Chapter Twenty One

Nine Weeks Ago...

On Sunday morning, Charlie woke up surprisingly full of energy. She'd had a somewhat erotic dream about Joey and it had been more than wonderful. Naughtily, she couldn't help but wonder if she could make it come true one day. Her head was in a muddle but she was clear about one thing – her life with Angelo was over and Joey was the person she wanted to be with. All she could hope now was that Joey would feel the same.

Everything would be more than a little awkward, especially as this apparent affair would be exposed on national television. It was something she felt bad about. She loved Angelo, even if she wasn't in love with him anymore, and she certainly didn't want to hurt him. Charlie knew only too well the pain of being betrayed. Angelo's affair had hurt her terribly. She didn't want to do the same. She didn't want to be unkind and disrespectful. But she did want to be with Joey. She was very torn between two courses of action.

Clambering out of bed, Charlie headed to bathroom to get showered. It was rule change day and she fully intended on making it a special week for Joey. Romance aside, Charlie was adamant that Joey shouldn't be treated like a slave. She wanted to take care of her, treat her, make her feel wanted and appreciated. She wanted to make her feel like the Princess she was.

Joey took a rare lie in. She'd woken up early as usual but remained in bed. The cats came up to fuss over her, begging for food but contenting themselves with cuddles when she refused to move.

In all her years with Mel, she had never strayed. Mel had slept with more people during their relationship than Joey had slept with in her entire life. Joey had always remained faithful. She'd barely even looked at other women. Until Charlie. Charlie had spun her whole world around and now she didn't know what to do. She felt guilty for kissing her. Multiple times. But she couldn't quite bring herself to regret it. She'd dreamt about her and woken with a realisation that she was falling in love.

She felt the familiar butterflies in her tummy. But it also felt different this time. She wasn't afraid. She had no concern about letting Charlie get close to her, bar the guilt over cheating on her girlfriend. She was very aware that she'd shared things with Charlie that she hadn't with other girlfriends.

The closest she'd come to being emotionally involved with someone was Aden. And that was different. He was a boy and her best friend. He couldn't hurt her in the same way as a relationship could. And she knew he wouldn't. And she didn't think Charlie would either. Her certainty made her nervous. But she knew whatever was going on with Charlie felt right. It wasn't something she could run away from.

Angelo woke with a start, immediately aware that Mel was sleeping soundly beside him. He sighed heavily and crept out of bed and into the shower, attempting to wash his guilt off him. All he could hope now was that Ruby wouldn't catch them out. That would almost be as bad as Charlie finding out. Sighing heavily, he scrubbed his body, far too aware that Charlie indeed would find out. It was all on camera. There was no way that the production company would edit his misdeeds out. He would be caught and then he would lose the woman he loved once and for all.

Mel forced herself up and out of bed. She gathered her clothes together, poked her head around Angelo and Charlie's bedroom door, saw that she had the all clear and ran off to her own room in order to throw her robe on.

While she knew Angelo would be feeling guilty about sleeping with her behind Charlie's back, Mel felt good. She'd enjoyed herself immensely and while the situation was likely to leave Charlie and Angelo's relationship in tatters, she was certain that she would glide happily back into Joey's arms.

Even if Charlie was treating her better than Mel did, she thought it highly unlikely that the experience would have changed Joey that much. She was devoted and that was exactly the way Mel liked it. She smiled to herself, pulled the robe tighter around her and settled down on the floor in order to finish her rule changes.

"Morning," Joey said a little awkwardly when she came downstairs and saw Charlie making coffee in the kitchen.

Ruby and Indie danced around her feet, meowing as if they had been starved for a thousand years. Nearly tripping over them, Joey headed over to the cupboard in order to prepare their breakfast.

"Morning," Charlie replied.

Their eyes lingered on each other for several long moments. They both jumped when the film crew knocked on the door, ready to start the day. Sunday was always important on the show. It was the turn of the week, the change of the rules and this swap was by far the most interesting show they had done. Charlie volunteered to let them in and Joey continued her mission to feed the cats. Her head was full of Charlie.

Ruby could sense the friction between Mel and Angelo at breakfast. She wasn't sure if it was lust or hate. They'd either argued or done something terrible. Ruby just hoped it was the former. If Angelo dared hurt her mother again, Ruby would kill him. Her Mum had been through too much in her life and Angelo had already betrayed her once. If he thought he could do it again and get away with it, he had another thing coming.

Next time... Sam objects to Charlie's rule changes and Ruby blurts out a secret...