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Back The Village Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PROLOGUE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

‘I mean it.’ Ed’s words were firm. ‘It’s my job to protect you, and I was off looking for my ex. You could have died. Both of you could.’ For the first time, Naomi saw tears in his eyes. ‘I swear, I’ll never let you down again.’

Naomi believed him. ‘Then tell their story,’ she said, looking to her sister for support.

‘You can’t be serious?’ Connie said. ‘Haven’t you been through enough?’

Naomi returned her attention to Ed when it was clear Connie wasn’t going to back her up.

‘I don’t know,’ Ed said. ‘We can’t be seen to be profiteering from the Harpers’ misery – or yours, for that matter.’

‘We won’t be. Not if we handle it sensitively,’ Naomi replied. ‘If you don’t do it, someone else will.’ She paused, allowing the words to sink in.

Connie retreated to the kettle, knowing when she was beat.

‘Please.’ A small smile touched Naomi’s lips for the first time in days. ‘Film it. Get it out there. Then flatten that stinking cottage to the ground.’

She watched as the idea took hold. It warmed her to think of Susan and her family finally having their story told.

‘I’ll think about it – on the condition we move back to London.’ Ed finally relented. ‘I should never have asked you to leave.’

A moment of mutual satisfaction passed between them.

‘What about Morgan?’ Naomi slid her arms around her husband’s waist. ‘Do you think she’ll like living in London?’

Ed opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted as a fist rapped on their hotel room door. She watched as Morgan ran out of the bedroom to answer it. Heard her gasp as she opened the door.

‘Mum! You made it!’

Wearily, Naomi met Ed’s gaze. ‘You didn’t say she was coming.’

Ed’s brows rose in surprise. ‘I didn’t know.’

But it seemed that Morgan did.

Naomi heaved a sigh. What dramas was Harmony bringing with her now?

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Ten Years Previously

Tears sprang to Grace’s eyes as she stared at her reflection in the mirror across from her bed. The beautiful blonde locks that had made her look like a princess were now dull, brittle and thin. She wasn’t a Disney princess. She was nothing at all. With every day that passed, she was fading away. She had given up tugging at the cloth bindings. Her mother had tied her to the metal bedframe using cloth instead of rope, so it wouldn’t redden her wrists.