mouthful of cotton wool. ‘I’m with Ethan.’
‘I think we both know the answer to that one,’ Jez said quietly. ‘Don’t we?’
‘Oh, God, Jez . . . I cannot believe that I’m even talking about this! It’s been nearly a year since we broke up, and he still has the power to turn my life upside down!’
‘I refer you to my previous question,’ Jez replied. ‘But, look, try and chill about the Simone thing. You’re making it into something that it’s not. I promise, it’s not important. And tell me how the filming is going? I cannot wait to see the series. I bet you’re an absolute star in it and the Americans will love you.’
Angel thought back to how pissed off Mimi was with her for not opening up about Ethan, and how pissed offEthan was about the marriage thing, even after their consolation shag. ‘Ummm . . . I’m not sure about that.’
But Jez was off on one about how she would soon become a household name, like Kim Kardashian, and wouldn’t listen to a word when she objected that she was being too quiet for the director’s liking. Or that she had her regrets about ever agreeing to take part in it in the first place. Jez was strictly from the school of thought that believed all publicity was good publicity.
Angel ended the call by promising to be more chilled about Simone, though she wasn’t sure how long that promise would last. Almost instantly her phone rang and her heart beat that little bit faster when she saw Cal’s name flash up. ‘Hi, I just wanted to talk to you about a story that’s out in the papers today,’ he said, getting straight to the point.
‘If it’s the one in the
News
of
the
World
, I’ve seen it,’ Angel replied, definitely not feeling chilled.
‘I’ve just been a friend to Simone, Angel, it’s nothing more than that. She was in such a mess when I saw her, I felt I had to do something. We were close once, and I know that deep down she isn’t a bad person. She just got lost.’ Cal sounded resigned.
‘It’s okay,’ Angel said defensively. ‘You don’t have to justify anything to me, you’re free to do what you want; we both are.’
He sighed. ‘I know, I just didn’t want you to think that I was having a relationship with her. I know in the past she has sold stories that have hurt you. That’s all.’
That might be all as far as he was concerned, but Angel had a whole list of questions she wanted to ask Cal. Like, how often did he see Simone? Did he really just see her as a friend? And did he think she still had feelings for him? But now he was asking after Honey.
Angel filled him in on their daughter’s latest exploits and was then suddenly aware that Ethan had walkedinto the room and was looking over her shoulder at the story on the computer screen. He remained standing behind her, making Angel feel awkward.
‘Quite the saint, your ex,’ he said snidely when she’d finished her call. ‘I bet he’s fucking her, though. There’s got to be a trade off for paying for someone to go into rehab. And she looks hot and up for it! He’s only human. You surely don’t think he’s been living like a monk since you broke up, do you?’
Angel spun round on him, furious to hear Ethan give voice to the one thing she was most afraid of. ‘He’s not fucking her, actually. Is that what
you
would do then? Yeah, I just bet you would . . . with your track record with women. Fuck them and then leave them with a baby to bring up without you! But you’re not in a position to pay for anything right now, are you?’ She lashed out with all the things she knew would really hurt him. ‘Have you even bothered to make contact with your daughter?’
‘I’m working on it. Like I said – it’s complicated,’ he shouted back. ‘And why are you always defending Cal? Do you never stop to think about what it’s like for me, knowing that man is still your husband? Always wondering if the reason why you won’t divorce him is because you still love him? Why
‘I think we both know the answer to that one,’ Jez said quietly. ‘Don’t we?’
‘Oh, God, Jez . . . I cannot believe that I’m even talking about this! It’s been nearly a year since we broke up, and he still has the power to turn my life upside down!’
‘I refer you to my previous question,’ Jez replied. ‘But, look, try and chill about the Simone thing. You’re making it into something that it’s not. I promise, it’s not important. And tell me how the filming is going? I cannot wait to see the series. I bet you’re an absolute star in it and the Americans will love you.’
Angel thought back to how pissed off Mimi was with her for not opening up about Ethan, and how pissed offEthan was about the marriage thing, even after their consolation shag. ‘Ummm . . . I’m not sure about that.’
But Jez was off on one about how she would soon become a household name, like Kim Kardashian, and wouldn’t listen to a word when she objected that she was being too quiet for the director’s liking. Or that she had her regrets about ever agreeing to take part in it in the first place. Jez was strictly from the school of thought that believed all publicity was good publicity.
Angel ended the call by promising to be more chilled about Simone, though she wasn’t sure how long that promise would last. Almost instantly her phone rang and her heart beat that little bit faster when she saw Cal’s name flash up. ‘Hi, I just wanted to talk to you about a story that’s out in the papers today,’ he said, getting straight to the point.
‘If it’s the one in the
News
of
the
World
, I’ve seen it,’ Angel replied, definitely not feeling chilled.
‘I’ve just been a friend to Simone, Angel, it’s nothing more than that. She was in such a mess when I saw her, I felt I had to do something. We were close once, and I know that deep down she isn’t a bad person. She just got lost.’ Cal sounded resigned.
‘It’s okay,’ Angel said defensively. ‘You don’t have to justify anything to me, you’re free to do what you want; we both are.’
He sighed. ‘I know, I just didn’t want you to think that I was having a relationship with her. I know in the past she has sold stories that have hurt you. That’s all.’
That might be all as far as he was concerned, but Angel had a whole list of questions she wanted to ask Cal. Like, how often did he see Simone? Did he really just see her as a friend? And did he think she still had feelings for him? But now he was asking after Honey.
Angel filled him in on their daughter’s latest exploits and was then suddenly aware that Ethan had walkedinto the room and was looking over her shoulder at the story on the computer screen. He remained standing behind her, making Angel feel awkward.
‘Quite the saint, your ex,’ he said snidely when she’d finished her call. ‘I bet he’s fucking her, though. There’s got to be a trade off for paying for someone to go into rehab. And she looks hot and up for it! He’s only human. You surely don’t think he’s been living like a monk since you broke up, do you?’
Angel spun round on him, furious to hear Ethan give voice to the one thing she was most afraid of. ‘He’s not fucking her, actually. Is that what
you
would do then? Yeah, I just bet you would . . . with your track record with women. Fuck them and then leave them with a baby to bring up without you! But you’re not in a position to pay for anything right now, are you?’ She lashed out with all the things she knew would really hurt him. ‘Have you even bothered to make contact with your daughter?’
‘I’m working on it. Like I said – it’s complicated,’ he shouted back. ‘And why are you always defending Cal? Do you never stop to think about what it’s like for me, knowing that man is still your husband? Always wondering if the reason why you won’t divorce him is because you still love him? Why
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