Page 11 of You Lied First

‘S hall we head down to the pool?’ I ask Liv when we get back, but she shakes her head.

‘Me and Flynn are going to the beach. He reckons we might be able to hire a jet ski or a kayak or something.’

‘Something more exciting than hanging out with your old mum,’ I say, trying to hide my disappointment with a laugh, but I’m unnerved to feel the sudden burn of tears.

‘Aww, Mum,’ Liv says, pulling me into a hug. ‘Don’t be like that. I’m so glad you’re here. Are you enjoying it so far?’

I hold her longer than she probably wants.

‘Of course I am!’ I say when she pulls away. ‘It’s so nice to be with you. That food today was amazing, wasn’t it? And Celine seems fun.’

‘Yeah, why don’t you hang out with her this afternoon?’

‘Maybe I will. Anyway, have fun at the beach. Check the water for riptides. You got that video I sent you on Instagram, didn’t you? You know what to look for?’

‘Mm-hmm,’ she says in a way that implies she didn’t even open it. ‘Right, see ya.’

I flop onto my bed for a moment before heading out to the pool.

The food’s made me drowsy and I could do with some alone time to process everything that happened this morning, not least the mini accident we had down by the souk.

I shudder as I imagine what I’d have done if that had happened to me out driving on my own.

It makes me double down on my decision not to get behind the wheel of a car over here. Follow your gut and all that.

As my muscles relax, my mind starts to drift.

The Forrests really are a strange pair. On the surface they look so together, so glossy, but the moment you look closer, you can see tension roiling between them.

I feel there might be more to Margot than the demure side she shows.

And if there’s one thing I know about relationships, when one person is always backing down it’ll all blow up at some point. Hopefully not while we’re here.

‘Right, come on, Sara,’ I say as I haul myself back up.

I can lie on a bed anywhere but it’s not every day I get to lie in the sunshine by a sparkling turquoise pool.

I put on the bikini that I bought specially for the trip but, as I stand in front of the mirror and think about Guy and Margot seeing me in all my flabby forty-eight-year-old glory, I see that I’d been way too optimistic in the Marks & Spencer changing rooms.

I turn this way and that, sucking in my belly and pulling at the flab at the top of my thighs, but the fact is I’ve put on half a stone since I last wore a bikini – and it’s too late to do anything about it now.

I know I shouldn’t compare myself to Margot, or the spritely child that is Celine for that matter but, in reality, if Margot lies next to me by the pool and I’m in this bikini, I’ll shrivel up with mortification.

Margot’s about five foot ten to my five foot five, plus she’s lean.

In that liminal space when I’d first met Guy but was yet to meet Margot, I’d stalked her social media and my heart had sunk at the sight of her lanky frame at various upmarket social occasions looking angular in maxi dresses or cigarette trousers, accessorised with hats and spiky heels.

Hers is a body borne partly through good genes, but I suspect also through ironclad discipline.

Mine, not so much. The lunch we’ve just had being a prime example.

I can’t believe she didn’t eat a thing. Maybe she controls her own world so meticulously as a way of pushing back against Guy.

The way he’d mentioned being responsible for the ‘disciplining’ of his employee had felt weird, like it was more than a joke.

It’s an odd partnership, that’s for sure.

I pull off the bikini and put on my tummy control swimsuit, tie a wrap around my lower half and go down to the pool.

Margot and Guy are nowhere to be seen so I stretch out on a lounger and close my eyes.

It’s December. The weather back home is vile but I’m lying in the sun by a pool, my daughter is on holiday with me and, for now, in this moment, life is good.

I don’t know how much later it is when I come to and hear the sound of Celine’s voice.

‘Hello-o!’ she calls. ‘You look relaxed! Fancy some company?’ Without waiting for me to respond, she plonks herself on the lounger next to mine. ‘My villa’s so empty.’

‘Well, I’m here!’ I say, genuinely happy to see her.

Celine complements our group in a way that works for me.

When she’s around, I’m no longer the odd number, the mother of the bride, the gooseberry to the two couples.

Celine is someone for me to talk to. And she’s so easy to be with.

‘Thanks for the tour this morning,’ I say. ‘Your commentary was great.’

‘You’re welcome,’ she says. ‘I love showing people around.

‘And I’m so impressed with how you handled the accident.’

She shrugs. ‘You learn these things when you live here.’

‘Do you think you’ll ever move back?’

‘You can never say never, can you? But I don’t want to,’ she says, stretching out her tanned limbs on her lounger. ‘I live for the sunshine. The salary’s tax-free, and I earn more here than I would back home.’

‘When you put it like that …’ I say, laughing. ‘And you can afford to live somewhere really lovely like this.’

‘Oh, I share with three other teachers. But I’d rather do that and have all this than be in a studio or one-bed on my own.’

‘Fair enough,’ I say, trying not to compare the grounds to my own muddy patch of grass back home. ‘I’d love to wake up to sunshine every day.’

‘I know, right? I find people are just more cheerful here and I’m sure it’s because of the sun.’ She pauses. ‘So how do you know the Forrests?’

‘Just through Liv.’

Celine swats a fly off her arm. ‘Is that all? I got the feeling it was more than that. With Guy anyway.’

I give a little shrug. ‘No. I barely know him.’

‘You sure?’ Celine says. ‘Because Margot’s got her eye on you.’

‘Got her eye on me? In what way?’

‘You haven’t noticed the way Guy looks at you? His whole face lights up.’

I scoff. ‘Stop it! That’s not true.’

Celine pulls a face at me. ‘Isn’t it? “Come on, Sara! Try the lamb!’’’ She mimes Guy holding out his fork earlier. ‘Well, in my opinion, you’re on Margot’s radar.’

‘Oh. That’s not good.’ I shift awkwardly on the lounger. ‘They’ve been so kind inviting me here. I’d hate for her to feel uncomfortable. About nothing!’

‘Oh, trust me, Margot Forrest is always uncomfortable about something. That woman is never happy.’

‘Really? She’s so successful and she has a lovely family. Though I do feel like I barely know her …’ I hope Celine will take the bait and tell me more.

She snorts a laugh. ‘It’s not you, it’s her – trust me. I don’t think anyone knows her properly, not even Guy. It’s just how she is. So buttoned up.’

‘How long have you known them?’

‘Since I moved into this compound, so I knew them for about two years before they left, which was just before Covid.’

‘Do you know why they left? They seem to miss it so much. Margot especially.’

I don’t want to gossip but it’s tempting to pick the brains of someone who knows the Forrests better than I do.

‘The official answer is it was because of Margot’s dad,’ Celine says. ‘He’s getting on and was no longer able to live independently. He was going to move in with them. That’s what they told everyone anyway.’

‘Fair enough.’

‘But when they got back, they put him in a block of really fancy assisted living apartments, which – because I googled – I know is only available to rent and costs an absolute fortune. It even has a swimming pool. Anyway, as far as I know, Guy’s paying for it out of an inheritance he received when his parents passed away. ’

‘Ah. That’s nice of him.’ But even as I say it, I’m wondering if it’s as generous as it sounds.

Guy spending his inheritance on her dad’s home would definitely skew the balance of power in their relationship, if it wasn’t already skewed to begin with.

I like Guy, but it doesn’t take a lot for me to imagine him holding that over her if he wanted to.

‘Isn’t it just? Well, that’s the party line on why they left,’ Celine says with a naughty smile.

‘But, if you think about it, her dad is in a lovely place, so that really isn’t a reason to leave here, is it?

It’s not like he moved in with them.’ She pauses and licks her lips.

‘So that brings me on to the unofficial reason.’

‘And?’

Celine examines her nails. ‘Let’s just say Guy did something. Got in some trouble here, lost his job and had his visa cancelled, so they had no choice.’

‘Oh … do you know what it was?’

Celine pulls an imaginary zip across her mouth.

‘I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you.

’ She laughs. ‘No, look. It was an internal matter at his work. Harassment of a junior employee is what I heard. Female, of course.’ She rolls her eyes.

‘The police got involved but Guy was never charged with anything. It was probably just wishful thinking on her part!’

I laugh uneasily. For it to be bad enough to have the police called …

‘Anyway, keep it zipped because it’s not something that they let be widely known.’

I immediately want to know how she knows. I don’t see Margot telling her, so it must be hearsay – unless Guy told her himself.

‘No, of course,’ I say. ‘I understand. But I wonder why her dad couldn’t just live with them? In Cheltenham, I mean. I’ve seen their house. It’s huge.’

‘Guy can’t stand the dad. He’d rather fritter away his inheritance so he’s the only alpha male in the house. Other peoples’ lives, eh?’ Celine laughs.

‘But things are okay between Guy and Margot, aren’t they?’

‘You saw them today at lunchtime. I mean, what do you think?’ Celine shakes her head and smiles. ‘Refusing to eat was typical Margot. And Guy, well, is Guy, as you’ve probably noticed …’

She doesn’t get to say anymore because Liv and Flynn appear around the pool. Flynn takes a running dive straight into the deep end and Liv holds her nose and leaps in after him before Sara’s able to warn her that the pool’s only five feet deep.