The Unexpected

Chapter 5 - White Lie

A/N: Thank you all for your continued support with this story. Any suggestions are welcome! If you want to see my nursery nurse edits: @ventu.nursery on tik tok. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Charlotte zoned out for what was only a couple of minutes or so but felt like an eternity to her as she racked her brain on how best to deal with the awkwardness that was going to form as soon as she uttered the red heads name.

"Well?!" Marjorie questioned excitedly. "Spill the beans, what's her name?" A cheeky smile played on her lips as she clasped her hands together in anticipation. Reece on the other hand seemed to not be as excited however had this look of curiosity on his face. Who had managed to turn Charlotte gay?

Charlotte picked at her fingers knowing that she wasn't going to get out of this one. She held her breath before letting out an uneasy exhale. "Her name is Mia..." her voice laced with uncertainty as her eyes flashed towards Marjorie's who had now was sporting an even larger grin before settling on Reece's who looked like Autumn – his sister and deputy manager to Marjorie had just punched him in the stomach.

"Aww what a lovely name, from what you have told me she seems lovely!" Marjorie said ecstatically, seeming to bounce up and down on her feet like a child eager to get onto a rollercoaster.

Reece on the other hand didn't look best pleased as his face turned to one of utter contempt. "MIA!" he exclaimed furrowing his eyebrows at Charlotte before realising that Marjorie was still stood beside him, before clearing his throat and looking away from the pair.

Marjorie's smile quickly fell from her lips and a stern look replaced it as her once clasped hands now firmly planted themselves on the sides of her hips as redirected her attention from Charlotte to Reece. "You know her?!" her voice cutting through Reece like a stab to the heart.

Reece fluttered his eyes between Marjorie and Charlotte. He and Charlotte shared a knowing look before he quickly brushed his sweaty palms on his denim jeans. Reece cleared his throat. "Oh yeah, I knew her in school, she was friends with me and Aut... we lost touch though." His voice strained as he tried to make it seem convincing as he gave Charlotte a look of not to open her mouth as she went to go a interject the conversation.

"Oh." Marjorie stated as the boiling emotions had started to dissipate in her stomach as the pang of jealousy left her as quickly as it had formed. "Well, I suppose that will make it easier when you finally introduce her to us!" her voice once again laced with excitement. She then clapped her hands together. "Right, I think we have given Charlotte enough interrogation for now, I'm going to go powder my nose and then we can go home and relax!" Marjorie said with a suggestive undertone before placing a hand on Reece's chest and a kiss on his cheek, before striding purposively and effortlessly towards the nearest toilet.

Charlotte and Reece both scanned her as she went out, half-expecting her to turn on her heels and see through the deception that was just played against her.

"What the hell was that?!" Charlotte directed to Reece in annoyance. "Why would you say that when you know Mia was more than just a friend to you!?" her voice rose fuelled by the anger building in the pit of stomach.

Reece let out a sigh, his demeanour shifting to one of seriousness. "I suppose Mia has already told you we dated. I haven't seen her in years that's true, but come on Charlotte you know what Marjorie is like, she'll flip if she knows..." His voice becoming more protective as Marjorie's name crossed his lips.

Charlotte shook her head before letting the air she was holding release out of her nose. "This isn't right Reece; we can't keep this is a secret forever... if things do go further with Mia, then she's going to find out eventually." Charlotte whispered realising that Marjorie could have heard her yelling at Reece at any point.

"Look, I know I should've told her the truth," he began, his voice low and serious. "But Marjorie... she can be a handful. And I just didn't know how to tell her about Mia without causing a scene."

Charlotte leaned back, crossing her arms. "That's not fair to any of us," she said, her voice firm. "You can't keep living in the past, Reece. You can't use this as an excuse to hide your feelings."

"Come on Char, that's not fair, it's a little white lie; it's better this way, Mia is in the past and yes it happened but now I am with someone who was meant for me, and I don't want to lose that over some other women who is apparently gay now..." Reece scoffed at the thought of all the wasted years spent with Mia.

Charlotte put her hands up in defeat. "I give up, but don't come crying to me when Marjorie finds out. Either she's going to find out on her own or from you..." she paused calculating her next words. "Or from me because I can't keep this a secret, yes Marjorie will cause a scene, but she'll cause even more when she knows that she has been kept in the dark about things." Charlotte sighed. "Look I'm going to go home; I've got to go pick the children up from their dad." She tentatively walked over to Reece before looking intensely in his eyes. "Do the right thing." Charlotte then quickly turned on her heels before making her way briskly out the nursery leaving Reece in the dust of his choices.

As quickly as Charlotte went, Marjorie came back in the office eagerly looping her arm in Reece's. "Come on you, time to forget about the world." She said eagerly pulling him to his car.

If only life could be that easy, to just forget the world. However, Reece knew that eventually he would have to do the right thing. The more he was going to put it off, the more this white lie was going spiral into a white snowball that would be rolling down a never-ending hill.