Love's Foolish Punch

by S M Mala

  That bit she had to get out first.

  ‘I want to explain everything, Molly. You have the right to know.’

  Sitting there and glancing over at her puppet, she didn’t want to hear anything to make her feel more inadequate than she currently did.

  ‘I don’t,’ she gulped back. ‘I did the job and it’s finished.’

  ‘He knew, when he picked you, that Bill might find you attractive,’ Chloe said quietly. ‘Jamie told me he found someone who might distract my husband and maybe…’ She put her hand to her head. ‘… it would maybe make Bill trip up, so I could protect myself when I proceeded with the divorce.’

  Now she was a little confused, and it probably showed.

  ‘I didn’t realise Jamie was going to pretend to be engaged. In fact, I thought it was true until he came round and … I know you know, so I won’t go into it.’

  ‘When you slept together,’ she said, feeling the jealously when she said it. ‘Did you sleep together while we made out we were engaged?’

  Molly needed to know the truth. It wouldn’t surprise her, though she knew it would badly wound. But right now, she could cope. Her pain was pretty immense so the blow wouldn’t cause too much damage.

  ‘To all intent and purpose that was the last time because I could see Jamie wanted to end our relationship, but he promised to help me. We were both surprised that Bill took to you immediately, and when you started meeting up, it was obvious that he wanted something to happen.’

  ‘Who wanted something to happen?’

  ‘Oh god Molly, I don’t want to tell you this, but you have the right to know. Jamie was happy enough if Bill slept with you, that’s what he said. By pretending to get upset, he knew you’d tell Bill, and that would make the temptation sweeter.’

  She felt sick hearing it.

  It would have been better to know that Jamie screwed around while lying to her about being in love.

  ‘Bill has always treated me with the upmost respect,’ she replied, trying not to get angry. ‘And it takes two, so if I wasn’t interested then nothing, I repeat, nothing would have happened.’ Taking a deep breath, she focussed on Bert. ‘What you’re saying is that Jamie didn’t give a shit about me, and he’d have happily pimped me out so you could get some dirt on Bill, is that right?’

  Chloe immediately stood up, her leg slightly shaking.

  ‘I’ve not been happy in our marriage for a long time and that’s because he fell in love with someone when we had a trial separation. I wasn’t to know he got her pregnant and was willing to walk away from the marriage. It hurt me. Then the baby was born, and the woman died of a blood clot. He, Bill, was heartbroken and asked if we could take the child in. I can’t remember, but I couldn’t do that, look at the baby of the woman he was in love with. No one is that strong.’

  ‘Why stay together?’

  ‘Because I love Bill, I always have and always will. He wanted to separate because he wasn’t happy, and that’s because he was with me.’

  ‘And the baby stayed with the aunt?’ Molly said, noticing the tears coming to Chloe’s eyes. ‘Why the plan to get someone else involved? And why would the temptation be Jamie’s girlfriend or fiancé? Why was I told it was because of David Cohen’s business association with Bill? It doesn’t make sense.’ She shook her head, seeing there were probably more lies she was going to hear about. ‘Why would Jamie hurt me?’

  ‘Jamie’s ex, Danika, fell in love with Bill. She threw herself at my husband, but he didn’t bite. He simply didn’t want to. But Jamie didn’t see it like that when she broke up with him, saying he wasn’t what she wanted. Bill is the one who bought her a one way ticket to wherever she went to, just to stop her from making a fool out of Jamie. She was sleeping around, and Jamie had no idea, all because Bill didn’t want her. And it was hurting David and Rene, seeing Jamie’s utter confusion on what was going on. My husband did the honourable thing. The thing is, Jamie doesn’t see it like that. How was anyone to know he was going to propose to her?’

  ‘He wanted to marry her?’ Molly gulped, seeing the extent of how much he loved his ex. It made her feel even more worthless. ‘I didn’t know that.’

  ‘The engagement ring you wore, that’s what he bought.’

  ‘But that’s fake,’ Molly said, shaking her head.

  ‘It was very real, and so was his love.’ Chloe let out a deep sigh. ‘When I met Jamie, I didn’t know about this. I was blown away by how funny he was. The things he says, it’s just not the most romantic, is it?’

  ‘No,’ she pursed her lips, trying not to cry. It was obvious that was what he did to charm women over. ‘Using me was a complete waste of time, wasn’t it?’

  ‘Do you mean using to divert Bill’s attention or using you? It was pretty evident when I first set eyes on you he was reeling you in. It made it look more convincing that you thought he felt something too.’

  Molly couldn’t blink back the tears in time and quickly wiped her cheeks.

  ‘I’m so sorry this happened. I saw when he pushed you. Are you all right? Did you think he cared, Molly?’ she asked gently, sitting back down. ‘I don’t want to hurt you but he was doing this for money. I lent him some for the new gym so in return he could get some dirt on Bill for my divorce. This engagement thing came out of the blue and… this sounds horrible… when I spoke to him a few weeks back, he said it would be more convincing if you thought he was in love with you.’

  The sob was too forceful for Molly to stop as she sat there in tears at the end of the sofa.

  It was horrible.

  There was nothing else that could hurt her even more.

  His love had been a total lie, and now it had been confirmed by someone who knew.

  ‘The thing is, in a roundabout way, I got the ammunition on Bill. I thought it was you, you see. It looked like you. I showed Jamie the picture, and I thought he’d be happy it worked, but we both got it wrong. She looks like you that’s all.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Bill has been seeing someone else and …’ Chloe now started to look upset. ‘Beatrice’s aunt who looks after her. So all in all, I got the proof he was cheating on me, and I can divorce him without losing a penny.’

  ‘It was all about money!’ Molly said, gulping in her tears. ‘That’s disgusting!’

  ‘I know it sounds bad but I would have lost everything. After the baby was born, I went off the rails and behaved inappropriately but he forgave me. Always did. But I knew he didn’t love me, and that was the most painful bit.’ Chloe touched Molly’s hand. ‘I can see you’re hurting, and I am sorry about that. I didn’t know how far Jamie would take it. He only agreed to do it as he was financially rewarded and wanted to get one up on Bill. It seemed like a perfect idea at the time.’

  ‘Can you leave?’ Molly said, getting to her feet and not wanting to hear anymore. ‘I’m aware of how much I’ve been lied to and I certainly don’t like the fact that this was all to get Bill back. He has been very kind, and that’s something that has been a rarity for the past few years. I appreciate you telling me the truth, but I don’t like it.’

  Getting to her feet slowly, Chloe looked down at Molly.

  ‘Jamie’s a rough diamond but a good one. I know he wasn’t happy to leave it like that with you when he made the accusation. He needed a ‘get out’ clause, and I think he was having a problem finding one. When I showed him the pictures of Bill with that woman, he immediately thought it was you. I wasn’t sure, but it was just a small excuse to end it. The next thing I heard, he’d flown out of the country to avoid any backfire over this.’ She leaned down. ‘I think he was running away from how much he knew he’d hurt you. I’m so sorry Molly; it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.’ She then pushed her hand in her bag pulling out an envelope. ‘This is yours.’

  ‘What is it?’ she asked, unable to focus due to her tears.

  ‘The money he promised you. It was from me, you see. He asked for twenty thousand to s
ecure someone to work for him, and I said I’d give it. In the long term, it’s peanuts compared to what I’ll get from the divorce.’

  ‘I don’t want it,’ Molly said, shaking her head. ‘Take it away.’

  ‘It’s yours.’ Chloe pushed the envelope into her hand. ‘Jamie wanted me to make sure you got it. He said you had some building work to pay for.’

  ‘Take it away and please go. Just please leave me alone.’

  ‘Molly?’

  ‘Give it all to Squirrel and tell Jamie…’ She took a deep, calm breath. ‘Never to contact me. I don’t want anything to do with him, okay. Then you’d have paid me in full for the fake engagement and all the bullshit he said.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Bill.’

  Molly was sat in a corner of the restaurant, the following Wednesday, having afternoon tea and feeling bad about everything. ‘I wanted to tell you the truth. The whole thing was wrong, and I was told something completely different.’

  Bill was staring out of the window, deep in thought. Then he grabbed his phone and scrolled through before handing it over.

  ‘There’s my daughter and her aunt, Sarah. That’s what I meant when I said you were bait.’

  ‘They look like me!’ she exclaimed, double blinking at the red brown hair of the two pretty people. ‘They’ve got nicer hair than me, however. Oh…’ Molly could now see why she’d been picked. ‘He wanted me to detract your attention.’

  When she’d seen Chloe on Thursday, she cried her eyes out and promised herself not to sob over the waste of space that was Jamie, again.

  He’d turned into a right fucker in her eyes.

  Not worth shedding any more tears over.

  If she ever saw him again, she’d show him that’s how she felt.

  ‘And you refused the money?’ he asked as she handed back the phone. ‘Why?’

  ‘Didn’t want it.’ Then she hesitated. ‘Why have you helped me?’

  ‘Listen, I knew Chloe was up to something and I could have shot it down from the start. But I let it roll. When I saw you at the hotel that day, I knew Jamie was up to something. Then I did some research and realised you were a talented lady who’d had a rough few years. And, genuinely, my daughter loved Bert, so it was luck.’

  ‘Are you sure you’re not going to turn around and say this is all a lie?’ she asked, knowing it scared and upset her to say it. ‘Please tell me now. I know I lied as well, but I thought…’ Molly couldn’t utter any more words before shaking her head. ‘I’m very sorry.’

  ‘You were taking orders,’ he said, letting out a little sigh. ‘I saw straight through it but I played along. It was funny.’

  ‘Not for me.’

  ‘Molly, did you really fall in love with Jamie? If you tell me you didn’t, I know you’re lying.’

  She pursed her lips hard and didn’t want to say, and then looked up at him, forcing a smile but it was frozen.

  ‘I didn’t see it coming, to be honest. I never do.’

  She looked at the cake stand and stared at the sandwiches, trying to look happy.

  ‘I think he did like you, you know. He acted a little different, seemed to have fun,’ Bill gently said. ‘He’s not a bad kid. Reminds me of myself when I was that age.’

  Reaching over, she took the small smoked salmon finger of bread, biting the end, not wanting to hear any nice words about Jamie Cohen. Bill sipped his tea.

  ‘Were you a fucking, lying, bastard then?’ she asked, unable to hold it back. Bill choked on his drink before putting a napkin over his mouth. ‘I’d be disappointed if you were.’

  He started to laugh and took a sandwich off the plate before chewing it slowly, staring at Molly.

  ‘Look, they did us a favour. I realised Chloe wanted out of the marriage, and I’d have never left her penniless. She suffered when Beatrice came into the world, and I know it. Jamie’s little trick was to force everyone’s hand, but not successfully. She gave him money, my money, to invest in the new gym. He could have gone to his brother, but he was too proud to ask. Chloe’s a wise woman and she’ll make a good return. Being that I’m such a gentleman, I’ll let her keep the shares.’

  ‘I’m totally unmoved by what you’re saying, so you know.’ Molly then took the cucumber sandwich and ate it quickly. ‘He set me up so I would sleep with you or make you think that was a possibility.’

  ‘I knew that was never a possibility and, don’t take this personally, I wouldn’t want to.’

  ‘Fine!’ she said, throwing the sandwich onto a plate, feeling the full throttle of another rejection. ‘That makes me feel great!’

  Again, Bill laughed and shook his head from side to side.

  ‘You are not in a good mood, are you? What can I do to make you smile?’

  ‘Cut off Jamie’s tongue and bollocks at the same time.’

  ‘Woman scorned, aye?’

  ‘Women tricked, fooled and lied to. You name it that’s me.’

  ‘Self-pity isn’t attractive.’

  ‘It’s not that.’ Molly bit her lips then looked at Bill. ‘I liked him and I thought, for the first time since forever, I found someone.’

  Sipping his tea, Bill then topped up her half-drunk cup before placing the teapot down. Now his smiled faded as he sat forward.

  ‘Molly, I know a lot of people in various businesses and while I’ve been discussing you and the new show - the scripts are great by the way.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she shrugged. ‘It seems heartbreak works great with my creativity.’

  ‘But there’s something I keep hearing about which I wondered if you could shed some light on. I’m not sure if it will affect the new project but-.’

  ‘What is it?’ she asked, leaning closer.

  ‘What do you know about Tommy Halo’s new book?’

  ‘Oh,’ she said, frowning. ‘I ran into him a few weeks ago and he mentioned it was coming out. He seemed a little sheepish and apologised for not getting in touch since then.’ Molly then frowned. ‘And he told me to speak to Sam.’

  There was an odd expression on Bill’s face. It looked like he was in pain or had a bad case of trapped wind.

  ‘Have you? I know you spoke with Hamish a few weeks ago,’ he said, staring at her. ‘Kim mentioned Sam was eager to speak to you.’ Bill sipped his tea. ‘What’s in the book that concerns you? Have you done something I need to know about?’

  ‘Me?’ she laughed, shaking her head. ‘My life’s so boring, that would be a crime. We went out a few times, got into some scraps, nothing illegal, just funny.’ Then she thought for a moment. ‘Tommy said he never wanted to hurt me so I don’t think he’d write anything to make me out to be a bad person. Aren’t they supposed to check with the person beforehand? You can’t go slandering, can you?’

  ‘Speak to Sam Price. He might know something.’

  ‘Not a good idea!’

  Nikos look slightly annoyed when she told him about her meeting with Sam on Friday evening arranged via Kim and Hamish. They were sitting in the quiet cab office on the same day waiting for Molly to get picked up. ‘He hurt you! He left you high and dry!’

  ‘I need to know what he has to say and I also need to find out what he knows about Tommy’s novel.’

  ‘You not ring the man?’ Nikos said, his Greek Cypriot accent thicker because he was angry. ‘He should say!’

  Molly put her head in her hands, hoping the car would turn up soon.

  ‘I take you!’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘I have a few words to say to him!’

  ‘No, don’t get involved. It has been over two years, and it’ll be fine.’

  ‘And that Jamie? What about him? It fine now?’

  Her cheeks felt numb, and she diverted her eyes.

  ‘It’s not fine and I won’t see him again.’

  ‘Good! No more boxing!’

  ‘Me here!’ Arthur said cheerfully, walking in with a big smile. ‘Where are we off to?’

  ‘Thank god!’ Molly muttered and rushed out, seeing Nikos l
ook annoyed.

  ‘You call me, Molly!’ he shouted out. ‘When you finish with him. I want to know you safe.’

  He wanted to meet at Claridges, his favourite place, which she refused. They agreed to meet at a bar in Kensington. It wasn’t too noisy but had a pleasant buzz.

  When the car stopped, and she got out, her first instinct was to turn around and walk away.

  Walking in, you couldn’t miss him. His shiny blond hair and very handsome face. He was wearing dark clothes that just highlighted his whole features. What shocked her was his look of genuine happiness to see her.

  Immediately she knew something was up.

  But she smiled back, going towards the table.

  ‘Molly, you look wonderful!’ he said, pulling her into a bear hug.

  She hated every second of being in close proximity to him.

  That revelation of how she felt shocked her.

  Molly had, indeed, moved on.

  Or she secretly hated every man that broke her heart, though they had no idea.

  Slowly she pushed him away and looked up.

  All feelings for him had gone. He was a handsome, smiling man who was up to no good. Even Molly recognised his shifty expression. She’d see how long she could hang on for before asking what he wanted.

  It occurred to her that she never saw Sam for what he was.

  An opportunist.

  ‘I ordered you a rum and diet coke,’ he said, handing her a glass and looking exceptionally pleased with himself.

  The white of his smile caught her unawares.

  ‘You’ve had work done on your teeth,’ she said, trying not flinch at the level of glare coming her way. ‘You had a perfectly good set.’

  ‘They were perfectly good but not perfect,’ he smiled, sipping his drink. ‘This is one of the things you have to do as well as working out.’

  Sam’s body had bulked up, and she knew he probably had a six pack and rippling muscles all over. But with his shape, he probably did yoga to be less bulky.

  She didn’t like what she was seeing. This new and improved version was so far from the man she initially fell in love with.