With those words, I pushed her out onto the path and slammed the door, adrenaline surging through me.
I could hear her outside, screaming at me, calling me every name she could think of, and I considered phoning the police to get her removed, but I knew within a few minutes, she’d burn out and leave.
And I was right.
I peered out the window to see her storming down the street, and as she went, I let out a long, slow sigh of relief.
Maybe this time she’d get the message.
When I got home after talking to Keely, I felt deflated. I couldn’t explain it any other way.
The weekend had been intense, but I’d ended it feeling a lot more at ease about everything in my life. Talking to Jay had somehow eased that a lot, and I was coming around to the realisation of how much support I had around me.
Now, though, I felt like a week-old helium balloon. Sure, I was still just about afloat, but most of what was keeping me up there had gone, and I was sinking fast.
I went back to my office with the intention of doing more work on the pub project, but what I wanted to do was go back to Ash’s and find out what was happening, what I’d missed.
None. Of. Your. Business.
Ash hadn’t interfered with anything where Jay and I were concerned, so I couldn’t exactly casually drop by and ask why Natalie had been there an hour ago. Not without sounding like I’d been parked outside his house, watching him like some kind of weirdo. Plus, what if she was still there? She wasn’t my biggest fan, and if they were trying to have some kind of important conversation, my being there wouldn’t help.
I hoped the level of manic thoughts I was having was a temporary hormonal thing because I couldn’t live like this forever. I’d never been jealous, and although I was always an overthinker, the speed of my questions was making me feel queasy.
I was debating calling him right away, because it was better than doing nothing, when I heard a light knock at my door.
Please be him. Please.
I left my office, running my hands over my hair to flatten it down a little, though I knew nothing would help at that point. It was afternoon, and I was stressed. Not the best combination of things for a person who worked from home.
I opened the door, my hopes still high that it was Ash, but I took a slight step back when I saw it wasn’t him.
It was Natalie.
I’d never had any reason to be afraid of her, but looking at her then, Sergeant Wright’s words screamed back into my mind. ‘I think you should be careful. She told Ash that she’d Googled you, so there is a chance she might have your number, and maybe even your address. We can keep her away from you if you feel the need for extra protection.’
The anger in her eyes told me I should have taken that warning a lot more seriously.
She’d obviously gone to some effort to look good, but it looked as though she’d been crying because all of her make-up had slipped. It was patchy, and mascara had smudged around her eyes.
Instead of asking what the hell she thought she was doing at my house, I began to shut the door, but she was a lot faster than I’d given her credit for. She wedged one booted foot inside the door, and in my surprise, I lost my grip and she kicked it open and pushed her way inside, slamming the door behind her and standing in front of it.
At that second, I could see how Ash had been so scared of her. She looked ready to flip, like there would be no reasoning with her, but I needed to know why she was there. Why she was in my house glaring at me with such hate on her face.
This was my house. I knew the back door was unlocked, and even though I didn’t have shoes on, I was pretty sure I could handle being outside barefoot if it meant getting away from her. Plus, glancing at the height of her heels—thick, chunky platforms—I didn’t think I’d have a lot of trouble outrunning her.
Trying not to show how much I was shaking, I said, “What do you want?”
She said nothing, eyeing me with a glare that could have frozen fire. I wondered where this sweet side was that Ash had mentioned her having, because there was no sign of it now. All there was was burning rage; the woman was terrifying. I had no clue what had gone on at his flat earlier, but it didn’t seem as though it was the fairytale ending I’d been imagining.
The only thing going through my head was trying to defuse this situation, because I knew what she was capable of. She had almost killed Ash, and she looked like she wanted to kill me.
But it wasn’t just me.
I had my babies to protect.
I’d lost everything before.
She’d already taken everything she could from Ash. I wouldn’t allow her to take everything from me too.