The car slowed gently, coming to a stop next to the curb. There was a procession of vehicles ahead of them, parents swiftly unloading their children from the vehicle with ease. None of the other parents appeared to have the same anxiety and apprehension that she was feeling. Her heart was fluttering within her chest even though she was not technically a parent.

Betsy turned in her seat and gave the children a grin. Delilah was in her uniform, the grey pleated skirt and blue cardigan with her auburn coloured hair pulled into plaits. The young girl's eyes were following the children outside, her nose pressed against the glass as if to get as close to the action as possible.

"Are you ready to go in?"

The girl dragged her eyes away from the glass and nodded her head enthusiastically. There was no apprehension on her part. Her hands were already scrabbling to unbuckle her seatbelt so that she could go and join the others. Betsy leant between the seats to help her escape the safety device even as Nick made his way around the car.

The door was pulled open and Delilah was in his arms before Nick had a chance to prepare himself. He caught her just in time, a laugh escaping his lips as he hugged her close.

"Whoa there, speedy. School's not going anywhere." He pressed his lips to her forehead before lowering her to the ground.

Delilah immediately took off towards the gates causing Nick to lunge to catch her hand. "I know you want to go in but wait for a moment."

"I'm sorry, Daddy." She replied, her eyes already drifting to the playground beyond. She bounced on the balls of her feet in excitement.

Betsy watched all of this from her seat, her hand coming to rest over her heart as looked at two of the people who owned it.

"Where's your bag? There it is. Got your coat? Oh yeah, you're wearing it." Nick muttered.

Laughing, Betsy shook her head and opened her door. "Nick, stop fussing. Delilah will be fine. She is your daughter after all." She paused and glanced at the excitable little girl before glancing back at him. "You can do this. I promise."

Nick nodded his head, before leading Delilah over to her open door. "Say bye to Betsy."

Delilah leaned forward and gave her a half-hearted hug, her eyes drawn back to the playing children. "Bye Betsy."

"Goodbye sweetheart. Have a great day." Betsy replied, tucking a loose strand of Delilah's hair behind her ear as she did so. "Take her in Nick. I think she's waited enough."

Delilah immediately started tugging on his hand, the words spurring her into action. "Come on, daddy. They'll start without us."

Laughing at his daughter's antics, Nick allowed the small girl to pull him along as he threw a hasty wave over his shoulder. Shaking her head at the pair of them, Betsy closed the car door to shut out the cold.

"Where's Lilah?" Tommy asked, leaning forwards in his seat so that he could look out the window.

"She's gone to school." Betsy replied, grinning at the pout that formed on his face. "You'll see her later. Are you ready to go to nursery?"

"No." The small boy responded, falling back against the head rest with a huff, his arms folding across in his chest.

"Are you sure? There will be children there for you to play with."

Tommy waited for a moment, his lips pursed and a frown on his forehead. "Play?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Okay."

Snorting out a laugh, Betsy turned around in her seat and waited for Nick to return.

**

It was forty five minutes later that the car finally stopped in front of the Davenport home. Nick turned off the engine and neither of them spoke for several long moments.

"Are you - ?"

"I -."

They gave awkward laughs, their eyes meeting before darting away from one another. The tension between them was so real that for a moment Betsy thought she could actually see it. She hated this. She hated the way things were between them. It hadn't been like this between them for a long time and it felt so wrong that it was like this now.

Betsy flushed and glanced down even as Nick scratched at the back of his neck.

"Sorry, you go first." Nick offered.

"I was just going to ask if you're okay." Betsy replied, reaching out to cover one of Nick's hands with hers. "Today is a big day. I know pretty much every parent goes through it, but it doesn't make it any less difficult."

Nick grunted and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm okay. It just had me thinking about their mum. She should have been here for this."

"She should have but in her own way she is. People we lose never truly leave us. I know I will carry Peter in my heart for the rest of my life."

Nick's lips pulled up into a sad smile before he pulled up his guard once more. "I wouldn't expect any less from you." He slipped his hands free and rested them on the steering wheel. "I need to go into the office. Will you be okay on your own?"

"You know I am not alone. Claire will be around in an hour or two to start helping me pack. You're still okay to collect the kids?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Of course I am."

"We are doing the right thing Nick. I know it may not feel like that to either of us right now but I know it is for the best. I want this between us to work."

Nick bowed his head and sighed. Betsy felt the gesture within her heart. "I know. I want this to work between us too." He lifted his head and stared deeply into her eyes. "Will you be here when I get home?"

"Yes, I'll be here but I'll be staying at Claire's tonight."

Nick nodded his head. "I'll see you tonight then. I've arranged for a driver to come and help you move your things."

"You didn't have to do that."

Holding up his hand, Nick's lips pulled up into a sad smile. Their gaze locked together for a few moments before he looked away. "I know. But I wanted to help you. I know we're taking a step back, but that doesn't mean I've stopped caring about you or loving you."

Betsy opened her mouth to say something else. She felt the urge to comfort him yet she could not find the right words. After several long seconds of silence between them, she simply nodded her head and let herself out of the car. The wind whipped around her legs, the fresh September morning air somehow seeping through the layers of her clothing. Nick's gaze was burning into the side of her face the entire time. Betsy shivered. She couldn't acknowledge it; at least not in that moment.

She closed the door softly behind her and walked swiftly towards the house. Betsy swiftly drew out her keys even as she heard the car start up behind her. She kept her gaze wholly focused on the door before her, refusing to look back even though every part of her wanted to.

The car engine rumbled to life behind her. And then, with the crunch of the gravel, the car set off back down the driveway.

Betsy drew in a deep breath and sighed. Her hands trembled around the keys as she turned them in the lock and let herself into the house. Although the house was warm and cosy, it felt odd how quiet it was. Mrs Reed had gone to visit her grandchildren, the children were out at school, and there was only the deafening silence for company.

There was something about being in this house alone, knowing that in just a few hours it would no longer be her home, which made her heart ache. It was a sensation she was becoming familiar with as it seemed to strike with increasing frequency. Betsy knew she was making the right decision for them all; for herself, the children, and for Nicholas. It didn't mean that her heart didn't protest against it each and every day.

The mention of a driver had made Betsy remember why she needed one in the first place. Nick had sold her car without permission. Sure, the thing was a death trap. Yet it was her independence. And it should ultimately have been her decision to get rid of the vehicle. But he had swooped in and taken that decision away from her. They needed this space. There needed to be a good foundation between them before she could jump into this. She already had one failed marriage under her belt. She couldn't go through that again. Not now. Probably not ever. If she was going to do this, Betsy needed to be sure. Her heart knew Nick was a good man. She just needed to know – to know it with certainty – that she could trust him and more importantly that he trusted her.

Betsy rubbed at her arms to stave off the chill which was moving through her body as she stared at her bedroom. The sheets had already been stripped from the bed to be laundered, boxes already lining the wall, some already taped closed while others sat gaping just waiting for her to fill them. She swallowed to clear the lump in her throat. It all felt so final. She could feel the nagging doubt in her gut.

Pulling back her shoulders, Betsy pushed the thought away and instead focused on filling the boxes. Dragging her heels would do nothing to lessen the pain. It would only extend the trauma. And yet, it still felt like she was inflicting small wounds on herself in some weird masochistic torture as she packed up the small mementos into the cardboard boxes and hid them from view.

She withdrew a napkin from the drawer beside her bed and sighed as she clutched it to her chest. There was a smudge of lipstick on the corner, her lipstick. Betsy didn't even remember taking it but during the craziness of that first meeting with the Giannopoulos family, the napkin had somehow made it into her bag. She could still remember that kiss. The way his lips had felt against hers.

Betsy shook her head. This was ridiculous. She was moving out. They weren't breaking up. This was just the beginning not the end.

Dumping the napkin into the box, Betsy closed the lid and sealed it shut. It was just the beginning.

It was with that mantra that Betsy successfully boxed up all of her belongings. She was barely aware of the time passing and it was only when the doorbell sounded through the house which drew her from her thoughts. Her knees ached as she pushed off of the floor and made her way through the house. The doorbell rang again as she made her way down the stairs.

"Just a minute!" Betsy yelled, takings the stairs as quickly as she her feet would carry her.

She hurried across the flooring, fully aware of how ridiculous she looked in her rainbow toe socks and her blonde curls harnessed into a top knot. She paused with her hand on the door handle, drawing in a deep breath to steady her breathing before she wrenched open the door with a smile plastered on her face.

"Hi, sorry I took so lo-." Betsy voice trailed off as her eyes registered the person on the other side of the door. She frowned, her eyes taking in all of her features as she tried to place the face. The hair might have been different but the face – the face she had seen before. It took only a few seconds but then recognition set in. "You. What are you doing here?"

Betsy glanced behind the woman at the empty driveway. How had she gotten past security? There were no vehicles in sight so she obviously hadn't driven onto the property. She must have walked but the question was how. Nick had paid a fortune on his security and Betsy suspected this woman was not on the approved guest list.

"I needed to speak with you. Can I come in?" The woman asked, taking a step closer to her.

Betsy smiled, her hands drawing the door closer to her body. "I'm sorry, now is really not a good time."

The woman moved even closer, her body towering over Betsy's smaller frame so that she felt crowded. As the stranger let loose a sigh, Betsy felt the warm moist air blow across her forehead. Swallowing past the sudden dryness of her throat, her hand flexed around the door handle.

The woman smiled down at her, the grin wide but her eyes were cold and hard. Before Betsy could protest, the woman thrust hard against the door. The unexpected move forced the door from her grip, the hard wood snapping back into her face. Pain exploded, the bone in her nose cracking under the force as Betsy staggered backwards. She tripped over her own feet and much like her first meeting with Nick, the blonde found herself sprawled over the floor.

Betsy's mind felt as if it was filled with cotton wool, her thoughts sluggish and slow even as her face throbbed with pain. 

With her heartbeat thundering in her ears, Betsy dragged herself backwards away from the woman, her feet scrabbling for purchase. The woman stepped over the threshold with the dead smile still dancing on her lips. She closed the door softly behind her. The sound of the lock engaging was quiet; it was so quiet Betsy barely heard it over the sound of her panicked breaths. And yet the sound felt final, the clunk of the lock echoing the sudden sinking in her stomach.

"You really should have done as you were told."