The Marriage Betrayal

by Shalini Boland

  Lainy doesn’t respond, doesn’t even react. She’s scared of saying the wrong thing. Of making things worse. If that’s even possible…

  Kayla puts both hands to the side of her head and pulls at her dark brown hair. ‘What a nightmare. I never knew Owen was like that. He always seemed so… nice. So easy-going.’

  ‘Yeah, well, you never know what people are like beneath the surface,’ Jake says grimly.

  Lainy stares at her brother in horrified fascination. She hadn’t realised he could be such a good actor. To concoct all this on the spur of the moment without even blinking… To be so convincing…

  ‘But I guess we still need to call the ambulance,’ Kayla says, hugging herself. ‘And the police. They’re going to want to interview us. To find out exactly what happened.’

  Jake blanches. ‘The thing is, Kayla, I know that’s the expected thing to do. But you do realise that if we call the authorities, all our lives are going to be ruined?’

  ‘What do you mean? No they won’t. We’ll be fine as long as we tell the truth.’

  ‘That’s naive. Wishful thinking. In fact –’ Jake glances around worriedly – ‘we need to get away from here before it’s too late and someone comes along and sees us.’ He gestures to them to follow him, but Lainy finds she can’t move, and Kayla remains standing by her side.

  ‘We can’t not call the police,’ Kayla says. ‘Tell him, Lainy. Tell your brother we need to report this. It’ll be okay. We’ll just tell them the truth. We’ll tell them exactly what you told me, and they’ll totally understand that it was an accident. No one will blame you, Lainy. Not once they hear what he tried to do to you.’

  ‘And that’s the other thing,’ Jake says.

  ‘What other thing?’ Kayla asks.

  ‘Do we really want to do that to Owen’s parents? Bad enough he’s dead. For them to find out that he’s a rapist … what would that do to his mum and dad? No. It’s better that we walk away and let them think it was just a terrible accident.’

  Lainy’s palms are sweating and she’s getting chills all over her body. She doesn’t know what to do. If she contradicts her brother, it will make him look bad and he could get in serious trouble – aside from what he might do to her. But if she goes along with his lie then Kayla will think that she, Lainy, killed Owen and the thought of that makes her want to vomit.

  She and Kayla are both still frozen in place. Lainy feels ill at the thought of Owen’s parents thinking their son was capable of doing those awful things. To hear that about your own child – it would almost be worse than losing him. Especially as none of it’s true. But if the police find out about their involvement, the truth is bound to come out and she or Jake could go to jail. Or worse, Jake will stick to his story and it will be Lainy’s word against Jake’s. And with Kayla’s version of events, Lainy would be the person everyone blamed. She could be convicted of murder!

  ‘Listen to me, both of you!’ Jake hisses. ‘If we tell the police the truth, then do you really think they’ll believe us?’

  Kayla frowns. ‘But—’

  ‘No, Kayla! I’m serious. This isn’t a game. This is Lainy’s life. Do you think she should be punished for defending herself? Because that’s what will happen. Whether or not it was self-defence, she still killed him, and she could go to prison. For life. Do you want that to happen to an innocent girl, Kayla? Could you live with the knowledge that you’d ruined Lainy’s life?’

  ‘Oh my God.’ Kayla is sobbing now, tears and black mascara streaking down her face. ‘What should we do?’

  Lainy shivers. She listens to the conversation as if looking down from a great height. She can’t believe they’re both discussing her like this. Making out she’s a murderer, when all she did was fancy a boy. How can Jake have made up those lies about Owen attacking her? Maybe she should speak out, protest her innocence again. Lainy gazes at her brother pleadingly, but he gives her such a chilling look that she’s unable to open her dry mouth to contradict him again. Terrified of what he might do. Bile slides up her throat. Lainy is shocked at her brother’s cool composure, but now she’s praying that Kayla accepts Jake’s version of events, because she’s not sure what her brother will do if Kayla doesn’t. This isn’t the first time her brother has frightened her.

  Usually, he’s fine. Just gets on with his life and leaves Lainy alone. But there have been a couple of instances in the past where Jake’s anger has exploded to the point that she was terrified of what he might do next. Like last year, when Lainy pointed out that the back door had been unlocked all afternoon while they were out. Jake had left the house after everyone else, so he got the blame. As a punishment, their parents grounded him the following day, which meant he had to miss out on a trip to the cinema with his mates. Instead of taking the blame for something he’d done, he came into Lainy’s room and blamed her for grassing him up. He said if she ever landed him in it again, she would regret it. He didn’t shout, or yell. He wasn’t violent. But the look in his eyes was cold and dark – worse than any screaming match – and she’d had nightmares all that week.

  The memory of that version of her brother comes back to her now. Lainy turns to Kayla. ‘We should probably do as Jake says,’ she says dully.

  Jake gives a single approving nod. ‘And you, Kayla… do you agree? Or do you want your name to be splashed all over the papers? Your face to be on TV? The police to arrest you as an accessory to murder.’

  ‘Murder? But I wasn’t even here. I only came up the path a second before it happened.’

  ‘Exactly!’ Jake says. ‘So, is it fair that you should have to go through a nightmare in court and probably prison when it’s simply a case of bad timing?’

  Kayla turns to Lainy. ‘What do you think, Lainy? Do you agree with Jake, or do you want to call the police?’

  ‘I… I don’t know. Jake’s my brother…’

  ‘Lainy’s in shock,’ Jake says to Kayla, talking about her as though she isn’t even here. ‘She was almost raped. Do you want to add a whole load of extra grief on top of that, Kayla? Lainy will have to go through hell, along with the rest of us. Do you want that?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ she replies hesitantly.

  Before she has a chance to continue talking, Jake latches on to her reply like a drowning man clings to a lifebuoy.

  ‘Exactly,’ he says, exhaling. ‘Because you know I’m talking sense. You know it would ruin our lives. You’re right to put your friends first.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘But nothing,’ Jake says. ‘You’ve already given your word. And you know it’s the right thing to do. For everyone. We can’t bring Owen back, what’s done is done, so what good is punishing ourselves? How is that going to help anyone? It won’t help us. It won’t help Owen’s family. And it certainly won’t help Owen. Now let’s get out of here before someone sees us and it’s too late.’

  Lainy and Kayla hurriedly follow Jake along the dark road. Lainy casting glances over her shoulder as they walk away. The image of Owen lying down there in the ravine burnt into her retinas.

  Jake seems totally relaxed now, striding along as though he hasn’t just sold out his own sister. As though Owen isn’t lying dead a few feet away from them. As though he hasn’t a care in the world.

  Thirty-Six

  Now

  Before Tom can say any more about me leaving for France, Lainy and Yasmin come back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  ‘Everything okay?’ I ask, pleased at the interruption to Tom’s questioning.

  Yasmin shakes her head. ‘Not really, but what can I do?’ She sighs, seeming less sure of herself than earlier. ‘I’m sorry if the break-in has ruined your holiday. At least they caught the man who did it and no one was hurt.’

  ‘Except for Tom,’ Lainy says.

  ‘You were hurt?’ Yasmin looks over at him. ‘Oh, I see. That gash on your forehead… was that caused by—’

  ‘It’s fine.’ Tom waves away her concern.

  ‘T
he guy whacked him over the head with a chair,’ Lainy says.

  ‘My goodness! That’s terrible.’ Yasmin’s face falls. ‘I can’t do anything about that, but I can send a cleaner over here tomorrow to get the place properly cleaned. Will ten a.m. be okay?’

  ‘You don’t have to do that,’ Tom says.

  ‘Of course I do. I didn’t realise the other rooms would be so… awful.’

  ‘Tom cleaned up the kitchen, but we didn’t have time to get to the rest of the house.’

  ‘Thank you, Tom. Well, I’ll let you all get back to your evening. Please call if there’s anything else I can do.’

  ‘We will,’ Lainy replies. ‘You grew up around here, didn’t you?’

  Yasmin gives her a sharp look. ‘My family live here, but I went to a boarding school. I did spend my summers here, though. How do you know that? I thought you were from London.’

  ‘We moved to London when I was a teenager. But my brother and I grew up here. I thought I recognised you.’

  ‘I was always really jealous of you local kids.’ Yasmin gives a wistful smile. ‘I would see you all in big groups on the beach, or walking around Swanage, and I wished I could join in. Summer holidays were the worst. I always got so bored.’

  ‘But I was jealous of you,’ Lainy said. ‘You always seemed so glamorous, being driven around in your lovely car.’

  ‘Ha! With my lovely jailer, you mean.’

  ‘Jailer?’ I interrupt.

  ‘My driver, Donny. My father gave him strict instructions not to let me out of his sight. So I was stuck with this six-foot-four babysitter driving me around until I was sixteen. It was so frustrating. Not to mention humiliating.’

  ‘If I’d known, I would have invited you to join me and my friends,’ Lainy says.

  ‘Thank you, but my father probably wouldn’t have permitted it. Ah well, it was a long time ago.’ Yasmin gives an elegant shrug. ‘Anyway, I’ve kept you too long. I really must go.’

  Lainy and Tom see her out before returning to the kitchen.

  ‘I can’t believe she was jealous of us,’ Lainy muses.

  ‘Lainy…’ Tom’s voice is abrupt, making Lainy look up sharply. ‘Faye says she’s going to France. To look for Dylan.’

  Lainy stares from Tom to me but doesn’t reply.

  ‘Faye,’ Tom says gently, in a voice you might use on a wounded animal, ‘do you honestly think it’s such a good idea?’

  I walk towards the kitchen door, preparing to leave the room. ‘Yes. I think it’s my only option.’

  ‘But…’ He splays his hands wide. ‘Lainy, back me up here.’

  She doesn’t reply straight away. Her face is pale and her eyes are red-rimmed with bruised circles beneath. She looks ill. I dread to think how I compare. ‘I think…’ she begins, ‘I think if I were Faye I would do exactly the same thing.’

  I throw her a look of gratitude.

  ‘But it’s crazy. To just go over there with no information about where they are. Have you even brought your passport with you?’

  ‘Shit.’ I run a hand across my forehead. ‘It’s at home in the kitchen drawer. Jake must have brought his and Dylan’s with him.’

  ‘You could get it couriered here.’ Lainy sits at the table and rubs the back of her neck.

  ‘Good idea. My neighbours have a spare key. I’ll ask them to go into the house and send it to me. When they hear what’s happened, I’m sure they’ll do it, no problem.’

  ‘It’s Sunday tomorrow,’ Tom says.

  ‘You can get stuff couriered at the weekend.’ Lainy turns to me. ‘It’ll be expensive though.’

  ‘Look, Faye…’ Tom leans back against the kitchen counter. ‘I know you think you’d be doing something useful by going over there, but you have absolutely nothing to go on. They could be anywhere in France by now. They could even have left the country, be in Spain, Germany, anywhere… it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.’

  ‘Tom! Give Faye a break.’

  ‘Sorry, but I seem to be the only person talking sense here. And anyway, I’m sure the police won’t want her to leave the UK.’ He turns back to me, his expression sympathetic, but also firm. ‘They’ll want you to stay put to answer any questions, surely. Why don’t you come and sit back down, have something to eat, and we can talk it through properly.’

  ‘Tom,’ I say wearily, ‘I know you’re only looking out for me, but at least over there I’d be doing something proactive – showing people his photo, going to petrol stations and cafés and asking around. What am I supposed to do here? Other than wait for news that might never come. My bastard husband took my child. I’m not going to sit around moping. I’m going to go and look for him. And it might take me days, weeks, months, whatever, but I am going to get my boy back. I’ll hire a private investigator if I need to. Anyway, even if I don’t manage to find him on my own, at least I’ll be close by when the police do. Then, I can go to him straight away without having to book ferry tickets and everything.’

  Tom’s shoulders slump and he exhales a long, slow breath. ‘Okay. You’re right. It’s not logical. But if it were my child, I’d probably do exactly the same thing.’

  ‘Thank you for understanding.’

  ‘I’m just worried about you going over there on your own. I wish Lainy and I could come. But we’ve got the girls…’

  I wave his generosity away. ‘You’ve both…’ My voice breaks and I take a deep breath. ‘You’ve both been amazing. You’ve been there for me like no one else has ever been there for me. I’m so grateful to you guys for all your support.’

  Lainy scrapes her chair back and envelopes me in a warm hug. Tom joins in and we all have to sniff back our tears.

  ‘I’m so sorry about my brother,’ Lainy says. ‘Truly I am. I’m ashamed to be related to him.’

  ‘It’s not your fault. Just because he’s your brother, you’re not responsible for what he does.’

  ‘I know, but I still feel so guilty. Like it is partly my fault. I should have warned you off him years ago.’

  ‘You didn’t know! And do you think I’d have listened? I was totally besotted by him when we got together. Passionately in love – more fool me. Anyway, without Jake I would never have had my beautiful Dylan, so at least something really good and amazing has come out of it.’

  Lainy nods, tears flowing freely down her cheeks now.

  Tom puts an arm around his wife, and she leans her head on his shoulder.

  ‘Anyway…’ I take a steadying breath. ‘Enough crying. I’m going to pack a bag, come back down for my sandwich, and then I’m going to try and book a ferry crossing.’ I set my mouth into a determined line. ‘I’m going to get my son.’

  Thirty-Seven

  Chambourcy, France

  He sighs as he juices a couple of lemons from the garden and adds a teaspoon of honey to alleviate some of the sharpness. If it was for himself, Louis wouldn’t add any honey – he prefers the natural tang of the lemons. But it might be a bit much for the boy. Next, he adds a couple of ice cubes to the glass and gives it a stir with the long spoon, enjoying the clink of metal on ice and glass.

  Louis gazes out through the tall windows at the orchard that has been in his family for generations. This place is in his blood, but he considers himself just as much English as French. His grandpère would turn in his grave to hear such a thing. Louis’ parents crossed the Channel when he was just a toddler, and he grew up just outside Swanage in Dorset, where he had an uneventful but peaceful childhood.

  Sadly, his own parents both passed away some years earlier, and when his grandfather died a couple of years ago, Louis was the only surviving relative. It’s fair to say that he has a love–hate relationship with the place. He enjoys his life in Dorset but feels a responsibility to keep the orchard in the family – despite being the very last of his line. A situation that’s unlikely to change, as he doesn’t consider himself the settling-down-with-a-family type. So, Louis finds himself travelling often between
England and France, caught in between two countries, unable to untangle himself from either.

  He places the glass on a tray and opens a packet of butter biscuits. Louis knows he’ll be in serious trouble if anyone finds out what he’s done. But it’s nothing he hasn’t done before. And he didn’t have much of a choice. Not really.

  The boy is crying again, and it breaks his heart. It really does. But at least he won’t be crying for much longer.

  Thirty-Eight

  Then

  Without discussing it, Jake and Lainy begin walking the extra half mile back to Kayla’s house.

  ‘Look, I’m fine to walk back on my own,’ Kayla insists. ‘My place is totally out of your way.’

  ‘It’s fine,’ Jake says. ‘We don’t mind.’

  ‘Honestly, I’d rather be on my own.’

  ‘After what’s just happened?’ Jake replies. ‘It’s dark and it’s late and you must be shaken up. Of course we’ll walk you home. And Pearson isn’t the only nutter out there. We need to make sure you’re safe.’

  Lainy knows that this is just Jake’s way of ensuring Kayla doesn’t change her mind and go to the police station instead. Although, there’s nothing to stop her doing that afterwards.

  ‘Well…’ Kayla frowns. ‘If you’re sure?’

  ‘Totally,’ Jake replies.

  But Lainy can see that Kayla is uncomfortable. She’s walking a little way off to the side and her face is taut, her head bent, hands wrapped around her body as she strides along.

  After their initial shocking discussion back at the clifftop, none of them really knows what to say. There’s too much to take in. Too much disbelief and horror.

  Their footsteps ring out on the dark pavement. Beneath the street lamps, their shadows lengthen and shrink. At this moment, Lainy wishes she was a shadow that could shrink into nothing.