‘I’m living vicariously through you now,’ she had said. ‘Don’t let me down.’

Near or far though, they had all been incredible. She thought back to just a few months ago when she had first been diagnosed. She had never felt so scared, so hopeless and alone, yet she had considered it her punishment for crimes committed so long ago. She had driven away the people that she loved. She didn’t deserve to be surrounded by anyone. She would face this on her own, she decided, and not drag others down with her. It was her penance.

Now of course she realised that, yet again, she had behaved like a total idiot.

Her phone beeped again. This time it was Freddy.

Hi Mum, how are you feeling? Katie and I will be over tomorrow lunchtime. Send me a list of what you want us to pick up on the way xx

Now that the tension between the two families had eased, Angie had met Katie a few times and had been enchanted by her. At first, she came across as a serious, quiet young thing, just like Angie remembered her as a little girl. But you only had to delve slightly beneath the surface to discover that she was wickedly funny, intelligent and kind. Just like her mother. She could understand why Freddy was crazy about her but they were so young and in all likelihood it wouldn’t last forever. Did it matter though, in the grand scheme of things, she wondered? As long as they made each other happy now, who cared what happened in the future.

Perhaps it had served the purpose that it was designed to – it had brought the families back together. Ellie had told her that Tom was now following her on Instagram and they’d messaged each other a couple of times. She’d suggested meeting up when she was next in London and he’d seemed keen. It may happen, it may not, but the children being friends again was a possibility she had never imagined.

Her eyelids were getting heavy. She needed to sleep. She could almost feel the toxic drugs coursing through her body, killing off the bad cells but destroying the good ones too. For years she had thought that she was a bad cell, spreading unhappiness to the people around her. But for the first time, in the darkest of times, she felt something else. She felt hope. If Sophie could forgive her, then perhaps it was about time that she forgave herself.

She closed her eyes and drifted off.

Epilogue

Katie looked in the mirror, straightening her gown and cap self-consciously. A figure appeared in the background and she spun round to find her mum standing in the doorway to her bedroom, watching her. ‘Crikey, Mum, you scared me, I didn’t realise you were there.’

‘You look beautiful, darling,’ she said. Katie grinned and gave her a little twirl.

‘Dad’s packed up the car. Are you ready to go?’

‘Just give me five minutes?’