AUTHORS NOTE: Well, hello again! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas despite the covid restrictions (especially my UK readers who had massive changes to the tier system the weekend before Christmas and another lockdown imposed in certain areas of the country). I hope that 2021 turns out to be a better year than last year – but let's face it, it couldn't be much worse really and with the nationwide complete lockdown soon after new year things didn't get off to the best of starts.
Anyway, apologies for the delay in getting back to this but things have been hectic to say the least (not to mention very rubbish) in real life. Thank you all for continuing to stick with me through this and for your continued support and lovely reviews. I still can't believe that I started this story back in 2015 and I'm still writing it, but the idea to start posting a work in progress last year appeared to be the right one as the feedback I have received has been inspiring, so thank you all. This is just a short chapter to move things along to the next point, and I hope people will understand my reasons for writing this the way I have, but Sadie and Lucy are minor background characters and I didn't want to spend too much time on their story, as they have served their purpose for Elliot's backstory and what I wanted to show. I now want to bring things back to the main protagonists.
Before I go, just a quick message to the guest 'Charlotte' who wrote that she 'HATES' the idea of Megumi and Elliot together. Well, ok fair enough you don't like it that's fine, I don't expect everyone to universally adore the story. I would be happier if you had signed in so I could address your comments personally and explain to you my reasoning behind it but here will have to do. I will say that I made it very clear in the storyline that they both think things are happening quickly between them and they want to take things slowly, but I will just add that the entire premise of FSOG and the Crossfire series are whirlwind romances, so I thought Elliot should have a part of that. But if you don't like it that is absolutely fine, it's clearly not your cup of tea and I appreciate your feedback.
CHAPTER 55
One Month Later…
(ELLIOT)
"There, all sorted" I say as I grin at the astounded looks on everyone's faces, and I throw my tools into my bag.
"Thank you so much for that Elliot" Sadie says as she examines the new door now hanging there in front of her.
I look around, this place is nice and cosy. It's a million miles away from the splendour of Escala and I have a feeling that Sadie and Lucy did feel a tad uncomfortable in that sort of surroundings. I glance at my birth mother and sister and they both look happy and relaxed here.
I smile as I think about the events of the last month. Sadie's husband David completely capitulated in the face of all the evidence against him not to mention the idea of facing my dad and Gideon's attorney – Arash in a divorce battle. So, he decided to just settle and give Sadie all the money she was owed for the years of work she did for him. With that money she bought this small comfortable apartment in Seattle for herself and Lucy and she assured me that she has money in the bank that belongs to her for the first time in her life. He has also capitulated on the terms of the divorce, but a part of the settlement was a gagging order on Sadie. Basically, he said he would give her whatever she wanted but she had to drop all the charges of abuse against him and agree to never speak of it publicly or otherwise again. We had all urged Sadie not to accept those terms and to make the bastard pay for the years of hell he put her through but she had looked up at us tearfully and said that all she wanted was him out of her life and to never bother her again so she was willing to agree to those terms to get that. Therefore, the divorce papers were signed she got a hefty settlement along with his written assurances that she would never lay eyes on him again and he got her agreement to drop the abuse charges.
I think Gideon, Eva, Ana and Christian were quietly disappointed that Sadie had taken this decision but they accepted it was her decision and not theirs to make. To be fair, I was looking forward to seeing the bastard getting what he deserved after what he did to Sadie and a part of me feels he got away with it, but I can also understand why Sadie took the decision she did. She has reiterated her complete appreciation for everything that was done for her to get her away from David on numerous occasions and she even asked us if we were ok with her decision to agree to the terms of the divorce and asked us if we thought she'd let us down after everything we had done. We had all assured her we thought no such thing and reassured her it was her decision and we would honour whatever she decided to do.
I have gotten quite close to Lucy since Sadie and Lucy moved to Seattle and she has also become firm friends with Meg. I was initially concerned about Mia's reaction to Lucy, wondering if she was going to throw another hissy fit at the thought of me having yet another sister, but Meg's positive influence on her has transformed her brattish behaviour and she welcomed Lucy with open arms. Ana and Eva call Meg, Lucy and Mia the three amigos as they spend so much time together.
I am pulled from my thoughts by my daughter laughing and I see her with Lucy. I smile as I see Lucy glance at me and then pass Ava a cookie before putting her finger to her lips and making the 'sshh' sound. Ava giggles and thanks her before making a complete mess with the cookie as she bites into it.
"Don't make a mess Ava" I call which makes Ava look up at me but Sadie just shakes her head.
"She's alright, I'm not precious about a few crumbs" she says as she smiles affectionately at Ava.
"Does anything else need fixing?" I ask as I gather up my tools.
Sadie thinks for a moment and shakes her head, "No, I think that is everything. Thank you so much for replacing that door for me… now how much do I owe you for it?" she says looking at me meaningfully.
I sigh and wave my hand dismissively before I shake my head, "We've been through this once, I told you, you don't owe me anything – it's my pleasure to do this" I say firmly.
Sadie looks at me carefully and I can see she is going to say something as she obviously isn't happy with what I have just said. "Please Elliot, I feel bad enough about the fact that you have given up your free time on a weekend to come and do it along with the other repairs which needed doing and you got that lovely door which wasn't free, I don't like this. I feel bad not making any contribution to the cost of the materials and your time" she says.
I walk up to her and wrap my arm around her shoulder and press a kiss to her head. "Look, just let me do this for you" I say gently.
Sadie sighs, "I don't want to mooch off of you, it's not right" she argues and I laugh.
"Honestly, you are not mooching off me, it's a gift from me to you. No strings attached so just accept it for what it is" I say.
Sadie thinks about that and eventually she nods but I can tell she still isn't totally on board with that. I can understand to a certain degree why she feels the way she does. She has just come out of a controlling relationship where she had to rely on her husband for everything, now she has this new level of independence and she is finding her feet and spreading her wings for the first time and so it is natural that she wants to pay her way and not be beholding to anyone.
Before she can say anything, the doorbell rings and Lucy exchanges a look with Sadie before going to answer it. I glance at my watch and realise it is probably Meg come to meet me. A moment later that assumption is confirmed as I hear Megumi's voice.
"Hey you" she says as she appears in the room, and she comes up to me and greets me with a hug. I wrap my arm around her and press a kiss to her lips.
"Hi" I mutter as I reluctantly pull my lips from hers. "Did you have a good time with Mia?" I ask as I recall she has been on a spa day with Mia while I came here.
Meg nods, "Oh yes it was wonderful, the massage I had was so relaxing I nearly fell asleep" she says dreamily. The faraway look in her eyes makes me smile and I'm glad she enjoyed herself.
"I'm sorry I've kept Elliot so long" Sadie says suddenly and she immediately starts wringing her hands and I just want to tell her to stop feeling bad, but Meg beats me to it.
"That's ok Sadie, don't worry about it" she says kindly as she smiles at Sadie.
I watch as Lucy helps Ava grab her things and I see Sadie swallow hard as Ava gives her a huge hug. Ava is still unaware at this point that Sadie is actually her maternal grandmother and while we have all agreed that it would only confuse her to tell her the truth right now, we will sit her down when she is a bit older and explain everything to her and explain the link with Sadie and Lucy.
As we are about to leave Sadie's phone rings and I am on immediate alert as she goes pale when she looks at the screen.
"What's wrong? Who is it?" I ask as I see her reaction and Lucy also steps closer with a concerned expression on her face.
"It's Jen" Sadie says quietly.
I purse my lips, and I don't say anything. Unlike David, Jen has refused to go quietly and is still trying to maintain some control over Sadie by continually contacting her and trying to make her feel guilty for what happened to her. She is no longer a police officer in Detroit. The levels of corruption were staggering and with Arash on board many of her colleagues came forward and basically threw her under the bus. Victor had liaised with the officers who blew the whistle on her and Arash and there was so much evidence and there is still an ongoing investigation as to the extent of what she was involved in. She was placed on suspension whilst all the allegations were investigated but it was clear she knew how bad it was because as soon as she was suspended, she formally resigned her position and left the force. As Lucy said, she decided to jump before she was pushed. But now she doesn't have that level of authority, which has made the control she maintained over her father now evaporate. As far as we are aware, they are estranged and have nothing to do with each other now that her mother and sister have gone. Also, she no longer has the control over Sadie and Lucy something which she seems to forget as she regularly tries to contact Sadie and try to make her feel bad for everything that has happened to her. I watch as Lucy sighs and marches over plucking the phone from her mother's hands.
"Stop bothering us, you have been warned several times now" Lucy states before she hangs up and then I see her fingers flying over the screen. A moment later she offers a satisfied smile and hands the phone back to Sadie.
"There, I've blocked her number she can't contact us anymore now" she says with obvious satisfaction.
"Has she been harassing you a lot?" Meg asks as she glances at me with a worried expression on her face. Sadie hesitates a moment and then slowly nods her head.
"She just keeps calling and telling me everything that has happened to her is my fault" she says quietly.
"Which it's not" Lucy quickly puts in and I nod in agreement.
"No, it's not. She made the decision to be a dirty cop and generally bad person. She could've behaved like Lucy and she could've used her position to protect you throughout all those years and she could've helped you get out of that abusive situation but she didn't and everything that is happening to her now is down to her and her decisions".
"I know that" Sadie says sadly, "but she is still my daughter" she adds.
Lucy wraps her arm around her, "She is, and you have made it clear that when she apologises for everything that she has done and starts behaving like a daughter you will be willing to accept her back in your life again, which I think is more than reasonable under the circumstances. She hasn't apologised and you and I both know that she never will. You have told her that you forgive her for what she did – which in my opinion wasn't the right thing to do, yes forgive her by all means but don't tell her that as she will never apologise now as she doesn't see the need to and she just thinks that she can continue with the guilt trips and bring you back into line that way".
Sadie sighs and rubs her face, "I know, I realised as soon as I did it that it was a mistake but I was hoping that it would provoke her into apologising… but sadly I was wrong".
"She's a complete narcissist mom, there is no way she will apologise as she doesn't see what she did as wrong" Lucy says in clear exasperation and I think that this is clearly a conversation which has been had many times.
"If she continues to harass you let me know and I'll talk to my dad and see if there is anything that can be done to stop her" I say.
"Thank you, Elliot," Sadie says gratefully, "But I don't think I will hear from her again now that Lucy has barred her from calling me" she adds.
"Ok, but if she does then please tell me" I reiterate.
I give Sadie a tight hug and she responds holding on to me tightly before patting my arm and pulling away.
"I'd better let you go" she says with a smile.
"Don't forget Sunday lunch tomorrow at Bellevue, if the weather is good my dad is supposed to be grilling" I say with a grin.
"Yes I know, Grace called me yesterday to confirm that we were coming, who else will be there?" Sadie asks. I know she still feels a bit nervous around too many people so I quickly reassure her.
"Just family, us, Christian and Ana will be there and so will Mia. Gideon and Eva were supposed to be flying in as well but I think Ana said something had kicked off at Cross Industries and they had to cancel and stay in New York. But they are definitely coming for Christian's birthday in a few week's time.
"It's Christian's birthday?" Lucy says, and I can see that she is immediately panic stricken by that information, and I see her exchange a look with Sadie which says 'what the hell do you get a billionaire for his birthday?'
"Don't start stressing about that, he doesn't make a big thing about his birthday. He never has, but Ana likes to mark the occasion. Nobody ever has any idea what to get him but if you want some hints, he likes it when people make the effort to make him things as he doesn't have a very high opinion of himself. So when someone makes something for him, it means a lot to him that they went to the effort to do so".
"Oh, ok" Sadie says and I can almost see the cogs turning in her mind at what she is going to do.
I decide that this is the right moment to leave and so I call out to Ava and hold my hand out to her.
"Come on Ava" I call and she immediately comes to my side and slips her small hand into mine. I pick up my tool bag and smile at Meg as she grasps Ava's other hand.
"Thank you once again for everything you have done today" Sadie says once more.
"No problem" I reply dismissively and with that we leave and as Sadie and Lucy watch us go we head to the car to make our way home.
