Page 99 of Cruel Embers
I smile. “I did it.”
Wayne and Leo say a quick round of hellos and goodbyes before disappearing. Leo is taking him to The Shard for dinner to celebrate, and then they have a room booked at The Dorchester.
“Did you want to grab something to eat?” I ask everyone.
Char shakes her head. “I would love to, but I’m exhausted. Public transport takes it out of you when you’re carrying twins. Rain check?”
I nod. “Of course, go home and put your feet up.”
“We already ate, dear, but if you’re hungry, we’ll come with you.”
That just seems silly. “No, don’t be daft. I’m tired too. Shall we just head back?”
“I can drop you off when we get to the station,” my dad says.
“Sounds like a plan, thank you.”
He smiles and takes my mum's hand as they walk ahead. I get a pang in my chest. Even after everything they’ve been through, they love each other just as much as they did when we were growing up, and I realise I want a love like that, one that can withstand the harshest storms.
Charlotte links her arm through mine. “Are you okay?” she whispers.
The urge to lie is on the tip of my tongue, but instead, I shake my head.
“I thought he would be here,” I reply as we dodge an oncoming cyclist.
“Oi, watch it,” Ethan says, his voice lethal.
“Sorry,” the guy mutters as he tries to steer the Boris bike away from us. To be fair, they’re not the easiest bikes to handle.
“Ah, Nathan.” She glances at Ethan, who gives the slightest shake of his head before she looks back to me as he takes her hand next to him.
“What is it?” I ask, and I get this sinking feeling that there’s something she’s not telling me.
“Nothing,” she replies.
I stop walking and pull her to a stop.
“Charlotte?”
She looks at Ethan again, they have some kind of silent exchange, and then he kisses her forehead before catching up with my parents.
“He was there.”
Of all the things I thought she would say, that wasn’t it.
“He was?”
She tugs me to start walking again. “Yeah, he was in one of the royal boxes with Henry and Meg.”
I swallow hard. I should be pleased he came, but it hurts that he didn’t say anything.
“Oh, he didn’t want to see me after?”
Char looks a little uncomfortable with my question, and I realise it's not fair of me to ask things that put her in the middle.
“It’s fine,” I quickly add. “He still came. That's all that matters.”
I look away, trying to hide that hurt that is taking over. Why didn’t he stay to see me after?
