Fortune

by Megan Cole

  Leonie looked astonished. ‘Oh my goodness, that’s a blast from the past.’ She smiled, remembering. ‘That was when we first met, Brad and I. We had our whole future in front of us…’ She stopped and looked at Sapphire. ‘Sapphire, this Raphael…’ Over several cups of tea and a whole packet of biscuits, Sapphire had finally told her mum the full story.

  ‘Yes, Mum?’

  Leonie leaned across the work surface and grasped her daughter’s hand. ‘Darling, you must try and make it up with him.’

  Sapphire sighed. ‘How can I, Mum? He hates my guts and besides, he’s back in Rome. He might as well be on a different planet.’

  Leonie looked into her daughter’s eyes and smiled. ‘I know you’ll find a way. True love may only come along once in a lifetime, Sapphire. Don’t be a fool and throw it away like I did.’

  Later that week, Sapphire received a call from the last person in the world she was expecting. The background noise was so loud it was hard to make out who it was at first.

  ‘Simonetta? Is that you?’

  ‘Si. I am back in Roma.’

  ‘Oh.’ Sapphire didn’t know what to say. The last time she had seen Simonetta, she was being driven out of the gates of Homelands, because of something Simonetta had done to her. There was an awkward silence.

  ‘Sapphire, please do not hang up on me.’

  Despite the urge to tell Simonetta where to stick it, Sapphire didn’t. In spite of herself she was intrigued to see why Simonetta had called. She wasn’t about to apologise, was she?

  Simonetta cleared her throat. ‘I wanted to call and tell you that I am seeing an eating disorders counsellor.’

  Sapphire’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  ‘Sapphire? Are you still there?’

  ‘Yeah, I am. That’s really great.’ She meant it too. Even though Simonetta had been such a cow to her, this was a big step forward.

  ‘Yes, well.’ The Italian girl sounded thoughtful. ‘I know it won’t be easy, but I am determined. It was you, you know, who made me think about things. What you said about our past not controlling our future. You finally helped me figure it out.’ The hint of a smile entered her voice. ‘For that I thank you, strange little English girl.’

  Sapphire couldn’t help but smile back. She knew it was hard for Simonetta to tell her this. ‘You might not believe it, but I’m really proud of you.’

  There was a pause at the other end. ‘I am not so proud of myself, Sapphire. I have treated you very badly. I have treated a lot of people badly. You may not believe me, but it wasn’t personal. I just wanted to win, to become Brad’s heir and then all my problems would stop. I now realise this was not the way to go about things. I truly am sorry.’

  Sapphire bit her lip. Part of her still wanted to tell Simonetta exactly what she thought, how she’d helped mess things up with her and Raphael. But there was no point now; it was water under the bridge. She was never going to see Raphael again anyway. Sapphire sighed. ‘Apology accepted.’

  There was another silence, one that Simonetta didn’t seem to be in any rush to fill. ‘Er, have you got any modelling jobs coming up?’ Sapphire asked, trying to make conversation. Simonetta had said her piece, hadn’t she? Why didn’t she just ring off?

  ‘Actually, I have decided to give up modelling for a while. It was making me into a person I did not want to be. I am enrolling on a college course, to study business instead.’

  Sapphire couldn’t help but be impressed. ‘Wow, that’s great! Sounds like you’re making some big life changes.’

  ‘Well, we will see.’ Simonetta hesitated. ‘So you want to meet up some time? I can come to London.’ She paused again. ‘Is it true?’

  ‘Is what true?’ Sapphire asked, even though she knew exactly what Simonetta was talking about.

  ‘That you are giving me some of your fortune?’

  Sapphire didn’t answer for a moment. It had been a big dilemma for her. Despite what they’d done to her, Sapphire felt some responsibility to her sisters. They were flesh and blood, no matter what.

  ‘Uh, yeah.’ She still felt a bit weird, having all this money.

  Simonetta was quiet for a moment. ‘I don’t deserve it.’

  ‘Forget about it,’ Sapphire mumbled. ‘You can put yourself through college.’

  Simonetta exhaled loudly. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘S’all right, I’ve given Madison something as well.’

  ‘Sapphire, you are a saint!’

  ‘Not really.’ Despite the awkwardness, Sapphire grinned. ‘There’s one condition, though, before Madison can get the money.’

  ‘Oh?’ Simonetta sounded intrigued.

  ‘She has to go and work in an animal charity for a month. I suggested dogs — I know how much she loved her puppy swap idea.’

  Simonetta let out a shriek of laughter. ‘Oh, mio Dio! I wish I could have seen her face.’

  Sapphire giggled. It was nice to hear Simonetta sounding so happy and free.

  ‘And now I have something for you, to make up for being such a bitch,’ Simonetta said.

  Sapphire raised an eyebrow. ‘What’s that then?’

  She could almost hear Simonetta smiling down the phone. ‘Si, my contacts have served me well. It is the address and phone number in Rome of a certain Raphael…’

  Epilogue

  ‘OK, folks, that’s a wrap.’ Jerry looked at them both and grinned. ‘Kids, I’ve been around a long time and I know when I hear something special.’

  Sapphire did a little jog of joy and threw her arms round Raphael’s neck. ‘I can’t believe we’ve got our own demo tape!’

  He squeezed her hard in return and she stayed close to him, lost in the moment. A discreet cough brought them both back.

  Jerry was smiling. ‘Now get out there and start hounding those record companies!’

  Sapphire gave him a hug as well. ‘Thanks, Jerry. You’re the best.’

  Outside the record shop, Raphael bent down and gave her a long kiss. Sapphire’s body melted into his, enjoying the moment. ‘I am so pleased you came to Roma to find me,’ he murmured.

  ‘And I’m so pleased you let me talk you round,’ she whispered back. And they really had talked — about everything: her and Cam, Brad’s secret plan, the fact that she, Simonetta and Madison were all half-sisters. It turned out Raphael had had his suspicions all along. Those green-gold eyes of his had seen a lot that summer. And even after what had happened with Cam, he still wanted her. Sapphire couldn’t believe what an amazing bloke he was. It made her realise her feelings for Cam had been nothing in comparison.

  As if aware of her thoughts, he stood back and cocked his head. ‘What are you thinking?’

  She touched his face tenderly. ‘All good stuff.’

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘It’s going to be complicated, you know. Me in Italy and you here.’ Sapphire grinned. ‘Good, I like complicated.’

  Raphael laughed. ‘Me too.’ His penetrating eyes looked into hers, as if he knew every inch of her soul. Raphael’s intense beauty still took her breath away. Slowly, he took her face in his hands, his face filled with emotion.

  ‘I love you, Sapphire.’

  Sapphire stared at him, not quite believing it.

  Raphael smiled at her quizzically. ‘Did you hear what I said?’

  A rush of excitement and happiness flooded her body. ‘Yes, yes, I did! Raphael, I love you too.’

  Their kissing was interrupted by Sapphire’s mobile. With some reluctance she pulled away and took it out of her pocket. It was Brad’s number. Still holding Raphael, she answered it. ‘Hi, Dad. Did you get my message? Mum wants us all to have dinner together at ours next week.’ She listened. ‘Cool.’ Raphael started kissing her again, making her laugh.

  ‘Dad, one more thing,’ she managed to say, as Raphael’s soft lips found hers. ‘I hope you like lentil curry!’

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