𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐃𝐄 ♚ 𝙩. 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙗𝙮

xxxvii - 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦

Stepping back slightly, Nina unlatched the safety chain on the door and opened it wide, stepping aside to allow for Tommy to come in.

"Fine. But I can't be long." She replied dryly, sparing the Blinder merely a glance as he entered the hallway. A feeling of crossing the void engulfed him like a jaws of a Great White. This truth might not see him leave the house again, and honestly, Tommy would understand that. For not only had his lies and plans put Verity through hell... but also her closest loved ones.

-

Back at Arrow House, Verity had been spending her morning pottering about the luxurious residence which was feeling more and more like a prison each day.

What made things worse was that her ankle seemed to hurt even more when she woke that morning, which led some futile, frustrated tears and a bad mood.

After Francis had made her some breakfast, and she had milled around downstairs for a short while, Verity returned to the spare room and crawled back into bed - more miserable than ever.

She found the fact there was nothing to do offered her brain so many avenues to root through the past, offering her questions and trick her into the 'what ifs' of past events. It was agonising revisiting all the pain, and out of boredom and something to look at - she picked up the business card for this senior person for the General Medical Council.

As Verity looked over the scrawled appointment details, she sighed and thought about Tommy's pleading words. How he would get her back her clinic in London, and all of her patients.

Gazing out to the window, her brunette hair very much a mess of curls and tears stained on her cheeks - Verity thought closely about Henry, and her job back in the Cotswolds.

She thought intensely to herself, about which clinic she would rather have given the chance. Of course, her mind first fleeted to her clinic in Castle Combe, the friendly locals, the community, scenery and her good friend Henry. How much that place had been a beacon of hope in an otherwise dark and dreary time.

Then she remembered her old clinic, before Tommy Shelby, before the Eden Club and all of the mess. She closed her eyes and pictured her large office, the joy of working with her sister. The laughs she and Nina would have on a quiet day...

Verity sighed deeply as she opened her eyes, her heart practically stinging when she thought about her nephew, Harry. That made her ache like nothing she had known, and all the psychologist could do was cry. She hated to realise that maybe all she had worked for in her new life was actually no comparison to the true happiness of having her sister as her best friend, and the joy of spending time with her nephew.

With tear filled eyes, Verity looked at the appointment date and almost considered whether she could attend it alone... she then figured maybe Tommy might have booked it under his name and maybe she would not be allowed to keep said appointment. A whimper of frustration escaped her lungs, what would it matter anyway? Her family didn't want to know about her anymore. She felt she had lost that for good.

Relenting to the anger she felt bubbling inside, she gritted her teeth and sighed deeply. The suddenness of this clarity had caused her a great anxiety, for it meant it would disturb the foundations of the paradise she had made for herself. She didn't want to leave Henry... yet when she pictured hugging Nina just one more time, the choice was so very clear. If she could have all of that back? She would drop her clinic in the Cotswolds in a heartbeat.

With a defiant drop, Verity released the card back onto the beside table and tossed over in the sheets, feeling congested, teary and a mess - having not changed from her night dress since getting up.