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‘Not quite,’ I said. ‘The taxman and my lawyer take a chunk and I’ll have to use it to live on until I figure out what to do for work.’
‘I’m sure you’ll be more than fine, darling. You’ve got your house here, which you can always rent out to get some extra cash,’ said Roxy.
‘Yeah, and Lorenzo’s working,’ said Bella, ‘so it’s not as if you have to do it alone or like you need to take any job to avoid being out on the streets.’
‘I’ll be okay financially for a little while, but if what’s happened these past few days is anything to go by, I might become a single mum…’
Bella and Roxy gasped, then fell silent, their eyeballs bursting out of their sockets.
‘WTF? What drama has loverboy Lorenzo caused you now? If that bastard has cheated on you with some village floozy, there’ll be hell to pay…’
I filled them both in on what had happened with Marta, my last conversation with Lorenzo and the accidental recording. Unsurprisingly, hot-headed Roxy was baying for blood.
‘What’swrongwith you, woman?’ she shouted. ‘Send Lorenzo the bloody message! Or send it to me. I won’t waste any time worrying about Marta’s feelings. I’ll play it to him straight away. No, in fact, I’ll put it on the internet and send him the link. Make it go viral. That’ll teach her.’
Exactly the kind of thing Geli had said. Those two had more in common than Roxy wanted to admit. Humiliating Marta wasn’t the answer, but clearly they disagreed.Please, God, don’t let Geli lose her cool, change her mind and play it to him.I had to trust her…
‘I can see where you’re coming from, Soph,’ said Bella. ‘Sometimes it’s best to be the bigger woman. It’s normal to feel upset with Lorenzo. I would be too. But maybe he didn’t really understand how dangerous Marta’s actions were. Maybe evenshewasn’t aware of the severity, which is why she did it. Remember, back in the day, wet-nursing—getting milk from other women—was something people did. Obviously now, we know more about the risks, so it’s not recommended anymore. But she’s old-school. Even using formula probably wasn’t the norm when she was bringing up Lorenzo, so maybe that’s why she still has the view that “breast is best.”’
‘Bollocks! Big, giant, massivebollocks!’ shouted Roxy. ‘You’re being too nice about it. Surely it’s like giving blood. You have to be screened first. Otherwise if that person has an infection, they can pass it on. You’re just making excuses for her Bella. His mum is an evil bitch! Lorenzo should kick her out. Pronto!’
‘Look, I’m not excusing her behaviour completely,’ said Bella, ‘but surely she loves Leo, right? He’s her only grandchild. So why would she do something she believed would cause him harm? It wouldn’t make sense. Was she deluded?Yes. Was she disrespectful?Of course. Was it totally wrong for Marta to go behind Soph’s back and against her wishes?Absolutely. But I don’t think she did it maliciously.’
Roxy rolled her eyes. ‘Whatever. And as for Lorenzo, he should have stood up for Soph and Leo. Told Marta to sod off.’
‘But again, I don’t think it’s quite that simple,’ sighed Bella. ‘You can tell a lot about a man and his attitude towards women by the way he treats his mother. Put yourself in Lorenzo’s shoes. His mother is an old woman who has always been there for him. Made sacrifices. Then the one time she asks for his help, for a place to stay, he’s supposed to turn her down? Of course he loves Soph, he wants to have her back, but she’s given him a difficult ultimatum.Kick your mum out or I’m leaving and taking your child with me. Think about it. Honestly. Knowing that she has no one else to turn to, would you respect a man who immediately put his mum out on the street during her time of need?’
She had a point, but even if that were true, nothing could excuse Marta’s behaviour during our showdown before I’d left. When Roxy read my mind and raised the same point, Bella had to admit that was harder to excuse. In the end, she said that Marta was probably terrified of losing Lorenzo completely, and as I was the one person who could take him away from her, she was lashing out.
‘So anyway, what you gonna do?’ said Roxy.
‘Wait, I guess. See what happens. I’ll get Leo’s results back from the doctor tomorrow, so of course I’ll need to message Lorenzo to let him know. But apart from that, I just have to hope he sees sense.’
‘Sounds sensible. But don’t be too stubborn, Soph,’ said Bella. ‘Lorenzo is a good man and deep down, I’m sure you know that too. Don’t let pride or his mother’s actions ruin your relationship.’
‘Personally, I wouldn’t forgive him until he kicked her out and then begged you for forgiveness, but do whatever you think’s best. Anyway, enough of this relationship, evil mother-in-law doom and gloom,’ said Roxy, reaching in the bucket and taking out the bottle of champagne. ‘We’ve got a big achievement to celebrate! Huge, huge, HUGE congrats to you, Soph,’ she added, pouring champers into our glasses and then raising hers in the air. ‘To freedom!’
‘To freedom!’ Bella and I clinked our glasses against Roxy’s.
‘Here’s to a bright and happy future, Soph, with or without Lorenzo…’
