"Things started to go wrong when we moved from Sydney to here. It was a huge step up in my career and I was thrilled to be offered the job at the hospital. James was all for it at first. He said he was ready for a change and got a transfer with his company, so it was all perfect. Until he decided he didn't like his co-workers or his new company car wasn't as nice as the one he left behind in Sydney. He would blame me. and slowly that blame turned physical. I'm sure you get the picture. Domestic violence and I should have seen it coming, but I didn't."
The tears flowed down her face and thankfully Russ stayed where he was. "Each day, there was something else that made him angry. I knew the only way to stop him was to get away. So I packed my bags and told him I was leaving." She choked on a sob.
Russ jammed his hands in his pockets and kept a neutral look on his face.
"He hurt me so badly that time, I couldn't leave. I was in too much pain. He put me to bed and pretended I was alright. I wasn't. I had to stay in, hidden under the blankets for days before I could face the world. It took me another four months to pluck up the courage to try again. I think in a way he knew it was coming, but this time he changed tactics. He brought out a gun." She took couple of deep breaths before she could continue.
"He didn't threaten to kill me though. He turned the gun on himself, holding the muzzle at his temple. If I walked out the door, he said he would pull the trigger. I made it to the letterbox when he did it." The vision of blood and brain matter splattered over the walls of their flat came back with a rush. "It was Stevie who was first on the scene. He found me sitting stunned with the body, the gun in my hand. I'd taken it from James afterward. I wanted everything to go back to how it was, before the smell of gun powder and blood filled the room." She bit her lip and glanced at him before continuing. "Rumours flew around that I’d pulled the trigger and Stevie soon discounted that. James's family blamed me, of course, and the lies flew thick and fast. I got immune to them for a while and almost pushed it from my mind when you came on the scene."
Lizzie, exhausted now sank into a chair opposite Russ. "I tried once before to date again, but it was a mess. He was a nice guy and we got on well until some nice caring friend told him who I was and what had happened. That was the end of that. It was easier not to bother. I can only be ripped to shreds so many times and keep my head, Russ. I can't go through this again."
Russ stood up and walked slowly toward her. Without saying anything, he held out his hands and she grabbed hold of them. He pulled her to her feet and Lizzie fell against his chest, a sob wrenched from her throat. He held her while she cried out all of the pain and hurt from the last four years. The misery she’d gone through on a daily basis as a victim of domestic violence, and the aftermath of blame and incrimination.
He managed to steer her in the direction of the couch and they sat together, Lizzie leaning into him for support.
"I guess now I need to come clean too." He smiled and took her hand. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for what my ex-wife did the other day. It was unforgiveable but very much in her character, I'm afraid. You see, my family are rather well off and when she found out my father had died recently, I think she thought there was more money around than there is. Luckily it’s all tied up in a family trust and she can't touch it." Russ wiped his thumb under her eye, drying the last tear. "There is a baby, as she said, although I can honestly say it isn't mine. Paula was having an affair with her boss and thought she could pass it off as mine when the smell of more money reached her greedy nostrils. She has signed the papers, Lizzie. I'm truly a free man and one who wishes to take you dancing. Now everything between us is out in the open, how about that date Saturday night? You can even pick where we go."
Chapter 38
He decided to leave off his brace after his shower. Cade picked out his clothes for the night with care. Since Kate had invited him for dinner, he was intent on making the best impression he could. Nerves fluttered in his stomach, something he hadn't had since he was thirteen and keen on a girl. He had always been able to take what he wanted. Tonight he would be at her mercy.
Cade pulled a white short-sleeved shirt from a hanger, slipping it over his arms before turning to look at his reflection in the mirror.
I should have bought her some flowers. Hell’s teeth, idiot. Girls expected something when they offer to cook you a meal. Or chocolates, that always works. He pulled on a clean pair of jeans and slipped on his casual shoes before running down the stairs to the kitchen. "Essie, help. Do you have a box of chocolates in the pantry?"
She glanced at him, her eyebrow raised in question.
"For Kate. She's…um…cooking me dinner and I…uh…thought," he coughed, "I should take her something."
"Go and pick a bunch of flowers from the garden. Your mother’s roses
