Electric Touch | Jude Bellingham

Chapter 24

I stood outside John's Mayfair townhouse. This time I was sure of what I was going t0 do. I'd woken up next to Jude and the world had felt whole again.

The house was huge. I'd forgotten just how big. It belonged to his grandmother who left it to John and his brother in her will. I'd been here once before for a party. I was slightly confused and a little suspicious about why I was asked to meet him here, but I knocked on the door nonetheless.

The doorman opened it nearly straight away and offered to take my coat. I refused as I hoped to be here for the shortest amount of time possible. I walked down the hall and turned left into the drawing room. Huge royal blue curtains hung from the railings and matched the furniture. The fire was roaring and John was sat in an armchair beside it.

He turned to look at me as I stood still on the wooden floor, my shoes stopping just before the rug.

"Evelyn," he said. "I'd hoped it was you. We have something important to discuss."

He sounded very matter of fact. Like a business transaction was about to take place that I wasn't aware of.

"Yes, we do," I sat down opposite him and listened to the fire cracking.

"Now," John began, "before you say what you obviously came here to say, I want you to take a look at this."

I froze as he handed me an envelope. I opened it and took out what I thought was photograph from inside. My blood ran cold as I realised what it was.

"Where did you get this?" I asked quietly, hands shaking as I looked back at John who was sat in the chair like a Bond villain.

"I know people everywhere Evelyn," he replied with no emotion. "Did you really think this particular secret would escape me?"

"How long have you known?"

"About a month," John bobbed his head as if he didn't have a care in the world. "I wanted to see if you were genuine before I used it. Turns out I was right to test you. I know you were with Jude last night."

My head snapped up. "You're tracking him?"

"No, I just know he went into your apartment last night and didn't come out until this morning."

I took another look at the picture. I didn't know what to do. Should I scream or cry or both? I stayed frozen to the seat, unable to move or think logically.

"What would your precious Jude think if he knew you aborted his baby when you were 16?"

I gripped the sonogram. My deepest secret that only my sister knew in the entire world was ready to come out in the open. I was petrified. Jude would never forgive me. He would never even speak to me again. And what about my parents? What would they think?

I looked up a John, desperate. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to marry me."

Shocked, I stared up at him. He was pure evil. "Why would you want that when you know I love Jude?"

He paused for a moment before speaking, as if he was trying to find a right way to phrase his next sentence. "My brother is running to be an MP, I am making steps into becoming a very successful businessman and let's just say our family isn't seen as very approachable and quite elitist."

"So you want a girl from a council estate with an immigrant mother to improve your image," I said, putting the pieces together in my mind, realising that our whole relationship was a publicity stunt orchestrated by his family, I was just a commodity for commercial purposes. I felt so stupid.

"Your words," he said. "So, you have a decision to make. Tell Jude about your abortion that you've hidden for 4 years, or marry me."

I couldn't believe this was happening. This was the sort of thing you read about in books or mafia romance films, not what happened in real life. This secret had haunted me since the day I found out I was pregnant. The day after Jude had left.

I knew back then, that if I told Jude and told him, he'd give up everything to raise the baby. But I wasn't ready to be a mother at 16 and I wasn't about to let Jude give up his career. I knew my parents wouldn't understand, so I confided in my sister who helped me through it all. I didn't know what to do.

In either situation, I would lose Jude.

"But why would you want to marry me when you could find a girl who actually loved you?"

John shrugged. "Convenience."

"You want to trap me in a marriage for convenience?"

"Yes or no Evelyn, it's a simple question."

"A simple question? You're using a traumatic experience so you can be slightly more rich than you already are," my eyes met with his, they were cold and emotionless.

I thought about Jude, his eyes and his smile and how they would fade if the secret ever got back to him. I had no choice.

Reluctantly, I nodded at him. "As long as that secret never gets out."

He walked over to the mantelpiece and picked up the small velvet box I had first seen 2 nights ago. John took out the ring and placed it on my left hand. It was rectangular with edges that looked like they could cut steel, it was beautiful but tainted.

"No one has to know," John said. "You'll need to move into this house to make it seem believable and Vanity Fair will be here tomorrow morning for an interview about our relationship and the wedding."

"Tomorrow morning? John that's hours away."

"Just lie through the interview and you'll be fine, we can tell our families before it's published," he shrugged nonchalantly. "As long as you pull this off, you'll get everything you need and want."

Apart from Jude.