Free Be Careful What You Hear by Paul Pilkington

together or not. ‘Why did you break
it off?’
    ‘Because I knew
it was wrong. And that I wanted to be with you, and Grace. I felt
awful, I still do feel awful for what’s happened, for what I’ve
done.’
    I thought back
to September. ‘So the holiday. Us as a happy family. It was all an
act?’
    ‘No.’
    I found that
hard to believe. ‘But you were still seeing her.’
    He found it
hard to look me in the eye. ‘I know. But it wasn’t an act. The
holiday, being with you and Grace, it was amazing. I knew during
that week that it’s what I wanted. I decided early on in the
holiday that I was going to break it off with Sophie.’
    ‘Were you
planning to tell me?’
    ‘I wanted to. I
nearly told you, last Sunday, when we were out for a walk along the
Thames.’
    ‘Then why
didn’t you?’
    ‘I don’t know.
Because I was scared that if you found out, it would mean the end
of our marriage.’ He looked at me. ‘Does it?’
    ‘I can’t answer
that right now.’
    He nodded. ‘I
understand. I shouldn’t have asked that.’
    We sat in
silence for a few minutes. Meanwhile, the storm outside was closing
in. The wind had strengthened into a constant force and was
rattling the windows and whistling down the chimney breast. And the
rain was hitting harder. We were certainly under sustained attack
from the elements. It seemed as though the storm had arrived early,
as it was only just nearing midnight.
    ‘How does she
feel about it?’ I asked, turning my attention to the other person
in this sad triangle.
    ‘She wanted it
to continue.’
    I shook my head
at the betrayal from someone I had called my friend. But, then, how
long had I actually known Sophie? Very little time, when I really
thought about it. I didn’t know what she was really like. She
wasn’t my lifelong buddy. In fact, she wasn’t really my friend at
all – she was James’. ‘What about her marriage? What about
Michael?’
    ‘Their marriage
is as good as over,’ he replied.
    ‘What?’ That
did shock me. Of course I knew that there had been problems, as
Sophie had told me herself. But I didn’t think it was that bad.
    ‘They’ve barely
spoken to one another for months,’ James revealed. ‘Sophie told me
that they live separate lives in the house.’
    ‘I never
realised it was so bad.’
    James
continued. ‘It all began with the miscarriage, according to Sophie.
Michael bottled it all up, and Sophie felt abandoned. They never
recovered.’
    I thought about
their plight. They hadn’t been able to withstand the devastation of
a future ripped away from them. Yes, like countless couples who had
experienced the same, they could have moved on, tried again,
and gone on to have a baby and be that family unit they had dreamt
of. But for some reason, they hadn’t been able. And instead of
rebuilding, Sophie had thrown herself into the arms of another – my
husband.
    ‘All the
support for me, was it genuine?’
    ‘From Sophie do
you mean?’
    ‘Yes. Was it
genuine, or was it just a way to get to you?’
    ‘It was
genuine. Sophie told me it was her way of helping to get over the
miscarriage. She had a real longing to help, and be useful. She
wanted to help you, and Grace.’
    ‘And you.’
    ‘Yes, and me.
But at first, that was just it. It was just help.’
    ‘But then
things changed.’
    ‘Yes. I’m
sorry.’
    ‘You said she
didn’t want your relationship to end. What did she say to you when
you finished it?’
    ‘She said she
didn’t want to go on, if nobody wanted her.’
    I actually felt
sorry for her. This woman had tried to steal away my husband, with
his consent of course. But instead of hating her, I just pitied her
situation. ‘She threatened to take her own life?’
    ‘Nothing
specific,’ he said. ‘Just that she didn’t want to go on.’
    ‘And what did
you say to that?’
    ‘I told her we
had to stop what we were doing, that I wanted to stop it.
But I didn’t want her to do anything stupid. I asked her to get
help