The Apartment - K. L. Slater Page 0,38

had kept on her towering heels, obviously feeling no pressure to comply with her own ‘shoes off at the door’ rule that I recall she was keen on enforcing in her own house. In the days we were still on speaking terms.

I glanced down at my own sock feet, one chipped toenail poking through a hole I hadn’t even realised was there. Until now. I tucked the offending foot behind my other leg.

There were brief sounds of Skye moving about upstairs above our heads before Lewis cleared his throat.

‘We wanted to talk about . . . I mean, we have something to tell you. About Skye. I’m hoping you won’t—’

‘For goodness’ sake, Lewis, just tell her!’ Janine snapped.

‘I’m getting around to it,’ Lewis said carefully.

His eyes darkened, but the flash of resentment had already gone by the time Janine turned to him. Her eyes searched his as she waited for him to speak.

I could tell by the expression on her face that she had no clue as to how to read him.

The set of his jaw, the faint squint of his eyes. It all meant nothing to her yet. Things were too new, too nice. Things were still too fake between them.

I knew him, though, and I could see he was nervous. He was feeling resolved about something.

Lewis cleared his throat.

‘I’ve given it a lot of thought and I want to formalise the custody arrangements for Skye. In fact . . . I’ll be applying for sole custody.’

In that moment, I can honestly say I hated him. All at once, his voice sounded distant from where I was sitting.

‘I’m quite happy for you to be part of her life, of course, but Skye’s wellbeing is paramount, and I know she’ll get the necessary stability she needs living with us.’

Blood rushed to my head, and my legs felt tingly and numb in equal measure. I made a gargantuan effort not to let it show, but I don’t think I succeeded.

‘I’ll fight tooth and nail if that’s how you want to play it. You . . . and her’ – I didn’t look at Janine – ‘are the ones messing up Skye’s life. I’m sure any court would see quite clearly where her stability lies.’

The look Lewis gave me sent a chill down my spine.

‘The last thing I want to do is fight dirty, Freya,’ he said softly. ‘But rest assured, if needs be, I will do so. If I need to, I’ll use anything and everything.’

Panic flashed into my throat like a scorch of heat.

Lewis had lied constantly, thought up elaborate excuses on the spot to conceal his affair with Janine. What might he be prepared to use to take Skye away from me?

Janine coughed before adding a snide contribution. ‘Skye needs a stable home, and if we decide to do so, we have the money to engage the best lawyers in the business to fight for her, if necessary. You can’t compete with that, Freya.’

A look of triumph passed between them. I felt heat rising from my throat into my face and a sickening wave of fluttering started up in the pit of my stomach.

Skye barrelled into the room like a whirlwind of frothy net.

‘Mummy, WE’RE GOING TO DISNEYLAND PARIS!’ Skye screeched, bouncing into the room in her yellow Belle dress complete with paste-jewelled tiara. ‘Have you told her yet, Daddy?’

I couldn’t respond, couldn’t speak. It was clear they were buying my daughter’s cooperation. I couldn’t compete with that, either.

‘Skye, darling, pop back upstairs and play with your toys for five minutes while the grown-ups talk,’ Janine said.

She placed her hand lightly on Lewis’s thigh and his face flushed pink.

‘I’ll thank you not to tell my daughter what to do in this house,’ I said, feeling my heartbeat begin to race. A confrontation was far from ideal in front of Skye, but I knew I couldn’t afford to give Janine an inch. ‘Lewis and I will deal with this issue. It’s actually got bugger all to do with you.’

Skye gave a little gasp behind me.

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake.’ Janine rolled her eyes. ‘Mistakenly, I thought Skye was the only child amongst us.’

‘Let’s all just calm down a bit, shall we?’ Lewis raised his hands.

‘You can’t buy her affection with a holiday. She can’t go in term-time, anyway, the school won’t allow it.’

‘I don’t care about school. I want to go to Disneyland and THAT’S IT!’

Skye stomped out of the room and headed for the stairs, a furious blur of blonde