CORAL - Fallen (A Romance Trilogy, Book 2) (58 page)

I nod once. “
She
’
s really sick Tristan, she needs help
,”
I say.

Tristan looks down at the paperwork again. He
looks totally shocked, he runs his hand back and forth
through his hair, messing it up. I can't help swooning at him for a moment,
then I snap out of it.

“
I still don
’
t understand
though,
why do you have this Coral?” He asks.

“
Turn it over
,”
I say.

Tristan turns to the last page, the image
of her husband. “
Fuck!
”
he hisses.

“
He really looks
like you don
’
t you think?
”
I say sof
tly.

Tristan nods, totally mesmerized by what
he’
s seeing. Finally placing the paperwork down next to
me, he stares at the floor for a while
, deep in
thought.

“
Tristan
,” – “
Don
’
t
”
he warns, with
his forefinger.
“
Why do you
have this?
”
he questions again
in a deep, low voice.

“
Lots of reasons
,”
I say
, not
knowing where to start.

“
Enlighten me
,”
he snaps.

I take a deep breath and begin. “
Would you agree that men and women are different, that we pick up on
different things?
”
He narrows his eyes at me. “
Yes or no Tri
stan,”
I bark.

“
Yes
,”
he growls.
Ok,
he’
s really pissed.

“
I could tell from
the very first time I met you that Susannah liked you, I even thought you were
sleeping together, you know a couple maybe. Of course, I never thought
for one second that she was in love with you; that she’
s obsessed with you
, and now I know why.
Tristan, everything she said I did to her was exactly what she did to me.” Tristan’s
face pales.

“She deleted the Google images I had of you,
and said that if you found out, I would lose my job. Her behavior was totally
erratic, up and down like a yo-yo, she snapped at me, she upset Joe, and I know
she said something to Joyce.”
I take a deep breath and
continue.

“
When she told me she was getting divorced and mov
ing down here,
it raised my suspicions, especially given the fact that you told me she was
happily married. When I called to speak to you on Tuesday and Karen answered,
we got chatting, she
’
s really nice by the way, I wish you
’
d sent her down
to train me,”
Tristan cocks one eyebrow up at me, I look away and continue.

“Anyway, I told Karen that Susannah had upset Joe, I asked her
what she thought of Susannah,
”
I stop talking because
Tristan is glaring at me, like I
’
m the one to blame for all
of this.
“
I only asked her
that because I thought it was just me being me,
”
I snap, he
squeez
es
his eyes shut, so I continue.

“
Karen confirmed that no one within the company
actually likes her, that she
’
s all sweetness and light
when you
’
re around, and
when you
’
re n
ot she
’
s well..
.weird. She also
said that everyone knows she
’
s in love with you, and
hardly anyone believes she
’
s actually got a husband, guess
she was right about that part…
”
I break off shivering
slightly.

Tristan stands, wraps the throw around me and softly strokes my
cheek.

“
Go on
,
”
he says, his brow
furrowed his
eyes dark. He is not a happy man. I shake my head remembering her words.

“
Susannah threatened
me
Tristan, she
said she figured we were together, she caught you winking at me on Monday
before you left, she told me to stay away from you. She said
‘
he
’
s mine
’
and…she said
you would never be interested in someone like me, someone in constant therapy.
And the worst part is that she said that you two are secretly engaged, mad
about each other…
”
I stop for a moment and take a breath.
“
So not only doe
s she know I'm
seeing George, but she also knows where I live.
”

“
How do you know?
”
he asks.

“
S
he made a comment about my studio,
”
I say and
continue.
“
Then at lunchtime
on Wednesday I went out, I wanted to write something down but when I searched
for my little note-pad it was missing. I emptied my bag in a panic only to find
my keys had gone too.
”
Tristan looks horrified.
“
When I got back
to the office I found them on my desk with a note from Susannah, she said she
found them on the floor. When I was out Wednesday night, she entered my
property, drank a beer and stole two items from me.
”

Tristan eyes widen. “
How do you know it was her?
”
he
whispers,
horrified.

“
Bob heard a noise
and went outside to investigate, he saw a blonde woman entering my
studio so he questioned her. She told him she was my friend, picking something
up for me.”

Tristan shakes his head at me. “
That doesn
’
t prove
it was Susannah
,”
he argues.

“
I know, but who
else would it have been? I don't have any female friends Tristan. Debs is
blonde, but she doesn’
t have a key and she
doesn
’
t drink beer
.”
He frowns deeply
and stares down at the floor again. I can tell he’
s
trying to work it all out.
“
I
think it was Susannah outside my door on Monday night too
,”
I add.

His head snaps up. “
Th
ose are very serious allegations,”
he tells me.

“
I know
,”
I
whisper.

“
What
’
s missing?
”
he asks me.

I stare at the floor and swallow hard. “
The one and only photograph I have of my family before things went
wrong, and one of the pictures of us
.”
I hear Tri
stan’
s
sharp intake of breath.
“
Tristan,
if she knew so much about me, you
don't think she would
have...”
I break off unable to say it out loud.

“
What baby?
”
he asks
a little calmer.

“
My
mother,”
I whisper
.

“
I don
’
t understand?
”
he says.

“
You
don't think she would have...k-killed her do you?”
I manage t squeak out.

Tristan
’
s eyes close for a moment.
“
No, no way
,
”
he says shaking his head.

I nod feeling a little better about it.
“
Ok, well that
’
s why I got the
report. I was so freaked out Tristan, you were away all week, and she k
ept reminding me
of someone. I worked it out in the end that it was my Mother, they both have
the same crazy look in their eyes,
”
I say shivering slightly.

“
I don't believe
this
,”
he chokes staring out
the window.

“
I
’
m sorry Tristan
,”
I whisper. Reaching o
ut, I place my hand on
his forearm but he pulls away, I instantly feel rejected. “
I know this is a lot to take in, and I really wish it wasn
’
t true, but she needs help Tristan, and we
both need to be really careful, and quite frankly, I
’
m scared to death t
hat she’
ll just flip, hurt someone, hurt you
.”
I end in a whisper.

He turns away from me and stares out the
window.

“
Tristan
,”
I place my hand on his cheek and turn his
head so he has to look at me.
“
I'm
not doing this to hurt you, you know that right?
”

He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “
I…
I don’
t know what
to say
,”
he murmurs.

“
You don
’
t have to say anything. It
’
s up to you what happens now, but whatever
you decide to do…just, be careful, please
.”
I beg.

Tristan nods silently then shakes his head
again. “
This is unbelievable
,”
he chokes.

Shit! I’
m
losing h
im!

“
Tristan
’ – “
Don't
,”
he warns
again. “
I
need a few minutes
,”
he says as
calmly as he can, although I can see the anger rearing up inside of him.

I watch as he silently walks the length of
the hallway, and disappears into his office. I can't help wondering what he’
s up to, why he
’
s
walked away. Maybe he
’
s feeling
foolish for not seeing through her pretences, or maybe he
’
s mad that none of his staff have brought
any of this to his attention
, especially with the fact
that he’
s so good to them all.
Either
way, I have more to tell him and there are more questions to ask, so I guess
I'm just going to have to be patient and wait for him to come back.

I suddenly feel really cold, right down
into my bones cold. I pull the throw tighter around me and begin my silent
prayer.
Please don’
t hate me, please don
’
t
blame
me, please don’
t leave
me…

AS I SIT WAITING FOR
Tristan’
s return, I can't help wondering if I'm doing the right thing
here. I can't lose him, I just can't. I look up at the clock on the
wall, he’
s been ten minutes already, another five and
I'm marching in there.

I hear his office door open. I watch him
storming over to me, he looks really mad. He sits on the coffee table opposite
me, and without a word he reaches forward and entwines our fingers together.
Tristan frowns at me then stares down at our fingers. I know I need to continue,
he needs to know what I know and I still have unanswered questions.
Ok I can
do this!

“
Tristan I
’
ve got to ask, how did Susannah get the
job? Her employ
ment records show no prior office based
work?”

“
I...
”
Tristan shakes his head
. “
It
’
s irrelevant
,”
he
snaps.

“
No Tristan, it
’
s not
,”
I say softly.

He gazes out the window for a while then
starts to speak. “
I kept bumping into her, outside
work, at the cafe
I used to eat at...”
Holy Crap, it’
s just what I thought!
“
She seemed really sweet you know, we got talking one day in the
queue, she said she was looking for a job, that she
’
d
been made redundant. I had an opening so I
invited her to come over for an interview, she told me she had no prior experience,
I told her that was fine.” Tristan shakes his head in exasperation. “She
started at the bottom Coral, worked her way up. She became one of the best
employees I’
ve ever had. I don
’
t understand how someone with so many problems can do that well
?” He looks hurt, confused, his eyes bleak.

“
I know, I have a
theory about that
,”
I say.

“
You do?
”
he says cocking his head to the side.

“
It was never about
the job
, it was about getting close to you, I think she
planned it all Tristan. People who are sick like that, they can seem really...well
normal, as though they are functioning properly.”
Tristan shakes his head in disbelief.

“
I think when she
first saw you she saw her dead husband, I mean the likeness is uncanny don
’
t you thin
k?”
Reluctantly, he nods. He can't disagree
with that, they could be twins. “
I think she did
everything she could to get close to you, I think
you
were her obsession and you still are.” I take a
moment and let that sink in.

“I think she stalked you Tristan, that’s
why you kept bumping into her.
Then s
he tells you some cock and bull story about losing her job, so you
offer her one, she knows that’
s the best way to get
close to you, in your life
, and in less than a year,
she’
s also got the woman you love out of your life.
”

“
J
esus...Oli,”
he whispers.
Does he mean Olivia?

Bile rises in my throat, if Olivia still
loves him…and he her…my stomach twists with anxiety.

No, stop this Coral!

I take a deep breath and think about my
next question. “
How did Susannah react when you turned
her down? You told me she was ok about it, was she?” I tentatively
ask.

Tristan shakes his head.
“
No she wasn
’
t, she was a little snappy, erratic. I gave her some time off. When
she came back she was good as new
.”

“
It was Susannah
who told you about Olivia
, wasn’
t it?
”
I sa
y.

His head snaps up. “
How do you know her name?
”
he asks
his voice icy cold.

“
I…I spoke to her
,”
I whisper, instantly feeling guilty.

“
You did
what
?”
he growls
launching himself up from the coffee table, his hands balling into fists
. “
How could you Coral
,”
he adds then
starts pacing the room, up down, up down –
This is going nowhere!

“
Tristan, please
sit down
,”
I plead.

He shakes his head and carries on pacing,
his jaw tensing every now and then. “
How did you get
her number? Did you get information on he
r like
Susannah?” He’
s not going to let this go.

“
Yes, I asked for
her info, I wanted to speak to her. I was suspicious that it might have been
Susannah who split you up,
”
I
say, feeling downhearted.

“
You shouldn
’
t have done that Coral,
”
he says be
tween
clenched teeth.

“
Tristan, I am
sorry I did this behind your back, but my intentions were good. You have a
mentally unstable member of staff who has close access to you…I…I was
afraid…afraid she would hurt you, hurt me, I just didn
’
t know. Olivia clar
ified it for me, I’
m sorry I called her, ok?
”

Tristan turns away from me, shaking his
head as he does, then he crosses his arms, and stares out the window –
Now
I’
m getting mad with him!

“
Was it Susannah?
”
I ask again. He doesn’t reply,
he doesn’
t even turn a
round to look at me. “
Fine! You don't want
to talk to me about it, I may aswell leave
.”
I stand up from the sofa
.

Tristan is instantly over to me. “
Don't go
,”
he
pleads.

“
Why not, there
’
s no point staying
,”
I choke
. “
You won't
listen to me, just like you didn
’
t listen t
o Olivia.”
I turn on my heel and storm towards the door –
I’
m so mad at him right now.

“
Yes
!”
he shouts, stopping me in my tracks. I
turn and face him.
“
She told me
,”
he says hanging his head.

“
You lied to me
!”
I bark.

“
How?
”
he questions.

“
You told me th
at Susannah didn’
t know anything about you
and Olivia
.” I snap.

Tristan hangs his head in shame.
“
I know
,”
he says staring down at the floor.

“
How can you ever
expect me to trust you if
’ – “
T
rust
me
?”
he shouts, his hands
balling into fists
again. “
And
how am I su
pposed to trust you? I think that’
s a bit hypocritical of you darling, considering how much you
’
ve been keeping from me
,”
he
snaps.
Ok,
he’
s got me there
.

“
You
’
re right
,”
I say running my hand through my hair, trying to figure a way of
getting us back on t
rack.

“
I
was
going to tell you,”
he says surprising me.

“
Oh really, and
when would that have been?
”
I
ask, trying not to sound sarcastic.

“
After your
training Coral, you don't like her and I couldn
’
t tell you
something like that incase...”
Tristan puts hi
s hands on his hips and
looks up at me.

“
In
case what Tristan?”
I snap.

“
In
-case you fucked it all up,”
he shouts.

“
What?
”
I screech
. “
That doesn
’
t make
any sense?”

“
Coral, anytime her
name has been mentioned you go off at the deep end, I know you do. You m
ight not say it, but I can see it in your eyes.”
I cross my arms and huff loudly –
Ok,
he’
s right about that part, but right now we
’
ve got bigger issues.

“
Fine! What did she
say?
”
I ask walking back over
to him.

“
Who?
”
He
snaps.

“
Susannah, when she
told y
ou about Olivia?”
I bite.

“
Why?
”
He asks looking exasperated.

“
Because I'm
curious how a woman you
’
d known
less than a year, could convince you that the woman you loved and shared a home
with, was seeing her ex behind your back
.”
I bite.

Tristan stares up at the ceiling for a
moment then sits on the edge of the sofa with his face in his hands. “
What did Olivia say
?”
he breathes.
What?
Why does he want to know what she said?
My
heart instantly sinks into the pit of my stomach –
He does love her still,
No!

“
Why?
”
I
tremble.

“
Just curious
,”
he says.

“
Can we get back to
us?
”
I say a little harshly.

Tristan glares up at me. “
You want to know what she said?
”
he snaps.

“
Yes
,”
I say a little
exasperated
.

“
She didn
’
t say anything
,”
he
snaps. “
She
showed me a photo
.”

“
A-
a…p-photo?”
I whisper, stuttering slightly.

“
Yes, when she saw
it was Olivia
, she took out her phone and...”
Tristan trails off. I think hard for a moment
and quickly come up with a plausible scenario.
Yes, of course,
that’
s easy to do!

“
What!
”
he barks
at my
smug expression.

“
Photoshop
,”
I answer crossing my arms in defiance. He
’
s not going to like this.

“
What?
” He snaps, crossing his arms.

“
Tristan
, all she had to do was take an innocent picture of two people
kissing each other goodbye, pull it up on her laptop, and change the image.”
I tell him, crossing my arms too.

Tristan shakes his head in disbelief.

“
That
’
s why you were so adamant it was true, you
thought you had proof
,”
I say.

“
I did have proof!
”
He booms stepping towards me. I stare back
at his wide eyes, I can see he’s angry, but I can also see pain and regret
behind the anger.