Pulling herself upright in her chair and, squaring her shoulders, she gathered her pride. Looking at the man she had married, and who she still loved with all her heart, she said coldly, ‘I don’t need you or anyone else to tell me about my life, Michael. I am the one who has to live it, and I live it to the best of my ability.’

For the first time ever her words didn’t have any effect on him; he didn’t care about her problems or her needs. ‘Oh, blow it out your arse, Josephine. It’s not about you for once, is it? It’s about Jessie, and where the fuck she might be. Because I don’t think this is her usual old fanny. I think this time she might really be in serious trouble.’

Chapter One Hundred and Five

Chapter One Hundred
and Five

Jessie woke up to find a stone-cold McDonald’s and a large bottle of water on the end of her bed. She was relieved there was finally some light, albeit not that bright, but at least she could peruse her surroundings. There wasn’t much to see. As she gobbled down the food left for her, she didn’t notice anything of use; the walls were concrete, badly rendered, and there was no furniture in the room other than the bed she was tied to. The smell of her urine was disgusting, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that. She just hoped that would work in her favour – whoever this man was, he wouldn’t want to rape her. She stank like a fucking polecat. But he’d already had his chance for that.

She finished her food and drank a deep gulp of the water; she had never been so hungry in her life. She had a feeling the man was sedating her with the water he allowed her, but she had no choice – she had to drink it. It was better to be asleep, if truth be told. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Her arms were aching from being bound for days and, as she tried to flex her legs to get some feeling back into them, she saw a bundle of clothing on the floor beside her bed.

Grabbing the clothes eagerly, she noticed that he had left her a cheap wraparound skirt that was suitable for the beach and a tracksuit top; it was an ugly grey colour, but at least it looked warm. As she stripped off her clothes, she was ashamed to see just how soiled and dilapidated she had become.