Page 74 of The Time of My Afterlife

Or do I carry on and hope she calms down?

If she explodes in the passenger seat, I might be a danger to other drivers. Perhaps it’s best to pull over and let her erupt?

This is going to be tough.

I indicate and pull the car into a quiet street. After turning off the engine, I turn to her. ‘Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?’

There’s a frosty silence, and she carries on looking out of her window.

‘Florence?’

She turns to me, her amber eyes glowing with rage. ‘You’ve been masquerading as Chris – haven’t you?’

Blood drains from my face, and my heart comes to a grinding halt.

‘What?’ I squeak.

She blinks several times before growling, ‘You are Chris.’

I feel sick.

‘You’ve been stalking my Instagram and catfishing me.’

What? Catfishing? Why does she have to take things too far? ‘Let’s clear one thing up. I was not catfishing you.’

‘You were using a fake identity to trick me,’ she hisses, releasing her long, wavy hair and letting it tumble around her shoulders. ‘I should report you.’

She’s so angry she’s trembling.

‘I wasn’t catfishing you.’

‘Yes, you were.’ She flicks her hair off her right shoulder. ‘There was no need to catfish me.’

‘I was not catfishing you.’

‘I bet you and your mates had a right laugh,’ she growls, ‘Making me believe you were someone else.’

Lowering my voice, I rub my forehead. ‘That’s not how it was, Florence.’

‘Well, how was it, Clark?’

I let out a heavy sigh. ‘I wanted to make sure you were okay after…’

‘After what?’ she shrieks, making me jolt.

A woman walking two dogs passes my car and gives me a concerned look.

I ignore her and take a deep breath. ‘I know you had a miscarriage last year.’

She gulps and blinks. ‘Who told you?’

‘Your mum. I wanted to talk to you.’

Her eyes are flashing with anger. ‘A simple “hello” or “how are you?” would be sufficient.’

I throw my hands into the air with frustration. ‘I have tried that. But you don’t want to talk to me.’ The volume of my voice startles her. I lower it. ‘I would never laugh at you, Florence.’

‘You made out you were someone else,’ she snaps. ‘I thought Chris was real.’ A sob escapes from her lips. ‘You made me believe in love again.’ Tears roll down her cheeks. ‘I will never forgive you for this.’