Chapter 25

A feeling of dread filled Stella's chest the moment she opened her eyes. She'd barely slept a wink the previous night, her mind buzzing with the events of the evening. It felt like she'd only been asleep for a couple of hours and now her mobile phone was trilling away on her bedside table. She reached for it, surprised to see The Cellar's number on the screen.

‘Hello,' she said, her voice groggy with slumber.

‘Hi, Stella, it's Pim. Sorry, is this a bad time?'

‘No, not at all, it's fine. I didn't sleep too well last night, that's all.' She pushed herself up onto her elbows. The reason for his call could only be one thing: Johan de Groote. Her stomach clenched at the thought.

‘Listen, I just wanted to say I'm so sorry about… Well, how everything went last night. It must've been a massive shock for you. I just wanted to make sure you're okay.'

Her heart squeezed for him. If he really was who she thought he was, it can't have been easy for him either. ‘You have nothing to be sorry about, Pim, but it's kind of you to be concerned. I'm fine, but how are you in all of this?'

She heard him sigh down the phone line. ‘Well, a funny kind of mix of confused, angry – at Johan, not you – and even a bit glad about certain things. But, hey, I'm okay.'

‘Well, it's good to know you're all right,' she said kindly.

‘Thank you. So, the reason I'm calling is, I wondered if you'd like to pop in here sometime this morning. I mean, there's so much needs to be talked about between all of us. I've asked Johan to be here, and I wondered if your mum would like to join us too?'

Stella sat up straight, pushing her hair off her face with her free hand, her mind racing. ‘Oh, right. Wow. Well, yeah, you're right, it probably would be good for all of us to talk. Though I'm not sure about my mum. She left the auction in a bit of a hurry last night.'

‘Yeah, I noticed that. Must've been a huge shock for her too. Is she okay?'

A flutter of nerves made themselves known in her chest. ‘I'm not sure. I tried to ring last night, but couldn't get hold of her. I'll try again just as soon as we've finished this call. What time were you thinking of for us to head round?'

‘Is ten o'clock okay?'

Stella glanced at her alarm clock to see it was eight fifty-five. ‘Yeah, that should be fine.'

‘Great! See you then.'

With the call ended, Stella flopped back onto her pillows. She needed a moment to think how best to broach the subject with her mum. Would she have gone into work this morning? she wondered. She could hardly see her mother letting anything affect her business, but these were extenuating circumstances, and Stella had a feeling they would make her mum want to hide away; pretend last night hadn't happened. Rhys was her next thought, wondering what he'd made of it all.

Scooping up her phone, Stella called her mother's mobile, relieved when her mum picked up.

‘Stella, hello. Sorry but I'm just about to rush out, so I don't have long to chat.'

It was exactly the response Stella had expected. ‘Morning, Mum.' She sucked in a deep breath. ‘Um… I saw you leave the auction in a hurry last night and wanted to check you were okay. I rang a couple of times last night, but both your phones went to voicemail.'

A long pause followed. Stella could almost hear the cogs of her mum's mind whirring down the phone line. ‘Mum, are you still there? Can you hear me?'

‘Oh, yes, yes. I can hear you, lovey, I'm just rushing, that's all.' She paused again. ‘I, er… I suddenly came over feeling unwell last night and had to leave quickly. Very embarrassing.' Alice gave a nervous laugh. ‘I think it was some dodgy prawns I'd eaten earlier in the day.'

Stella closed her eyes and shook her head. It was time to bite the bullet. ‘Are you sure it wasn't because of that man who walked in, Mum?'

An awkward silence stretched out.

‘Mum?'

‘What man? I didn't see anyone walk in, I was too preoccupied with the most horrendous stomach ache to notice anyone else.'

‘Mum, please, it's time to be honest.' Her mother certainly wasn't making this easy. ‘It was seeing Johan de Groote that upset you, wasn't it?' she said softly.

She heard her mother gasp. ‘You know his name?' Alice's voice came out in a whisper, tugging at Stella's heartstrings.

‘Yes, Mum. I know his name.' She took a fortifying breath. ‘And I know who he is; I know he's my father.'

‘Oh, right. I see.' Her mother's breathing sounded heavy down the phone line. ‘Just give me a second, I need to sit down.'

‘Of course. Are you okay?'

‘Yes, I'm fine. Just shocked, that's all.' Stella thought she sounded as though she'd had the stuffing knocked out of her.

‘That's understandable after all this time. Is it the first you've seen of him since…?'

‘Mm-hm, yes. I recognised him straight away, he has a certain way of carrying himself.'

Doesn't he just? ‘I'd noticed.'

‘Did you speak to him?' her mum asked.

‘Briefly. He wasn't at all what I expected. Well, apart from I'd always thought he was a tosser for walking out on you, and the impression he created last night did nothing to change my mind on that score.'

That raised a laugh from Alice. ‘And, in light of what you've just said, I'm guessing it wasn't you who tracked him down, and you weren't the reason he turned up last night.'

‘No, not at all!' Stella hadn't thought that was how it might have looked to her mum. ‘I was a shocked as you when I realised who he was. If I'd had anything to do with it, I'd have spoken to you first before inviting him to turn up, and I certainly wouldn't choose anywhere as public as an event at The Cellar. I'd like to think you know that, Mum,' she added softly, the locket and the letter fleeting across her mind, a squeeze of guilt in her chest.

‘Of course I do, sweetheart. Sorry, I'm still making sense of it all.'

‘I get that. Anyway, Pim's been on the phone this morning – he's actually connected to all of this – and he wondered if we wanted to meet in the back room at The Cellar so we could all chat. Johan de Groote will be there.' She couldn't bring herself to refer to him as her father. ‘Pim suggested ten o'clock.' She couldn't decide whether she thought it would be a good idea for her mother to join them or not. The last thing she wanted was for the feelings that would inevitably be dredged up to cause any new heartache, especially when her mum seemed so happy with Rhys. But then again, she might appreciate the chance to give Johan de Groote a piece of her mind. If there was one thing Stella knew about her mum, it was that she liked to get things off her chest. Have her say and move on. Just like Stella herself.

‘Pim's involved?' Alice sounded shocked.

‘It's a long story, I'll explain all at The Cellar, if you can make it, that is.' Her mum evidently hadn't put the Dutch connection together, but then again, Stella wasn't sure if her mother would know where Pim was from if she hadn't frequented The Cellar that much.

‘I'm really sorry, lovey, I can't, I've got an important appointment at that time and it's too late to change it; it would be rude if I did.'

‘That's a shame. I thought you'd be glad of the chance to get closure after all these years.'

Alice gave a scornful laugh. ‘Closure? That man isn't worth me wasting another second of my time on. I shut him out of my thoughts years ago; it's only you who keeps reminding me about him with your incessant questions.'

Stella winced at the bitterness in her mum's voice.

‘Mum, I?—'

‘Trust me, Stella, I've had all the closure I need with that man. If you want to form some kind of father-daughter relationship with him then that's up to you. But I warn you, don't believe the promises he'll no doubt make you; he'll let you down. Of that I'm certain.'

‘I understand that. I'm not fooling myself about him.' It was true, especially after what she'd seen of him.

‘Well, just in case, I'll be here for you when he does.' Alice huffed out a sigh. ‘Right, sorry, sweetheart, but I'd really better be going. Let me know how you get on, won't you?'

‘Yes, of course.' Stella didn't know whether to feel annoyed by their exchange or sad for her mum. Johan de Groote had clearly unsettled her.