A Sense of Guilt ✔

Chapter 48

Katherine sat in front of the dressing table mirror carefully applying her makeup even though she had no plans to go out. No way did she want Joe to see her looking anything but her best. If he showed up, that is. As usual, he was responding to her messages with the briefest of replies making her wonder how the whole 'being friends thing' was ever going to work out. Most likely it wasn't and this was his way of letting her down gently, gradually tapering off all contact.

She opened her jewellery box and for a brief moment, she considered putting her engagement ring on. She looked at it, it's presence almost taunting her. Part of her wished Joe had asked for it back. It wasn't like an item of clothing he'd bought her, it's significance meant she could never wear it without feeling melancholy. No doubt it would spend years collecting dust, unloved and forgotten about.

The designer clothes she continued to wear, but she was more focused on looking impressive in her new role at work than anything else. She remembered the first time she'd worn such outfits, not long after she'd begun living with Joe. Her manager had joked that she was paying her too much and Katherine had laughed good-naturedly. Now she cringed thinking she'd been smug, practically gloating about her good fortune. Well, she'd sure been brought back down to earth!

Tying her hair back into a ponytail because she didn't want to look like she was trying too hard, she made her way downstairs knowing she was ready far too early. Donnie had already told her he wouldn't be available until midday, and while Joe had said he'd probably arrive earlier to remove the smaller items, she wasn't holding her breath. She looked at her phone, her finger twitching as she considered texting him to ask for a specific time, however, a sharp knock at the door stopped her.

'Dani! What are you doing here?' she asked stepping to one side as Danielle made her way in.

'I live here, don't I?' Danielle said pushing past her. 'Is there any coffee on the go?'

'You don't live here until next week, that's when your contract starts.' She tried to keep her words light but Danielle turned to her frowning.

'Was that a dig?'

'No, stop being oversensitive.'

'Do you blame me? Eva's on my back all the time.'

Katherine arranged her face into what she hoped was a sympathetic expression. 'Yeah, I had noticed that. Just as well you're moving out then.'

'It can't come soon enough.' Danielle turned her attention to the coffee maker. 'Do you want a cup? By the way, how did Joe get on negotiating a reduction in our rent.'

Katherine grimaced wishing she'd never mentioned it to Danielle. 'He didn't, he said it was a non-starter. It's probably my fault for not raising it myself when I was considering moving out.' Joe had intimated she'd gone about things backside first, but she wondered how hard he'd fought her corner.

'Do you think Joe even asked?' Danielle asked as if sensing her thoughts.

Katherine shrugged. 'I think he did but I don't suppose he gave the matter much time.'

Danielle sat down, her face settling into a deep frown. 'I'm gonna sound like Eva now, but you need to forget about Joe moving forward.'

'I know,' Katherine said not even attempting to conceal her annoyance. Danielle opened her mouth but then closed it again, and turned her attention to the coffee maker. Katherine looked at her phone, pretending to be engrossed while Danielle made their coffee. After a moment it pinged, breaking the silence.

'Who's that?' Danielle asked placing a cup down in front of her.

'It's Joe.' Katherine quickly read the message. 'Oh, typical. He's going to be late.' She quickly typed a reply, and instantly dots appeared on her screen showing Joe was writing. Two minutes later his message came through. 'Something has come up,' she read out to Danielle. 'It took him all that time to text four words!'