away on business, every time she visited her sisters on her own because he was ‘too busy’ to make it, would there be another woman keeping her place warm in his bed?
‘Was she the first?’ Immi asked.
Stephen looked shocked. ‘How do you mean?’
Was he really going to be evasive, even now? ‘I need you to be honest with me,’ she said evenly. ‘Was that girl the first time you’d cheated on me?’
He looked away, and she knew the truth. ‘So that’s what Jamie meant about keeping your nose clean.’
He blinked. ‘How do you know about that?’
‘I overheard.’
He frowned. ‘You didn’t say anything.’
‘Because I thought I was overreacting. That I was tired. That I was letting the stress of the wedding get to me.’ She paused. ‘Were you with her when I was at Andie’s wedding?’
‘No.’
She didn’t think he was lying. But she needed to know the whole truth, not just part of it. ‘Were you with someone else?’
‘It was a—’
‘—mistake,’ she finished for him, feeling sick. So that was at least two women he’d cheated with. How many others had there been? ‘I don’t want a marriage based on a mistake.’
‘Immi, we’re good together.’
She took another step backwards when he reached for her. ‘No, we’re not. If I was enough for you, you wouldn’t be looking elsewhere.’
His skin turned a dull red. ‘I guess.’
He’d been honest with her. Maybe she should be honest with him—and herself. ‘And you’re not enough for me.’
He stared at her. ‘You what? Are you telling me there’s been someone else for you, too?’
‘No. Because I’ve never cheated on you.’ That almost-kiss at Andie’s wedding hadn’t been cheating, because Immi hadn’t actually done it. She’d thought about it, though, which was almost as bad in her view and it made her feel guilty.
‘It’s over, Stephen,’ she said. ‘I can’t trust you, and I don’t want a marriage that’s full of suspicion and lies.’
‘But—’ He stared at her, looking horrified. ‘We’re getting married in a month.’
‘Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you brought that girl home. To my bed.’ Immi dug her nails into her palms. ‘I can’t marry you. But I’ll deal with cancelling the wedding.’ Because then at least she would know everything had been done properly. Stephen had completely undermined her trust in him. Maybe she was being a control freak, but she’d rather know that things had been cancelled instead of skipped over.
‘What are you going to tell your parents?’
Good question. She still wasn’t sure. ‘I’ll tell them the wedding’s off.’
‘So I’ve lost my job.’
Why did she feel that that upset him more than losing his wife-to-be? ‘I don’t know if Dad will sack you.’ Paul Marlowe would probably want to sack Stephen—but whether he could actually do it in legal terms, Immi didn’t know. Besides, surely any decent person would offer to resign? She didn’t think her respect for Stephen could’ve withered any more, but apparently it just had. ‘Dad isn’t here.’ And Stephen, as his temporary second-in-command, would hardly sack himself. ‘I’ll be speaking to Priya in HR, but I guess it’s going to be awkward in the office tomorrow.’ She paused. ‘Unless you maybe call in sick.’
‘And then get sacked for lying?’ he scoffed. ‘Hardly.’
So, even though he was completely in the wrong, he wasn’t going to make this easy for her? ‘Your choice,’ she said. She couldn’t do anything about the work situation, but she could at least do something about the home situation. And this was her flat, not theirs. He hadn’t paid a penny towards the mortgage and he couldn’t claim any rights in it. ‘Did you pack your stuff?’
‘No.’
Clearly he’d expected to talk her round. He’d got that one wrong, too. Something else to add to her list, then. ‘Go and stay with Jamie. I’ll have your stuff delivered to his place.’
‘Immi, it doesn’t have to be this way,’ he said urgently. ‘We can get through this.’
‘No, we can’t,’ she said. She’d never told him about Shaun’s betrayal, and she wasn’t going to tell him now. But she’d never, ever trust him again. Personally or professionally. ‘I’m not going to change my mind. The wedding’s off. Please just go, Stephen.’
For a moment, she thought he was going to argue with her. But then, to her relief, he left without a fight.
As she double-locked the door behind him, she realised that he still hadn’t said sorry.
And that was somehow the saddest thing.
She was halfway through composing a text to her family when her phone beeped.
The message was from Andie.
You OK? Xxx
Twin-sense again.
I’m fine.
She wasn’t quite sure if it was true or not, right at that moment, but she knew she would be fine. She’d get through this.
Have news. Telling everyone at same time. Give me five minutes. xxx
Please, don’t let her twin think that Immi was playing catch-up again and following in her footsteps with news about a baby. That wasn’t happening any time soon. If ever. Not that she’d ever discussed any of that with her family.
And now she definitely had to tell her family about her broken engagement. She had less than five minutes.
There wasn’t a way to break the news gently. She blew out a breath and typed the bald statement.
Am calling off the wedding.
If she told them why, all hell would break loose. Then again, if she didn’t tell them why, all hell would break loose. Better to tell the truth.
Stephen has met someone else.
Though she didn’t have to tell them quite how she’d found out, did she?
I’m fine. Don’t worry. But I don’t want to talk to anyone right now, OK?
No way would her family respect that. But she wanted to allay the fears she knew they’d all have straight away. The fears they’d always have, thanks to her teenage years: anorexia was a mental illness with physical symptoms, and of course they’d worry that she’d relapse. Even though she’d spent quite a while in counselling and worked hard to overcome her problems.
PS I *am* eating. Don’t worry.
She ended with a smiley face she didn’t feel. And three kisses.
Then she added a second text to her parents.
Please do *not* rush home from India. All is under control. Or it will be. See you next month. Love you! xxx
Then she called their HR manager. ‘Priya, I’m so sorry to call you outside work, but we’ve got a bit of a tricky situation.’ She explained what had happened.
‘What a bastard,’ Priya said, sounding outraged. ‘I can’t believe he did that to you. Are you all right?’
‘I will be,’ Immi said. ‘I was kind of hoping he’d offer to resign.’
‘But he’s too selfish for that.’ Priya sighed. ‘What he did was despicable—but it’s to do with his personal life outside work. So, much as I’d like