The Daughter-in-Law: An absolutely addictive psychological thriller with a heart-stopping twist by Shalini Boland

Author:Shalini Boland [Boland, Shalini]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838881535
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 2022-11-03T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SIX

CAROLINE

I’m literally shaking after speaking to my absolute witch of a mother-in-law. And now it looks like I’ll also have my father-in-law to contend with. Although at least he sent Lilian packing.

‘What’s all this about, then?’ Brian asks gently, rubbing his chin. He sits on the arm of the sofa and gestures to the one opposite.

I do as he asks, and take a seat, but I’m perched right on the edge, ready to take flight if he starts having a go at me. I take a few steadying breaths. Seb had the right idea, going out for some fresh air. Maybe if I’d gone out too, I’d have been spared his parents getting involved. Although, this does give me an opportunity to try to get some information out of Brian if I can.

‘Is this to do with Amy?’ Brian asks.

I give a brief nod, my fingers twisting in my lap.

‘You do realise that none of what happened with Amy is Seb’s fault. I know as his dad I might be biased, but he was a great husband. She was the one who broke his trust.’

‘So why didn’t he just tell me about her?’

‘I’m sure he was going to tell you. But you’ve hardly been together two minutes.’

‘And Lilian was so rude to me, like it’s all somehow my fault!’ I hear the petulant tone in my voice, and resolve to speak more calmly. I want Brian to respect me. To like me. He seems like a reasonable person. More reasonable than Lilian, anyway.

‘You’ll have to give my wife some time. She was very upset about what happened with Amy and now… well…’ He holds his hands out. ‘She’s protective of Sebastian. She’s worried about him.’

‘About him being with me, you mean.’

‘Now, did I say that?’

‘No. Sorry.’

‘You’ll know what it’s like if you ever have children.’

‘That’s not something I’m in any hurry to do,’ I snap.

Brian chuckles at that. ‘Don’t blame you. I love my sons, but once you have kids, everything changes.’

‘So… Amy?’ I ask, trying to draw the conversation back. ‘What’s the story? Did she move away? Or is she local? My arrival here has already put people’s back up. Do I need to prepare for an angry ex to show up too?’

‘I’d say that’s very unlikely,’ he replies. ‘We don’t even have a forwarding address for the lass. I’m fairly certain she’s moved on with her life. You should put her out of your mind and concentrate on you and Seb.’

‘I just wish he hadn’t lied to me about her.’

‘Well, I suspect he was caught up in the romance of meeting you. He didn’t want to say anything to put a dampener on your relationship, did he? I think he was looking for a clean slate, a fresh start with none of the baggage that can taint it.’

‘But that’s not real life, is it?’ I say.

‘No,’ he replies sadly. ‘No, you’re right. It’s not.’

‘And Seb might want a fresh start, but it feels like everyone else here is determined to hate me before they even get to know me properly.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.