Chapter 37

Erica

SIX MONTHS AGO

"So, you're the guy our sister has decided to shack up with?"

"I guess you could say that?" Marcus chuckled, the inflection of his sentence turning it into a question. "She's sleeping on the couch."

"You're making my sister sleep on the couch?" Josh leaned forward in his seat, resting his arms on his thighs. "Dude."

"Nope," Marcus said confidently. "I've asked Erica if she would like to sleep in my bed, but she refused."

"So, you were hitting on her?" Lottie smirked, nudging Josh. "He moves quickly. I told you they were flirting."

"God, no." Marcus shook his head, looking at Erica's parents. "That's not what I meant."

"Don't worry about it, Marcus," her mother said. "I believe my children are ‘taking the piss.'"

Erica chuckled at Marcus' sigh of relief, glancing up at him. "Sorry, I should have warned you."

"Where's the fun in that?" He muttered.

A chuckle went around the group as he ran his hand through his hair. With the excitement of earlier forgotten, the family had retired to the lounge, catching up on Christmas Day TV.

Her father had barely said anything since Alex left, watching the interactions between Erica and Marcus. Everyone knew of him, of course. She'd told them all about the business and her inclusion in it. But seeing the man in the flesh was something different.

"So," Bob finally said. "If I understand everything, your wife was sleeping with Alex?"

"Yes Sir, I'm afraid so."

"And Erica, your marriage is over?" He said, looking over at her.

"Yes. I refuse to give a cheater a second chance," she said firmly. "Sorry, Dad. I know you're not a fan of divorce."

"I'm not a fan of assholes who break my daughter's heart either," he said, waving her off. "I'm just trying to understand."

"What's there to understand, Dad?" Josh said with a scoff. "Alex is a cheating scumbag, and Marcus got caught in the crossfire."

"Okay, fine," their father conceded. "All of that's pretty cut and dry. But what I don't understand is why Erica is going to stay with Marcus when any of us would have put her up."

Marcus hesitated, glancing up at Erica. "I think she's probably the only one that can answer that, Sir. But I assure you, she is perfectly safe with me."

All eyes turned to Erica as they waited for an answer. She felt heat rise in her cheeks at being put on the spot like this. But she could understand her family's concerns. Why had she chosen a man they didn't know over family?

"Well," she said, shifting slightly. "Let me start by saying I love you all dearly."

"Oh, she's about to insult us all."

"Be quiet, Josh," Lottie said, throwing daggers in his direction. Erica just laughed.

"Actually, he's kind of right," she said. "Look, I know you all mean well but I bet you all have a load of questions, right? Mum, I bet you want to know if there were any signs. Liv, I can practically hear you wondering what went wrong."

She paused and sighed. "They're all valid, well-meaning questions. I just don't want to hear them. The truth is, there were no signs. We were happy. We had a healthy sex life." She shrugged. "It was just something that happened because Alex is a cunt."

Her mother gasped at her language, bristling in her seat.

"Oh, stop clutching your pearls, Debra," her father said. "He is a cunt, stepping out on Erica like that. "

"I disagree," Marcus said. Everyone turned to look at him this time, but unlike Erica, he met their inquisitive gazes with confidence.

"Alex isn't a cunt," he said, clearing his throat and inclining his head to Debra. "Sorry for the language. But a cunt is a wonderful thing. They're strong and resilient. They bounce back from anything." A titter of amusement went around the room.

"If anything, Erica is a cunt," Marcus continued, glancing at her. "In the nicest way possible, of course."

At their side, Josh barked with laughter. "I've always said you were a—"

"Joshua!" Their mother warned.

"Anyway," Erica said, interrupting Josh before he could complain. "I know eventually I'll have to answer your questions, and I can't stay with Marcus forever. But right now, no one in the world understands how devastating this is, and how much I don't want to talk about it.

"The only good thing to come out of this shit show of an affair is my friendship with Marcus. It's important to me. He's important to me."

"The guy that calls you a cunt?" Her dad asked with a chuckle. "That's who you're picking?"

Erica looked up at Marcus, his eyes meeting hers. She smiled at him and felt the warmth of his returning smile. "Yeah, Dad. This is who I'm picking."

"Excellent," Josh said, clapping his hands together. "Cos I think he's one funny cunt. What do you say, Marcus? Shall we go to the pub?"

PRESENT DAY

"What the hell happened to you?" Erica jumped to her feet as Josh and Marcus entered the flat, Marcus sporting one hell of a black eye. "You said you were just going to talk! "

She grabbed a bag of frozen peas, wrapping them in a towel. Handing them to Marcus, she turned on Josh. "And how the hell did you get involved?"

"I called him," Marcus said. "The first night I met Josh, he told me he wanted a chance at Alex. I gave him that chance."

"Get those peas on your face," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. "What do you mean you gave him a chance?"

"I didn't hit him. Calm down," Josh said, helping himself to a beer. "You should have seen it, sis. Marcus got him good."

" You hit him?"

Marcus scoffed and shook his head. "Oh, ye of little faith. What kind of man do you think I am?"

"Well, you have hit him before. And you are the one wearing a bag of peas on your face," Erica said. "Forgive me for thinking fists were flying."

"It was nothing like that," Marcus assured her. "I just got Alex to show his true colours, is all."

Josh tossed his phone over to her, the video already loaded. "It was bloody brilliant if you ask me," he said, taking a swig of his beer.

Erica glanced down at the phone, pressing play on the still image of an empty pavement. Marcus soon came into view, walking a little too slowly to be going anywhere. She heard someone shout and then Alex was there, punching Marcus square across the jaw. She gasped out loud as both men fell to the floor, noting how deliberately Marcus kept his arms out of the way.

"Told you he got him good," Josh said with a grin. "You'll get your divorce soon, sis. I'm sure of it."

Erica placed the phone on the table, turning to look at Marcus. "You did that for me?"

"For both of us," he said. For a moment, she thought she saw something in his eyes until he glanced at Josh and cleared his throat. Sitting up straighter, he readjusted the peas. "You know, for our financial situation."

Erica didn't believe that for a moment, but she wasn't going to question him in front of Josh. Not when she wasn't even sure what she wanted. Instead, a thought occurred to her.

"What made him angry enough to hit you?" She asked.

Marcus smirked, shrugging casually. "Oh, I just let him in on a little secret." He dropped the peas, touching his face and wincing. "Did he ever mention a client of his getting cold feet?"

Erica nodded her head as she cast her mind back. "Yeah. The London group."

"Before I wrote to you, I emailed a bunch of screenshots of Alex and Sophie's conversations to the CEO of the London group."

"Brutal," Josh said, holding his bottle up to Marcus. "Fair play."

"Shit, the day I got your letter he had a meeting with them," Erica said as realisation dawned on her. "I thought it was weird that he seemed so nervous. Now it makes sense. Damage control. How did you know to contact them?"

"Those fucking messages," Marcus said. "Sophie kept complaining about how much you were around the office. On and on about how it was driving her crazy. Alex told her it was because the London group is such a clean-cut company, he needed to show them how stable his life was."

"So fucking his secretary was going to cause issues," Erica said, putting the pieces together. "Jesus, Marcus. You just went straight for the jugular, huh?"

He shrugged, indicating for Josh to get him a beer. "I was angry. What can I say? I'm not sure I'd do it again with hindsight. But it gave me some leverage today, so I'm thankful."

Erica fell quiet as Josh and Marcus replayed their encounter with Alex. She heard words here and there, but mostly she thought back to that day at Alex's office the day she got Marcus' letter.

Sophie had been so smug that day, as though she knew something Erica didn't. It all made sense now. She probably got a kick out of being part of the reason for that meeting.

Damn, how had she been so blind?

"Penny for your thoughts?" She looked up at Marcus, focusing on his face. He had a swollen eye, and an angry bruise covering one half of his face. He had a split lip, a bruise on his jaw, and blood matted in his hair.

Surprising herself, she felt tears prickle in her eyes. "Oh, Marcus. I'm so sorry he did this to you."

Immediately, Marcus was at her side, taking her hand in his. "Don't apologise," he said reassuringly. "Please. I set him up, and he did exactly what I expected him to do."

"But if it wasn't for me, it wouldn't have happened."

"That's true," he said. "But Erica, if you think there is anything I wouldn't do to secure your happiness, you haven't been paying attention." His eyes dropped to her lips, chuckling to himself. "This is gonna hurt like a son-of-a-bitch."

His head swooped towards hers, his lips brushing over hers in a tender kiss. She moved her fingers into his hair, careful to not put too much pressure on his injuries. The kiss itself wasn't important, anyway. It was the intimacy of the moment that made her heart flutter.

At least until Josh killed the moment. "Um. Guys? What did I miss?"

Well, shit. She had forgotten he was there.

This was going to take some explaining.