Trust Me - Sheryl Browne Page 0,69

her. He was too. But she needed to back off a little, allow her some space. ‘We have to let her make her own mistakes, Emily,’ he said carefully. ‘We can’t dictate who she can and can’t see. That’s a sure-fire way to make sure she—’

‘I don’t want her making mistakes!’ Emily snapped. ‘The kind of mistakes she’ll regret for the rest of her life.’

‘Right.’ Jake plunged his hands in his pockets. ‘Like you, you mean?’ He’d heard her warning Millie. He’d dismissed it, telling himself she was referring to things she might have regretted doing before they were a couple. Now he wasn’t so sure. Did she regret marrying him? The life they’d had since?

Her cheeks flushing furiously, Emily’s gaze shot to the floor. Then, as if summoning her courage, she looked back at him. ‘I do have regrets, yes,’ she said. ‘But not about you, in case you’re wondering. I’ve never regretted a day I’ve been with you, Jake. Until now.’ The last was added with a heartbreaking smile. ‘The point here is that Millie could possibly be involved in a damaging relationship. Why else the evasiveness? She knows we’re in trouble. She’s emotional and vulnerable. So if you have time in between your own various relationships, could you please try to talk to her?’

‘For God’s sake!’ Jake couldn’t help himself. ‘When are you going to stop this, Emily? The only relationship I’m having is with you! Will you not just listen to me?’

‘I’m going to bed,’ Emily replied flatly. ‘It’s late.’

‘Are you taking medication?’ he demanded as she walked away. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out. He’d planned to broach the subject more carefully, proposing that they run another test to see if there had been a mistake somehow. But now … Her moods were all over the place, as was her reasoning. And he’d had enough.

She turned around. ‘What?’ she laughed.

‘Medication,’ he repeated, holding her gaze. ‘Are you taking anything? I need to know.’

Her gaze darkened. ‘So now you’re accusing me of stealing drugs from the surgery?’

‘You’re acting irrationally, Emily. You’re fixated, defensive, irritable, exhausted. I don’t know how to talk to you half the time.’

‘Well go and talk to bloody Sally then!’ she snapped. ‘I’m sure you two have plenty to discuss. Driving me out of my mind, for one!’

Jake felt his heart free-falling into the vast space between them as she spun around again, storming into the hall.

‘Christ.’ Inhaling hard, he went back to the island, raked his hand through his hair in frustration, then snatched up the wine bottle, filled Emily’s glass and knocked it back.

‘Have you two finished?’ Ben said behind him.

Shit! Jake swung around. ‘Ben, I’m sorry. I—’

‘Full of fucking apologies, aren’t you?’ Ben drawled. ‘You know what, I don’t think we want to hear any more.’ He stopped as Emily reappeared, her face ashen.

‘You’ve had a text,’ she said, holding Jake’s phone out to him. ‘Apparently she’s pregnant.’

Twenty-Seven

Emily

Emily had never imagined there would come a time when she and Jake would sleep separately. He hadn’t come up to bed again. She’d lain awake most of the night worrying about where Millie was, what sort of man she was with; praying to God that her instincts were wrong and that he wasn’t treating her badly. She’d listened for sounds of Jake below her, wondering whether to go down to him, to try somehow to fix things, but how could she if he was lying to her?

He’d followed her upstairs when she’d raced from the kitchen, hammering on the bedroom door until she’d had no choice but to let him in. He’d been so angry, furious, his eyes thunderous. ‘Whatever this crap is,’ he’d seethed, practically thrusting the phone at her, ‘it has nothing to do with me. Or Sally, as far as I can see. It’s sent from a blocked number, for fuck’s sake. Check it.’

Emily hadn’t believed him. She was struggling to believe anything he told her, yet there was a part of her that did, that saw the desperation in his eyes begging her not to condemn him without real proof. But wasn’t the email, the fact that he and Sally had been in a relationship – were in a relationship – proof enough? She didn’t know what was happening any more. Why would he accuse her of the cruel things he had? Of taking drugs? She hadn’t been able to believe her ears. The only pills she took were the iron pills he’d prescribed her, along with