The Forgotten Wife by Emma Robinson

Author:Emma Robinson [Robinson, Emma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838881092
Publisher: Bookouture
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

24

Lara

‘Art is subjective. What is beautiful to one person can be quite ordinary to another. When deciding whether to keep a picture, sculpture or work of art, you must always come back to the same decision. Ask yourself: does this bring me joy?’

Lara stopped reading, lowered Make Way for Joy and looked at Shelley. For the last ten minutes, she had been tugging three frames from the side of the wardrobe, where they seemed to have been wedged, refusing any help that Lara offered. It was probably for the best; Lara had zero strength today. Around month four, when the sickness had stopped, she had felt really well. Surely she couldn’t yet be past the ‘blooming’ period that everyone talked about?

Now most of the boxes had been emptied and any unwanted contents dropped off to the charity shop yesterday, this room was coming back to itself: it actually looked like somewhere you could invite a guest to stay. Though there was still work to do, it was a far cry from the junkyard it had been the first time Lara had seen it, when it had been so full that a frame had fallen out and hit her on the head. These last few weeks had gone quickly; it wasn’t just the room that had changed. Who could have predicted that her quiet, buttoned-down neighbour would become the person she most wanted to spend time with?

They had almost missed the paintings altogether; they were hidden so far back. At least, Lara had missed them. She had her suspicions that Shelley had been trying to ignore them. Finally, with a grunt, Shelley managed to pull them free. ‘This is the sum total of our art collection, I think.’

After all the work they’d already done, the floor space was pretty much clear, so Shelley had laid the first two frames flat so they could appraise them. Stark and modern, framed in chrome, bold, bright paint strokes filled the white background and challenged any onlookers. There was something powerful about them, very masculine. ‘These are striking.’

Shelley folded her arms. ‘I hate them. Greg had them in his old office and they came back here when he moved to another company. They never matched the décor anywhere in the house, so they’ve just been stuck up here. Like hostages.’

Hostages? That was an odd comparison. Not for the first time, Lara wondered if there was a reason that Shelley still had so many of Greg’s belongings. Was she hoping to use them somehow? Was there something she wanted from him? Did she still want him?

Lara gave that idea some serious consideration. It was odd that Shelley hadn’t told her why Greg had left. Apart from his name, some photographs and a few random memories, Lara knew very little about him. Up until now, it had not felt like something she should question, but now they were closer, perhaps she could ask? Shelley had admitted how much better she felt after offloading her old clothes. How

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