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Back The Other Husband Save as PDF
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

‘It was intense,’ he admits. ‘And that’s what scared me. We were so young, and it just didn’t feel right to be in something so… heavy. I was afraid of what would happen to me if it crumbled away, so I tried to take control, to make sure I couldn’t be hurt.’

‘Don’t, Mark. I don’t want to hear all of this again.’

He stands and walks over to her, takes her arm. ‘Nothing’s changed, Abby. I’ve tried to move on and make my life work. I really have. But I love you and I can’t stop. God knows I’ve tried.’

There are tears in her eyes now because she’s realised something: they are both different people, changed in immeasurable ways, yet how she feels about him has remained the same. Timeless. Isn’t that exactly what love is supposed to be?

Mark kneels before her and buries his head into her lap. His body is shaking, and she can tell he’s also trying not to cry. It takes her a few moments, but eventually she places her hand on his shoulders. It should feel strange touching him after all this time, but it only feels right.

Her thoughts turn to Rob, and the mess of her life back at home. Sienna. Greg. What if she never had to go back and face it? Her mind battles with her heart. She needs to fight this, do the right thing. But isn’t it already too late for that? She’s gone so far beyond the line she doubts there is any coming back. This is what sways her, along with the fact that she has never stopped loving this man.

Afterwards, she nestles into him, breathing in his scent. Beneath the shower gel and aftershave is the essence of Mark, the smell that hasn’t changed since school. It is comforting and familiar. Part of him that somehow also belongs to her. She should feel guilty, and it’s there, somewhere, hidden, but all she feels is that, finally, she’s where she’s meant to be.

‘I keep staring at you,’ he says. ‘I can’t believe this is real.’ He reaches for her hand, gently strokes it. ‘I need to explain what happened that day. Why I never showed up.’

She’s wanted to know this for years, but now the moment of revelation has come she’s not sure she needs to. Abby wants to stay in this bubble, just the two of them, without letting the world back in. ‘No,’ she says. ‘Don’t explain. It’s better if I don’t know.’

‘It was never about Cassie. I didn’t love her.’