Page 89 of Royally Redeemed
“Oh,” he ran his hand through his hair nervously. “Is that… does thatbotheryou?”
“I feel like shit and I’m having terrible cramps.”
“I mean just… talking about it? You can just say, ‘Damn it, Duncan, I’m on my period’ and I would give you whatever you asked for. Don’t be embarrassed.”
His reaction greatly surprised me.
“Oh, okay.”
“I’m not a mouth breathing fifteen year-old, Eloise. Look, I’m sorry because you look uncomfortable, but that doesn’t mean I am bothered by it for the sake of it being a thing.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“Do you need anything?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m… I’m fine, thanks.”
His phone buzzed and he sighed. “Give me a sec, okay?”
52
THE CALL
DUNCAN
I need a minute. I’m having a breakdown. Please ring me.
It was a hurried text—the most pressing in a string of them. So, I stepped into the office and closed the door. It made things look more official. Even though I wasn’t up to anything, I didn’t need to give a more-hormonal-than-usual version of Eloise a reason to not trust me.
As I locked the door, I answered the video prompting me.
“Yes?” I said.
Nessa’s face appeared on the other side. I could tell she was in the conservatory of her parents’ house in the Lake District. Her blonde curls framed her face—clean and free of makeup. I fought a flashback to a time where I woke up next to that version of her every morning.
“I just… I found a bunch of old things of ours here,” Vanessa said. “And since it’s our anniversary?—”
“Nessa, one has to betogetherto have an anniversary,” I sighed.
Tears welled. “I miss you.”
Why had I answered? Why had I allowed her occasional interest to crop up and rule my life? She did this sometimes—usually around our former anniversary or my birthday. She’d reach out, we’d talk too intimately, and she’d smash my heart into pieces again. I should have blocked her years before.
“Don’t you miss me sometimes?”
“Nessa—”
“Duncan, you love me. You still do.”
“I will always love you,” I admitted.
It pained me to say it, but I wouldn’t lie. There wouldalwaysbe a place for Nessa in my heart.
She smiled, satisfied.
“Nessa, what would your husband think if he found out you’d rang me?”
“He won’t know. He’s in Portugal for work. I got lonely and sorted through my old room. I found one of your old shirts. Could I drop it by sometime?”
