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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

‘Is it strange seeing me like this?’ Sienna asks, as if she can read Abby’s thoughts. ‘I’m nothing like the woman you first met, am I?’

Abby considers how to answer this. ‘I think we all have different sides to us,’ she says. ‘And they probably present at different times.’

Sienna frowns. ‘That makes it sound like a personality disorder. That’s not me, Abby.’

Her defensiveness catches Abby off guard; she hasn’t accused her of anything. ‘I know. I just meant that—’

‘You know, when I was in school, I was so desperate to fit in. I’ve never told you this, but my mum was having an affair for years and she left my dad to be with this other man. I know what you’re thinking – this kind of thing happens all the time, right? But can you believe she actually left me with my dad and went to live in France with Mike?’ She pauses for a moment, perhaps picturing it in her mind, reliving that time. ‘I got to spend school holidays there, until that phased out and then I only saw her about once a year when I was older. I missed her, of course, but do you know what was sometimes even harder to deal with? Being at school and feeling like some abnormal freak because my mum had run off. Nothing like that had happened to anyone else.’

‘I’m so sorry – I had no idea.’

‘Well, it’s not something I advertise. I just wanted you to understand me a bit more. That I’m not just this frivolous woman who doesn’t have a care in the world. I don’t just exist for people’s amusement, to help them live a bit.’

Guilt grasps hold of Abby, squeezing her tightly. ‘I would never have put you in a box like that. I know there’s so much more to you.’ But isn’t that exactly what Abby has done? Hasn’t she come to depend on Sienna and enjoy being around her for just that reason? Before the dinner party she’d barely even tried to get to know her on a deeper level than just enjoying her company. It hadn’t been a calculated thing, just something subconscious she’d given no thought to. What did that say about her?

‘I suppose it’s my fault,’ Sienna continues. ‘I don’t really let people get to know me beyond what’s on the surface, so I can’t blame you.’ She takes a sip of her coffee. It must be cold by now. ‘Anyway, I made a conscious effort to become this person who fitted in. I learned to make people laugh, to lift them up, and it overshadowed all the pain I felt.’

‘Sienna, it’s great that you can see all this, that you have such self-awareness.’ Why is she telling Abby this? Why now?