Page 56 of Merrily Ever After
‘That’s little Merry,’ he murmured, dragging his eyes back to the photograph. ‘Mine and Sam’s baby. She was born the year before you had Emily. I’m so sorry, Tina, I should have told you.’
So the baby was his; that was why he’d treasured the photograph.
‘You had another child? Another daughter?’ Her chest felt tight as the shock of Ray’s words stole her breath. She turned to him, studying his face, trying to work out if this was real or whether his poor brain was playing tricks on him,on them. ‘Is this true?
Ray reached across and took Emily’s hand, squeezing it briefly. ‘Yes, love. Emily and Merry. My two girls. I’vekept it a secret so long that it’s eaten me up, burned me from the inside.’
Time seemed to stand still as Emily stared at her dad, their warm breath white in the cold night air between them. Her heart thumped so loudly, she could hear the rapid beat in her ears.My two girls.
‘Oh my God,’ she gasped. ‘All this time, I’ve had a sister.’
She pressed a hand to her mouth and gulped in air as her head began to spin. If she hadn’t been sitting down, she’d have fallen. If this was true, then her dad’s admission changed everything. For him, for her, and – she felt a prickle of dread creep down her spine – Tina. What would this do to her? She couldn’t possibly keep this secret from her mum, could she?
Chapter Eighteen
Emily
In her haste to leave Springwood House, Emily took the stairs too fast, misjudged the last step and stumbled. She yelped, lunged forward and grabbed at thin air before landing on the floor in a heap, twisting her ankle as she fell.
‘Ouch,’ she moaned, glancing down at her foot. ‘That hurt!’
‘Oh, Emily!’ Kylie squealed, flying to her side from behind the reception desk. ‘What happened? Have you broken anything, shall I fetch help?’
Emily attempted to circle her foot and winced with pain. ‘No thanks. I wasn’t concentrating, that was all. Just twisted, I think.’
After their chilly walk, she had returned Ray to his flat but had made her excuses to leave. All she wanted to do was get home so she could process what Ray had told her, about Merry, the half-sister he claimed she had. In a perfect world, she’d have someone to go home to. Someone who’d make her a hot chocolate, pull her into a giant hug and listen to her while she poured her heart out. Instead, she was going to have to make do with calling Izzy and hoping she was free for a chat. A wave of self-pity washed over her, and she felt dangerously close to tears. Independence was all well and good, but it got a bit lonely sometimes.
With Kylie’s support, Emily hobbled to a chair and sat down.
The younger woman peered into her eyes. ‘You look really pale. As if you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘I just …’ Emily gulped in air and shook her head. ‘Not a ghost, better than that. Or maybe worse, I’m not sure.’ She dipped her head as a solitary tear rolled down her face. She didn’t know how she felt, she had always wanted siblings, but this was so unexpected, so much to take in.
‘It’s shock,’ Kylie said confidently. ‘I’ll make you a cup of tea with sugar in it. That’ll help.’
‘Thank you, that’s very kind.’ Emily smiled weakly even though she didn’t take sugar. Shock was an understatement, and it was probably going to take a lot more than sweet tea to help her process what she’d learned today. Still, she appreciated the gesture.
‘Don’t move!’ Kylie cried over her shoulder as she darted off in the direction of the staffroom.
Emily made a noise which was halfway between a sob and a laugh. She wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry with this throbbing pain in her ankle.
A few seconds later, Kylie was back. ‘The kettle’s on, but Will is on his way, he said you need rice.’
‘Rice?’ Emily repeated.
Kylie gave a mystified shrug. ‘Don’t ask me.’ Just then, the phone in reception began to ring and she darted off to answer it. ‘Sorry. Back in a jiffy.’
‘I’m fine. No need to bother Will,’ Emily said, getting to her feet and instantly stumbling back down. ‘Bloody hell, that hurts.’ She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the stinging pain and when she opened them, Will was beside her.
‘Sounds like there’s every need,’ he said firmly. ‘You’re coming to sit down for five minutes in the staffroom. Let someone look after you for a change.’
She nodded meekly, too overwhelmed to argue. Picking up her bag, he held her waist, taking her weight, and told her to lean on him with her arm around his shoulders. He steered her into a comfy chair in the empty staffroom and raised her ankle on a footstool before easing off her boot gently.
She grimaced, cursing herself for choosing novelty socks that morning.
He looked at her and grinned. ‘Llamas wearing Santa hats. Cute.’
‘As if today wasn’t embarrassing enough,’ she replied, and then moaned when he prodded her ankle. ‘What are you doing?’
