Page 39 of Sorry, Not Sorry

Delilah turned off the television and tossed the remote onto the side table before flopping back against the sofa. Her thoughts were jumping around too erratically to concentrate on the reality show featuring semi-naked contestants on an island trying to find love.

It was two days since Noah’s brutal rejection in the park, and she had closeted herself in her flat, swinging between bouts of deep sadness and abject humiliation.

She couldn’t stop thinking about Noah and their kiss, and Zazie’s constant texts with suggestions for worming her way into Mrs West’s good graces brought further shame.

Despite feeling guilty for kissing Zazie’s boyfriend, Delilah was too outraged by the girl’s brazen plan to trick Noah into proposing to speak to her, and she’d settled for responding to each text with a single thumbs-up emoji.

When Delilah had finally broken her self-imposed silence and had rung Salome, the call hadn’t gone as she’d hoped.

While her sister had listened patiently to Delilah’s tearful recounting of the awful encounter with Mrs West and going to the park with Noah, when she reached the part about the kiss, her sister’s shriek had been deafening.

‘You did what ?’

‘ I didn’t do anything. Noah kissed me !’

‘And you pushed him away, right?’

Delilah hesitated a fraction too long.

‘Don’t bother lying, I get the picture,’ Salome said grimly.

‘Delilah Braithwaite, what exactly are you playing at? You know the man’s got a girlfriend!

I warned you not to get mixed up in his relationship issues, didn’t I?

You had one job – apologise for what happened between the two of you and move on! ’

This was no time for I-told-you-so’s, Delilah thought despondently. Anyone with half a brain could have predicted that nothing good could come of helping an ex-boyfriend rescue his current relationship.

‘Sal, no one planned for this to happen,’ she said with a defeated sigh. ‘I was upset, and Noah was trying to comfort me and… well, we – we just got carried away. But then he told me in no uncertain terms that it’s Zazie he loves, so that’s that!’

Salome was silent for a while, and then exhaled deeply, the sound coming clearly down the line. ‘I’m sorry, hon. I know this can’t be easy for you. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. You’ve said yourself that Zazie’s lovely and?—’

‘—and a lying bitch.’

‘Wait… what?’

Immediately wishing she had kept her mouth shut, Delilah said hastily, ‘Forget it. I’m just fed up with the whole thing, that’s all.’

‘Delilah! Why . Is. Zazie. A. Lying. Bitch?’

Salome was like a relentless terrier with a bone when she chose, and knowing from bitter experience that it was easier to give in rather than prolong the pain, Delilah reluctantly divulged Zazie’s confession at the fashion shoot.

‘What the hell ?’ Salome exploded. ‘That girl isn’t a lying bitch, she’s pure evil! Who does that to someone they love? Del, this is awful! Noah absolutely adores kids – Maya’s all over him whenever we bump into him, and you know she hates most people.’

‘I know, I know !’ Delilah muttered under her breath. She didn’t need reminding her ex-boyfriend was a natural with children – especially when there was nothing she could do with the bombshell Zazie had dropped.

‘You are going to tell him, aren’t you?’ Salome demanded. ‘Noah can’t get into something as serious as marriage with a woman who’s lying to his face!’

‘Zazie says they haven’t really talked about having children, so I suppose technically she’s not lying…

’ Delilah tailed off with a groan. ‘Sal, it’s none of my business.

If I tell Noah, especially after what happened in the park, he’s just going to think I’m the bitch who’s trying to blow up his relationship. ’

‘Maybe so, but how can you live with yourself if you don’t tell him, huh? No, Delilah! Noah’s a good guy and he doesn’t deserve this. You have to tell him!’

The testy exchange had left Delilah feeling more confused than ever, and she dragged herself off the couch, slipped on her trainers and reached for her hoodie.

Too much thinking was giving her a headache, and two days moping in her flat and obsessing about her lost love was long enough.

She needed to get out and clear her head.

She was almost at the door when her mobile buzzed.

Praying it wasn’t Zazie calling, Delilah glanced at her phone and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Noah’s name flashing.

She stared at the screen for a moment, wanting desperately to answer it and yet terrified of what he might say. She took a breath and then answered.

‘Noah?’ She felt her heart thudding painfully in her chest.

His voice sounded as crisp as if he was standing next to her. ‘Can I come over?’