Forfeit (Original Edit)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

'For God's sake.' I scowled at my mum. 'Why don't you just tell Rupert Murdoch?'

She smiled her mother knows best smile and led the others away.

'Xander guessed you were here and rang Jonty,' Robbie said as he sat down. 'It is bloody nice. I might run away here myself.'

'Xander knows I'm here? Did he send you?' Why didn't he come to see me? Despite my disappointment, it was lovely to see Robbie.

'No, I came because I'm worried.' His eyes, filled with concern, were so like Xander's.

'What's he told you?'

'Bugger all. He was pretty frantic when you didn't come back from your walk up the crag but after Clara called he worked out where you were and knew you were safe. He said you'd come back when you were ready.' Robbie studied me for a moment. 'So your dead husband isn't quite as dead as you thought?' I shook my head. 'How are you taking it, is that why you're here?'

'It's a pain in the arse because there're press everywhere again but I don't care about the lying piece of crap. Would you like some tea?' I asked, pouring some for myself.

'You're drinking tea? But it's gone midday with some kind of crisis going on.'

'He hasn't told you I'm pregnant then.' From the look of surprise on Robbie's face, the answer was no.

'Is that why you're here?'

I shook my head. 'We found out a few weeks ago, too early to tell anyone. We were actually happy about it, shocked obviously but happy. It's due at the end of January.' I smiled. 'He didn't he tell you about the dares?'

'Only that you'd got involved in the silly game. The Mail's running the story on Sunday.'

'Getting pregnant was my dare.' His face said it all. 'I know, I know but Xander's was to get married.'

'Is that why you're here?'

I shook my head. 'We got over that, just about, when the lying piece of crap I'm still married to turned up. How's Xander?'

'He's okay but I've never seen him like this. Usually he'd be getting stoned but he's going to work and getting on with the Mill. He looks bloody awful. He misses you.'

My heart lurched but I handed Robbie the letter. 'This is why I'm here. It's Tabitha's sort of suicide note.' I watched him carefully as he read - did he know about Xander's plan? His jaw started to twitch like Xander's did when he was angry. 'You didn't know.'

'No. Bloody hell, I could kill him for even thinking it. Sorry, Daisy, really, I am.' He sighed. 'How much money?'

'Sixty-six million. It would've been three hundred if I'd have taken the lot.'

'Jesus, will you marry me?' Robbie laughed for a second before looking at the letter again. 'You know this isn't true? He does love you.'

'Some of it's true. He said so.' I stared down at the lake. 'Rob, four years of my life have been a lie. Everyone I loved lied to me. Tonio's alive, he was shagging Tabitha and Xander chased me for the money but what do I do now? I'm pregnant and I love him.'

'Well, you can either run yourself a gin bath or you go home and forgive him.'

'Neither option sounds good right now. To go home I need to trust him and after this, I'm not sure I can. Not that I ever did. And I bloody hate...' The Gin. 'Oh my God. She's lying.'

'Who?'

'Tabitha.' I poured over the letter. 'It told him everything - who you were, how you liked riding, dance music, what you liked to drink. It's the gin. The day I met him, he gave me a gin and tonic. I can't stand gin.'