The Divorce by Victoria Jenkins

Author:Victoria Jenkins [Jenkins, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786819857
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Eight

Lydia

Lydia arrives at the house alone, as planned. Karen invites her in in her usual manner, doing everything she can to present herself as the trusting counsellor and the perfect host. She seems different today, but Lydia wonders whether that’s just because they are finally alone, free of Josh and all his childish tendencies.

‘How are you?’ she asks.

Lydia shrugs and offers an attempt at a smile before slipping off her jacket for Karen to hang up on the end of the staircase. ‘I don’t think he’s happy about me coming here today.’

She follows Karen down the hallway and into the consultancy room. Today, without him there, she can look at it properly. She notices for the first time the titles of the books that line the shelves on the far wall, an array of psychology textbooks and guides to relationships interspersed with a few classic novels that she wonders whether Karen has ever read.

‘Has he said that?’

‘He doesn’t need to.’

She takes her usual place on the sofa and waits for Karen to complete her routine of making tea. She checks her handbag for her phone, knowing what she needs to do; knowing that today, without him there, is the only opportunity she will get to show Karen everything the woman needs to see.

‘You were in a controlling relationship, weren’t you?’ she asks.

Karen places the tea tray on the table and avoids eye contact. Her relationship with her first husband is no secret; in fact, she has shared her experiences in what she obviously regards as an effort to help others who have found themselves in similar marriages.

‘My first husband, yes.’

‘I read some of your articles before we met,’ Lydia explains. ‘What you went through was terrible.’

Karen says nothing, and a silence descends, making both women uncomfortable.

‘It all sounds a bit close to home,’ Lydia adds.

Karen looks at her now, waiting for her to offer more. This is her opportunity; she knows she must take it while it is there in front of her.

‘What do you think of Josh?’ she asks.

‘Does it matter what I think?’

‘It matters to me. I wonder sometimes if I’m the only person who sees it.’

‘Sees what?’

‘What he’s really like.’ She reaches to the floor for her bag and searches inside it. ‘I know what he’s doing to me,’ she says, unlocking her phone. ‘I’ve read up on it. I read your article. That’s how I came to find your name.’

She swipes the home screen and taps on the internet icon, opening the page that shows Karen’s piece: 10 Signs You Might Be in a Controlling Relationship. ‘Here,’ she says, pointing a finger at the screen. ‘Number one. “Your partner suggests that you are responsible for their actions and responses”,’ she reads. ‘He does this all the time, Karen. Any time we disagree about anything and he decides to lash out, it’s my fault, as though I’ve taken control of him somehow. You know what he can be like – you’ve seen his temper for yourself. He’ll

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