Her sister’s words brought a lump to Martha’s throat. ‘That’s not selfish at all,’ she said, ‘it’s perfectly understandable.’

Having always seen herself as the stronger and more capable sister, that certainty was now gone for Martha. To have survived what she had all on her own, Willow had proved herself to have the kind of strength Martha doubted she herself possessed. Humbled to her core, she leant forward, and as much as their baby bumps would allow, she hugged Willow with a tender love she hadn’t felt before.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Later that afternoon, and when they hadn’t long since been back from the doctor’s surgery, Mum having insisted that Willow be seen by both a doctor and a midwife, there was a ring at the front door. Being as jittery as she was, the sound of the bell made Willow jump. It startled the baby inside her too, setting her off performing what felt like a series of cartwheels.

It had to be Rick. Finally, he’d driven down here to have it out with Willow. The storm, like so many before, was about to break. In a way she welcomed it; it would be a relief for the waiting to be over. Maybe then her blood pressure would sort itself out.

The midwife Willow had just seen had said that her blood pressure was higher than it should be and had warned her that she needed to be careful. Willow had wanted to say that after the last twenty-four hours, it was a miracle her blood pressure hadn’t skyrocketed off the chart. The midwife had also noted that her ankles were showing signs of swelling and while that was relatively normal for an expectant mother at thirty-three weeks, she advised Willow to rest as much as she could, and with her feet up. Which was what she had been doing in the kitchen when the doorbell had rung. Now, and with a rush of adrenaline, she was on her feet, as though ready to meet the storm head on.

‘I’ll go,’ said Ellis, already moving towards the door.

The lightning-fast way he reacted made Willow think he was expecting it to be Rick as well. Everyone else must have thought the same because while he was out of the kitchen, Mum, Martha and Auntie Geraldine gathered around Willow as though creating a human shield. She knew that after what she’d told them yesterday, and on top of what Rick had done to her, they couldn’t stop themselves from being ultra-protective of her, or treating her with kid gloves. They meant well, she knew that, but somehow it only made her feel worse.

She’d had no intention of ever telling anyone what had happened to her, but after listening to her mother’s painful confession on the beach yesterday, it had suddenly felt right to do the same, to shed the coat of lies she’d worn all these years. If Mum could do it, why not her?

But it hadn’t been easy reliving that brief time in her life and with each word she’d wrenched from that dark place deep inside her, she had felt a part of her disappearing. She was no longer the person everyone had thought her to be. Now they could see her as she really was, someone who had tried so hard to shut out the world so she could live in her own safe little bubble.