Arabella by Elizabeth Blake-Thomas

Author:Elizabeth Blake-Thomas [Blake-Thomas, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wallace Publishing
Published: 2017-08-25T22:00:00+00:00

TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU

Bianca: “You don’t buy black lingerie unless you want someone to see it.”

Dressed in their ski outfits, they made their way up the slope, Lily already complaining about the cold. Arabella empathized with her daughter. It was bloody freezing! She found a spot to sit, with a clear view of them.

“I’ll wait here my darling. Go on and have some fun with Daddy.”

They both headed off, Lily dragging her heels behind her. Arabella began thinking about her life and all the decisions she’d made, leading her to this moment.

What if she hadn’t married Mark? Or hadn’t had Lily? Life without her wonderful daughter was incomprehensible to say the least, but Arabella couldn’t help wondering how different her life could have been.

Lily pulled up next to her abruptly, snow flying everywhere. A somber look covered her face.

“Mummy, Daddy is looking at a photo on his phone of a lady. Who’s the lady in the red dress?”

Oh crappity crap! Arabella wasn’t prepared for this. Mark, you thoughtless prat. I mean, couldn’t he be a little more careful?

“Mummy it wasn’t you. And while we were up there, Daddy was on his phone all the time.”

Arabella felt the heat rise up inside her like a simmering volcano. Deadly fumes were about to shoot out of her mouth, incinerating Mark if he showed up right now. How dare he do this to their daughter? Couldn’t he just stay off the phone for one day? It was Christmas Day for goodness sake. She tried to remember her breathing technique from Lamaze class. In, out, in, out she breathed, slowly calming down.

“I don’t know my darling.” Arabella racked her brain for a suitable answer.

“Don’t worry, it was probably just Aunty Rebecca.”

Thank goodness Lily was always good at improvising.

Arabella, slightly pale, smiled weakly as Mark skied down beside them with a massive grin on his smug face.

As they returned to the cabin, Arabella quickly walked ahead, trying to figure out what to do next. Get him to confess once and for all, or keep this charade going? She needed to protect Lily. What was the best solution for their daughter?

As if in a trance, Arabella discussed with Mark their plans for the evening, the whole time looking at him as if he was the creature from the Babadook. As soon as she walked into the cabin, she reached for her notebook and started to write. All her emotions, her anger, her upset flowed out of her. She couldn’t stop.

“Mummy I have another show for you,” Lily interrupted.

“That’s marvelous darling. How about we all get changed and then you can perform for us?” Arabella agreed, making a concerted effort not to show Lily how torn up she was about the Lady in the Red Dress.

Mark suddenly turned to Arabella. “I just remembered I said I would call my brother back in the UK.”

Oh no, she thought. You will not continue to make a mockery of me, of our daughter.

“Why don’t you just call him from here?” Arabella said, sweetly.

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