The First Mistake(89)

‘I knew it!’ cries Alice, chastising herself as she gets into the passenger seat of Beth’s car. ‘I knew something wasn’t right yesterday – as soon as Nathan saw you. It was so obvious, but I didn’t want to believe it – refused to believe it. Anyone but you, Beth. Why? Why would you do this to me? First Tom and now Nathan.’

Beth turns to look at Alice. ‘I’m not sleeping with Nathan.’

Alice takes her phone and pulls up the number of the mystery text sent to her husband. Beth’s face freezes as a ringtone emanates from her handbag on the back seat. Alice shakes her head and reaches for the door handle.

‘Wait!’ Beth calls out as she stretches across to pull the door to.

‘I’ve heard all I need to hear,’ says Alice.

‘You haven’t heard the half of it,’ hisses Beth.

Alice, sensing a shift in atmosphere, falls resignedly back onto the seat. ‘Are you in love with him?’ she asks.

‘I was once, yes,’ admits Beth. ‘But that was a long time ago.’

Alice turns, her eyes wide. ‘How long has this been going on?’ she asks incredulously.

‘Years,’ says Beth. ‘Long before I met you.’

Alice feels like her brain might explode, unable to compute what she’s being told. She can’t even form the words if she wanted to.

‘You look surprised,’ says Beth coldly.

‘This . . . this has been going on all this time and you knew Nathan was my husband all along?’

‘Yes,’ says Beth. ‘But in my defence, this started way before you two got together. I met Nathan before you did.’

‘What?’ gasps Alice. ‘How is that even possible?’

‘Because he’s not your Nathan,’ says Beth calmly. ‘He’s my Thomas.’





43


‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Alice shouts, her indignation spilling out.

‘Well it turns out that things aren’t quite what they seem,’ says Beth, her tone acerbic. ‘I met and fell in love with a man I knew as Thomas Evans some ten years ago.’

Despite having thought she’d built a barrier, to immunize herself against the hurt that knowledge caused, Alice still feels a pain slice across her chest. She wants to close her ears off to what Beth is saying, but yet she wants to know – has to know.

‘We were really happy,’ Beth goes on. ‘I was completely in love with him and thought we’d be together forever. But then I saw him with you . . .’

‘You saw us together?’ says Alice, in barely more than a whisper. ‘So you knew who I was. You’ve known all this time that I was Tom’s wife.’

‘Well, you see, that’s where it starts to get interesting.’

Alice numbly shakes her head, no longer listening to what Beth’s saying. ‘You’ve known all this time that I was Tom’s wife. You’ve sat and let me talk about him, held me when I’ve cried about him, all the while knowing that you had an affair with him. Had a child with him.’ Her shoulders convulse as a sob catches in her throat. ‘Why would you do that?’

‘It wasn’t like that,’ says Beth, her voice softer. ‘The man I knew as Thomas Evans left me for you.’

Alice looks at her with a confused expression. ‘But that’s not possible. I was his wife – how can that be?’

‘Because the man I thought was Thomas was actually Nathan.’

‘I . . . I don’t understand – you’re not making any sense.’

‘It didn’t make any sense to me either – not at first. But do you remember Nathan taking you to Albany Avenue in Guildford?’

‘When?’ asks Alice, unable to remember ever going to Guildford, let alone the road name.

‘Around ten years ago. You waited in his car – he had a silver Audi at the time – outside a flat – my flat.’

Slowly the memory begins to form, but it’s vague at best. ‘Didn’t he move from there to Battersea?’ muses Alice, her voice sounding as hazy as the recollection. ‘I think he grabbed the last few things whilst I waited outside.’

‘That was my flat,’ says Beth.

‘No,’ says Alice, more confidently. ‘He was sharing the place with a guy who was a lift engineer or something – I remember it now – Ben or Blake his name was – it definitely began with a B.’

‘You’re right – Beth. That was my place, and that was the day Nathan left me for you.’

Alice shakes her head vehemently.

‘Come on Alice, you saw me, I know you did. You looked straight at me as you went past in the car. You must have known what you were doing, or at the very least, known what he was doing. Did he tell you about me? Did you hatch the plan together? It turned out pretty nicely for you, didn’t it?’

‘I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about. I’d never seen you before you pitched up at school with Millie.’

Beth lets out a disbelieving snort. ‘When Nathan and I met, he told me he was a wine dealer. He also told me that his mother was in a care home with dementia, made me believe that I’d been burgled and even abducted my dog, before “rescuing” him back for me.’