He tells me the truth about the six-month condition on the inheritance. The huge motivation for Hayley to murder me. He takes me in his arms. ‘I just didn’t want you to be scared. I didn’t want to worry you. It’s over now. Hayley did nothing. Nothing. She just went back to New Zealand. Aiden and I watched over you like a hawk.’

I am trembling like a leaf, from top to toe. ‘So Hayley didn’t want to do me any harm, thank goodness. Despite all your mother’s encouragement.’

‘I’m so sorry, Saffron. So sorry I didn’t realise how toxic my mother was. She did everything she could to fool me.’

‘And Hayley is a better person than we thought.’

193

Hayley

My mobile rings, and I pick up.

‘Hello, Hayley, it’s Saffron Jackson here.’

I’m taken aback. ‘I can’t believe the coincidence. I was about to ring you. How are you all?’

‘Good. Good. Listen, I’ll get straight to the point, I just wanted to say thank you.’

‘For what?’ I ask.

‘For not killing me.’

I laugh a nervous laugh.

‘I’ve only just found out the truth about the conditions of the will. I was gobsmacked,’ Saffron continues. ‘And I discovered a copy of the letter Caprice sent to you, encouraging you to kill me.’ There is a pause. Guilt at how close I came to doing exactly that coagulates in my stomach. My therapist’s words twist and turn in my head. The important thing is you didn’t do it. ‘Thank you,’ Saffron repeats.

I push my therapist’s words away. I hesitate. I do not know what to say. Silence festers down the phone line. I cut through it. ‘Saffron, I’ve met someone.’

‘The way you say someone, with such strong emphasis, makes it feel important.’

I swallow. ‘It is. I mean, he is. Important to me. His name is Simon. We’re getting married.’

‘Congratulations,’ she says, and I wonder if she knows how I once felt about you, Miles. ‘I hope you end up with a nicer mother-in-law than mine.’

I take a deep breath and admit the truth. ‘She’s the mother-in-law from hell.’

‘There can’t be two of them.’

‘Come on, Saffron. Come to New Zealand and meet her. See for yourself.’

194

Saffron

I pick up the mail that has just thumped through the letter box. The usual junk. Pizza delivery letters. A free local magazine that no one reads. Bank statements. Bills. And a thick envelope from Queenstown, New Zealand. Marbled white paper. Gold-embossed lettering. I open it carefully. A wedding invitation. From Hayley and Simon, to me.

I pad around the house looking for Miles. The children are in their playroom, glued to a Disney cartoon. I find him in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher.

‘Look at this,’ I say, handing him the thick white marbled envelope.