The Designer and the Model

Chapter 34 - newborn and rekindling

Two weeks had passed.

Lucinda had cooked every meal for me without fail. Surprising me with delicious homemade drinks and cocktails throughout the day and nights. Taking my half-hearted and teasing request to dress down for me she had on a thoughtfully exposed outfit for every occasion.

Always done up and looking stunning every morning to greet me.

She had been the softest I'd ever seen her. She gave me so much time and never complained even when I knew I was being difficult.

Throughout many disturbing nightmares and restless nights, she was there. After shooting awake on the verge of a panic attack she would just soothingly ease me back to sleep holding me and humming sweet foreign tunes to me.

The worst was when I woke up screaming from dreaming that he was electrocuting me to sell my corpse. I scared the fuck out of Lu that night, security even had to check in after the disturbance.

But resiliently she never wavered and greeted me the same the next morning.

Lucinda wasn't leaving my side, which was a good and bad thing. Initially, Lu got us ready to get over to the other side of town to visit Bethany in the villa but as much as I tried I wasn't ready to go out in the world. I didn't voice it to Lucinda but I still couldn't get it out of my mind that someone was out there waiting to get me again. So, she refused to go without me.

FaceTiming heavily pregnant Bethany instead. They both knew I felt horrible for being so fucked up but many times in our calls they both assured me that it was alright.

Lucinda was just saying it for my sake, I knew she wanted to be there for Beth. She was so excited for her and seemed like she wanted to jump through the screen when we spoke.

While I was in therapy Lucinda would see her.

She would fill the silence updating me on Beth's progress on the hard days when I just couldn't talk anymore and I'd opened Pandora's box in therapy.

She was due any day now. I encouraged Lu to leave and go see Beth more but she couldn't make herself feel right about leaving me alone in the house. Even after the security detail was doubled and ready to take on an army.

Drake was an awkward topic. He'd been over a bit visiting us but what had happened between Bethany and him damaged Lucinda's relationship with him. Eventually, she told him that she knew.

It was the first time I'd actually seen him angry. They didn't yell but the viciousness between them was startling, she was calm and cruel and he was condescending and even tried to use me as a way to stop Lucinda from pushing the subject further. Playing on what had happened and saying that talking about such things wouldn't be good for someone that had just gone through a trauma.

He was right but he was using me and Lucinda didn't stand for a second on it. Outraged that he would do anything to get out of the shitty thing he'd done to Bethany.

His reasoning was that it was a fling that went wrong. That he regretted it ever happening and that he felt terrible that he'd hurt and neglected Bethany but that Bethany was obsessed and only continued her pregnancy to ruin his marriage.

I interjected before things were said that they'd both regret as Lucinda had clearly had Beth's best interest as a single pregnant woman over Drakes, a cheating family man.

In parting, Lucinda drew a line with him to only keep their relationship business-related until things had changed.

It hurt Drake and he said nothing leaving the house.

I worried for the future of their relationship.

-

After a long day of gardening and re-potting some nostalgic Australian plants Lu had got for me, I got dinner started while Lucinda cleaned herself up.