Chapters (67)
- Cover
- Dedication
- PROLOGUE
- PART ONE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- PART TWO
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- PART THREE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- PART FOUR
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- EPILOGUE
- Mailing list
- A Letter from Kathryn
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by Kathryn Croft
He nods. ‘I told her we’ve been texting. I don’t like lies. Other people seem to be comfortable telling them, but I’m not.’
‘And what did she have to say about it?’
Rob looks past her, into the kitchen. ‘Can we talk in there? It’s making me a bit nervous standing in the hallway like this.’
‘I’m sorry. Yes, come on.’
‘Actually, can we go out to the garden? It’s peaceful sitting out there and I think I need that right now.’
She doesn’t ask why, just silently leads him out to the garden, where they sit on the same chairs the four of them sat on that night. It’s eerie, the ghosts of two people present with them while they talk.
‘Abby seemed upset that Greg didn’t show up for work,’ Rob says. ‘I think this whole time she just assumed he’d left you, and now this is something else entirely.’
Of course it is; Sienna has always been aware of this, even amidst everyone else’s doubt. ‘Now do you believe he hasn’t just left me? I mean, that might be part of it too, but he’s left his whole life, hasn’t he? His son, his job.’
‘Poor kid,’ Rob mutters. ‘I can’t imagine how he’s feeling.’
‘I’ve been talking to Greg’s ex-wife actually,’ Sienna announces.
‘Oh? I suppose under the circumstances you have no choice.’
‘She’s nothing like I expected. Well, in a way she is – she’s a strong, capable woman who takes no nonsense.’
Rob looks at her. ‘That sounds like someone I know.’
Sienna manages a thin smile, despite the circumstances. ‘I know Jackson’s got his mum, but I’m going to be there for him too. I have to be. I’m Greg’s wife.’ It feels funny to call herself that, when right now it’s a label that no longer seems to fit her. She may as well be a stranger to him.
‘You’re a good person, Sienna.’ Rob’s voice is tinged with sadness. Is he unsure that his wife is? She doesn’t want to push him.
‘Rob, I need to—’
‘I tried to talk to Abby about the night she spent with Greg.’
He’s interrupted her, but what she needs to say can wait. She will do it tonight, though, before he leaves; she has no choice now. ‘What did she say?’
‘She said they had a nice time just talking. She said they didn’t have anything even remotely like an argument.’
‘Do you believe her?’
He stares at the ground, rubs his trainers against the patio. ‘Yes,’ he says. ‘She’s my wife and I trust her.’