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The Other Husband

Kathryn Croft
Chapters (67)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. PROLOGUE
  4. PART ONE
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. EIGHTEEN
  24. NINETEEN
  25. TWENTY
  26. TWENTY-ONE
  27. TWENTY-TWO
  28. TWENTY-THREE
  29. TWENTY-FOUR
  30. TWENTY-FIVE
  31. TWENTY-SIX
  32. TWENTY-SEVEN
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT
  34. TWENTY-NINE
  35. PART THREE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. PART FOUR
  47. FORTY
  48. FORTY-ONE
  49. FORTY-TWO
  50. FORTY-THREE
  51. FORTY-FOUR
  52. FORTY-FIVE
  53. FORTY-SIX
  54. FORTY-SEVEN
  55. FORTY-EIGHT
  56. FORTY-NINE
  57. FIFTY
  58. FIFTY-ONE
  59. FIFTY-TWO
  60. FIFTY-THREE
  61. FIFTY-FOUR
  62. EPILOGUE
  63. Mailing list
  64. A Letter from Kathryn
  65. Acknowledgements
  66. About the Author
  67. Also by Kathryn Croft

Cover

The Other Husband

Dedication

For Leela

PROLOGUE

Abby

July

The pounding on the door forces her up. She’s still half asleep, her senses blunt, maybe she’s imagined it?

No, there it is again. And someone banging on your door at three a.m. is never a good thing.

Beside her, Rob remains asleep, in spite of the racket going on outside. He wasn’t joking all those times he’s claimed he’d be able to sleep through a hurricane.

Although Abby isn’t scared – surely nobody wishing to do them harm would draw attention to themselves in this way – her stomach twists into a tight knot.

Rushing to the window, she peers through the blinds, although from upstairs it’s impossible to see who is standing on the doorstep. Sienna’s car is parked haphazardly across the drive. It almost looks as if it would have taken more effort to get it at that angle than if she’d kept it straight. No need to wake Rob, then. Sienna has come for her.

With the hallway bathed in darkness, she almost loses her footing on the stairs in her effort to get to the door before the hammering begins again. Everything about this is wrong; Sienna isn’t the kind of person who asks for help with anything, and she isn’t the kind of person who ever needs help with anything. Abby knows without a doubt that this is something to do with her. There will be no more hiding.

Shock numbs her when she flings open the door and takes in the state of Sienna: smeared make-up under her eyes, damp hair plastered to her flushed cheeks. Despite the rain, she’s wearing only a pyjama shorts set under a long, thin cardigan, slippers on her feet, which are already soaked through. Abby manages to take in all these details, despite the rapidly spreading apprehension she feels.

Outside, rain hammers against the ground, an almost soothing distraction, the weather matching the situation as though they are characters in a literary novel.

Tick, tick, tick. Seconds pass before Sienna opens her mouth to speak, even though it’s clear she is desperate to spill what she’s come here to say. Then her words finally come.

‘Where is he?’

‘I don’t… Sienna, what’s going on? Come inside. You’re getting soaked.’ Abby beckons her in.

‘No, I won’t set foot in your house.’ Sienna’s eyes become slits. ‘Just tell me where he is.’

‘Greg? Are you talking about Greg?’ Of course Abby knows that she is.

‘Where is he?’ Sienna repeats, spitting her words at Abby.

‘I don’t know where Greg is. Why would I? Look, just tell me what’s happened.’ Again, Abby attempts to coax her inside.