Page 76 of Never Tell Secrets

He glanced over, catching my gaze in the dark. “I want to try something with you.” I narrowed my eyes on him–I didn’t like how vague he was being. “Trust me?”

“No, but I’ll come with you anyway.”

We walked in silence through the car park, the sound of my heels echoing with each step. He led me into an elevator, pressedthe gold ‘P’ button and keyed in a code, giving me a sense of deja-vu.

“The presidential suite?”

“Yes, it was where my father always stayed when he was in town.”

My stomach turned over, my earlier excitement for the evening gone. I had a feeling this was going to be a rough night.

We sped up, up, up so high I thought we might reach outer space before finally, we began to slow. Alfie turned to me, his hand slipping into mine.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said about not knowing how to get past what I did. About it being insurmountable. I’ve come to the conclusion that an outside opinion might be helpful.” What did that mean? He squeezed my hand as we shuddered to a stop and the doors opened. “Don’t run, okay?”

He stepped into the suite, taking me with him. I gasped as I took in my surroundings. This place was another world.

The open plan living space was vast, stairways at either end leading off to who knew where. There was so much to see and explore but my gaze was drawn to the older woman sitting in a plush armchair by the fireplace, a neat two piece sofa opposite her. She looked up at my entrance. If she was surprised to see me, she didn’t show it. She stood, smiling, her waist length black hair shining in the fire light. Her dark skin showed none of her age, but her stylish grey roots put her somewhere in her fifties. She had a warm, steady expression and I liked her on sight. That didn’t stop me looking to Alfie for an explanation.

“Lola, this is Priya Sharma, my therapist.”His therapist?

“Uh…hi. It’s nice to meet you.” I offered her my hand which she took, her wrist adorned with a set of silver bracelets inlaid with brightly coloured stones.

“Lola, I’ve heard a lot about you. Please, sit down.” Her accent was a lilting mixture of English and Indian. She gesturedto the sofa and I sat, fighting the urge to run the hell out of there. She turned to Alfie, shaking his hand, exchanging pleasantries as they sat. My hands twisted in my lap as I wondered what was going on. “Well, thank you, Lola, for agreeing to this session. I hope it’ll be beneficial for you both.”

I stared at her in shock, shock that was quickly turning to anger.

“Okay…” I glanced at Alfie who was giving me a ‘behave yourself’ look. Yeah. No way. “So, I didn't know this was happening.”

Priya’s eyebrows raised very slightly. “You weren’t informed you would be taking part in a couples therapy session?” I shook my head, her sharp eyes flicked to Alfie. “This is not the best start.”

Alfie shrugged, an indifferent move way too reminiscent of old Alfie. “She’s here, isn’t she?”

Priya’s gaze was firm as she eyed the handsome billionaire beside me. “Lola, what was one of the biggest issues in your relationship with Alfie?”

I didn’t even have to think about it. “His penchant for manipulation.”

“Alfie, what do you think your behaviour tonight tells Lola?”

“That I haven’t changed much,” he looked at me, “but this will be good for us. I don’t understand why you would be angry about it.” He gave that shrug again but before I could have an apoplectic fit, Priya cut in.

“Lola, would you like to leave?”

“Yes, please.” I stood and Alfie stood too.

“No. You promised you’d stop running.”

“Andyoupromised you’d stopped manipulating me.” I snapped back, eyes blazing.

“I’m just trying to?—”

“Control me. Again,” I cut him off, glaring. I could feel Priya’s watchful gaze but I ignored it. As always, when my focus was on Alfie, everything else took a step back. I hated that he still had this power over me and I hated myself for allowing it.

“This is supposed to help us.”

“I know and if you’d asked me I would have agreed to come, even though I didn’t want to. But in all the times that you’ve run around making decisions that you think would be best for us, has it ever occurred to you that I should get a say in what's good for us too?” I tried to stay calm but the quiver in my voice betrayed me.

Alfie watched me, those eyes spearing me to my core. I could feel myself bending, history repeating itself. Here I was again, manipulated into a situation I didn't want to be in, fighting in public and any moment, if he put his hands on me, I’d be bent to his will again. A puppet stuck in deja-vu.