22October2025
Ive never been one for diarywriting, but tonight the weight of everything feels too heavy to keep inside. It all began a year ago when Gareth, the man who once kicked us out onto the cold streets with our two little ones, suddenly turned up at my door, eyes wide and pleading for money.
Hello, dragonfly, his voice crackled through the handset, as nauseatingly familiar as ever. Didnt expect to hear from me?
I froze, a halfempty bottle of perfume still clasped in my hand. The air in the walkin wardrobe, scented with sandalwood and a faint trace of success, suddenly grew thick and sticky, pulling me back to that grim stairwell where I spent nights with the children.
What do you want, Gareth? I forced the words out, keeping my voice steady, refusing to look at the snickering of Poppy and the snide comment from my neighbour, Mrs. Clarke, drifting up from the hallway.
He smiled, that thin, rusty smile that had been absent for a whole year. A smile that once seemed to strip me of any right to my own life.
Straight to the point, then. No hows it going, no whats new. Were not strangers, Hollis. Remember, we have two children together.
I placed the perfume bottle on the marble vanity, my fingers trembling, but my voice remained calmsomething Id learned to do.
Money.
Simple, blunt, without apologies or preamble. He hadnt changed a bit.
You serious?
Do I look like a jokester? he snapped, anger flashing. Ive got real problems, Hollis. Serious ones. And you, I hear, are living the high lifepalace, husband, the works. The papers dont lie, do they?
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, seeing a woman in a silk dressing gown, hair slicked as if from an expensive salon. Not the exhausted, tearstreaked mother he had once thrown out with two bags of childrens things.
Is it a problem for your new sugarmum? To toss an exhusbands wife a little bit of life? he continued. Business isnt booming, you know? I threw my money into crypto and it vanished. I need cash to settle debts with some serious folk.
I imagined him slumped in his chair, that same arrogant grin, sure Id crumble again. The guilt hed gnawed at me for years would finally bite him back.
You left us out on the street in winter, Gareth. Do you remember what Poppy said when we were huddled on the station bench?
Enough with the melodrama, he replied. Im not asking for a mansion. £60,000. A pittance for you. Pay for my silence, if you want.
Silence? About what?
About the price you paid for this sweet life. Do you think your brotherinlaw will be thrilled if I spill a few juicy details about our past?
The wardrobe door swung open and David stepped in, composed in a crisp, perfectly tailored suit. He glanced at my face, furrowed his brow, and asked silently, All right?
I watched Davids caring gaze, heard Gareths hissing through the phone. Two worlds collided: the one Id built and the one he was trying to tear down.
So, Hollis? Gareth pressed. Will you help a poor relative? Because if hes crawling back on his knees a year from now begging for cash, things must be dreadfully bad for him.
I gave David a slow nod, signalling that I had things under control. For the first time in this conversation, a colder, sharper edge crept into my voice.
Where and when? I asked.
We met in a featureless café inside the city centre shopping mall. Blaring pop, the smell of popcorn, teenagers laughteran ideal spot for a scream that no one would hear.
Gareth was already at a table, trying to look expensive in a cheapshining suit, lazily stirring his drink.
Late, he said without looking up. Its rude to keep a father of two waiting.
I sat opposite him, laying my handbag on the table, refusing to let it out of my grip.
I wont give you £60,000, Gareth.
He finally met my eyes, jealousy flickering as he eyed my dress and the ring on my finger. Changed your mind? I could just call your David now. Getting his number isnt a problem.
I can offer you £300,000 and a job. David has plenty of connections.
He laughed loudly, throwing his head back. A few nearby diners turned to stare.
Work? You think I can go to interviews like a schoolboy? Remember who I am, Hollis. Im a businessman. I need startup capital, not handouts.
His tone hardened; he leaned forward, voice dropping.
You sit there, all prim. Do you think I dont know how you got that position? Told him I was a monster and you a helpless lamb? And the night you called him a week before meeting him, crying on the phone, begging him to come backdid you forget that?
Every word struck at my deepest fear: that David might see me as the broken, dependent woman I once was.
I slipped a cheque book onto the table, still hoping for a compromise, still trying to resolve things nicely.
Ill write you a cheque for £10,000, I said, voice low. Thats the most I can do. Take it and disappear from our lives, please.
He took the cheque with two fingers, examined it as if it were a precious gem, then tore it into four pieces with a satisfied grin.
You think thats a thanks for the years I wasted on you? For the kids? he hissed, scattering the torn bits across the glossy surface like dead butterflies.
£60,000, Hollis, or I wont go away. Ill become your cursecalls, messages, picking up the kids after school, telling them who their real dad is. You have one week.
He shoved a few crumpled notes onto the table for his drink and left without looking back.
I sat motionless, watching the torn cheque, the music blaring, people laughing around me, while something inside began to harden like stone. Fear turned into icy resolve. The attempt at a settlement had failedutterly humiliating and final.
The week stretched like a torture chamber. I barely slept, jolting at every ring. I searched for an exit, but dread clung like a sticky fog. My worry wasnt just for meit was for the life David had given my children and me.
On the seventh day, it all came crashing down.
When I collected the kids from their art class, Poppy was unusually quiet. At home, as I tucked my daughter into bed, she held a bright lollipop she hadnt bought herself.
Where did you get that, Poppy?
She stared, eyes wide, and whispered, Uncle gave it to me. Said hes my real dad and that hell soon take us away from bad dad David. Mum, arent we going to leave with Davids dad?
Something inside me clicked. Fear and panic evaporated, replaced by a cold, unyielding emptiness that quickly hardened into resolve.
Enough.
That evening, David walked in from work to find a different woman waiting. Dry eyes, a straight, hard stare.
We need to talk, I said, no preamble, pushing him into the leather chair in the study.
I laid it all outhow Gareth had thrown us out, how Id slept in the stairwell, the humiliation, the years of fearing the past would ruin the present, and how today hed tried to reach Poppy.
David listened in silence, his face turning stone with each sentence. When I finished, he asked, What do you want to do? his voice even, yet powerful in its calm.
I want him gone. Forever. But not the way he thinks. Im not paying him. I want him to realise he made the biggest mistake of his life.
He met my gaze, and for the first time I saw not only love and care but full approval of the darkness Id been forced to harbour.
Ten minutes later I dialled Gareths number. My hands no longer shook.
I agree, I said evenly. £60,000. Noon tomorrow. Ill send the address. Come yourself.
Gareths voice sneered through the receiver, Ah, cleverclogs. Been a while.
I hung up. The address I would give him wasnt a bank or a restaurantit was the headquarters of David Orwells enterprise.
Gareth strutted into the glass skyscraper, his shoulders puffed in his best suit, admiring the cold opulence of the lobby. He was walking on his own money, his twisted version of justice.
He was escorted to the fortieth floor, into a conference room with floortoceiling windows that made the city look like a toy set.
I was already there, seated at the head of a long table, composed and calm, dressed in a severe darkblue dress. David stood nearby, and a few steps back, a sternlooking security chief with an unreadable face.
Sit down, Gareth, I indicated to the chair opposite me.
His confidence wavered a fraction. Hed expected a terrified woman with a suitcase of cash.
Whats this circus? he asked, glancing at David. A family meeting? I thought wed settled this.
You made a deal with my family, David replied, his gaze unwavering. This is something else entirely.
I slid a thick dossier across the table.
£60,000, Gareth. You asked for it. But handing it over is far too dull. Weve decided to invest it in you, as an investment.
Gareth stared at the folder, bewildered.
Whats that supposed to mean?
Its your business, said the security chief, the head of Davids protection team. Or rather, whats left of it. Debts, a couple of criminal cases for fraud that were about to surface. Highrisk assets.
He flipped through the papersletters, bank statements, photos of meetings with unsavory characters. His complexion shifted.
Weve cleared your most urgent debts, I continued. Those who wouldnt wait for a court verdict. Consider it a gift. In return
David placed a few sheets and a pen on the table.
you sign this. Full renunciation of parental rights and a threeyear employment contract.
Gareth erupted in almost hysterical laughter.
Youre mad! Working for you?
Not for you, David corrected. For one of our subcontractors. In Yorkshire, on a construction site. Decent pay, straightforward conditions. Youll be back in three years, debtfree and with a clean record.
Go to hell! Gareth shrieked, leaping to his feet. Ill ruin you all! Ill tell everyone!
The security chief tapped the folder lightly. Youll tell, yes, but after you sign, your words will be worth less than this paper. Those documents will end up on a detectives desk today. The choice is yours.
Gareth scanned their facesKeen, composed Hollis; steely David; the imperturbable guard. No doubt, no chance. He was trapped.
He sank heavily into his chair, bravado collapsing like cheap gilt. A trembling hand lifted the pen.
When the final signature was laid down, I rose, walked around the table and stopped directly opposite him.
You once said if a man crawls back on his knees a year later begging for money, his affairs are terrible, I whispered.
Youre not on your knees, Gareth. Just the floor is too expensive here. Youve got your startup capital. Begin a new life.
I turned and left without looking back. David followed, placing a hand on my shoulder.
In the vast conference room, under the indifferent gaze of the guard, the defeated man remained seateda victor who had lost everything.
