The cracks began to appear less than a year later. In all her due diligence, Amy had never considered that writers are for the most part solitary people, who spend their time either researching or staring into space as they mull over an idea or come up with an exciting plot twist. She’d expected a more glamorous lifestyle, thinking she’d be rubbing shoulders with famous authors and celebrities, her appearances noted in gossip magazines and online buzz feeds. Her own literary ambitions were promptly set aside, since her desire to write had been just another talking point designed to reel Kyle in.
And then there was the money. Like most people, Amy had assumed that a well-known author would be well paid and the royalties from previous books would just keep pouring in as advance checks and speaking fees for new projects catapulted the writer to greater financial heights. She made extravagant purchases and booked five-star holidays to the Maldives and Ibiza, presenting them to Kyle as a wonderful surprise rather than a way of manipulating him into doing what she wanted. He’d let it go at first, happy to indulge her, but then her spending had become a problem and he’d had to tighten the purse strings, especially since Amy had quit her teaching job and wasn’t bringing in any money at all. She hadn’t liked that.
By the time they’d been married for two years, Amy had grown disillusioned and angry with Kyle for failing to give her what she thought was her due, becoming more outspoken in her criticism of him. He’d tried to make things work, to make her happy, because he’d loved her and believed he was somehow letting her down. He’d still believed she loved him as well. It wasn’t until later that he’d begun to suspect she was seeing other men. She’d denied her infidelity at first, but after a time, grew careless enough to allow Kyle to find proof. Or maybe she’d planted it, thinking she could take him to the cleaners were they to divorce.
Eventually, she’d lawyered up, hiring one of the top family law attorneys in London. It was an acrimonious divorce, and Kyle hadn’t seen Amy since moving his belongings out of what had been his flat. Still, some part of him had missed her and blamed himself for the way things had turned out. Until today. Now that he’d had time to calm down and process the news that Amy had betrayed him with Len, whatever guilt he’d felt over the breakup completely dissipated, leaving Kyle feeling surprisingly at peace. He was ready to turn his back not only on his marriage but on his friendship with Len.
He gazed out over the water, exhaling deeply as if all the negativity of the past several years could be expelled from his body. The end of something was always the beginning of something else. And he was finally ready to move on.
Chapter 24
Nicole
The atmosphere in the house was subdued when I came down just before seven. Yvonne was still in her room. Len had gone out to the pub, and Kyle, although present physically, seemed distracted, so I left him to his own thoughts and joined Anna and Paul for a drink before dinner.
“How’s Yvonne?” I asked Anna.
“She’s awake. She didn’t want to come down for dinner, though,” Anna replied.
“She must be feeling rough,” Paul remarked.
“I think she’s just embarrassed,” Anna said. “I told her to have something to eat and go back to sleep. She’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“She’s just the type,” Paul said.
“What type is that, then?” Anna asked, her eyes narrowing.
“It’s always the frosty, buttoned-up types who end up falling apart so spectacularly.”
“And you’d know all about that, would you?” Anna demanded.
“I’m just saying,” Paul said defensively.
“Well, don’t. She went a bit overboard. It happens,” Anna said. “End of story.”
“Except it isn’t, is it? Len took off, and she’s too ashamed to show her face. If this got out, what with both of them married and illegal substances involved...” Paul let the thought trail off, giving us a moment to grasp what he was saying. “They may not be household names, but there’d be enough interest in the press.”
Anna stared at Paul, her gaze hard. “If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I will personally make sure they never find your body. Those two people have partners, children. It’s them you’d be hurting. We’re all adults here.”
“And what happens at the retreat stays at the retreat, right?” Paul asked, tapping the side of his nose. “Don’t worry. I’m silent as the grave.”
“You had better be.”
I wasn’t sure why Anna felt so protective of Yvonne but didn’t question her. Perhaps she felt sorry for her, or maybe something in her own past brought back memories of a similar situation. One thing I knew for certain was that you never really knew what someone was thinking or how far they were willing to go to achieve their goals. I hoped Paul wouldn’t take this opportunity to get his own name in the press. After all, there was no such thing as bad publicity,
