Twisted Read Free

together. So her social life was built around her daughter, and her weekdays were concentrated on business. She had not sought any other social activities until this evening, even though she was feeling healthier and looking better than she had for years. She was aware that she would be subjected to prying questions about her separation and whether or not it was just a phase and she and Marcus would be getting back together. He was now to all intents and purposes a single man in his early forties, a very different dinner guest to his rather reclusive ex, who had never had been overeager to gossip, and had little to add to their banter.
    Lena had been helped to get her life back on track by her therapist and was now on medication, but it had been many months before she was able face the fact that she needed to make some drastic personal changes. As the business ran smoothly she had begun to take more interest in her appearance. It had not been easy – diet and exercise had dominated what little free time she had – but she made sure to style her hair, and had regular massage sessions at a beauty clinic. She had even had numerous Botox treatments around her brow, eyes and lips. Amy being a weekly boarder at school had given her a lot more free time to focus on herself.
    Amy had been due to spend the weekend with her father but had chosen to have a sleepover in Fulham with one of her best friends, Serena, a young girl that Lena did not particularly like, who had in the past stayed at their house in Richmond. As always there had been emails back and forth to verify that Amy would be collected from school by her friend’s parents and returned there on the Sunday evening.
    Driving the short distance to her home from the Berkoffs’ gave Lena enough time to calm down. She turned in through the big wrought-iron gates, and didn’t bother going further down the private lane to the large double garage, but parked outside her front door, sitting for a while resting her hands on the steering wheel. Then she took a few deep breaths and slapped the wheel with the flat of her hands.
    ‘Now just stop this, Lena, you knew what it was going to be like this evening, and you know why you agreed to go, and whether you hated it or not it was proof that you have taken major steps forwards. When Marcus sees you he’ll want you back, that’s what this is about, now admit it, and stop being silly, you have accomplished everything you planned and worked so hard for. When you meet him on Monday he is going to get a big surprise.’
    She snatched up her little white evening bag and stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut and locking it with a bleep. Everything was going to be all right, she would have all of Sunday to plan exactly what she would wear from her new wardrobe of elegant clothes. She immediately felt better and did a small sashay dance step to the front door, as the security lights came on like a floodlit stage, and she opened her little bag with a flourish to take out her house keys.
    It was strange how quickly her mood changed. Suddenly she realized it was the first time since the separation that she had returned to what felt like a very empty house. Maybe she had previously been too busy to notice she was opening her front door to darkness, or perhaps it was the fact she had so rarely been out so late alone. Lena had forgotten to leave lights on in the hall and landing, so it felt even darker than usual. She dropped her handbag on a chair in the hall, switched on the lamps and made her way up to the first-floor landing and the master bedroom. She undressed, chucking her evening clothes onto a chair by her dressing table; she’d hang them up in the morning. She placed anything she wanted washed into the white laundry bags hanging on a knob of one of the long rows of wardrobe doors. Naked, she walked into her en-suite bathroom, cleaned her teeth and removed her makeup with cleansing cream.
    Returning to the huge master bedroom