Dom drops his shoulders. ‘Okay. Okay, that’s true. I’ve been taking a little something to boost my performance. I’m not proud of it, but everyone else does it. It’s not actually that big a deal.’
‘If it’s not that big a deal, why did you keep it from me?’ I shake my head. ‘You know what? It doesn’t matter. I don’t even care about the drugs right now. What bothers me is that I don’t think I can trust you. What other skeletons in the closet have you got lined up for me?’
‘I don’t have anything in any closet. The performance enhancements are the only thing I kept from you, I swear.’
‘I hope that’s the truth. But I’m going home with Daisy now. I’ll call you when I’ve had a chance to think.’
As I leave the lounge, Audrey materialises from the kitchen. ‘You two had your talk? I hope you’ve managed to work things out. Will you stay for lunch, Kirstie?’
‘Thanks, Audrey, but I’m off now. Dom!’ I call out, as I head towards the staircase ‘Explain what’s happening to your mum, will you.’
I can’t wait to fetch my daughter and go home.
* * *
It’s 8 a.m., Monday, and Daisy is awake and smiling, babbling away to me in her inflatable ring while I kneel on the lounge carpet, passing her different toys to play with. For the first time in ages, I’ve stopped feeling anxious that there might be someone out there who’s going to break in and snatch my child. Instead, I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. A feeling that my marriage might be over. Whether or not Dom is telling the truth about Hannah Slater, the fact that I don’t trust him says a lot about our relationship.
Since I saw him yesterday lunchtime, I’ve done nothing but think about Dom and whether or not he’s been cheating on me. A few days ago, I thought he was having an affair with Mel. Now it’s Hannah who’s in the frame. I even think I suspected him of having a fling with Rosa Clifford at one point. So either he’s guilty or I’m paranoid and suspicious. Or maybe it’s simply circumstances conspiring against us. The truth is, I don’t know what to think any more.
I jerk my head up at a tap on the side window. The knot in my belly tightens. Peering through the glass is Hannah Slater. What does she want? Is she here to admit that she and Dom are having an affair? Is she bringing evidence to show me? Or is she here to deny it once more? Why is she sneaking down the side of my house? Why didn’t she ring the doorbell?
I stand and gesture towards the front door, but she shakes her head. I open the window. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Is your husband in?’ she asks nervously.
‘Dom? No.’
‘Can you let me in round the back?’ she asks, glancing behind her.
‘Okay. Wait there, I’ll open the side gate.’
I scoop up my daughter, walk out into the garden and down the side of the house, easing back the rusted bolt on the wooden gate. Hannah is standing there, shifting from foot to foot, her hair tied up in a ponytail, her eyes red and swollen. It makes her look her age, or younger, and my guts roll at the thought of her and my husband together.
‘Do you want to come in?’ I ask.
She bites her lower lip and nods.
‘Come on then.’ I walk back through the garden and into the kitchen with Hannah following behind like a little puppy. ‘Can I get you a drink?’
Hannah shakes her head.
‘Sit down if you like.’ I gesture to the chair that Callum sat in yesterday.
She sits, her hands in her lap, her eyes constantly darting to the window.
I strap Daisy into her high chair. ‘Why are you here, Hannah?’
She doesn’t reply.
‘Look, why don’t you just tell me the truth. I told you before, I’m not angry with you, I’m angry with my husband.’
‘You sure he’s not here?’ she says.
‘I promise. He’s at work. And anyway, he’s staying at his mum and dad’s place at the moment, in case you didn’t know.’ I take a seat opposite the girl.
‘Did he leave because of me?’ Hannah asks. ‘Because of what Callum said?’ She brings a hand up to her mouth and starts chewing her thumbnail. I notice all her nails are bitten down to the quick, the skin surrounding them chapped and flaking.
‘No,’ I say. ‘But you need to tell me the truth about what happened between you and my husband.’
‘I can’t,’ she says in a small voice.
‘I told you, I won’t be cross. But I really need to know, Hannah. If you don’t tell me, I’ll have no choice. I’ll have to go to the police and report my husband’s actions. If he slept with you when you were underage, there’ll have to be an investigation, a paternity test.’
Her lower lip trembles and a tear rolls down her cheek. I also notice her hands have begun to shake violently. She sits on them, presumably to stop the shaking. ‘Please don’t tell the police. My dad will go mad.’
‘You mean your stepdad or your biological dad?’
‘Stephen. He’ll kill me.’
‘No he won’t. But if he gets angry, it’s only because he cares about you. Same with your mum. They don’t want you getting into to trouble, that’s all.’
‘Bit late for that,’ she says with a bitter laugh.
‘So, it’s true then?’ I ask, my heart twisting. ‘You and Dom…’
More tears slide down her face. She give a loud sniff and turns her face to wipe it on her shoulder.
The earlier anger I felt towards her has dissipated. Despite what she may or may not have done, Hannah is still only a child. She looks so young and vulnerable. I get up and grab a tissue from the box on the kitchen counter, pass it to her.
She blows her nose and gets to her feet. ‘I shouldn’t have come,’ she croaks. ‘I better go before Mum notices I’m missing. If Leo wakes up before I get back…’
‘Leo,’ I murmur, wondering if his surname will be Rawlings. Maybe she’ll stick with Slater to keep things simple. ‘Don’t go yet,’ I say.
‘I have to,’ she wails.
‘Look,’ I say sternly. ‘Just tell me the truth. You’ll feel much better if you get it off your chest. Then we can deal with it.’
‘I don’t know how to tell you.’ She’s sobbing now, gasping and shuddering.
I can’t bring myself to comfort her, to hold her close and tell her it will all be okay. Not when she could be responsible for wrecking my marriage. ‘Hannah?’
‘I’m sorry,’ she cries. ‘Your husband isn’t the father. I made it up. I’m really sorry.’
My whole body sags, followed by a sharp surge of anger. ‘Why?’ I cry. ‘Why the hell would you make something like that up? You must have known something like that could ruin my marriage. Or didn’t you care?’
‘I know,’ she cries. ‘I know. But I had to tell Cal something. He wouldn’t leave it alone – kept asking me who the father was. On and on and on, he wouldn’t shut up about it. I don’t even really know Dom, and I definitely never slept with him. His name just came into my head. I suppose because he’s always friendly and funny. And he’s probably the only person, apart from Cal, that I would want to be Leo’s dad – he’s so sweet with Daisy.’
‘What about that selfie you took of the two of you?’ I ask. ‘Callum showed it to me.’
She flushes. ‘I told your husband I was doing a school project on my neighbours. Asked if I could take a selfie with him. I needed a photo to show Callum, so he’d believe me and stop asking questions.’
‘Oh my God,’ I murmur, realising that Dom might actually have been telling the truth. It takes all my willpower not to take a step forward and slap this silly girl around the face. She and Callum have caused me and Dom weeks of misery and torment. Unless…
‘Dom could have rung you yesterday or today, to warn you. He could have told you about the school project excuse. Maybe he came up with it on the spur of the moment.’
‘What? No. I promise you. I made it all up. Dom is nothing to do with Leo, or with me. I swear.’
‘If that’s the truth, have you any idea what damage you’ve done to my life? Why didn’t you just tell Callum who the real father is? Better than lying and causing everyone else pain!’
She nods, still sobbing. ‘I couldn’t tell Callum, because if I did, the real father, he said… he said he would hurt me.’
‘Hurt you?’ My skin goes cold. ‘Who’s the father, Hannah?’
‘It’s my stepdad. It’s Stephen. He’s Leo’s father.’