Present day
It was a relief to get the truth out. Danny, Tom, everything. Danny has no hold over me any more, although he wasn’t supposed to die for that to happen. His death means he won’t have to face the consequences of disposing of Tom’s body, kidnapping Lara, and attempting to murder Rachel. Every possible charge is being thrown at me. My lawyer is confident she can get me a reduced sentence, but I’m finding it hard to care.
Getting close to Lara made me more determined to succeed; not only would I get the house I deserved, I’d have won the children over too, a fitting punishment for Rachel’s attempt to lure Tom back to her. Now that I’ve been exposed as responsible for Tom’s death, Lara will never believe that I had genuine feelings for her. I wrote her a letter, pored over it for days, deliberating over each word to get my message exactly right. It was returned to my solicitor. Rachel refuses to let me have contact with any of her family again.
The newspapers have homed in on the story; two women fighting over a man is always a crowd-pleaser, a story that’s been played out millions of times before and will continue to do so in years to come. I’ve read different versions of my story, but none of them get it right. Rachel is made out to be the victim, the hero, and will forever have the sympathy of the people. While I, meanwhile, have to endure the indignity of going to court with a blanket over my head in a vain attempt to keep out the heckling crowds baying threats and abuse. I hear every word thrown at me, every insult; all the blanket does is screen me from the twisted faces spewing out these words. It doesn’t even protect my identity. Everyone knows my face, my crime. Never mind that Danny was my conspirator; words can no longer reach him, and the woman is always easier to blame.
One headline stands out amongst the others: A CRIME OF PASSION. I know I am greedy, selfish, inhuman; all the accusations thrown at me are true. But only the word passion has true resonance for me; everything I did was for love. The tragedy for me is that Tom didn’t believe me. He forgot those early days, and when his financial worries took over, everything became about that. He couldn’t see past my material desires – who doesn’t want a nice house and a family? It’s not a crime. It breaks my heart that he didn’t realise how much I adored him. I loved him with a passion I have never experienced in the same way either before or since, and I would do it all again.
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If The Widow’s Husband kept you up reading into the night, try The Orchid Girls, Lesley Sanderson’s bestselling psychological thriller about the deadliest of friendships…