Heart of Stone

Teddy's POV: The Confrontation (Bonus Chapter)

I trailed my fingertips over the smooth armrest. If I'd got this wrong, would she forgive me for doubting her?

"What would you do if this was Zoe?" I asked.

Mark's eyes narrowed. It was a cheap shot, one engineered to bring him round to my way of thinking. Anxiety at its finest: always looking for reassurance even when logic defied it.

"There are absolutely no similarities between our situations, Ed."

"You can't give her up, either, can you? You insist you're not right for each other, and yet—"

"No." He folded his arms and crossed one leg over the other. "I've known Zoe fifteen years. You build a bond with someone in that time. How long have you known Soph? Six weeks. You might think you're in love with her, but I can guarantee that if you carry on dancing around this issue, you'll fall for her for good, and there'll be no way out."

"Wow." I scoffed. "Romantic. Zoe's a lucky girl."

His jaw flexed. "Zoe and I aren't together. You know that, and you're a prick for bringing it up."

"Sorry." It was a dick move mentioning it. "It's just you say it's always been her. Only her. Maybe I've not known Soph anywhere near as long, but what if it's supposed to be her? And only her?"

With a resigned sigh, Mark cast his wise eyes towards the window. "If she comes out with something that destroys your career, there is no coming back from that. For your relationship or your career—"

I tutted. "That's Helen advice. I came to you for friend advice."

"Yes, and as your friend, I know what music means to you. Maybe you and her can work it out if you find out sooner rather than later. Before major damage is done."

"Doubt it." I closed my eyes, tried to soothe the brewing panic. "I feel sick just thinking about it."

"Rip off the band-aid. As soon as we land in London. That way, you have a fresh slate whatever the outcome."

*

Normally I loved flying. Suspended thirty thousand feet in the air, life paused. No pressures. No looking over my shoulder. No fears. A unique limbo of time that floated between the past and the future.

Never had I hated a journey more than that one between Berlin and London. I couldn't stop thinking of the past and how I might never experience it again in the future. Soph cuddled up to me, her legs draped over my lap, her face nestled into my shoulder. An unusual display of affection outside the bedroom. I flitted between savouring every second of this intimacy while it lasted, and not wanting to fall too deep into the fantasy.

By the time we reached her flat, my head had switched off. Detached. Convinced itself that this was it. That the next time we saw each other, it would be with the weight of her deceit looming over us.

The lies I told her to sow the seeds of our cover story tasted sour on my tongue. For this to work, I had to do it, but the rare flash of insecurity when I mentioned Lacey's name almost compelled me to drop the whole thing. To pull her into my arms and reassure her that I wanted only her.

Instead, while she assumed I was meeting up with my ex, I went straight to bed.

Didn't sleep a wink.

*

"Let's just get this over and done with." I paced back and forth in the conference room while Helen tapped away at her laptop.

"You sure?" Mark asked.

I nodded and came to a halt opposite Helen, curling my fingers around the back of a chair.