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Back The Other Daughter Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Books by Shalini Boland
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. Epilogue
  40. The Perfect Family
  41. Hear more from Shalini
  42. Books by Shalini Boland
  43. A letter from Shalini
  44. The Marriage Betrayal
  45. The Secret Mother
  46. The Child Next Door
  47. The Millionaire’s Wife
  48. The Best Friend
  49. The Girl from the Sea
  50. The Silent Sister
  51. Acknowledgements

My heart starts thumping against my ribcage. ‘Told you? Told you what, exactly?’

Dee’s cheeks turn scarlet as she realises I’m not happy. ‘Uh…’

‘Told you what?’

‘That he was worried about you. He just wanted me to keep an eye on you at work.’

‘You haven’t answered my question, Dee.’ I realise my tone is harsh. I know it’s not Dee’s fault my blabbermouth boyfriend couldn’t keep a secret, but I hope this isn’t what I think it is.

‘He told me about your eldest daughter going missing.’

I grit my teeth and clench my fists.

‘I’m so, so, sorry, Rach. You know I won’t talk about it, or mention it, or tell anyone. You know I won’t. I just want you to know that I’m here for you, if you ever need to talk about it.’

I inhale deeply, trying to calm my breathing. ‘Thanks, Dee. But Matt should never have said anything to you. What happened in my past is private.’ I scrape my chair back and get to my feet unsteadily, tears pricking behind my eyes. This is how it starts – you tell one person, then they tell another, and they tell another. And pretty soon the whole damn town is talking about you behind your back, pointing and whispering. ‘I’ve got to go.’

‘Rachel, wait. I’m sorry. I…’

I wave her apology away. I don’t have time for this. I know it’s not her fault that she knows, but I’m so annoyed with Matt, I can’t pretend to be nice to Dee right now. I march away from her, collect my things and leave the café without looking back.

23

Outside, the light is dull, but the town is bustling with people. I wish I were one of them – laughing with friends and family, shopping, socialising, eating, drinking. I wend my way through the crowds, nodding without smiling to a few familiar faces, until I reach the end of the street. I can’t believe Matt told Dee about Holly. I know he’ll say it’s because he was worried about me, but it wasn’t his secret to tell. I shake my head. I have to put Matt and Dee out of my mind. I have to try to focus on Kate instead. Because she’s not happy at all, and this isn’t going to be a very pleasant encounter.