With this RING

Jeremy had hurt her once – she wasn’t going to let him do it again

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My stomach lurched when I received the letter, and I almost threw it in the bin. But once I’d got over my knee-jerk reaction, I phoned Shanice.

‘Jeremy’s written to me,’ I said, my jaw tense. ‘He wants to meet up.’

‘What? How dare he!’ My best friend’s indignation was on a par with mine, which wasn’t surprising, considering she’d been the one I’d turned to after he left.

‘He says he’s sorry.’ She made a scoffing noise. I read out his words.

‘The past year has given me time to reflect.’ I took a deep breath. ‘He says he wants to see me in person to apologise. That he’s had professional help and hasn’t gambled in months and he’s determined never to go down that road again.’

‘Hmm, and you believe him?’

‘I… I don’t know, but considering I changed my number and email address after what happened, he must be serious about seeing me.’

‘At least he never turned up on the doorstep.’

‘Thank goodness,’ I said. ‘You know what I think, Penny?

I think you should throw the letter away,’ Shanice said decisively. ‘Or write back and tell him to get lost. If it wasn’t bad enough taking all that jewellery, but the ring…’

‘Let’s not go over it again.’ My eyes were hot with tears. I glanced at the bare finger where I’d once worn the vintage engagement ring, a row of five tiny diamonds on a gold band. On that dreadful day, I’d put it in the jewellery box while I went to have a manicure.

‘Are you going to tell Rick?’ Shanice asked.