It is said that love is blind and although Lucy had never considered this before it was certainly a statement that she now agreed with fully. She must have been blind not to see all the lies that were, with hindsight, so obvious. It hurt every time she thought about how gullible she had been when he had cancelled dates because 'something had come up'. Oh it was never to do with work, as the team's rotor she would have known about any unexpected events and even if she had been kept out of the loop it would have been too risky. She had only to say to Bobby or D, "How did it go last night?" and for either one of them to look blankly at her for any untruths to blow up in his smarmy, lying face. So instead it was his grandmother feeling unwell, or his mother needing him to help her with the flower arrangements for some charity do, or he wanted some time with his brother who was finding things tough at the moment. And every time he had lied she had smiled and said 'OK' and how she loved it that he was so caring towards his family.
Then there was the small tokens of affection given to keep her quiet and unsuspecting, the odd Crimson Myles that found its way onto her desk, or the cup of her favourite coffee when he came back from an assignment, or a smiley face drawn on a post-it and stuck on top of a file request slip. She had felt so loved, so needed, so safe.
But love is blind and she had been more blinkered than most. After all, he must have known HER for some time. You didn't bump into some-one in the corridor and straight away invite them for a weekend in Florida to say sorry. All those times he had cancelled a date was he with HER? Lucy was annoyed, she was usually so good at spotting who was seeing who, the infidelities that were occurring between acknowledged couples. She was proud of her skills and saw it as a challenge to be the first to know about the romances in the building. So how had she missed this? Lucy thought back, had there been any lingering glances as they spotted each other across the hallway? Had the tone of his voice changed when he spoke about HER? Were there any 'accidental' touching of hands as they passed folders to each other? No she had seen nothing, love is indeed blind.
Even that lunchtime when she had seen them together in the café hadn't rung any alarm bells. She had seen no sign of intimacy, he hadn't blushed when he saw her come in, or stammered or beaten his manly chest and confessed all. No, he had merely said, "Hi Luce, fancy seeing you here. You know Marion from white collar don't you? He had then turned back to HER and said, "Lucky we bumped into each other, thanks for the intel I'll let Bobby know." And he had smiled his lovely quirky smile, nodded his head and lead Lucy back outside offering her the the sandwich in his hand if she was hungry.
No love is blind. She had swallowed all his excuses believing them to be true, believing they were the perfect couple that this was her happy ever after.
Then SHE came along and spoiled it all. All that 'true friends, complete honesty' nonsense. That was supposed to be for clothing disasters, 'Lucy that dress is gorgeous but the colour doesn't really suit you.' Or hairstyles, "I think they have taken a little too much off your fringe, it's a good job it will grow back". It certainly wasn't meant for boyfriend issues. No SHE had come along and stripped away the scales from her eyes to reveal the truth in all its ugliness.
Lucy invited Myles round for Sunday dinner and when she opened the door to let him in a secret smile formed on her lips. This was going to be … interesting. When confronted he hadn't put up much of a fight. A lacklustre denial, the half-hearted confession, the 'it didn't mean anything, you are the only one for me' excuse. Except that he had never taken her to Miami, or anywhere else for that matter, including his parent's house. They appeared to have lots of long holidays in exotic locations and when they were at home the time wasn't right to introduce Lucy to them. Now Lucy knew that he had been embarrassed by her, worried that she wouldn't fit into his aristocratic lifestyle and it hurt. A burning, fiery pain that consumed everything.
The timer on the cooker sounded and Lucy opened the oven door and removed a small, golden skinned chicken and placed the roasting tin on a wooden mat. Glancing at Myles, sitting uncomfortably on a hard wooden chair, she noticed that he was looking at her warily, waiting for some sort of reaction to his admission of guilt. Nonchalantly, she reached towards the knife block and selected a large meat knife. Keeping her eyes locked with his, she ran her finger along the sharp edge of the blade, being careful not to cut herself as bleeding would ruin the effect, until she reached the tip. Myles' eyes widened.
Yes love is blind, but revenge is a dish best served cold. She gave a crooked smile and gently twisted the knife.