Chapter 2
Sophie perched on the bed in her new Highbury residence, almost hyperventilating with relief. The tension and the all-consuming, claustrophobic fear gradually faded. She’d done it. She had succeeded against all odds. Moved from Derek’s, found a home, and no one, no one, was any the wiser.
She waited until Carol had departed for her audition before contemplating her laden car. The entire Volkswagen Beetle was chock-full of boxes. Hoisting items out of the boot, she ferried crates, cartons and suitcases into her new dwelling, up the stairs and into her tiny room. Minuscule or not, this room was her castle. She deposited her things, cluttering the space further by building a labyrinth of boxes. The walls of the cramped area appeared to somehow inch closer.
She ripped open suitcases until she found her bed linen and fixed her bed: her first act of settling in. Feelings of loneliness encased her heart. The deafening silence of the empty house prompted her to dig out and switch on her portable digital radio. She set the station to something up beat. This wasn’t the time to listen to soppy love songs or lyrics of unrequited love. There certainly wouldn’t be any more self-pitying tears. For she had another mission tonight, the clock was ticking toward the gala event.
Sophie composed herself; at this point she should focus on what to wear to the gala.
As she stepped into the only cocktail dress she’d brought from Derek’s house, elation pulsated through her. Everything would work out. The flat. The room. Maybe Derek. Possibly even Matthew Silver.
She stretched a fake fur wrap around her shoulders to complete the outfit. She was prepared. Sophie plucked her handbag from her bedroom floor and dashed out of the apartment.
On the street corner nearby she hailed a taxi. Only then could she relax, for she was right on track to finally meet Matthew Silver.