Mattie had called time on her marriage. Such monumental news – along with the departure of Rafe's right testicle – and Ramona (whom Mattie had called to the house to collect her son) travelled fast. Mattie thought Rafe looked in no fit state to be cavorting about Surrey on his own. Nor did she want her husband to moulder in a hotel room when he needed care and support. His mother could do that for him nicely. Mattie had other priorities; ones which suited the foul temper she found herself to be in. She hot-footed it to London.

'Mattie?' Chris stammered, gaping upon seeing the short woman come bundling into the office like a mother fighting over the last remaining must-have toy of the festive season.

'Not right now,' she replied, dumping her bag and coat in her office before turning about and making straight for Lucy Williams' desk.

'Mattie, wait!' Chris wheezed, hurrying after her.

'No thank you,' she called over her shoulder. He ran – well, ran as much as the friction of his thighs would allow – but he didn't have the athleticism to catch up with her determined little legs.

'Lucy,' she said, with well-crafted concern. 'I've just heard.' She shook her head. 'It's terrible. Can we talk?'

'Mattie!' Lucy gasped, recoiling in her chair. 'What are you – I thought you were on compassionate leave?'

'I am,' she nodded, 'but when I heard,' she widened her eyes, 'I couldn't just sit at home. I had to come and check on you.'

'Oh,' was all she could manage.

'Can we talk in meeting room two? It's free. I just... I really need to understand everything. For my own peace of mind, for the boys, y'know?'

'Um... Well, it is a bit awkward,' Lucy told her, with obvious reluctance. She had hoped to avoid seeing the stunted woman.

'I know, and I hate to ask, but how can I trust him? I just need to hear your version of events.'

'Alright,' Lucy said, as a panting Chris danced about beside them, wheezing and spluttering as a result of both the physical exertion of chasing a determined woman, and the stress of said determined woman having it out with a blatant liar. He knew Mattie well, after all, and there was bugger all chance of her believing any such accusation, and – to anyone who knew her – no sincerity in her voice, whatsoever.

'I'll, um... Is this wise?' Chris asked. 'Shall I get HR?'

'No,' both women said in unison.

'Lydia, then. I'll get Lydia,' he nodded, his jowls flapping.

'Yes, and a herbal tea, Chris. Think about your heart,' Mattie said, this time with genuine concern. 'Shall we?' a fake smile plastered to her face, as she looked at Lucy and gestured to the meeting room.

Once inside, with the door closed, Mattie invited her to dig her own grave.

'And he exposed himself to you?'

'Yes,' Lucy nodded.

'I'm sorry to ask, but was he... I know this is awkward, but was he flaccid, or erect?' Mattie said, with a cringing expression.

'Erect.'

'That's awful,' Mattie replied, pressing her hand to her mouth in dismay. 'He got off on it... What a sick bastard.'

'Yes,' Lucy replied, nodding in agreement.

'And they said... They said... Lord, I can hardly bear to repeat it, but they said he tried to force you to... y'know... with your mouth?'

'Yes, but I was able to push him away.'

'Did he hurt you? Physically, I mean?' Mattie asked.

'When he was pushing my face down?' Mattie nodded. 'No. He was forceful, but I was lucky. I got away before anything worse could happen.'

'I'm so glad,' Mattie nodded. 'He denies it entirely, of course,' she sighed. 'At the moment, it's your word against his, but I know you'd never lie.' Lucy's eyes twitched. 'Can I ask – I hate to, but he is denying it – what did it look like; his bits, y'know?'

'What?' Lucy croaked. 'His penis?' She had not anticipated this line of questioning.

'Yeah. You wouldn't know what it looked like by his telling. Big, average, or small?' Well, no one would accuse Rafe Paxton of having average anything, let alone small.

'Large,' she said. 'Definitely large.' Mattie nodded with a sad sigh.

'And his... um... balls? Sometimes you can tell the size of a man's... y'know, willy, from the cut of his trousers. I always think the telling is in the balls.' She'd given it a lot of thought.

'They were large, too,' Lucy said, because it was a foregone conclusion. 'Are we done? Do you think he'll admit it, or will it have to go to HR?' She wanted to end all discussion with Rafe's wife as quickly as possible.

'I'm not sure,' Mattie told her sympathetically, before frowning in thought. '"They", you said.'

'What?'

'You said "they". They were large.'

'So?'

'Raffey's only got one ball,' Mattie told her, with a straight face. 'Which you'd know, if he'd exposed himself to you. You'd also know that he's undergoing treatment for testicular cancer at the moment, and although he is swollen down there, it's not in the good way. No erections for Raffey.' Her tone hardened. 'I have to question the rest of your claims, then. You said he was erect. He wasn't. You said he has two balls. He doesn't. Ergo, you're a liar. He didn't expose himself to you, he didn't touch you, and he didn't kiss you; consensually or otherwise. He didn't invite you back to his room, and he's never had any interest in you full-stop. I doubt you even know what room number he's in, let alone his hotel room looks like. So, I can only assume you're making this accusation because you want money, or revenge. Which is it?'

'Revenge?' Lucy asked, uneasily.

'Mmmm. He told me he was rude to you when you made a pass at him in the lift. That he hurt your feelings. Said he might have even made you cry?' Lucy scowled. 'I bet he threatened to make your life Hell, didn't he? To force you out? There's no way he'd want you working here anymore.'

'You're such a smug bitch,' Lucy hissed, giving up the act. 'You swan around the office on a power trip because you're the boss's wife no one can touch. Then you throw him out, and despite the fact that he is way out of your league, he's completely hung up on you. Moping around the office, practically begging for a woman's attention. He was definitely interested when we were at the bar, but he's too whipped to act on it.'

'If you say so,' Mattie shrugged apathetically. Lucy was not a worthy opponent. She really couldn't muster much enthusiasm for their showdown.

'You're so f*cking smug!' Lucy repeated. 'Do you know what he said to me, your precious husband? Do you know what a pig he is?' she spat, her face twisted and her eyes shining.

'No, but I'd dearly love to hear it.'

'He called me "inferior",' she hissed, her ire rising with the memory of his words. 'He said that I was deluded if I thought I could seduce him, because even if he was single, he'd be hard-pushed to get an erection around me. Me! I never have to chase men. He's old, married to you, on the brink of divorce, and he still thinks he's too good for me?'

'He is entitled to his own opinion,' Mattie quipped, rather relishing the retelling of her husband's verbal takedown.

'He's an arrogant prick!' Lucy scoffed. 'He had the cheek to say I reeked of "desperation" and "jealously". That I'm not I'm not as beautiful as I think I am and that my personality is even uglier.' She was blinking now, unshed tears of anger and wounded pride clinging to her lashes.

'Your husband – the one you liked to brag about before you decided to throw him away? He's an arrogant, sexist prick. He could have just said "no." He could have been calm about it, but he went off on one, calling me all sorts of names. Claiming I made him feel physically sick. Then he told me to "go back to the street corner I came from".' That's your husband, talking to me like that; talking down to me when he's married to you.'

'Yeah...' Mattie mused, pursing her lips in thought. 'I can picture Raffey saying that. I can understand why you're upset and angry, too. That doesn't give you the right to lie or make outrageous accusations about him, though. And I'll tell you something else,' Mattie said, stepping closer and gazing up at her, because Lucy was not vertically challenged.

'I'd have had some sympathy for you, if you hadn't done a complete disservice to every person who's ever been sexually assaulted. I have, and it's frightening. You feel powerless and trapped and scared. When they touch you, you wonder if you're going to get raped and murdered, or just raped. If you've ever felt that way, you'd know that no amount of hurt feelings or wounded pride makes it acceptable to use the fear and suffering of other people to get sympathy or score points.

'You make me feel sick. Accusing an innocent man of something so dreadful; making real victims of sexual assault sound like liars? I suggest you retract your statement and resign with immediate effect. If you don't,' Mattie said, now so close that her head was tipped right back so that she could look Lucy straight in the eye, 'I will have you in court for slander, and I warn you, Raffey's family are f*cking minted. You would be absolutely screwed. Your life would be ruined, and I can't deny that I'd take pleasure in seeing it happen.'

And as the meeting room had glass walls, and as Chris and Lydia were stood right outside said glass barrier, as Lydia had exceptional hearing, and as the hotel had CCTV which would have shown that Lucy's story was absolute bullshit, Lucy decided to follow Mattie's suggestion and promptly left the building. Lukasz assisted her with undisguised relish, going so far as to pack her cardboard box for her; not satisfied with merely carrying it out to the street. It was on his return journey – so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye! – that Lukasz pulled Mattie to one side by wrapping her gently in his bear paws.

'You have been missed,' he told her.

'Thank you. I've missed you, too, but I wasn't able to... I've not been up to it.' Lukasz nodded, steering her towards her office; a subtle incline of his head serving to inform Moping Mandy that she was to follow.

'I understand,' the large man told her. 'My parents are both gone. My mother; I held her hand as she died and it was painful. It hurt a great deal, but life goes on.'

'Yes,' she agreed.

'And people need you.' She blinked at him.

'You mean Raffey?' Lukasz nodded.

'He's reached a new low this time.' At Lukasz's affronted look she shushed him. 'Not with Lucy; I know it was all lies, but he's been ill. Very ill, and he kept it from me. He probably wouldn't have told me at all if it wasn't for Lucy.' I'd have found out if we'd had sex though, she said to herself. Not that we will have sex again. But oh, it was such a waste of good penis. So many lost opportunities for orgasm.

'I think he has found it hard, Mattie,' Lukasz said softly. 'And Lucy used this to get closer to him. She would not have dared to speak to him if he were his usual self.' Mandy nodded her agreement.

'The coffees; she made them as an excuse to talk to him,' she whispered.

'And she found other ways. She stood too close to him. I don't think he could see it. He was not himself. Just unaware,' Lukasz explained.

'But we both sensed it,' Mandy continued. 'We've been watching her.'

'Well,' Mattie frowned. 'I appreciate it. For both our sake's, I suppose. But a lot has happened, over a long period of time, and it's just too much. I don't see any way back.'

'He needs you,' Lukasz pressed.

'He's unwell,' Mattie admitted. She peered up at her friends through her lashes. She trusted them. They were her favourites. Rafe's favourites, too. They had the same taste in most things. 'Complete discretion?' she asked.

'Of course,' Mandy nodded.

'He has testicular cancer. I only found out today, after he's had the thing removed.' At this news, Mandy, of course, burst into tears. 'I don't think he's going to die, though!' Mattie placated, but it was no use. Mandy was gone, sobbing uncontrollably into her very long sleeve. Mattie supposed she preferred extra-long sleeves as the oversized cuffs were extra absorbent. 'I want to support him, but I can't pretend everything is okay.'

'Could you come back to work?' Lukasz asked, taking her human sized-hands in his dinner plate-sized ones. She frowned in thought.

'I've really struggled since my dad died, and going through his things, finding all my mum's stuff; it just opened old wounds. I'm seeing someone about it. I'm starting to feel better, but I'm not one hundred percent just yet.' Lukasz nodded.

'And work?' he asked, as gentle as a butterfly, despite his imposing size. No wonder Mandy loved him!

'I could try,' she said cautiously. It might help me as well as Raffey, she mused. But it was also entirely possible that he'd hate the sight of her, considering she'd just told him that their marriage was over. Still, he needed her. Needed someone at least, and she loved him too well to turn her back on him. 'I will try,' she said, with growing conviction. 'He'll be off for a little while. I can see how I settle back into things without him here. It'll be easier that way.' Lukasz smiled at her, well pleased.

'Good,' he told her, 'because he loves you more than I have seen any man love, and that sort of love does not go away.'

She supposed he was right, when she stopped by Rafe's hotel to collect his things. When she saw that he'd booked into room two-one-one; the very same suite he'd stayed in the night he'd first met her. She knew it was no coincidence. Knew he loved her, knew he suffered, and she felt almost desperate to forgive him. But she couldn't. Not unless he changed.

***

Whilst Ramona was rolling out the red carpet for her favourite son, doting over him and offering first-rate home comforts, Vicky was enlightening Rudy on the latest turn of events.

'He has testicular cancer. Or had? How does it work? The testicle's been removed, so is he cancer-free?'

'Cancer?' Rudy asked, but he didn't seem surprised. Nor did he seem like a caring cousin who had just heard worrying news for the first time.

'You already knew, didn't you?' Vicky challenged, her eyes narrowing in assessment. Rudy sighed.

'Yes, because he spoke to me as a doctor, and although I'm not his doctor, he spoke to me in a medical capacity, so I feel no guilt for not saying anything,' he warned.

'But Mattie didn't know!' Vicky chastised. 'You do know that, don't you? That he kept it from Mattie? And his mum!'

'Because he didn't want to burden them. I may not agree with his decision, but I can understand it. Certainly, after everything Mattie's been through, and with the space she'd asked for, I can see how he might have felt that telling her would only make things worse. And he certainly wouldn't have told anyone else if he hadn't told her.'

'But he told you!' Vicky complained.

'As a doctor, who could give him meaningful reassurance and help explain what would happen,' Rudy insisted. 'Mattie might be angry with him, but you have no right to judge.' She fumed silently, knowing that she ought to feel chastised because Rudy did, of course, make a very valid point. He was rather good at making valid points. It seemed to be his hobby. Even so, Vicky couldn't help but feel for her best friend, couldn't help but picture herself in the same position, with Rudy keeping something so serious from her, and she knew how much it would hurt.

'I'm not judging anyone,' she declared, with righteous fury. 'But I have feelings, and I can't help but think it's very unfair that she wasn't told, but husbands have a habit of making unilateral decisions, so I don't know why I'm surprised!'

'Husbands, plural?' Rudy asked.

'Yes! Plural!' He frowned.

'I suppose you might be kind enough to tell me what crime I've committed? By your tone, it certainly sounds like I'm one of the "husbands" you were referring to.'

'You are,' Vicky assured him, 'and frankly, it pisses me off that you don't know why I'm annoyed. You ought to know. You're supposed to know things.'

But he didn't know things. Not when it came to Vicky's feelings. Because she was... unusual, and he was... Rudy. A little bit oblivious. A little too logical and pragmatic. Very good at seeing the bigger picture, but not always capable of seeing the finer detail when it was closer to home. Fortunately, he had a very helpful mother who was only too happy to enlighten him.

'You want to give Kate a million pounds,' Vee told her son when she came to visit that evening (Vicky having gone to Mattie's house to commiserate with her about Raffey's diagnosis and its surrounding secrecy. To bring her up to speed on the latest news from Paxton and Colville, so that she was ready to return to work on Monday morning). 'And you want to pay off her mortgage, which is about five-hundred-grand.'

'Yes,' he nodded. 'But Vicky and I have already discussed it. I'm going to give money to Mattie, too. And Amy, after the babies are born. Vicky's not being left out, either.'

'No, but you're giving your ex one-point-five million so that she's not beholden to any man. She'll have sole ownership of her house, as well as plenty of cash in the bank. Vicky will have a million pounds she feels she can't spend – because it would no doubt be distasteful to you – and although this house is mortgage-free, she shares it with you. It's not solely hers. You're making Kate independent of everyone, but you're not offering the same to Vicky.' Rudy hung his head.

'Kate lives alone,' he sighed. 'She's single. Vicky's not.' He looked up at his mother in entreaty. 'What am I supposed to do? Remove my name from the deeds to this house?'

'Darling,' Vee said, with a weary sigh of her own. 'I love you a great deal. I'm exceedingly proud of you. Of all that you've achieved, and of the kind, caring man that you are, but it can be very tiring to live with a do-gooder. To live with someone who's always so reasonable. And sometimes, I do think you're a bit too logical; that it would serve you better to think like a normal, selfish, irrational human being.'

'Excuse me?'

'Vicky is jealous. She's your wife, and if you're giving money away to every woman you care about, she wants to know that no one's been given more money than she has. If you give her money, she probably wants to be able to spend it on things. We women are rather fond of things, you know.'

'Things?'

'Yes. Fashion. Holidays, interior design. Gym equipment we probably won't use. Kitchen appliances we probably won't use. Make-up we'll hardly wear. Expensive beauty products which don't work the way they promise to. Things, darling. Not charity and private education and investments to see you through your retirement.'

'Right.' He worried at his lip. 'Yes. Vicky would like those things.' Because she was very happy to waste her hard-earnt money on things which would ultimately disappoint her, or serve no purpose at all. 'I'm probably not much fun, am I?' Vee rolled her eyes.

'No, you're not. But to Vicky you are, because she loves you. More importantly, you're loving and reliable. You're loyal and kind, intelligent and handsome. And if the gossip between Vicky and Mattie – which I did not want to hear – is anything to go by, your knowledge of human physiology is first rate.' He blushed. 'But you can be a bit of a fun sponge.'

'What are you doing with the money Byron left you?' Rudy asked.

'Spending it, darling. I'll enjoy sharing it with my friends and family, but I'm going to spend a great deal of it on myself. I can think of several places worth keeping a holiday home, and I think it would be nice to have an apartment in London. When Carl retires, I can see us having more nights out; theatre trips and the like. An immaculate crash-pad would do me nicely. As would a few more holidays. Especially if we could take everyone – all the children and grandchildren. I fancy buying ponies for the little ones, and I intend to find myself a very expensive hobby. I do get quite bored when everyone else is at work or at school.'

'That sounds nice,' Rudy told her, with a small smile. He wanted her to be happy, and if those things would make her happy, then he would encourage her, but it all sounded a little unnecessary to his mind.

'You have to remember,' Vee urged, 'that you grew up with money. Certainly not the likes of what you'll have now, but you've always been very privileged. You've never had to worry about what you can and can't afford. You've had so many opportunities that you can turn a blind eye to them now. Vicky can't. She's never been in that position. And even now – married to you – you're frugal. You have a lovely home and nice things, but you're not extravagant, so Vicky feels she can't be extravagant, either.'

'I can't believe we're falling out over money,' he said sadly.

'You're not really,' Vee warned him. 'You're falling out over Kate. It's the fact that you're giving her more than anyone else which irks Vicky, and I have to say, I agree. I love Evie – you know I do – but Kate must have had her suspicions about Evie long before she got ill. She kept quiet, knowing that she could be keeping you from your own daughter. Agreeing to return to San Francisco with Daniel – knowing that it would likely separate you and Evie again – was unforgivable. She deserves your support as the mother of your child, but beyond that?' Vee shook her head.

'Vicky needs to be your priority. And she can be. You don't need to fear this money. It's not wrong to use it for yourselves. It doesn't mean Byron's forgiven, or that Carl's not your father. It just means that you're putting yourself and your family first, which is what all of us would want; Carl and I, and Byron. Besides,' Vee added, 'you'll have so much money, you'll still be able to give most of it away, even if you do spend a fair chunk of it on material possessions and extravagant holidays.'

She was right, of course, and he would like a new knitted jumper. He'd seen an over-priced cashmere one that rather appealed. He'd also long held a secret desire to keep a pet. A parrot. Perhaps an African grey.

'Vicky,' he said, when he climbed into bed beside her, later that night.

'Mmm?'

'Would you like to go shopping?'

'For groceries?' she asked.

'For things.' Things sounded lovely.

'Yes please.' He smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple. 'When we start splitting up Byron's money, I want you to have your million, plus the value of this house. And it's yours – completely – to spend, or save or invest, however you like. I won't judge. I won't even raise an eyebrow.'

'What if I spent it all on wine?' she posed.

'Unless you plan to drink all that wine – which as a doctor, I cannot condone – it's just another form of investment,' he said simply. 'And the rest of it; the good causes we want to support – the charity we want to set up – I want us to do it jointly. Fifty-fifty; neither of us having more say than the other.'

'Are you sure?' Vicky asked, very pleased to be able to spend her portion without guilt, but far more interested in being given equality with him.

'Of course,' Rudy nodded. 'I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear before, but this money; it's ours, because you're my wife, so we share everything. Apart from your ring-fenced portion. That's solely yours,' he added, with a soft smile.

'So, in a way,' Vicky mused, 'I'm richer than you.'

'Yes,' he smirked. 'You could think of it that way.' She nodded stoically. She liked things. She liked spending money, but no one needed the amount of money Byron Becker possessed. She could be pragmatic. She could keep her head.

'In which case, I would like to buy one of every Glossier product they sell. Just because.' He nodded. His mother had warned him that women would buy make-up they'd never get around to wearing.

'And I think I'd like to get a pet,' he said. 'An African Grey.' He blinked at her in the darkened room. Awaiting her reaction. A bird? she said to herself. God no! It would squawk and fly about, land on the picture frames, nibble them and poo down the back of everything. Rudy would teach it to count, to talk, to solve puzzles. He'd spend his free time just looking at it and talking to it in his lovely doctor's voice. He'd be besotted.

'Lovely,' Vicky said, stroking his hair and kissing his cheek. 'But I'm not cleaning it out. Not ever!'

***Author's Note ***

Lucy has left the building and Mattie is due to return (without Rafe). Could we be moving in the right direction? Either way, Lukasz and Mandy have got Rafe's back.

Rudy's had a talking to as well. He's going to actually buy things. Sadly for Vicky, it looks like "things" includes a parrot. Still, it could be worse. He could try to tame a crow.

The next chapter introduces some new characters. Three of them to be precise!