Chapters (52)
- COVER PAGE
- DEDICATION
- PART ONE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- PART TWO
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHORS
She watched as the document lit up on her screen. At the top, underneath the title, were Chloe’s full name and a date from several years prior. Again, Evie counted herself in and started to read.
When she got to the end, all she wanted to do was to fall in a heap and cry. Chloe had been telling the truth. It was all in here: the love triangle, the historical backdrop, the twist at the end, the bumbling officers, the missing sister, the bloody forest kiss … Evie couldn’t believe it. It was shorter, yes, and the names were different, absolutely, but the crux of the story—the very essence of it—was exactly the same.
FORTY-ONE
Forty-one
‘Hey, are you coming? Your tea’s gone cold.’ Hugo came back downstairs sounding cheery and relaxed. His face immediately sank when he saw Evie’s ashen one. ‘Baby, what’s happened? Are you okay?’
Evie pulled away from him, her throat thick with emotion. ‘It’s true. It’s all true.’
‘What’s true? What are you talking about?’
‘Chloe, it was her idea.’
‘God, Evie, please, not this again. I’m too exhausted to go round in circles with you.’
‘It’s true though, I know it is. I mean, I should have realised it long ago, but now there’s no denying it.’ Evie held out her phone to Hugo, without meeting his eyes.
As he took it from her, Hugo said, ‘I know the Chloe situation has been uncomfortable, but are you really going to take her side?’ But when he looked at the phone, the colour drained from his face.
‘Evie, where did you get this?’
‘Does it really matter?’ Evie felt so foolish! How could she have fallen for his charms? She should have known better. ‘How could you do this? To somebody you once claimed to love? To anybody, for that matter!’
‘Evie, I can explain,’ Hugo said, suddenly desperate.
‘There’s nothing you can say to make this better. I can’t believe you,’ Evie said, finishing on a sob. All those lost years of admiring him, yearning for him—she felt sick!
Hugo looked at her desperately, his eyes rimmed red. ‘It all got away from me, and then all of a sudden it was too late. Evie, you have to believe me when I tell you that I didn’t mean for it to come to this.’
Evie slid down the wall, and sat on the cold hard floor. Hugo joined her, nervously smoothing his hair and clearing his throat.