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3 WEEKS LATER….
Burke and Brystle were nearing the end of their honeymoon. Over the past few weeks they had visited many countries taking in all the famous sites. They had been happy alone together. For Brystle it was a relief to see Burke enjoy himself without the worry of what may be happening back in Windenburg. As they both boarded the Simmington private jet that would take them back home they were taking back a lifetime of wonderful memories of some of the most beautiful sites they had visited:
First was swinging London where they caught the tube
Then it was over to Paris where they got flirty in the Louvre
Then on to beautiful Rome to visit the Trevi Fountsim
And the final stop was magnificent India
As their plane took off on the long journey back to Windenburg the newlyweds settled back with some drinks. As the journey progressed Brystle noticed Burke seemed distracted. 
Brystle sipped at her drink. There was very little she knew about Texas other than that she and Burke had parted quite bitterly. It appeared Texas had been having multiple affairs whilst Burke concentrated on building WindenburgSimmington. When he had found out he threw her out of the mansion and also out of their children’s lives. Asking Burke to elaborate on the details usually resulted in him shutting down but Brystle continued anyway. 
Burke got up and moved over to the other side of the plane. Brystle knew she had hit a raw nerve. She got up and joined her husband on the sofa. Burke smiled at his new bride. 
Burke was sure that Brystle could and the two smiled at one another before moving together in a passionate embrace and smooch.
Whatever trouble lay in store for them it was several hours away. For now the newlyweds had better ways of spending those hours together other than talking about the first Mrs Simmington….
Malaudia had now been home for a little over 3 weeks following her prolonged stay in the Windenburg State Simitarium for Clinically Erratic Sims. She had been released under the guidance of her psymchiatrist Dr Mick Broscanni who would continue to monitor her progress with weekly home visits and today was the day of the visit.
Dr Broscanni and Malaudia sat facing one another in the living room and Mick knew Malaudia seemed distant and withdrawn. He pressed her to talk about it.
Malaudia sighed. For the past few therapy sessions she hadn’t been open and honest about she was really feeling. Now was the time to say what was on her mind. 
Dr Broscanni was concerned at Malaudia’s outpouring. He had not seen her like this since her first admittance to his simitarium. If he didn’t get her back on her feet there was a danger she could slip further. Why hadn’t her husband noticed this?
And there it was. Mick had been hoping he wouldn’t hear this but now Malaudia was talking about voices in her head. This was not a good sign.
Mick was relieved to hear this. Before when Malaudia was at her most erratic she’d imagined she was receiving mysterious phonecalls from a gravel voiced demon called Pasimzu who made threats to her and instructed her to do crazy things. 
They continued their session for the next hour and made good progress. Mick left with instructions for Malaudia to aid her mental wellbeing – to redecorate the house, to go away for the weekend with just Mayhew and Mimsy (no Mother Drysdale) and to find herself a job.
All of this seemed perfectly reasonable to Malaudia and she agreed to achieve all of this by their next session together. She thanked Dr. Broscanni and waved him off from the front door. As she closed the door she heard a sound coming from the kitchen. It was a sound she had not heard in a very long time. And it was something she could not believe she was hearing….
It was the sound of a ringing phone….
Malaudia slowly made her way to the counter top staring at the ringing phone in disbelief. Where had it come from? And who was calling? 
With a trembling hand Malaudia reached for the phone…..
Unbeknownst to Malaudia, Mother Drysdale was quietly hiding in her bedroom. She had convinced Malaudia that she would be out for the day touring the local flea markets to see if she could add to her collection of knock-off Fabergé Eggs. She had been listening in on the therapy session, just as she had on every other session, and had decided that the time was right to push her fragile daughter-in-law over the edge. And so as Malaudia picked up the phone Mother Drysdale put on her deepest gravel voice and began….
Malaudia dropped the phone to the floor and it smashed into pieces. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Her worst fears had come true….
And as she screamed in terror Mother Drysdale could barely contain her laughter….
Fathom was going for a mid morning jog around the mansion grounds when her mobile phone rang. She was going to ignore it but when she saw who the call was coming from she quickly pressed accept. 
And with a quick change of clothes Fathom was heading out the front door of Siloli mansion. Her father’s chauffeur, Michael Constrain, was by the stretch limo. 
Michael smiled as Fathom approached him. He hadn’t seen or spent anytime with her in recent months. 
Fathom rolled her eyes. It was true that once or twice she had woohooed with Michael. She had done it in secret both times when she had wanted to get back at her father for something. Burke would be livid if he knew his daughter was sleeping with the chauffeur and would no doubt fire Michael on the spot. Playing with people’s lives gave Fathom no cause for concern as long as she got her way. 
Michael opened the car door for her and Fathom got in. He closed the door and got in and drove in silence all the way to Falcon SimCrest, the home of Cyril Dolby. 
Fathom retouched her lipstick before getting out of the limo. She ordered Michael to wait outside for her before strutting into the mansion. Cyril was pouring a drink in his study as she arrived. 
Fathom took off her sunglasses. This was the last thing she had expected to hear from Cyril. Why was he asking her about her mother? 
Fathom turned away from Cyril. She was disappointed this was all he had wanted to see her about and she did not want him to see that. 
Fathom couldn’t believe what Cyril was saying to her or how he was behaving towards her. Didn’t he realise that she was in love with him? Hadn’t she made that clear enough to him? Fathom marched into the conservatory after him, her disappointment turning to anger. How dare he imply she was very much like her mother. 
With that Fathom stormed out of the mansion. Michael was waiting for her outside and could see from her face that she was not happy. He didn’t say anything as she got in the car and he drove away.
After ten minutes of driving in silence Michael made a sudden stop. It was a place where they had come to before to make out. He got out of the car and then opened the rear passenger door and Fathom stepped out. She looked around and realised where Michael had brought her to. 
Michael moved forward and gave Fathom a lingering smooch.
Michael stepped back for he was not sure what Fathom would do next. However she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the nearest bush and there commenced a session of frantic shrubbery woohoo. 
When they were finished a gasping Michael poked his head out to make sure the coast was clear. 
Across town Heathen was working at WindenburgSimmington. He’d been there for a few weeks now and whilst it was not his dream career he was making the effort to learn about his father’s business. He worked with the PR team in creating marketing campaigns for the company as well as doing online and magazine articles featuring his father.
Heathen was in his father’s office and had decided to spend the day there as he composed an article for men’s lifestyle magazine SQ regarding his father. The phone buzzed and it was Marsha his father’s secretary who informed Heathen that Fred had arrived to visit him. Beaming happily Heathen asked for Fred to be sent in. 
Fred looked around the large office in awe. He had never seen been to WindenburgSimmington headquarters before.
Fred followed Heathen over to Burke’s desk and Heathen motioned for him to sit in his father’s chair. Fred settled into the luxurious leather chair. 
They both giggled at their flirtatious banter. The thought of having woohoo right here in the office was very tempting for them both but was very risky. Fred looked around the office and wondered what the room next to the desk was. 
So with Heathen gone for a poop Fred looked around for something to do. He caught sight of the files sat on the desk. 
Just then the doors opened and WindenburgSimmington lawyer Andre Wayward walked in. He had been overseeing the running of the company in Burke’s absence and was surprised to see Fred sat behind Burke’s desk. Fred quickly scurried out from where he was just as Heathen emerged from having his poop in the bathroom.
Heathen looked from Fred to Andre and could sense some hostility from the lawyer and some unease from his lover and immediately tried to intervene. 
Fred didn’t want to cause a scene. He knew that Heathen would not back down from Andre so he stepped forward and decided to leave. 
Andre and Fred stared at one another for a moment before Fred left the office. 
Andre smiled and shook his head. He took a seat and put his briefcase on the table.
Heathen got up from the table and walked out of the office. Andre still felt the need to inform him that he was making a mistake. 
Mayhew had finished work for the day and had just returned home. He took off his tie as he walked through the door. He hated wearing them but his job as executive salesman with WindenburgSimmington required him to meet many clients and thus he had to be smartly dressed at all times.
He walked into the living room and saw Malaudia looking out of the window into the back yard. 
There was no response from his wife. Mayhew walked closer to her. He could see she was fixed on watching Mimsy swim in the backyard pool…and on his mother who was sat in the yard supervising her grand-daughter. 
Malaudia turned and looked at her husband. When she spoke it was with a calm firmness. 
Malaudia sat down beside her husband. She knew this would be difficult for him to hear. But after her session with Dr Broscanni and then the phonecall she had …imagined…Malaudia knew she had to take a firm stand before she started to relapse into wild erratic behaviour. 
Malaudia sighed with relief. They both stood up and faced one another. 
Malaudia felt like she was truly reconnecting with her husband again and for Mayhew he was starting to remember how much he did love his wife. Thoughts of Brystle were, however, never far from his mind….
Malaudia turned her gaze out of the window and onto Mother Drysdale and for the first time she felt like she was getting the upper hand over her mother-in-law. 
Mother Drysdale sat outside. She may have been looking at her grand-daughter merrily splashing around in the swimming pool but she was far from paying attention. Mother Drysdale liked to keep one step ahead and as such she had turned up the setting on her hearing aid to 10. On that setting she could hear an ant fart in Oasis Springs. 
Rainclouds were gathering and a storm was brewing. The sea was dark, the black waters lapping around the jetty as the wind began to pick up. Fred arrived at the harbour crab house and walked in. He wasn’t familiar with the place but he had picked it out as it was far enough away from Windenburg so as not to bump into anyone he knew. And even thought the weather was not great Fred kept on his sunglasses just in case he did get recognised…
Fred looked around the shack and spotted the person he was here to meet sat in a corner booth. He made his way over.
Fred looked across the table at the person he had come to meet and spoke first. 
Back in Windenburg the weather was a lot sunnier. Fathom had just arrived back at Siloli mansion. As Michael drove the limo up the driveway they spotted a stretch white limo parked outside the front door. Several men were carrying a load of suitcases and boxes from the car into the house. It must be father and Brystle back from honeymoon thought Fathom.
After Michael parked the car he opened the door for Fathom and she stepped out. He gently grabbed her arm to stop her from going straight into the house.
Michael felt quite happy for he believed that there was still hope that Fathom would one day realise he was the man for her. Fathom however had more pressing matters to deal with and had already forgotten about Michael as she stepped into the hallway. There she was greeted by major-domo Joseph Flanders. 
Fathom couldn’t believe the nerve of her mother letting herself back into the house and venturing upstairs too! Texas seemed to delight in seeing her daughter flare up in anger and as she merrily sashayed down the stairs she had further words for her daughter. 
Back at The Rusty Anchor, Fred was still having his secret meeting with Cyril…
Fred sat back and considered his next move. Cyril remained perfectly still staring at him. Eventually Fred relented. From his man bag he produced a thick document file. He placed it on the table. 
Cyril quickly flicked through the document and his eyes seemed to light up. He quickly closed the file and stood up holding the document close. 
Fred watched as Cyril left the crab house. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’s been hired by Cyril to do a job, that was to get Heathen Simmington working for Burke. Then he was to gather information on WindenburgSimmington that Cyril could use to the advantage of DolbyDoh. Fred felt he had done that also. Now Cyril was extending and altering their agreement. Just what was he planning next? 
Outside Cyril took another sneaky look through the dossier Fred had given him and then chuckled to himself. 
Fathom followed her mother into the solarium situated just off the hallway. Texas was swanning around like she owned the place and Fathom was not prepared to stand for it. 
Joseph stood in the doorway unsure on what to do next. It was then the front door opened. He turned around to see Burke and Brystle arrive home. He quickly made his way towards them. 
Burke was livid! He marched straight towards Texas with a fretful Brystle hurrying after her husband. Texas stepped out of the solarium to meet him halfway. 
The horror of what Texas was saying quickly dawned on Burke and he sat down before his legs gave way from under him. How could this of happened? Why hadn’t his been taking care of? Burke knew Texas was correct and right now she had the upper hand. 
Fathom opened her mouth in shock but could not find any words to say. Brystle was full of concern for the rising anger in her husband. Burke exploded in anger at his former wife. 
But Texas merely smiled at the chaos she was causing. Seeing that she had achieved the maximum disruption she’d wanted to achieve she sauntered across the hallway towards the front door. 
Burke, Brystle and Fathom watched in stunned silence as Texas left the house. Burke quickly reached for his phone and got dialling. There had to be a way to fix this. Surely Texas couldn’t just decide to move in? That title deed had to be void following their divorce…hadn’t it? 
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