If all went as planned after she left, Ben should have poured another bottle of whisky onto the sofa around Nathan, just to make sure it went up in flames. All that was left to do then was to put the lit cigarette onto the pile of newspapers next to the sofa, and wait for it all to catch fire. Nathan didn’t stand a chance; the place would be burned beyond repair.

Grace loved that pub more than anyone would ever know. But lately it had become like a weight around her neck. It was no longer the place her dad raised her, or where she’d raised Jake. The happy memories she had there had been expunged by memories of Nathan. Now that Jake had moved on to university, she no longer felt tied to Liverpool in the same way she always had.

It was time for a new start. A new life. A new Grace? Nathan was gone. She would never have to see his smug face again. Never have to fend off his wandering hands, or feel the sting of a slap across her cheek. In a few weeks, she and Ben would move to her new house in the country. It was a huge, sprawling place, with gardens that went on for ever, and stables, where they planned to keep horses.

Grace pictured the happy times they might have there. Her and Ben having breakfast in the garden. Jake visiting for the weekend and bringing his new uni friends to stay in one of the many spare bedrooms, or throwing huge parties while she and Ben holidayed in the Costa del Sol. Maybe even one day, there would be grandchildren running around the place? Whatever happened, she knew they would be happy.

Chapter Eighty-One

Eddie had watched as Nathan parked his car in the small, private car park behind the Rose and Crown. He’d waited around for a while; he’d had nowhere more important to be. But it was raining, and cold, and after a couple of hours he’d decided he could find something better to do with his time. Nathan usually spent the night with Grace on a Monday and it was looking unlikely that either of them would be leaving soon. Eddie stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, preparing to emerge from the relative cover of the closed shop doorway for the walk to the nearest bus stop. Or if he was lucky, he’d come across a car that was ripe for the taking and drive home instead.