Fifty One Days

Chapter One 'Them'

Prologue

I want to tell you how I met my husband.

As I sit here pregnant with our child. Who's kicking straight into my bladder as I speak, it suddenly occurs me, that I hardly ever tell anyone the story of how I met my husband. The love of my life.

Not because I don't love him or I'm embarrassed, it's just the course of true love didn't quite run as smoothly as I would like to admit.

Let me tell you a little about myself first.

My name is Alice Oliver. Ali for short.

I'm 36 years old, I'm 5ft and I have long brown hair, which is currently tied in a bun on the top of my head, because....well.... I'm pregnant and sweating. I have blue eyes, very fair skinned and covered in tattoos.

Can you picture me? I'm not insanely good -looking but I'm not unfortunate either.

I own an estate agents and my own publishing house. My publishing house, publishes books written by people who would never be looked at by other publishers. People who have been kicked out of school or college because all they want to do is write.

I hire people who can't get a job elsewhere because their mental health won't allow them, but their story can captivate a whole world.

I'm pretty fortunate in my financial status and I'm very proud of that. I now own 239 properties ranging from massive 6 bedroom town houses in London to small little studio flats in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Speaking of Pembrokeshire, that's where I'm from. Unless you're from here, no one really knows where that is but I absolutely love it. It's green everywhere. The beaches are stunning and you'll never get bored...well maybe a little.

I'm comfy, I have a glass of milk by my side. The air is warm, a little too warm maybe, which doesn't happen to often in Pembrokeshire, so I will begin.

Let me take you back 10 years ago. I was 26 years old. I still have blue eyes...unfortunately I can't really change that...although I have tried the contacts. Red hair and although I wore heels a lot, still 5ft.

I had owned my publishing company for 5 years at this point. I moved to London at the age of 18 and started work as an intern at a Publishing House, fetching coffee for my boss. I also completed a business degree while there. My boss was a misogynistic, bullying asshole, but he taught me everything I needed to know and more. He taught me how not to treat staff.

The Estate Agents was just a way of still making money, I started when I bought my first third floor flat, with money I made from my own first book sale, Forget the Lyrics. The market soared and I sold it for twice the price, bought a town house, rented the rooms out while i lived in my office at the publishing house, and so on and so forth.

The money I made publishing bestsellers and the rent I earned, enabled me to buy a further 6 properties over the next year. I was quite good at sales so why not!

So here I am. 26 years old. My own boss. I have 22 people working for me and I love each and every one of them.

I lived in a pretty big town house, in Pembrokeshire, with 6 bedrooms and I rented out each one of the other 5 bedrooms. I know what you're thinking. If you were so successful and had so much money, why did you live with 5 other people?

The answer is simple. I was lonely. No parents left and as an only child, I had no one. I quite enjoyed living with strangers who soon became friends.

There's something special about developing a friendship from practically nothing.

People came and went, but some stuck in my mind, and stayed in touch. Especially one!