Back then he would never have dreamt that he would one day meet her sister and fall so deeply in love with her. To be truthful, if he had known the connection that first night he met Celeste, he would have walked away. But it hadn’t happened like that. He had met her, and he had fallen for her. And now he couldn’t imagine being without her. If Cynthia caused any aggravation whatsoever, if she made his relationship with Celeste a problem in any way, he would happily wipe her off the face of the earth. Because, unlike Celeste, he knew the real Cynthia, and he had no intentions of making any kind of excuses for her.

She had nearly got her claws into him once before, and he would never ever let her do that to him again.

Chapter Eleven

‘Come on, Cynth, let’s go out for a couple of hours? Your mum’s happy to have the kids.’

Cynthia looked at her husband and stifled the urge to take him out once and for all. She pictured herself taking a knife from the wooden block she had paid so much for, and running him through with the boning knife. She knew she would never use the boning knife otherwise; after all, why would she ever feel the need to bone a piece of meat? That knife was obsolete, she would never use it, no more than she would use most of the other knives in the set. She had bought them because they were expensive, and would give her kudos should anyone visit her kitchen. But sometimes, like now, she felt that she could happily use a couple of the knives on her lawful husband.

She was getting more and more worried, because he had no idea about how much debt she was actually in. He didn’t understand how hard it was for her when she wanted something new, because he couldn’t earn enough money to keep them afloat. Oh, it was so unfair! Here she was laden down with two children, a house that had a kitchen worth more than their car, and a husband who was never going to go up in his world because he didn’t have the fucking brains he was born with. She was now lumbered with a moron, who she had never really even liked, if she was totally honest, let alone loved, but who, until recently, she had believed would give her the life she craved. The life she had deserved because, after all, she was very beautiful and very shrewd, and she had made a point of looking out for a man she was certain would give her what she wanted – a life of luxury and ease.