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‘Let’s get you back to bed.’ I lift her up and carry her to bed, the tear trickling down her cheek causing stabbing pains in my chest.
‘Mummy, will you stay in here with me? In case something happens to you?’
‘Course I will. But nothing’s going to happen to me. Mummy is super tough, okay?’
‘I thought Daddy was too,’ Poppy says, as more tears meander down her cheeks.
‘He is,’ I say, my voice shaking. I stroke her forehead. ‘Try to get some sleep. I’ll be right here next to your bed.’
‘For the whole night?’
‘For as long as you need me.’
‘Thanks, Mummy.’
When she rolls over, I sit back, leaning against her bed. I pull out my phone and google Taylor Stone, but there’s no trace of him online. It makes no sense that a man his age would have no social media presence or any mention anywhere online.
When Poppy begins softly snoring, I leave her room and pull the door closed. In our bedroom, I open Max’s wardrobe and rifle through his pockets. All I find is a receipt for a pair of shoes he bought recently.
How is it possible that I was so unaware of what he was doing? I’ve never understood how someone could miss the factthat their partner is having an affair, but now I know how easily it can happen. Because these people are consummate liars. That’s what it comes down to.
But has Max done something far worse than having an affair?
Finding nothing incriminating in our bedroom, I head downstairs and ransack the living room, pulling out books, flicking through them in case Max has hidden anything in between the pages.
Even though I know what’s in every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen, I rifle through them all, desperate for answers.
Then I go out to the garden office, shivering in my thin jumper, compelled to search it once again. Inside, Max’s laptop sits on his desk, though we still haven’t had the broken glass replaced.
I scoop it up and take it back to the house. There has to be someone who can help me get into it.
EIGHT
‘What are you doing here? You don’t work on Sundays.’
One thing I’ve learnt about Cole is that change troubles him. And my appearance in the shop this morning has caught him off guard. ‘Katy’s here already. Can you believe it?’ He gestures to the coffee area, where Katy is cleaning the coffee machine. ‘I hope you’re going to ask her why she keeps letting us down.’
I sigh. There are bigger things for me to worry about. ‘Why don’t you take care of that?’ I say to Cole. ‘I’m not supposed to be here, remember?’
Katy waves. ‘Hey, Hannah.’
I turn back to Cole. ‘I’ve actually come to see you, Cole. Um, Max is in hospital.’
‘Oh. Oh dear. Is he all right? What happened?’
Briefly I explain what happened to Max, leaving out the part about him having no memory of the last few months.
Cole stares at me. ‘That’s awful. Have the police arrested anyone?’
‘No. They have a grainy CCTV image, but the man wore a mask over his face. They can’t identify him.’
‘That’s awful, Hannah. But why are you here? Shouldn’t you be at the hospital? I can look after the shop until Max getsbetter.’ He glances at Katy. ‘Especially ifshe’llactually stick around. Where’s Poppy?’
‘With Mum.’
‘Poor little mite.’ He smiles. ‘Kids are very resilient, though. And Jacqui will take good care of her.’
‘Thanks for offering to help, but I need to be here as much as I can. To take my mind off it all.’
