"Aren't you going to say hello?" Rosalind asked Judy, a false smile plastered across her face. Now Darlene had left the wake she felt emboldened enough to approach her friends. Or should that be former friends?

Judy looked up slowly, making her disdain obvious. "Hello. Is that good enough for you?"

"Jeez give me a break. What happened with John and I has nothing to do with you." 

Judy snorted. "True but that doesn't mean I have to condone what you did."

"And it doesn't mean you have to take sides either." Ros tried to make her voice conciliatory but she could tell Judy was unmoved. "Please, we've been friends for years."

"And I've been friends with Darlene for just as long." Judy stood up straighter, crossing her arms over her chest. "Much as I'd like to brush this under the carpet I won't. I have to take a side and that side can't be yours."

Rosalind inhaled sharply. "Wow, I never thought my friends would be so judgemental."

"And I never thought you'd mess around with a married man, much less one who's married to your best friend. Seems like we were both wrong."

Rosalind turned scarlet. "I guess I won't be going to your wedding."

"News flash, you're no longer invited!"

Rosalind glared at Judy and she returned her stare with equal venom. Around her, she could sense people were watching their encounter, forcing her to bite her tongue. "I'll leave you to your memories," she said with as much dignity as she could muster. "I have a husband to get back to." She flicked her hair over her shoulder, giving Judy a pointed look, before walking over to Dale.

"How's Judy?" he asked as soon as she sat down, his face concerned.

"Fine." His concern annoyed her. "She's here to keep up appearances, she doesn't give a shit about Brad."

Dale held his hands up. "Woah, that's harsh."

She shrugged. "You give these people too much credit." She looked around the room, her eyes landing on Charlotte. "I mean look at Lottie, she's devastated over her marriage break up yet there she is fawning all over her ex-boyfriend."

Dale's eyes shot up, as she knew they would. He studied Charlotte and Louis, his mouth forming into a grim line. "I hope they're just two old friends getting reacquainted. The last thing she needs is Nick casting aspersions on her character, which he will do given half the chance."

Rosalind bit her lip thinking she'd spoken out of turn. "I wouldn't have thought any aspersions cast by Nick would in any way diminish what he's done? He abused her, their baby died because of him, that can't be talked away with fancy words."

"Hush," Dale said raising his hand as if in readiness to cover her mouth. "We don't know that for a fact, we can't say it."

"But it's the truth! Don't tell me you're fighting her case if you're gonna ignore her trump card."

"I'm not," Dale hissed looking furtively around. "Jesus Ros, you know I can't go into the details with you. Charlotte lost her baby following an altercation with Nick, he might be responsible, he might not be." He paused his eyes resting on Charlotte again. "Our personal opinions don't come into it, she's not entirely clear herself about what happened."

"But that's cos she's traumatised and she's used to covering up for him." Rosalind tried to temper her exasperation. "For years she hid the truth and when she finally admits what was going on, no one believes her."

"I believe her," Dale said solemnly. "But you said it yourself, she covered it up so when she tells the truth there is a huge element of doubt. It's her word against her husband's and it could be argued that he is the more credible witness."

She rolled her eyes. "Why? Cos he's a so-called professor?"

"Pretty much, he has status." He let out a deep sigh. "She can't substantiate her allegations, there's no hospital records, police reports, or witness accounts. Until she left Nick nobody would have thought he'd raised a hand to her."

"That's not true, John once said..." She bit her lip. "Well the details aren't important but he said he'd always thought Charlotte was scared of her husband, he could easily believe that Nick abused her."

Dale was quiet for a moment. "It doesn't matter what her friends say. Nick's friends will back him up. They'll say she's so distraught, so traumatised by grief, that she's making hysterical allegations. And that's arguably a more plausible version of events."

"Hopefully it won't come to 'he said, she said.'" 

Dale shook his head. "Someone has to be at fault for the divorce to be granted. Charlotte's claiming spousal abuse, Nick's contesting it. Dispassionately I can understand he doesn't want that to be on the record so I think he might counterclaim."

"On what grounds?"

"Well, if she keeps flirting with other men he'll be accusing her of adultery." Rosalind scowled. "I'm just saying. But as things stand, I suspect he's going to claim she's unstable, he'll use the allegations against him to his advantage."

Rosalind gasped. "Have you told her this?"

"No, I think it's best she focuses on her case rather than trying to second guess his." His shoulders sagged. "Well, that was before Louis potentially upset the apple cart."

"I think you're reading too much into things," she said as she watched Charlotte through narrowed eyes. She was walking out of the room, slightly unsteady on her feet, her arm linked through Louis's. It could be something and it could be nothing. "And if you're not, I can't say I blame her."

Dale fixed her with a hard stare. "Yes, you'd know all about the temptations of an ex-boyfriend."

Here we go.

She took a couple of breaths, careful not to bite back. "You're right, I would. And I'd know what a mistake it is, at least it was for me." Dale looked away and she grabbed his hand. "It was, it was the stupidest thing I've ever done. I can apologise for the rest of our lives and if you want me to I will but Dale, we have to move on. We'll never be happy if we keep wallowing in the past."

He looked away, his eyes scanning the room and she assumed the conversation was over. "I agree with you Ros," he said quietly startling her. "Logically, intellectually, I agree." She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. "I'm not the most emotional man, I don't wear my heart on my sleeve. But what you did, I want to forgive you, I want to move on, and yet I can't. I'm stuck."

"What do you need me to do?" she asked gripping his hand even harder.

He let out a long sigh. "I wish I knew. If there was something you could do to make it all right again I'd tell you. I'm not trying to punish you, I do believe you're sorry but I don't know how to put things right between us."

"Maybe it's just a matter of time," she said lowering her voice. "It was my mistake, you don't have to do anything."

"I want to understand, but you and John Lombardo...he has nothing to offer you, I don't see the attraction."

She dipped her head while keeping hold of his hand. "I don't either. I was foolish, the fault is all mine."

"There must have been a reason why you'd risk throwing our marriage away like that?"

She shrugged. "I guess I was bored, seeking attention. It just kinda happened. Or rather I let it happen." She took a deep breath, gaining the courage to continue. "You were working all hours trying to get established and that's fine, I get it, but I had nothing for me. Nothing that was mine."

His brows furrowed. "What are you saying?"

"I think we should have a baby." She took a deep breath. "We always planned to have a family, and then we put it off until you were qualified, and then until you were making good money. It's like we've forgotten what we want in life."

Dale's frown deepened. "I wanted to start trying as soon as we were married, you said we should wait."

"I thought I was being sensible."

He eyed her suspiciously. "You were, but once I had a job and we had a home, that was the ideal time to start trying and you still wanted to wait. Forgive me if I'm sceptical now."

She closed her eyes not wanting to admit why she'd wanted to wait. She couldn't tell him she didn't want to risk falling pregnant with John's baby. "Honestly Dale, I think I got scared. I was afraid I wouldn't be a good mother, that it would change things between us." He scoffed and she grabbed both his hands forcing him to look at her. "It's true but I love you and I want us to have a baby together."

                                                                       ~~~