharp intake of breath and she raised her hand and slapped him. Edward had never been slapped by a woman before, and he’d underestimated how much it would sting.
‘That might be construed as assault.’
Her hand had flown to her mouth in horror at what she’d done, but she still wouldn’t back down. ‘You’re in my space. I’m just defending myself...’
‘I know. You don’t need to, Charlotte.’
‘What do you know about it?’ She pushed him away. ‘He did nothing but lie to me—all the time. He told me that he was working when he was out spending every last penny, putting us in debt. He had a mistress and I never even knew about it until their child was three years old...’ Tears were beginning to streak her face.
‘And you gave him the benefit of the doubt and believed him.’
‘Yes. And I’m never going to do that again...’
‘Then we’re done, Charlotte.’