‘How did she get away with it? I mean, how …’ Sarah trailed off. Surely he must have suspected something?
‘She made me wear baggy clothes.’ Laura anticipated the question she’d wanted to ask but hadn’t known diplomatically how to. ‘Shapeless monstrosities brought back from her trips. She’s made a point of bringing me unflattering, supposedly on-trend stuff ever since. She never was comfortable with me showing off my figure.’
Sarah felt disgust for the woman roil inside her. Laura had problems, major problems, which, given the determination Sarah now knew she possessed, she had no doubt she would do her best to overcome. The fact that she’d survived at all, though, to be the caring person she was, was a miracle.
‘She dissuaded him from attending the birth, obviously,’ she went on, fiddling distractedly with the arrangement of freesias and roses Sarah had brought. ‘I don’t think Grant was too devastated. They weren’t exactly a loving couple, always at each other’s throats. He never really had much to do with Jacob once he was born, could never abide him crying when he and Sherry argued, which was often.’
Burning anger rose thick in Sarah’s throat as Laura recounted the lengths to which Sherry had gone to get the man who would fund her lifestyle to marry her. ‘He was reluctant to commit,’ she told her falteringly. ‘He did, though, eventually, naïvely believing everything she told him. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how she could have been with a man who’d abused her own daughter. I think she must have always hated me.’
‘Because there’s something wrong with her, Laura. Not you,’ Sarah said forcefully.
Laura smiled, but the look in her eye said she didn’t quite believe it. Sarah prayed she would, in time. Laura had Steve, who loved her without question. Sarah was determined to be a friend to her. How could she not be to the woman who’d saved her child?
‘She was never going to go back to a life of poverty having tasted the good life.’ There was a hint of regret in Laura’s voice, as if she’d hoped …
Sarah had no doubt that that was the truth. That Sherry Caldwell had valued her lifestyle above her daughter. The price Laura had had to pay was obviously a small sacrifice.
‘I hope he burns in hell,’ Laura said. She hadn’t gone to Grant’s funeral. There hadn’t been many in attendance, Joe had said. But she had gone to see her mother – to try to lay her ghosts, Sarah assumed.
‘How was she?’ she steeled herself to ask.
‘She looked old,’ Laura said after a second. ‘Her real age, I suppose. She doesn’t have the amenities available to ward off the ravages of time any more, does she? I told her she should find some solace in the fact that she no longer has to struggle so hard to maintain her image. At least she can see the bars of her prison,’ she added, a bitter edge to her voice.
‘Will you go again?’ Sarah ventured. She hoped dearly that she wouldn’t. She needed to be free of her.
Laura shook her head. ‘I don’t need a mother I never had. I have everyone in my life I need.’ She paused, reaching out to rearrange the flowers yet again. Then, ‘Can you forgive me, Sarah?’ she asked, her eyes averted. ‘For all I put you and Ollie through?’
‘You saved his life.’ Sarah reached to still her hands. She didn’t think she needed to say more. If it hadn’t been for Laura following them to Courtney’s apartment, her own little boy wouldn’t be alive today, of that Sarah was sure.
Laura turned to her, her smile one of immense relief. ‘I know he’s your child, but I truly do love him,’ she said hesitantly. ‘I’ll always watch over him. Always keep him safe. I promise.’
Want to read another twisty, gripping psychological thriller from Sheryl Browne? Order The Affair now!
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The Affair
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The moment she opened her eyes, she knew everything had changed. The stale taste of alcohol; her uneasy stomach. She looked at her husband sleeping peacefully, and knew she would never tell anyone what happened last night.
You will think you know what happened to Alicia that night.
You will see a desperate wife, lying to her husband.
You will watch a charming lover, trying to win her back.
You will judge her, just like everyone else.
You will assume you know what happens next. But everything you think you know about the past, the relationships, what drives Alicia and her husband to lie… is wrong.
If you loved The Girl on the Train, The Wife Between Us and The Sister, you’ll love this compelling and gripping psychological thriller from Sheryl Browne. The Affair will have you hooked from the very first page!
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Books by Sheryl Browne
The Whisper
Trust Me
The New Girlfriend
The Perfect Sister
The Marriage Trap
The Second Wife
The Affair
The Babysitter
AVAILABLE IN AUDIO
Trust Me (Available in the UK and the US)
The New Girlfriend (Available in the UK and the US)
The Perfect Sister (Available in the UK and the US)
The Marriage Trap (Available in the UK and the US)
The Second Wife (Available in the UK and the US)
The Affair (Available in the UK and the US)
The Babysitter (Available in the UK and the US)
A Letter from Sheryl
Thank you so much for choosing to read The Whisper. I really hope you enjoyed it. If you did enjoy it, and would like to keep up to date with my new releases, sign up at the link below:
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If I was asked to sum up The Whisper, I think I would say it’s about how we perceive people. Not judging a book by its cover, if you like. I think many of us tend to judge people by their appearance. Firstly, their physical appearance, the clothes they might wear; the ‘self’ they present to the world. We assess them by the way they speak, their mannerisms, their confidence or lack thereof. We make judgements based on information they might share about their life, their relationships, qualifications, career. If a person admits to being in an abusive relationship, would we perceive them as vulnerable? Would we think them strong for ending that relationship? How would we judge a person who might withhold information precisely because they don’t want to be judged? With suspicion, perhaps? Would we condemn our judgemental selves if we jumped to wrong conclusions? As parents, our instinct to protect our children is powerful. Naturally, therefore, we assess anyone who might come into contact with them. But do our own preconceptions and life experiences come into play? As human beings, we send out so many complicated signals. Are we always reading body language and the signals a person is sending out correctly? If someone is hiding something, not making eye contact, is it because they are being deceitful, or are they simply shy or uncomfortable?