Every Little Lie: An utterly addictive psychological thriller by Lesley Sanderson

Author:Lesley Sanderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800199941
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-10-26T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Anna

2017

Anna already prefers the new area. Away from Luke, away from her devastating loss, where nobody knows her. In only two days she’s discovered walking routes, shops, and cafés, although she’s yet to meet any neighbours.

She chooses the park today. It’s a decent walk, taking around twenty minutes to get to down the back streets, and the park is a glorious space to explore, with a café where she can sit with a drink and look out over the boating lake. She takes a book and a bottle of iced water with her, as the weather promises to be sunny today.

As she walks, she mulls over the pros and cons of moving. It’s been over a year since her split with Luke, and it’s been a while since he popped up in her thoughts every day, like a jack-in-the-box with a broken lid, bursting out when she least expected it and setting her thoughts spiralling downwards. Time is a healer. It used to annoy her when well-meaning friends came out with such platitudes. You have no idea, she’d say, nodding. But going for days without even noticing she isn’t having intrusive thoughts, that’s the key. She doesn’t need a man to prop her up; she’s managing OK, at least on that front.

Children are everywhere in the park. Families are taking rowing boats out on the lake, parents queuing patiently with their little ones jumping up and down at their sides, like dogs straining on a leash. In the distance, the playground is busy. No longer the familiar see-saw, swings and roundabout that she remembers as a child, but fun structures with ropes and ledges to clamber on. She didn’t realise it was half term, and she was lucky to get a table.

A group of runners pass, chatting loudly. Mothers with babies and dogs stroll by. Perhaps she should get a dog. She seriously considered it for a while – a small companion that would be considerably less demanding than a child – but it always comes back to the need deep in her gut, which hasn’t gone away.

After the last failed pregnancy, she channelled the boundless energy that was just waiting to be used into researching her next step. Age is still on her side – she’s only in her thirties and she wants to make use of her relative youthfulness. She has so much to give as a mother. She’s ruled adoption out; there are too many uncertainties and procedures to go through. Today, here in this spot where the sun is stroking her face and she’s immersed in the sounds of the outdoors, the voices of both adults and children, dogs barking and running feet, she feels sure that she is emotionally ready to take on a child. A surrogate is her latest plan. Not through her GP; she wants to have total control. Finding the right person is the challenge, being able to trust them. The plan is in its infancy and gives her something to focus on.

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