Page 116 of Time To Learn

“The man was a banker, and he worked long hours. The woman realised that his job could be very demanding, but she understood, for the most part, why he was a little temperamental when he came home. She tried to please him, wanting to ease his life, so she made sure dinner was on the table each night. She made sure his clothes were clean and ironed, and since she didn’t have a job of her own, she thought she might as well try to help out at home as much as she could.”

I drag my teeth over my lips, wondering where all this is going.

“Eventually,” Laura sighs next to me, “life became a little boring for the woman. One night, her husband came home later than usual, and she was angry that he hadn’t phoned her. She started arguing with him, but the man laughed at her. He said nasty things to her, taunting her about being nothing more than a country girl who didn’t have enough of a brain to find out what to do with her own time. Saying that if she weren’t such a gorgeous woman and such a good shag, he’d never have marriedher.”

My mouth driesup.

“What the fuck?” I whisper.

As if she hasn’t heard me, she continues the story.

“The woman got angry and slapped him across his cheek—but little did she know what such an act would set off in her husband.”

My knuckles turn white on the wheel in front ofme.

Her voice falls flat, toneless, as if this is somebody else’s story.

“The man seemed surprised, at first, but then his features turned ugly—menacing—and he grabbed his wife and punched her in her stomach.”

“What the ever loving hell?!” I explode. “He didwhat?”

Laura places her hand on my arm, digging her nailsin.

“Sophie’s home is just up there,” she says, her voice back to normal. I follow her other hand as she points to a red house not far from us, and I slow down thecar.

As I turn the ignition off, I hunch over the steering wheel and glance at the woman next to me. Her eyes seem lifeless—detached andcold.

“What happened next?” I whisper.

She avoids my gaze as she unhooks her seatbelt and opens the door. Afraid I won’t get the answer I need, I touch her face, stopping her until her eyes lift to meet mine. On a small sigh, she wets her lips before she answers.

“He raped her. That night, he raped his wife for the firsttime.”

I pinch my eyes closed in agony as she leaves me alone in the car. I can’t believe it. How the fuck can any man treat a woman like that? Rage fills me, egging me on to punch something—anything—but knowing that Laura will return with Ailith soon stopsme.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Laura’s story wasn’t about anyone else but herself. I open my eyes and watch as Laura knocks on the door, her head held high, and I lean my head back as I will my temper to settledown.

Everything about Laura makes a lot more sense now, and yet…she remains a mystery. How much history does she have left to tell me about?

Dread settles in my gut as I watch Ailith in the doorway, clinging to Laura as she hides her face against her mum’s stomach. I swallow the lump in my throat as Laura picks her up. I get out of the car and wait for them to reach me. The other woman—Cat’s mother, I suppose—picks up Ailith’s bag and follows behind them to the garden gate. I can’t tear my eyes away from Laura as she appears to whisper in her daughter’s ear. I rub my face, feeling poorly equipped to handle this situation, before I open the door to the backseat.

“Thank you,” Laura murmurs to me as she places Ailith in thecar.

“Don’t mention it,” I grunt.

I bite my tongue at the way she flinches, but it’s too late to take them back. I’m still fired up inside.

I take the bag from the woman and give her a tired smile in thanks.

Wanting to get both my girls home, I open the door and push the bag onto the passenger’s seat beside me. As I turn the ignition, I glance back at them. Ailith is curled up in her mum’s lap, her face hiding in her hair, and the sight of her small hands clinging to Laura makes my chest twinge with sadness.

Ailith doesn’t seem like an eight-year-old anymore. It’s like she’s withered, a mere shadow of the bright, bubbly girl I have come to know the past few weeks. My eyes trail up Laura’s face—the tears on her cheeks don’t surprise me, but I wish I could do or say something that would helpher.

Sighing softly, I turn back and buckle my seatbelt, and then I take themhome.

* * *

I fireoff a quick text to Alex the minute Laura has taken Ailith inside.