Page 49 of Dreams Come True at the Fairytale Museum

If nothing else, I appreciate his candidness in this situation, even if it would have been even more welcome in other situations.

‘But we got closer after that. At any point, you could have removed the camera or, at the very least, told me it was up there. You could have told me you knew the truth about who was doing it. Because I knew you knew too, and I thought it was because you were emotionally invested enough to have worked it out for yourself, not because you were voyeuristically watching us every night!’

‘It was never like that. That makes it sound seedy and sleazy. I honestly didn’t think of it from a privacy point of view.

I just liked seeing the creativity when you lot put your minds together.

Every morning, I’d walk down Ever After Street and feel like a kid at Christmas, excited by the possibilities of what you’d come up with next.

If you knew I knew, you’d stop, and I could see how much good it was doing for the museum and I didn’t want you to stop. ’

‘Oh, right, because you’ve ever cared about the museum?’

‘You know that’s not true.’ A look passes over his face and he looks utterly crestfallen.

‘Do I?’ I snap, even though I do, really. There’s no way he’s been acting all this time. He genuinely loved it. I do know that, even though it’s a hard belief to cling onto in the midst of everything else.

‘I lost my heart to this place – and to you. I never intended to, of course I didn’t, but you, and your passion and your belief in what you do got under my skin, and I loved the way my life looked with you in it.

’ He shoves a hand through his hair again, and pushes out a low breath.

‘I’ve never felt as happy as when I was crouching behind a bin with you, watching a child get a teddy he’d wished for.

I didn’t mean to get involved with any of it, but I couldn’t help myself. I fell in love.’

He doesn’t specify what with, but the admission makes my breath catch in my throat, and the look of devastation on his face gives me an urge to vault over the counter, wrap him in my arms, and tell him I fell in love with him too – but it wasn’t him, was it?

It was who I thought he was, and what I thought he was doing here.

I have to remember that. ‘So what was your real job? Because, according to what your mother said, it was never to save the museum. Be honest with me for once. Everything we’re doing, everything we’ve done, all the viral talk online, the marketing videos you filmed… does it make any difference?’

He shakes his head.

‘Would it ever have?’

He’s biting his lip, and the head shake this time is so small that I could have imagined it, and I clamp the side of my tongue between my teeth to stop a sob escaping. ‘It was all for nothing? And you knew that from day one? So… what was the point? Why were you here at all?’

‘What I told you about that is true. This was my chance to prove to my mother that my ideas can work – that there’s merit in working with what’s already here and using our funds and expertise to improve and revitalise existing properties, rather than just bulldozing and building new.’

‘But…?’ I prompt because I can hear the bit he’s not adding.

‘But… the only trade-off was a three-month delay in starting work on the cinema complex.’

And there it is. The real thing he’s been hiding all along. He was never, ever here to save the museum, and I should have known that. I should have been more suspicious than I was, like the others were. ‘You knew the museum never stood a chance?’

‘I did at first, but that was before I came here. Before I met you, saw what you do, felt the magic you create and how much people love this place. Before I realised there was a place where children can make wishes and people come together to grant them for nothing but the sheer joy of it. As time went on, I genuinely thought we could turn things around. I thought my mother would see what we’ve been doing and reconsider her stance. ’

‘Right. And you thought nothing of giving me false hope? Outright lies? Bogus promises, pretend goals? Make triple rent and you can stay. And why would you bother investing the amount you have? Your time, your artistic talents, the actual real-life money you’ve invested in things like the gift shop?

Why would you do any of that if you knew we’d be gone within months anyway? ’

‘I thought we could change the trajectory we were on. I thought if Berrington Developments saw the potential in investing and revitalising, for very little output and a lot of extra incoming profit, and if I could show that happening in a real-world scenario and prove that it worked as a business model, then the museum really could be saved.’

I raise an unimpressed eyebrow. If he didn’t lie about absolutely everything, he certainly misrepresented it, and it hurts to hear him say it like that.

‘As usual, everything’s about cold-hearted, ruthless business, and humans and feelings don’t matter.

What was I to you? Just a toy to play with?

Something to use for your own benefit and then toss aside when you were done? ’

‘You were the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’

I choke on the lump in my throat at his honesty, because I believe he believes that, and it’s painful to hear.

‘And you’re exactly who I thought you were.

No, that’s not right. You’re exactly who I knew you were at first, and then let myself be convinced that you weren’t, but you were all along.

A soulless evil gerbil, and this time, there’s no mistake. ’

‘I’m not, Liss.’ There’s a wobble in his voice that suggests he’s struggling to hold onto his emotions too. ‘I’ve fallen for you so hard, and—’

And I really can’t deal with hearing things like that right now. ‘So, romantic catfishing too. Great. I’ll see if I can work that into my explanation and hope it gains us some public sympathy.’

‘It was never…’ His eyes flit between my face and the computer in front of me as I type that into my blank document. ‘Why are you staring at your laptop like it’s about to snap shut and take your fingers off?’

‘Trying to write something that justifies what we’ve been doing. A public apology for misleading everyone. An explanation. You turned us into the bad guys. You should see the comments on social media today. People are disgusted with us for trying to do the right thing.’

‘Really?’ He looks confused. ‘Is it really that deep?’

‘Yes, it’s that deep!’ I snarl at him. ‘People are angry. We’ve been painted as scammers and fraudsters because of you.’

‘You haven’t done anything wrong. No adult actually thought the exhibits were coming to life at night and toddling around Ever After Street by themselves.

Inanimate objects don’t do that and everyone knows it.

It’s like saying that every parent who lets their child believe in Santa Claus is a fraudster.

It’s nothing like that – it’s a harmless white lie that adults go along with to make children’s lives a little bit more magical. ’

I’m typing things into the computer as he speaks because I suddenly see the right angle to frame our apology. ‘And the information harvesting?’

‘Tell the truth. You grant wishes from the well – you can’t do that without the basic info. Berrington Developments are wrong on that front. They’re a seedy, underhanded company who can’t see the good in anything, and the only people they’ve made look bad with their video is themselves.’

I look up in surprise at the contempt in his voice, but he continues.

‘And make sure you blame us. The David versus Goliath approach. Heartfelt small business versus big-money bad guys. People will respond to that. They’ll understand.

Small businesses are being taken over and bought out every day.

People will get behind someone who tried to fight back.

Don’t apologise like you’ve done anything wrong – apologise like we have. ’

‘Thanks… I think.’ I hold his gaze across the lobby and fight the urge to reach out and take his hand. ‘What are you going to do now?’

‘I’m going back to my real life. Being here has been like living in a fairytale bubble, avoiding reality, but this isn’t my world. I don’t belong here, even though I wish I did. Since September, life has felt magical, but it’s time for me to accept that it isn’t.’

‘Then you deserve to be as miserable as you are.’ It’s too harsh and I see him flinch as I say it.

I hate what he’s done, but I hurt for him too.

I don’t think he’s ever been happy in his job and he certainly never will be now, and he’s got the look of a man heading for Death Row, never mind a Midlands office.

‘Yes, I do, but this isn’t over. I’m not going to give up.

I’m not good at relationships, but I’m good at corporate stuff.

I’m going to continue fighting this from the inside.

I know what you think of me, but you weren’t wrong to trust me, Liss, and I’m going to prove that, because even if you never speak to me again, I want to be the person I felt like when I was with you. ’

‘Funnily enough, Warren, I find it difficult to believe a word you say.’

‘I deserve that, but can I say one thing?’

I appreciate that he really does wait for me to give him a nod of permission before speaking.

‘These past three months have changed my life. I’ve never felt worthy of being loved.

I thought if anyone knew my secret, they’d despise me, distance themselves from me, treat me as less of a person, and you’ve made me feel accepted and wanted, and that’s a point worth proving, so don’t give up yet, because I’m not going to. ’

I somehow manage to hold it together until he gets outside the door before breaking down in tears.

The numbness and anger turns to misery and desolation and pure, unadulterated loneliness.

I didn’t know how I was going to let him go in good circumstances, and now he’s gone forever in these circumstances, and despite everything, he’s taken a piece of my heart with him, and I don’t know how I’ll ever get it back.