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Chapters (80)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Debbie Howells
  3. Readers gave The Vow five stars …
  4. Dedication
  5. Niamh
  6. Chapter One
  7. Niamh
  8. Chapter Two
  9. Niamh
  10. Chapter Three
  11. Chapter Four
  12. Niamh
  13. Chapter Five
  14. Niamh
  15. Chapter Six
  16. Chapter Seven
  17. Chapter Eight
  18. Chapter Nine
  19. Niamh
  20. Chapter Ten
  21. Chapter Eleven
  22. Niamh
  23. Chapter Twelve
  24. Chapter Thirteen
  25. Chapter Fourteen
  26. Chapter Fifteen
  27. Niamh
  28. Chapter Sixteen
  29. Chapter Seventeen
  30. Chapter Eighteen
  31. Niamh
  32. Chapter Nineteen
  33. Chapter Twenty
  34. Chapter Twenty-One
  35. Chapter Twenty-Two
  36. Niamh
  37. Chapter Twenty-Three
  38. Chapter Twenty-Four
  39. Chapter Twenty-Five
  40. Chapter Twenty-Six
  41. Niamh
  42. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  43. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  44. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  45. Niamh
  46. Chapter Thirty
  47. Chapter Thirty-One
  48. Chapter Thirty-Two
  49. Chapter Thirty-Three
  50. Chapter Thirty-Four
  51. Niamh
  52. Chapter Thirty-Five
  53. Chapter Thirty-Six
  54. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  55. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  56. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  57. Chapter Forty
  58. Chapter Forty-One
  59. Niamh
  60. Chapter Forty-Two
  61. Chapter Forty-Three
  62. Niamh
  63. Chapter Forty-Four
  64. Chapter Forty-Five
  65. Chapter Forty-Six
  66. Niamh
  67. Chapter Forty-Seven
  68. Chapter Forty-Eight
  69. Chapter Forty-Nine
  70. Niamh
  71. Chapter Fifty
  72. Niamh
  73. Chapter Fifty-One
  74. Chapter Fifty-Two
  75. Niamh
  76. Keep Reading …
  77. Acknowledgements
  78. About the Author
  79. Also by Debbie Howells
  80. About the Publisher

‘She took an overdose.’ Ida Jones looks sad. ‘She must have been in a terrible state to leave her daughter like that. But in many ways, Kathryn was too good for this world. There are people who take advantage of girls like that. And women were jealous of her looks. But she was kind, too. Wouldn’t say a bad word about anyone.’

I imagine an older version of Hollie, struggling to find her place in the world. Another tortured soul. ‘Was it the same for Hollie? Do you think people took advantage of her?’

Ida Jones shakes her head. ‘I don’t know. She was less tolerant than her mother. But I think the hurt of losing her mum, then Dylan, was too much for Hollie.’ She pauses. The tick of the clock on the wall punctuates the silence. ‘If you want to know what I think happened to Dylan and Hollie, I believe someone broke them up. It’s only my opinion, but from the outside, it didn’t seem to be what either of them wanted. And I never saw either of them with anyone else after that. I don’t think there was anyone else for those two, to be honest. Anyway, maybe, now, wherever they are, they’re together again.’

‘Why would someone have broken them up?’ But as I ask the question, I’m thinking of Niamh’s account of the conversation she overheard between her father and Dylan; of Andrew Buckley’s comment about how he was glad that Hollie wasn’t in Niamh’s life anymore. Had he felt that way about Dylan? Had he seen Hollie as a negative influence on his son and somehow forced them apart? But why would they have let one of their parents stop them from seeing each other? Shaking my head, I know I’m missing something.

‘There’s someone else who sees what goes on around here. More than you think she might.’ Ida Jones looks at me. ‘Young Niamh.’

Niamh

The police have charged him with assault, my mother tells me after talking to DS May, in a voice that is shocked, relieved, and terrified, too – both of us knowing that if or when he gets out, he’ll come after us.

But we still have to leave. I lie awake that night, wondering if I’ll ever sleep in this bed again, listening to the sounds of the night through my cracked-open window. The distant car driving through the village, the hoot from a nearby owl, the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves.