I don’t know what to say to that. Of all the clients that I’ve had, and there has been a real variety of them, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone as vulnerable as this beauty. She’s like something from a fairy tale, a damsel in distress just waiting for her Prince Charming to come along and save her…

  Not that I should be thinking that way! Not at all. Just because she’s beautiful and she creates a stirring in the pit of my belly.

  “Oh, my goodness. That must have been really hard for you…”

  “It was okay.” She curls in on herself, immediately on the defensive. “I made it okay.”

  She’s going to be hard to prise open, I can already see that, but I’m up for the challenge. There’s a lot of pain in her eyes, she’s obviously going through a very hard time, and I need to save her from that, whatever it is.

  “Okay, so can I ask what you have come to see me about today.”

  “It’s… my husband. Jeremy Bishop.”

  That name stuns me to the core. I know him. He’s in the same circles as me, a very powerful businessman with a wonderful reputation. He’s known for being quite ruthless, but I guess that’s necessary to get back into the investment business. No one gets to the top of their game without stomping on a few people along the way.

  I’m not his friend, but I don’t know if that’s a conflict of interest.

  “Can you please tell me what’s happening? Try to give me a full picture.”

  Her eyes fall downwards. She doesn’t want to regale all of this but unfortunately, she needs to. I need to have everything if I’m going to work with her, and also to decide if I can work with her.

  “I met Jeremy when I was eighteen years old, just when I was about to leave the orphanarium. He was obviously quite a bit older than me. He was twenty-six years old at the time, and I thought he was amazing. He had everything going for him. Nice cars, an amazing business, a great house… I know that makes me sound shallow but it wasn’t like that. I just craved stability, I guess. He seemed to have it all, so I fell quickly.”

  Every word is laced with agony, it actually hurts me to listen to her, I don’t usually get emotionally involved.

  “Then we married just before my twentieth birthday, which was… the best day of my life.”

  “You don’t sound sure when you say that.”

  Her eyes flicker up to see mine. They seem to say that I can see deep into her soul. “No, I suppose not. I guess by that time I was already having doubts, but I thought it was just me sabotaging myself. I ignored all the alarm bells and put on a happy face because all I wanted was a happy ever after.”

  “That’s totally understandable. I think that’s what everyone wants, regardless of their situation.” She nods, drinking this in. I hope it makes her feel better to know that she isn’t alone. “So, do you want to fill me in with what’s happened since? Sorry, I know this is hard to talk about…”

  She bursts into tears then, the emotion getting the better of her. Luckily, I always have tissues at the ready for this kind of situation. I know the lawyer’s office is always an emotional place.

  “I’m sorry, I know this is silly,” she sobs into the tissue. Her make-up streaming down her cheeks. “I just spend a lot of time hiding it, not talking about it. It’s just hard for me to talk about.”

  “You take as long as you need. We have an hour here.”

  “Okay… well, I guess the most important thing is all the cheating.”

  That comment angers me more than it should. I’ve seen Jeremy. He’s an okay guy, but he isn’t anything special. How can he cheat on this absolutely, amazingly beautiful woman? She’s lovely!

  “And the yelling… there’s a lot of yelling.”

  “Yelling? At you?”

  “At me, around me, all the time. Every time he’s in the house, I’m walking on eggshells, trying not to set him off. He obviously lives in a big mansion, but when he’s in, there isn’t anywhere to hide. No matter what’s going on in his life, there is always something to take it out on me.”

  “Are you scared at home?” I can see it in her eyes, the familiar fear that my mom always had.

  “Yes, I guess so. His temper is terrifying.”

  Now, the man that I often see at functions becomes something different in my mind. He acts like a nice person in public to hide who he is behind closed doors. I can tell that Nova is telling the truth, it’s obvious. It’s written all over her, the struggle that her life has become is all over her face.

  “I’m sorry to ask you this, but have things ever turned physical?”

  Immediately she shakes her head. “He doesn’t hit me, no.”

  “Has he ever put his hands on you?” I can kinda see that there’s more to this.

  “Yes, he’s grabbed me,” she whispers. “And pushed me once. But only once.”

  If he’s willing to put his hands on her even once, there’s a chance that he’ll get worse. He has pushed that barrier and gotten away with it. I’m sure he now realizes that he can get away with anything. I’m fearful for Nova, I don’t like the idea of anything bad happening to her. She needs to get out of this.

  “Okay, well I am going to help you with this. It’s clear that you need me.”

  “You are?” She appears stunned. “Really? Because I don’t have any money…”

  “I know. I don’t want you to pay me.”

  She nods slowly. “Okay, that’s amazing. I do feel bad about it, but I need your help. What happens now?”

  “Now, you give me your number and you let me get on with it. I will do my thing and get back to you.”

  “What do you mean ‘your thing’? That makes me nervous.”

  “I won’t do anything drastic without your permission. It’s just research.”

  “Research… yeah, okay. That’s fine. So, you will look into his life and stuff?”

  “Exactly. Then we will meet soon so I can discuss the next part of the plan with you.”

  She gets out her cell phone and reels out her number to me. I can see that she’s unsure, but that’s fear rather than doubt. Once I get the ball rolling on this, she will get on board. I just need to make Nova believe that her life can be so much better without him. There’s a flower inside of her just waiting to bloom and I will coax it out.

  I’m absolutely determined to help her if it’s the last thing I do!

  3

  Nova

  “This is fucking ridiculous! I cannot believe I’m even hearing this. Someone is going to pay.”

  My heart leaps like crazy in my chest. I know without a doubt that someone Jeremy is referring to is going to be me. Whatever the hell is going on with Jeremy’s business, I’m the one who will get it in the neck as usual. I grip onto my stomach, trying to calm the eagle sized butterflies down. Fear will only make him worse, he seems to thrive off it. He likes to see me cowering in a corner, it makes the yelling worse and the anger much more gleeful.

  Keep it calm, I warn myself. Don’t let him get to you, just take it and he’ll get bored.

  “What the fuck is this, Nova?” I squeeze my eyes closed and block the world out for a moment. “Come here.”

  “I’m just in the kitchen at the moment,” I reply in a shaky voice, giving me away. “I won’t be long.”

  But Jeremy needs to get his anger out now. I can hear his heavy footsteps coming for me, so I leap up from my seat to busy myself with the dishes. If he knows that I’m just hiding away in here, he’ll kill me.

  “What the hell are you washing up for?” he sneers. “We have staff for that.”

  I cringe at the word ‘staff’. That’s something I’ve never liked. Having people work for me when I’m not allowed a job is absolutely pointless. It makes me feel a bit ill. I’m sure Jeremy pays them well, but that isn’t the point. He doesn’t need any help, it’s just a status thing. He wants staff just to have them.

  “Well, I just thought that I’d get a head start on things, save them some time tomorrow.”

  “I don’t want their time to be saved. That’s what I pay them for. I want to talk to you.”

  Ice cold fear freezes up my veins, I just want to run but I know that I can’t. I just have to face the music and hope this doesn’t get any worse than it already is. It’s already pretty horrific.

  “What’s the matter, Jeremy?” I ask quietly. “Have I done something wrong?”

  “The deal with the advertising company fell through, and it’s your fault.”

  “My fault?” Now, this is a first. “How… how is it my fault? What did I do?”

  “Oh, come off it. You know that you were a massive bitch to Arthur at the charity event last month.”

  “But I didn’t even speak to him.” I don’t usually defend myself, but this isn’t fair. I haven’t done anything wrong at all. I was so purposefully quiet at that event, so I couldn’t go wrong. “What are you talking about?”

  “That’s what I’m talking about. You’re standoffish. It’s embarrassing. People talk to me about you, they say that you’re miserable and it’s painful. I have to keep defending you all the freaking time. All the God damn time.”

  His magic works and he makes me feel terrible about myself. I shouldn’t have been so silent, I should have made effort. Now I can see what Jeremy is talking about. I lost him some deal.

  “I’m sorry, Jeremy, I didn’t mean to… I just didn’t want to say something wrong, that’s all.”

  “Well, yet again you fucking let me down. You made life really complicated for me again.” He shakes his head, clearly very dismayed with me. “Now I’ll have to work extra hard.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that Arthur was such an important person to you…”

  “Because you never listen to me!” he explodes. “You never care what I’m saying to you.”

  That one hundred percent isn’t the truth. I listen carefully to every word of his because it goes into my defense arsenal so that I don’t do anything specific to set his temper off. But I can’t argue that. His face is red and the anger vein in his forehead is popping. I can’t push him a step further.

  “You are always so self-involved Nova, honestly. I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”

  “I’m sorry, Jeremy, I didn’t mean to cause all of this. I can help you fix it.”

  He laughs nastily at me. “You can’t help me. You’re thick as shit, Nova. You have absolutely no experience in the workplace at all. What on earth could you offer me? Come on, tell me, what can you offer me?”

  He wants me to feel stupid, and I’ll admit that I do. I feel small and insignificant as if I’m worthless. My eyes dart down towards the ground, unable to look at him again. He doesn’t want me to speak and I don’t want to talk to him either, so we remain where we are letting the thick silence run between us.

  “Right, well since you don’t have anything to say, I’m heading out.”

  “Where are you going?” I don’t know why I even ask this, I want him gone.

  “I’m heading out to see Melanie. She will be able to help me with what I need to get done.”

  The way he says ‘Melanie’ is so sexual that I just know she’s the one he’s sleeping with. It stings a little bit because it reminds me how I’m not good enough for him. I’m too boring, too plain looking, and not able to keep the attention of even my husband. What does that say about me? Nothing good, that’s for sure.

  “I wouldn’t bother waiting up. I don’t know how late I’ll be. This might take a while.”

  There’s one thing for sure. He’ll come back stinking of perfume and covered in lipstick, breaking my heart all over again. This is going to be my life forever unless I do something about it. It might be terrifying but making some changes might actually turn out to be good in the long run. I might get some life back. I don’t really ever feel like I’ve had a life. I’ve always been waiting for it to begin. This might help that.

  When it’s obvious that I’m not going to reply, Jeremy stomps out of the house and slams the door so loud that it nearly shakes all the walls. It used to make me cry when he stormed out like that before. I would sob, now I’m just numb. There’s an emptiness inside me where my heart and stomach should be.

  He has utterly destroyed me, I don’t feel like there’s anything left.

  My mind wanders, instantly transporting to Zane Black, the lawyer who thinks he might be able to save me from all of this. He wasn’t what I was expecting at all. All strong and masculine looking, like he would be able to physically protect me from anything coming my way. I trust him, probably more than I should. I believe that whatever he can do will save me and he will cushion the blow as well. I don’t know why, but I just think he can.

  Or maybe this is just a fantasy, I want him to be able to save me because I need an escape.

  I can’t deny that he made me feel something though… something I haven’t experienced in a very long time. I don’t know what to do with the butterflies he brought to life in the pit of my stomach. Sitting in Zane’s office was a real experience. If I close my eyes I can imagine myself back there, swimming in strange emotions…

  Once I was sure that Jeremy won’t come back, I locked myself in the cupboard under the stairs and called Clara. This might be a strange place to make a call, but I’ve learned that sometimes Jeremy sneaks back in to listen to what I’m saying, to make sure that I’m not disappointing him. In here, he can’t hear me. It’s a tiny little-cramped space, but it’s the only place where I can get some safety alone. I can sneak out as well, so he won’t ever know that I’m here. It’s the only place in this mansion where I feel any security.

  “Hello, Nova, how are you?” There is trepidation in her voice. “How did your appointment go?”

  “I met the man… Zane.” My voice gets thick with terror. “This morning.”

  “Yeah? And how did it go? I’ve been waiting to hear from you all day. I’ve been on edge!”

  “I had to wait until Jeremy went out.” I huffed loudly. “It took a while for him to stop yelling.”

  “Fucking hell, Nova, this is not good. You shouldn’t be in that situation.”

  “I know, but after today I might not be for much longer.”

  “Are you serious?” The glee rolls off her tongue. “That sounds like a really good thing…”

  “I’m trying not to get carried away with myself, but yeah I think it might turn out good.”

  “What is the lawyer like? I’m guessing he’s a good one if he comes recommended.”

  I clutch the phone tighter to my ear, trying not to get lost in my thoughts about him as a handsome man. He is, there’s no denying that. He’s like a Greek God, a dream guy, but that isn’t the point. I’m not there to ogle at the man who’s going to rescue me. Even if he is my knight in shining armor.

  “Yeah, he seems really good. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “Well, I hope he doesn’t take too long. The sooner you’re out of there, the better.”

  I glance around the small room that I’ve locked myself away in and I had to agree. “Yes, I know.”

  “Oh wow, this could be the start of your real life, Nova. Have you thought about that?”

  My heart squeezes tight in my chest, half with terror, half with excitement. “I don’t know what it will be like.”

  “Better. Even without the money and stuff, it will be so much better.”

  “I don’t care about money. It doesn’t only not buy happiness, it leads to misery instead.”

  “You need to meet a nice poor guy, like my Kem.”

  “I don’t want a guy for a very long time. I will be spending my time getting to know me.”

  “Yeah, I suppose that might be a wise idea too. And I will always be there for you.”

  “I know you will. I honestly don’t know what I would do without you, Clara.”

  “You don’t ever have to find out. I’m not going anywhere. You won’t ever get rid of me.”

  “I know, and I love you for it. You’re the most amazing friend ever.”

  “Well, we’ve been through a lot together, haven’t we? We have to be there for one another.”

  “I wouldn’t even think of walking if I didn’t have you, so thank you.”

  “Maybe you will have to do the same for me one day. Although, with Kem I doubt it.”

  We talk for a little longer, before eventually saying goodbye, and as I hang up the phone I feel right about today. Clara has simply confirmed to me that I’m doing the right thing. It won’t be easy to pull away from Jeremy and the life we have, but once away, it can only lead to good things. Freedom, for one, and eventually a family of my own.

  It’s going to be fine, I try to convince myself. This will be the start of something new.

  I wander all around the house in a bit of a daze, wondering what I’ll take with me when I go, but in truth, there isn’t anything. None of this is really mine. It’s all Jeremy’s…the stuff he shows off with. I don’t care about any of it. Even the clothes. I don’t even want to pack up an emergency bag of things to wear. All the stuff I started with is long gone, not good enough. At the time, I thought it was nice that he wanted to buy me clothes, now it’s just another thing that I really don’t like about him. One to add to the very long list.

  I want to start afresh and just be me, to work out what’s going on with my life, to learn who I am. It’s daunting, but exciting too. I guess now I’m just eager to get started.

  4

  Zane

  “Woah, this guy is a real piece of work.” I grab my beer and gulp some of it. “A real asshole.”

  I can’t believe what I’m finding out about the man I kind of know from the business social scene. He’s nothing like what he seems. He’s one of those loud, in your face, life, and soul of the party types, but that’s to cover up the truth in his heart. The nastiness that comes out only behind closed doors. A sick nastiness that transports into aggression, a lot of yelling, and sometimes some actual violence. What a douche bag.