‘He did this to you.’ Liam’s face was dark with rage, his tone fierce, and for a moment Hannah thought he was going to pick up the frying pan and take over where Rosie had left off.

‘I’ll be okay. It just… it hurts.’ She winced as she tried to sit up.

‘Try not to move too much, okay? Here, I’ve got you.’

He slipped his arms carefully around her and Hannah eased into his embrace. Resting her head against his shoulder, she wept.

58

The next few days were a competition. Liam versus Rosie.

The uneasy truce they had formed still held, but they were definitely in a game against one another, and Hannah was the prize, both of them vying for her attention.

Part of her wanted to be annoyed with them, but they were taking care of her, and if she was completely honest, she needed to lean on them right now.

Initially she had been embarrassed, aware she had let her guard down and they had seen her vulnerability. Hannah had always been the tough one, the one who supported others, but Bill Wickham had exposed the chink in her armour.

He had reminded her of how it felt to be afraid, to be weak, and in doing so had stolen her confidence. His attack had proven that it was always possible for the monster to get to her and she was painfully aware that if Rosie and Liam hadn’t shown up when they did, she would most likely be dead.

Instead, she had walked away with bruised ribs, two black eyes and a sore and bloody nose.

The wounds Bill had inflicted would in time heal, but Hannah feared the trauma of his attack would linger. It had been five days and she was terrified of being alone in her flat, and an anxious mess on the occasions she dared to venture out.

She would get over it, she was determined to, but it would take time.

Just as it would take time to adjust to the truth about Liam.

He had lied to her.

Josh had warned her that Liam wasn’t who he said he was, and she had jumped to all kinds of conclusions, but never would she have guessed the truth.

She had asked him if this story was personal to him and he had said no, failing to mention his connection to Jill and Miles.

Would it have made a difference if he had introduced himself as their stepbrother? Would she have talked to him about the past, let him into her home and her bed?

Honestly? The answer was probably yes. If anything, she would have felt more empathy towards him, knowing he had wanted to tell the story of a sweet and often lonely little boy, who had met such a terrible end. It bothered her that he hadn’t trusted her with his secret and it was one more shock to deal with.