Unmasked Read Free

pleased with his own audacity.
    ‘Oh, really. You can’t be thrilled with that – what kind of a prize is a second-hand wife? Why don’t you take his BMW instead?’
    ‘Seven series?’
    ‘Five.’
    ‘Hmm … I think I’ll stick with you.’

    ‘And it if it had been a Seven series BMW?’
    ‘I’d have taken you and the car,’ he said, his speech slightly slurred.
    ‘What if I don’t wish to be a prize?’ She stared at him, expressionless.
    ‘I shall respect your wishes and take his car.’
    ‘I don’t want to be a prize.’
    ‘Even though you are by rights mine I shall set you free.’
    ‘Very generous.’
    ‘Thank you.’
    Emma saw he was drunk, but only realised how drunk when he took hold of the door frame to steady his about-face. He made his way down the hall, touching the wall from time to time, and out the front door.
    Emma followed him and stood at the doorway to watch him stagger down the street. David was snoring loudly where he slept on the day bed. She threw a rug over him and returned to the kitchen.

FOUR
    Emma woke alone early the next morning. She grabbed an apple from the kitchen and took herself down to the beach, passing David on the way out. Some time during the night he had come inside and flopped onto the large sofa in the lounge room. He slept soundly.
    The short walk down to the beach in the morning sunshine lifted Emma’s spirits. When she stripped to her one piece and dived into the cool water her mind instantly became clear. By the time she had finished her laps, she had decided what she would do. She loved David. He had betrayed her.But she had betrayed him time and time again. Betrayal wasn’t possible between people who were honest with one another. She had wronged him and herself by not being honest with him from the beginning. The only way forward, she saw now, was to come clean. If she could forgive him, he should be able to forgive her.
    Stepping out of the water the dry sand warmed her feet. She jogged to the shower by the stairs and gritted her teeth as the bitterly cold water streamed over her, so much so she was shivering uncontrollably by the time she was done. Returning to her pile by the wall she wrapped the towel around her and rolled off her swimsuit. Drying herself the best she could she stepped into her yoga pants and pulled on her singlet.
    She was close to reaching the top of the steep hill on her way back home when she heard her name being called. She looked around her and up and down the street.
    ‘Up here,’ came the voice.
    She gazed up at the building she had been passing. Through the trees she saw a man leaning over a balcony about ten metres up and across from her. She stepped downhill a few paces so that she could see him properly. He wore large dark glasses.

    ‘Morning. Have a nice swim?’
    Emma couldn’t see who it was.
    The man lifted his glasses and grinned. ‘Sebastian,’ he prompted.
    Emma smiled. ‘Lovely swim. You should go down.’
    ‘I intend to. Just made coffee and warmed up some croissants. Fancy a cup?’
    Emma moved aside to let a neighbour she knew only to nod to pass by. The woman was being led by two large German shepherds who stopped briefly to sniff Emma. The larger of the two was rewarded with a stroke and a pat.
    When Emma glanced up again, Sebastian was gone. On her way up the hill, she had been thinking about confronting David as soon as she entered the house. She had been preparing her speech, but hadn’t, until now, taken into consideration the hangover he was certain to be suffering. Seeing Sebastian reminded her of the mess she would find in place of her husband. She didn’t relish the prospect of discussing such an important matter with him in that state.
    Then she heard the front gate of the building buzz. Emma expected to see Sebastian’s head pop over the railing again, but this didn’t happen. Thegate was at the front of the property which was up around the corner on The Grove. Emma’s street. She took