nodded, as her gaze flicked back to his, and swallowed. Still he didn’t speak. She needed time to gather herself. An aggressive reaction from him wouldn’t help her do that.
‘He wasn’t at first. He was kind and attentive, and I … I was in love with him.’ She shrugged sadly and dropped her gaze again.
Falling quiet, she ran a finger around the rim of her glass, and then looked back at him. ‘I can’t believe I actually agreed to marry him. That I was so naïve when the signs were already there. He wanted to make all the decisions around the wedding – when, where, how many guests we had. I didn’t get much of a say in anything.’ She faltered, her eyes full of self-recrimination, which shook him.‘He really ramped up the abuse once the “honeymoon” was over,’ she went on, with a scornful laugh. ‘Psychological abuse turned to physical abuse. I suppose it was inevitable really.’
Inevitable? Jesus. Steve massaged his forehead, held fast to his temper.
‘He put a lock on the bedroom door,’ she continued after an interminably long pause. ‘On the outside.’
He locked her in? Shocked to the core, he snapped his horrified gaze back to her.
‘Told people things about me that weren’t true,’ she went on, her eyes fixed firmly down. ‘Lies to explain my bruises. He didn’t want people to like me, didn’t want me to go out and see people, or for people to see me – for obvious reasons.’ She smiled bitterly. ‘He was very logical, very cold and clinical. All the while telling me that it was my fault he was the way he was. That I deliberately provoked him. My going out provoked him. Flaunting myself at other men provoked him. Being slovenly provoked him – he liked everything in the house to be pristine and dust-free. He would run his fingers along the skirting boards and picture frames. Woe betide if I hadn’t cleaned properly.’
She wavered, reaching shakily for her glass, as Steve forced back the words that badly wanted to spill from his mouth. The man was vermin, a complete and utter cowardly bastard.
‘Of course he would tell me every morning before the punishment started how much he cared about me. That he loved me. Couldn’t bear to lose me.’ She laughed cynically again, a laugh that turned to a sob that caught in her throat.
Steve swallowed back a sharp knot in his own. Enough, he thought. She’d told him enough. His heart banging so violently he thought his chest might explode, he pushed his chair back. If he ever had anything to do with the man, he would be responsible for murder.
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ he said, his tone firm as he crouched down beside her, gently taking hold of her hand. ‘You didn’t provoke him. The sick bastard who did this is to blame, not you.’
Laura nodded again, half-heartedly. ‘The tragedy is that his little boy witnessed it all,’ she went on, swiping away a tear. ‘I almost took him when I ran. I was so tempted.’ She locked her eyes on his, a turmoil of emotion therein, a flash of determination, but mostly humiliation and uncertainty. ‘I couldn’t, though, could I? I had no money, nowhere to go. He would have stopped at nothing to find me if I’d taken Liam too. Because he was his natural father – and a world-class convincing liar – I knew the police would believe him. I doubt I would have got far.’
‘I am so sorry, Laura.’ It was all he could offer. ‘You did nothing wrong, trust me. There is nothing wrong with you. Please don’t ever imagine there is. I wish you’d felt able to tell me.’
She swallowed. ‘I thought you would think I was weak.’
‘Weak?’ He studied her incredulously. ‘You found the courage to leave him. That’s possibly the bravest thing a person in your situation could do, knowing they had nowhere to go. You’re not weak, Laura. You’re a caring person. You probably gave him the benefit of the doubt in the first place because you are. Being caring is not weak. You’re strong.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘A survivor.’
She squeezed his hand back. ‘Will you tell Sarah? She’s obviously concerned for Ollie. You can’t blame her. I’d rather not go over it all again, though, you know …’
Steve did know: because she was embarrassed, because she thought she’d been weak, for fuck’s sake. Tugging in a breath, he composed himself. Then, ‘I’ll tell her,’ he