‘No!’ Aiden says, shaking his head. ‘No, you’re lying! You wanted to sleep with him… he didn’t do that to you. You were going there for weeks, pretending to only be tutoring his son, when it was him you really wanted to see. He gave you attention and you enjoyed it! Well, now you’ll get to know what it feels like to lose everything. You snatched my life from me, and the baby that was supposed to be mine. This is what you deserve.’
‘I swear to you, Aiden – that man was a monster and he forced me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I’ll regret that for the rest of my life,’ I say, my voice catching on the final words.
‘You took all choices away from me, and we were supposed to be in it together. Now I don’t even have a daughter… how can Kayla mean anything to me now?’
I ignore him, glance at the mound of earth. The shallow grave he’s brought me to. ‘What have you done, Aiden? What did you do to Kayla? She’s still your daughter. She’s the little girl you brought up. What have you done to her?’ I’m screaming now, unable to control my tears, my fear.
‘Do you expect me to believe that you got pregnant after one time? One time that this man supposedly forced himself on you?’
But Aiden wavers now, and I can tell he doesn’t believe his own words.
‘Don’t you think that’s something I’ve asked myself over and over? How cruel fate was to make Kayla his and not yours? Do you think I wanted this? I would have done anything to change it.’
Aiden believes me, I know he does. He doesn’t want to because of what it means, but he knows that I would never lie about this. ‘I would never cheat on anyone,’ I manage to say, even though I can’t take my eyes off the place I believe Kayla is buried. ‘Aiden, what the fuck have you done?’
He’s slumped to the ground now, pulling at his hair. I rush over to the mound, tearing at the soil with my hands, my screams echoing through the woods. It feels like I’m getting nowhere, each small amount of earth I manage to fling aside hardly making a dent.
Then I hear voices, floating, far away. Or maybe close by. I can’t tell. Shouts. And Aiden crying. I ignore it all; I need to get to Kayla.
Arms wrap themselves around me, pull me away. A gentle voice I recognise. A voice I can trust.
‘Eve,’ Jamie says. ‘Eve, you have to stop. It’s okay, the police are here. You’re safe now.’
I stare at him and he seems ghost-like, blurred through my lens of tears. ‘No, no, it’s not okay. She’s in there.’ I point a trembling finger. ‘My baby is in there! He’s… he’s…’
Then two police officers are helping Jamie move me, urging him to keep me away. I turn and see Aiden being escorted to a police car by two other officers, his arms behind his back and handcuffs on his wrists.
And then I am falling into Jamie, my heart shredding into a million pieces.