Emma
Shaun hasn’t given me Joanne’s full address yet.
‘There’s no need. I’m always available on my phone,’ he says when I tackle him for the second time. Despite my initial threat that he has to take all his stuff in one go, I’ve accepted his popping backwards and forwards, like the pushover I am.
‘That’s fine.’ I turn away, busying myself with taking paperwork out of my work bag. ‘I’ll have the school remove you from Maisie’s contact details then.’
He looks at me. ‘Can’t you just leave things as they are for now? They have my mobile number and they don’t need to know the ins and outs of our personal circumstances.’
‘There are no ins and outs. You’re moving out. Period.’
‘You know what I mean, Em.’ He opens his hands, shows me his long, slim fingers. The same ones that once used to skilfully trace from the nape of my neck down the length of my spine, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.
‘I’d rather have everything out in the open,’ I say firmly. ‘We tried keeping our arrangement hush-hush and look where that got us. We’re best just being honest with people.’
‘And’ – he hesitates, marks out inverted commas in the air with hooked fingers – ‘what does “being honest” entail?’
‘Ooh, I don’t know.’ I pause for effect. ‘I suppose it means telling everyone you’ve found someone else and left us. That’s the truth, isn’t it?’
‘I thought that might be your plan.’ The muscle in his jaw clenches. ‘And yet the real truth is that you initiated us splitting up three months ago.’
I hold up my index finger. ‘With the proviso that it didn’t affect Maisie.’
‘Oh yes, your infamous arrangement.’
‘Our arrangement.’
‘Whatever,’ he says dismissively. ‘Regardless of who suggested it, I’d now like a new agreement for when I get to see Maisie.’
‘That’s the least of my worries right now.’
It’s really important to me that Maisie has a healthy, close connection with her dad, particularly after my own dysfunctional father–daughter relationship. But I won’t let him know my thoughts. Let him suffer a bit. He can’t have it all his way.
‘Least of your worries perhaps, but definitely my priority,’ he says. ‘I’d like to see her at weekends. Joanne and I plan to take the girls out for the day on Saturday, so I’d appreciate it if you’ll be flexible about me moving my stuff out. I need to tell Maisie I’m moving out before Saturday. I hope you’ll agree it’s the best thing for her to do it this way.’
I flick through a stack of case papers and rearrange them. It’s a meaningless task and I’m blind to the words on the page, but it conveys the right impression to Shaun. I know he’s right about prioritising Maisie in the middle of all this, but it sticks in my throat to say so.
‘You lost your right to pick and choose when you decided to walk out on us,’ I say levelly, looking up. ‘I’ll think about it and let you know.’
‘Emma. This is not just your call, you know that, right?’ His tone is cold. ‘Maisie has two parents and I have as much right as you to see her.’
‘Try telling that to a family court judge,’ I say, enjoying the shock that registers on his face. ‘See how your ridiculously short relationship and antisocial working hours fare in a legal judgement.’
His nostrils flare and his lips curl into a sneer.
‘You might think you hold all the cards when it comes to our daughter, but you’re mistaken.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘You’ll see,’ he says.
YOU ARE READING
Dangerous Affection
HorreurI know my daughter better than I know myself and if there's one thing I know for sure at this moment: it's that Maisie is not ok. My ex-husband Shaun and I are still friends. We would do anything for our beautiful little girl, Maisie. But now Shaun...
