The Boleyn Effect (The Boorman Ending) (22 page)

'Well it didn't take much
to get him to chase me. I thought I'd have to work much harder, but
it turned out to be relatively easy.'

'You know the problem with
girls like you is that you end up losing your head,' she
hisses.

'My head is not what you
should be worried about,' I throw.

I pull away from her and
now I can see her shaking.

'I am rich and powerful. I
can give him anything. What have has a little girl like you got to
offer?' she snaps.

I straighten up with a
smirk on my face.

'Oh, I don't know... a
working womb maybe.'

My face hits the wall
she's hit me so hard. There's a taste of blood, but I can't stop
laughing as she looms over me.

'You think you're so
clever. You tease him, by giving him a little then taking away.
Well let me tell you something young lady, I've known Harry a lot
longer. He gets bored and right now you think you have him, but
it'll be me that he comes home to. I will be the only Mrs.
Cobain.'

'Then why would George
offer you a way out of this so called perfect marriage?' I
snap.

She turns my way and looks
at me with disgust.

'My marriage is none of
your business and when you finally grow up little girl, you'll
realise it's all about sacrifices. I am the better woman Miss
Boorman and I always will be.'

She storms out of the
restroom leaving me alone. Looking in the mirror, I dab a paper
towel on my bleeding lips.

'We'll see,' I
say.

CHAPTER
TWENTY EIGHT

'Sit still,' George
chastises as he dabs my lips with ice. 'I swear to you I had no
idea they were there,' he promises. 'What happened?'

'She knows.'

After our confrontation
I'd not even attempted to go back to the table and left sending a
message to George to follow. I'd cried all the way home in the taxi
and it was George that held me tight. Now he's cleaning my war
wound.

'What did she say? Did he
tell her?'

'No someone else. We were
seen together. She tried to buy me off,' I sniff.

'Really? How much? You
must be really doing some damage.'

I get up from the stool
and grab myself a bottle of wine from the fridge and changing my
mind grab the bottle of Jack and drink it neat from the bottle.
I've already drunk far too much, but I don't care.

'It doesn't matter. If
they are renewing their wedding vows then he's not divorcing her.
It's over. You win.'

'Don't be like that,' he
says. 'The contract is ripped up.'

He watches me wary as I
down more Jack.

'I'm not being like
anything. I'm just saying congratulations you win and I don't want
to sleep with him if he's with her. I want him to myself. I wanted
to keep him.'

George grabs my shoulders
and tears are now falling down my cheeks.

'Please tell me you're not
in love with him?'

I look up at him and nod
slowly. I hadn't even realised it had happened until Katherine
confronted me. Now I can feel my heart breaking and powerless to
stop it.

'Jesus Christ, Leigh,'
George pulls me into a tight hug.

'I can't let him go,' I
sob.

'You have to let him go.
It's over. I told you that you couldn't keep him and you can't. He
never belonged to you. He always belonged to his wife and she
obviously wants to keep him no matter what. You've
lost.'

'I don't have to...I could
still...,' I protest.

George moves away from me
and sighs. His anxious pacing is infectious as he mulls things
over.

'The contract is finished.
You know that already. I would never have held you to it anyway. I
knew you would never love me enough to marry me. It was just
wishful thinking. But I do love you and I just want you to be
happy. I want my best friend Leigh back.'

'Thanks,' I
mumble.

'Come here,' he reaches
over and pulls me into a bear hug.

He starts to kiss my hair
and stroke my back and for some reason I don't stop him. Everything
is distorted and my whole world feels like its tipping on its axis.
This world that I'm now living is no longer real.

'My beautiful Leigh,'
George murmurs. 'He's a fool if he doesn't want you.'

His hands start to wander
as does his lips as they move from head to cheek, then a peck on
the lips. Holding me so tight, I can already feel him stiffening
against me, but I still can't move. It's like all that's happened
mixed with the alcohol has immobilised me.

I am this empty shell that
can't function anymore. His hands move to my breast where they
squeeze and fondle as he forces my lips open with his tongue. I
need him to stop, but it feels like I've already left my
body.

'George please,' I manage
to say.

'Please let me have you.
Just the once. I love you,' he pleads. 'He's already got your
heart. Let me have something. Just let me make love to you once.
That's all I ask. Just once. Let me have you.'

'George, I can't...' I try
to say.

'Baby, please. After all
I've given you. Just give me this.'

He pushes me towards the
bedroom and then onto the bed. I can hear myself wanting to scream
for him to stop, but I can't move. I don't want this to happen, but
I have no choice. I have no power to fight him anyway.

I may as well get it over
with. At least I should be grateful for the bottle of wine and Jack
that I've drunk as my body seems lost of all feeling as George
fumbles with his clothes and a condom. He doesn't even take off my
clothes; he just peels my pants off and enters me.

'God, Leigh, you feel so
good,' he murmurs.

He continues to heave on
top of me, seemingly oblivious that I am not even in it with him. I
have truly become a whore, where my body is used to manipulate and
appease men.

He just wants a piece of
me he didn't think he could have. I could have stood my ground and
said no countless times. But I am tired to fighting him. Maybe if I
let him screw me then he will let me go and realise I'm not worth
it. Get it out of his system. The reality rather than the
fantasy.

With a tensing of his body
and one final thrust, it's over and thankfully it's quick. Finding
some strength, I push him off. He looks down at me and then shakes
his head as I turn my back on him. This whole thing is over. The
friendship I'd once shared is in shattered pieces and I am to
blame.

'I said I'd stay with
Clair,' he mutters as he dresses.

I don't answer and with a
Jesus Christ comment he's gone leaving me alone once more.
Stumbling from the bed, I run the bath as hot as I can bear it and
sinking into I allow myself to cry. This is my punishment for being
thoughtless and uncaring. I took what wasn't mine and now I'm
paying the price

CHAPTER
TWENTY NINE

Sitting in my car, I am
contemplating whether to go in or not. Can I put myself through
this? But I do deserve an explanation. It was in the midst of the
summer when I first entered into an affair with Harry and now the
bite of winter is starting chill the air. I left message upon
message to him, but he's not even bothered to tell me to go away,
just stone silence.

George has stopped talking
to me and I have taken it upon myself to send back the SLR to him.
I know I should have been stronger and not allowed it to happen,
but he should have known better too. I was in a weak place and he
took advantage in order to get his own way.

I catch my
reflection in my wing mirrors and I no longer look like myself. My
hair has lost its shine and is being held in place by a scrunchie
and tucked under a peaked hat. My face is white and thin causing my
eyes to look too wide. I feel so sickly and weak. I never realized
I could hurt like this. It's beyond painful, it's agonizing.
Looking myself over, I decide I will do. I have to make him see me,
because if he sees me then things might change. My car radio is
playing
Runaway Baby
and it just ignites my anger more.

'Just shut the fuck up
Bruno,' I mutter as I switch of the engine.

I weave my way through the
narrow corridors and past students until I reach Harry's office.
Since it's the middle of the day, Harry's secretary is there at her
desk. I've never met her before and to my unease she looks
astonishingly like Katherine, just maybe not as regal. Both sharing
the long black hair and smart power suits. She types away, ignoring
my presence until I give a small cough.

'Have you an appointment?'
she asks not looking up.

'Yes,' I lie.

She starts to question me
but we are interrupted as the door opens and out steps a giggling
blond girl. My heart stills as I watch this girl wearing tiny
shorts over thick tights and a floaty shirt push past
me.

'Jayne?'

Harry is then at the door
calling this girl's name, but stops short when he sees me standing
there. The girl called Jayne turns and walks back as he hands her
some sheets of paper. Venom fills my stomach as there is slight
contact as the paper changes hands. Then she bounces
away.

'Miss Boorman, what can I
do for you?' he asks turning my way.

Formal it is then. I am
not quite down and out yet. I can still play the game, but this
time I'm fighting for my heart and not money.

'I was hoping I could have
a word, Sir,' I answer.

There's a flicker of a
smile as he holds the door open for me.

'Emma, will you hold any
calls for me,' he says.

'Yes, Mr. Cobain,' she
answers as he closes the door.

The desk he had me over is
now filled with a lap top and papers, but the memory still lingers
and warmth runs through me.

He moves round where I
stand and takes his seat behind the desk. There's concern there,
but I'm not sure if it's for my wellbeing or if I am about to kick
off.

'Do you remember when you
said you would do anything not to hurt me? Do you still mean
it?'

'Leigh...Leigh-Anne,
please.'

'Harry, just answer the
question.'

'Of course I mean it. I'm
not a monster. I still have feelings for you.'

I breathe out slowly to
steady myself.

'I just wanna know once
and for all. Were you telling the truth when you said you'd divorce
Katherine? I don't care what the answer is, I just need to
know.'

Harry gets to his feet and
moves to the window. His stance is stiff as he looks out. I already
know I'm not going to like what comes out of his mouth.

'At the time it was the
truth, but I can't divorce her now. She needs me...she...well it
doesn't matter and I know that you wouldn't be happy with
sharing.'

Shaking my head in
disbelief I go to his side.

'Is that why you've moved
on to the next target? One that won't expect too much from
you.'

'What are you talking
about?'

My body is shaking with
jealousy and fury. I'm hugging my body tightly as nausea is
starting to consume me once more.

'I'm talking about that
blond girl. The little bimbo that was giggling out of your office.
You never gave me choice Harry and that's what pisses me off. I've
fallen in love with you and if you'd have asked I may well have
remained the mistress, but no, you take matters into your own hands
and move on. Well so much for having feelings.'

'You're reading far too
much into this, Jayne is just a student. Look, go sit down and I'll
get you a drink. Because you look like you're going to collapse on
me any minute.'

I sit down on the leather
sofa as he leaves his office. I can't believe I'm crying again.
What in the hell is wrong with me? I was determined to come here
strong. Make him remember the girl he first met, not this needy
quivering wreck. As I hear the door open, I quickly wipe my eyes.
Harry enters with two cups of coffee and sits down beside
me.

'I've put extra sugar in
it and brought some biscuits. When was the last time you ate?' he
asks.

I look down at the plate
of chocolate Hobnobs and my throat feels tight, but to appease him
I force myself to take one.

'You mean a proper meal?
That would be when I stayed with my parents,' I try and smile. 'I'm
not such a good cook.'

He shakes his head his
eyes filled with concern and maybe a little pity. That I don't want
to see and it forces me to toss the biscuit back on the plate. I
don't need his charity.

'I cannot believe I have
done this to you. I am sorry,' he says.

'You haven't done anything
I've not asked you to,' I smirk.

We both laugh a little,
but soon turns serious again as we sip our coffees.