There would be only one more dinner to endure.
At the table, Madison had no appetite and Trish reprimanded her.
“You know the rules. No snacks in between meals, and no cake or sweets during the week. That’s naughty, Maddie.”
“It was Cassie’s fault,” Dylan said.
“I didn’t know the rules,” Cassie explained, but Trish had clearly lost interest in the discussion. With a deliberate shrug, she turned to Ryan.
“My next business trip will be finalized tomorrow. It’s a European tour with a panel of scientists. They’re deciding on the cities tonight. Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam are definite, and it might also include Vienna, Rome, and Istanbul.”
Cassie ate in silence as, once again, Trish and Ryan discussed a topic that neither she nor the children could contribute to.
She was glad when dinner was over and she could clear the plates away and head to the family room for television time. Cassie suffered through the hour, fuming with impatience for it to be over. She listened anxiously because although Ryan and Trish hadn’t said they had plans to go out again, she couldn’t leave the children if they did. No matter how angry she was, it would be unfair to Dylan and Madison. After all, none of this was their doing.
Cassie was reassured to hear Trish say, from the kitchen, “I’m off to bed. I have an early start tomorrow.”
“I’ll join you in a minute,” Ryan replied.
After putting the children to bed at half past eight, it was time for Cassie to make her move. The local guesthouses didn’t accept check-ins after nine p.m. and the closest one was a ten-minute walk away. It would take her longer with heavy bags in tow.
Getting the bags out of the house quietly was a major challenge. The wooden floorboards seemed to amplify the sound of luggage wheels. After wheeling her bag across the bedroom, Cassie was conscious of the unmistakable noise it made. She decided she would have to carry the bags out one by one. It would take longer, but be less risky.
Cassie opened the door and looked out.
All quiet. The hall light was off.
She grasped the heaviest bag and hefted it a few steps. It was so heavy that she had to put it down again and have a breather before doing another few steps.
Being quiet was costing her far too much time. The bag seemed to weigh more each time she picked it up, and her limbs were burning with the effort.
Eventually she was outside, and she placed the bag on the front porch, breathing hard.
She went back for the smaller bag and followed the same process.
Step by quiet step, she eased the bag out of the house.
The final journey was the easiest one, with just her purse and her shoulder bag. She paused at the bedroom door, wondering if she should leave a note, but decided not to. There would be no point. Ryan would have no difficulty in figuring out why she left. The only thing he might wonder was why she’d stayed as long as she had.
She closed the bedroom door quietly and headed down the hall for the last time.
She reached the front door, stepped through, and stood for a moment, breathing hard, watching her breath misting in the glow from the porch lantern.
The night was quiet and cloudless, with a cool, steady breeze. In the dark sky she could see stars, bright and clear. Despite the chilliness of the air, the effort of that heavy lifting had made her hot. Relieved that she could drag the bags along from here on, she pulled out their handles.
Then a click behind her made her jump. She spun round, tensing herself as the front door opened.
It was Ryan, and in that moment her carefully laid plans crumbled around her and she braced herself for the confrontation that she knew would follow.
“Cassie,” he whispered. “Is everything all right? Where are you going?”
To her amazement, he didn’t sound angry at all. He stared at her and all she could see in his eyes was worry and concern.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Cassie glared at Ryan, devastated that she hadn’t been able to make her escape unnoticed. At the same time, she felt bitter satisfaction that she would, at least, be able to tell him what she thought of him and his lying ways.
“I’m getting the hell out of here,” she whispered.
Ryan shook his head, stepping toward her.
“No, Cassie, please. Why are you going?”
He took her hand, but she couldn’t bear his touch. She snatched her arm away.
“Why do you think? I’m sick of being strung along and lied to. I’m only sorry that I was stupid enough to believe you for so long.”
“But…” Ryan looked at her helplessly. “I explained the situation.”
“You lied to me.”
Cassie stood behind her suitcase, its bulk shielding her from him. She didn’t want any more of his good looks, his charming ways, or his false promises.
Ryan sighed deeply.
“Please trust me.”
“Why should I?”
She shivered. It hadn’t taken long for her to cool down in the chilly evening.
“Oh, Cassie.”
Ryan stepped around the suitcase and the next moment, he’d wrapped his arms around her. Cassie found herself blinking tears away, because his embrace felt so strong, so familiar. It made her wish that the nightmare of the past two days had never happened, and that everything was the way it had been before.
She knew she shouldn’t, but it was so easy, so safe, to lean against him and listen as he explained.
“I’ve been going through hell myself since Trish came back. Don’t think I haven’t been crippled by guilt over how this must look to you. It’s a process and we are getting there. She’s a difficult person and I knew if I didn’t handle this right, it would turn nasty. I’ve been doing my best. Making her feel valued, but at the same time encouraging her to see reason, that we need to move on.”
“Is that so?” Cassie wasn’t sure whether to believe him.
“We have had a few
