Her Sister’s Secret: A completely gripping psychological thriller full of suspense by S.E. Lynes

Author:S.E. Lynes [Lynes, S.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800195202
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2021-07-12T23:00:00+00:00

28 Annie

October 1993

Annie decides to let Dominic tell her about Sonia when he’s ready. Daisy reckoned he probably meant to tell her but couldn’t find the words. He is mad for her, Daisy said. Couldn’t have married her fast enough. Don’t worry. Honestly. But Annie can’t get it out of her mind. That poor girl. Such an extreme thing to happen. The information builds a head of pressure. The more she bites her lip, the more the need to hear him say it in his own words swells in her chest, blocks her airways, leaves her responses curt, her eyes falling short of his, her hands clumsy when she places his dinner in front of him, the bang of china on tabletop. And when the question finally bursts from her, it is all the more explosive for being suppressed.

It is the following weekend. Dom has persuaded her to leave Cal at home and come to the pub to see a folk band he thinks are the next big thing. She doesn’t really want to go, but, feeling browbeaten, as is often the case, she has agreed. Cal thinks he’s old enough to be left in the house. He is adamant. But the problem is, the cottage is set well away from the other houses. There are no reassuring noises from the flat next door, no street lamp outside his window like there was in Inveraray. Here, the darkness at night is darker. The shapes night makes in the rooms won’t be familiar to him yet, not in a sleepy state. He might be too scared to venture upstairs, might fall asleep on the couch and get cold… too scared even to call the pub.

She tries to forget about Cal, but that only makes her think about Sonia. She and Dom are almost at the centre of the village when the head of pressure bursts, releasing a chaotic outpouring of tearful questions:

‘Why didn’t you tell me about Sonia?’

‘Didn’t you think your wife – your wife, for God’s sake – had a right to know?’

‘Do you think I’m so weak I can’t cope?’

‘Is it because you feel responsible?’

‘Or’ – and this is the one she really wishes she hadn’t said – ‘are you ashamed?’

‘Whoa,’ he says, throwing up the palms of his hands. They have reached the village green, where he halts next to the duck pond. ‘Stop! Just stop!’

‘I’m sorry,’ she says, though she is still fizzing. ‘I wasn’t going to ask at all, but we’re married and I don’t think there should be things we can’t talk about. There was so much I wasn’t allowed to talk about growing up. I thought I’d left that behind.’

‘All right, all right.’ Dominic sits on the stone bench and pulls her down to sit beside him. The smell of guano and stagnant water is strong, the seat cold beneath her bottom. He looks at his watch.

‘Don’t let me keep you,’ she says bitterly, quashing the strong urge to slap him across the face. ‘Wouldn’t want to miss five minutes of the band, would we?’

‘Annie.

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