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Back The Other Husband
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

There’s not much Sienna can do; trying to persuade Abby otherwise will only give her more reason not to want her in the house. ‘Of course, that’s no problem. I suppose I need to face home eventually. Home.’ She repeats the word, trying it out for size. ‘It’s funny how it no longer feels that way.’ She stands and reties the cord on her dressing gown. ‘Do you mind if I have a quick shower before I go?’

‘Okay.’ Abby pulls at her wet hair. ‘I’ll go and sort this out and then we can leave together?’

Upstairs, Sienna waits until she hears Abby’s hairdryer and then makes her way back down. She’s often seen Abby open her back door with a key from her main keyring, and she’s sees it now on the phone table by the door. Comforted by the continuing hum of the hairdryer upstairs, she grabs the bunch from the phone table and takes them to the kitchen. It doesn’t take long to work out which one is for the back door, and she quickly unlocks it, checking that she has definitely unlocked it before she closes the door again. It shouldn’t be hard to keep Abby distracted so that she won’t think of checking the back door before they leave; Sienna’s never seen her do it before, so the odds are in her favour.

Her shower will have to be quick; she can’t risk Abby going downstairs and checking the back door. In the end, though, she has nothing to worry about – Abby’s thick, curly hair needs a lot of attention, so she’s still not ready when Sienna comes out.

‘We’d better get going,’ she says, standing in her bedroom doorway, ‘or you’ll be late for your appointment. I hope everything’s all right?’

Abby unplugs her hairdryer and stares at her. ‘It’s just routine. My cervical screening is way overdue.’

‘I’m glad it’s nothing serious,’ Sienna responds.

By the time they leave the house, Abby hasn’t checked the back door. One thing floats through Sienna’s mind as they say goodbye and head off in different directions, with Abby promising to text later: Sienna will always win. When it comes to her marriage, and her husband, Abby has no chance against her.

Sienna knows Abby is telling the truth about her hospital appointment – she’d noticed a letter on the phone table when she’d grabbed her keys – so this gives her a small window, at least. It’s risky, but she makes the decision to go home first. She’s desperate to put on clean clothes, and it will also buy her some time in case Abby forgets something and returns to the house.