Page 52 of My Husband's Wife
‘Yes,’ she replies.
‘About you accusing me of binning that ring. I can tell you still think I did it and you know what?’
She shrugs, wondering if Theo is about to rant at her. If he is, she has no chance of winning. The best thing she can do is let it run its course.
‘It’s you. I think you’ve got some sort of postnatal stress or depression, or something that’s making you forget things. I feel as though you’re barely present when we talk and we haven’t…’ He puts his glasses on the desk and pauses.
‘We haven’t what?’ She wants to know.
‘You never come near me. It’s as if I don’t exist. I miss you, Madison. I miss feeling close to you and laughing and holding hands when we snuggle on the sofa.’
That is true, they barely cuddle. For a couple about to get married, it is strange but they’ve only recently had a baby. She definitely needs time to adjust. The medical professionals said sex would be okay when she was ready, but the truth is, she doesn’t want anyone to touch her because she is tired, because she’s had lots of stitches and they give her the ick because she has Emily and the salon to look after and it is hard. She lets out a little hiccupping sob. Maybe something isn’t right with her. She can’t remember half the things that happened that afternoon. She catches her reflection in the window. Her nightie covers her thin frame and her belly is still slightly puffy from carrying Emily, but her arms are sticklike. Her skin is pale every day, but her make-up expertise gives her a healthy glow, so no one notices. No one sees that underneath all the foundation and blusher, she needs help, or maybe all she needs is a sympathetic ear to listen to her talk. Theo is waiting expectantly for her to say something. ‘I don’t mean to push you away.’
‘I sometimes wonder if you still love me.’
She does love him but receiving that message has planted doubts in her mind. First she doubted Theo and now she doubts herself. That message – it won’t leave her mind. Someone is trying to ruin her relationship. ‘I do love you, Theo. I love you so much. I just can’t get that message out of my mind. Who sent it?’
‘I know it was gone when you went to show me, but I believe you about the message. Maybe you accidentally deleted it.’ He shrugs.
‘Maybe.’ She’s so grateful he believes her; she wants to throw her arms around him but she holds off.
‘Well, the only person I can think would send something like that is Camille.’
‘Camille?’ She throws her hands in the air, frustrated by him suggesting her sister would do that to her.
‘I don’t blame her. She doesn’t want you to move away. She’s trying to drive us apart; she thinks you will stay and I will go. It has to be her.’
‘No way. Camille wouldn’t do that. I can’t believe you even thought that. I haven’t even seen her today. What about Eva? She could have deleted it when I went to the loo. I’m always unlocking my phone in front of people. It wouldn’t be hard to break into.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, really. She thinks you’re her dead husband.’
‘Whoever it is, we can’t let them come between us.’ He goes to hug her.
She tries to push him away because she’s too wound up to stand there hugging, but he grabs her hard. There’s no way out of his embrace, which should feel stifling, but somehow, she wants him close to her, to reassure her that everything’s okay. For the first time since having Emily, she feels the desire that Theo is so desperate for her to have. She feels his hardness press against her as his tongue probes her mouth before flitting gently towards her neck. Her body reacts with little shivers. She reaches down to touch him over his track bottoms, wanting him to take her on the desk that her bottom is about to touch.
Emily’s cries extinguish that desire instantly, and Buster begins to bark. Suddenly she feels self-conscious in her ugly nightdress as her reflection stares back at her in the window. ‘I best see to Emily.’
He holds her hand as she walks to the door, until their fingers no longer touch. She loves that smile, the one she fell for when they first met. Maybe things are all going to be okay.
While tending to Emily, she listens as Theo heads into their bedroom, then she hears a squeak but dismisses it. It’s nothing. He runs downstairs, and as she’s feeding Emily, she hears the kitchen drawers open and close. Several minutes of him rummaging passes. ‘Have you seen my phone?’ he shouts up the stairs.
She takes Emily down with her once she finishes feeding. ‘Did you find it?’
‘No.’ He grimaces before leaving through the back door.
‘What are you doing?’ She grabs her phone and starts calling his. It can’t be far.
‘My phone must be in there,’ Theo shouts back as he points at the cabin.
Her call ends. ‘Did you find it?’ she yells out, but he doesn’t answer. He’s already in the cabin. She grabs a blanket from the back of the settee and throws it around her shoulders and snuggles Emily close to her before heading to the cabin. As she approaches in her slipper socks, she hears him talking.
‘… fucking kill you.’
The window frame judders after the loud bang. She wonders if it’s his mother again or could it be the person who messaged her? Is his mother even real or is something else going on? Before he catches her loitering, she hurries back to the house. Buster whines, unhappy to be trapped inside while all the action is happening in the back garden.
Theo returns with his phone, and she places Emily in the basket in the living room. She looks at him, wondering who her husband-to-be wants to kill. ‘Were you on the phone? I came out but thought I heard you talking, so I headed back in.’
