His Secret Wife

HIS SECRET WIFELisa Timoney CopyrightPublished by AVONA Division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd1 London Bridge StreetLondon SE1 9GFwww.harpercollins.co.ukFirst published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2023Copyright © Lisa Timoney 2023Cover design by Emily Langford © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2023Cover photographs: Shutterstock.com Lisa Timoney asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.Source ISBN: 9780008553210Ebook Edition © April 2023 ISBN: 9780008553227Version: 2023-02-22 Praise for Lisa Timoney‘Her Mother’s Lies is a heart-rending and authentically drawn story about that most complex of family relationships: mothers and daughters. I loved it.’Kate Riordan‘Lisa Timoney’s debut has all the elements of a fabulous family drama … it kept me turning the pages from beginning to end!’Kerry Fisher‘Heartbreaking and life affirming.’ Emma Robinson‘A warm-hearted, page-turning read.’ Ali Mercer‘A thoughtful family drama about a tangle of past secrets.’ Jill Childs‘A gripping story of family secrets, love and past tragedy that kept me hooked from beginning to end. A seriously impressive debut.’ Annie Lyons‘An assured debut about family, loyalty and secrets.’ Laura Pearson‘A moving, compelling family drama which keeps you turning the pages.’Linda Green DedicationForEva and Isla,my extraordinary, much cherished girls.It’s never dull. ContentsCoverTitle PageCopyrightPraise for Lisa TimoneyDedicationPrologueChapter One: ElleChapter Two: ElleChapter Three: JenChapter Four: JenChapter Five: ElleChapter Six: ElleChapter Seven: ElleChapter Eight: ElleChapter Nine: JenChapter Ten: ElleChapter Eleven: ElleChapter Twelve: JenChapter Thirteen: JenChapter Fourteen: ElleChapter Fifteen: ElleChapter Sixteen: JenChapter Seventeen: ElleChapter Eighteen: ElleChapter Nineteen: JenChapter Twenty: JenChapter Twenty-One: ElleChapter Twenty-Two: JenChapter Twenty-Three: ElleChapter Twenty-Four: ElleChapter Twenty-Five: JenChapter Twenty-Six: ElleChapter Twenty-Seven: JenChapter Twenty-Eight: ElleChapter Twenty-Nine: JenChapter Thirty: ElleChapter Thirty-One: ElleChapter Thirty-Two: JenChapter Thirty-Three: JenChapter Thirty-Four: ElleChapter Thirty-Five: JenChapter Thirty-Six: ElleChapter Thirty-Seven: JenChapter Thirty-Eight: ElleChapter Thirty-Nine: ElleChapter Forty: JenChapter Forty-One: ElleChapter Forty-Two: ElleChapter Forty-Three: ElleChapter Forty-Four: ElleChapter Forty-Five: JenChapter Forty-Six: ElleChapter Forty-Seven: JenChapter Forty-Eight: ElleChapter Forty-Nine: ElleChapter Fifty: ElleChapter Fifty-One: JenChapter Fifty-Two: JenChapter Fifty-Three: ElleChapter Fifty-Four: JenEpilogue: ElleAcknowledgementsKeep Reading …About the AuthorBy the Same AuthorAbout the Publisher PrologueI hadn’t planned to propose. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, or the buzz of first-night nerves, but when he came backstage with that soppy, proud look on his face, I was overwhelmed with love and out it came: ‘Marry me?’I remember the actors hushing each other in the dressing room, turning from their mirrors to gape at us, make-up-smeared wet wipes still in their fingers. He and I stood, gazing at each other for what felt like seconds too long. I couldn’t read his changing expression and my heartbeat thumped in my ears. In that moment, I was sure he was going to say no.I opened my mouth to say something about it being a joke – after all, everyone knew I wasn’t the marrying kind – when he lunged forwards and lifted me off my feet. ‘Alright,’ he whispered into my hair. He raised his head until our eyes were level. ‘Why not?’I cried, he cried and the whole cast enveloped us in a huge, grease-painty hug.Even then Why not? struck me as an odd thing to say. But I was caught up in the moment. I should have thought about it before accepting his plan for a tiny wedding ceremony in Venice. We were no spring chickens, he argued, and since we already had a baby on the way, the white wedding ship had sailed. I should have questioned it when he said his dad was the only family Chapter OneElleRob packed his suitcase like someone on daytime TV demonstrating the most efficient way to fit everything in a bag. I admired this skill once upon a time. If I’m honest, I admired everything about him once, but recently this systematic rolling of shirts made me either want to cry or pluck his pants out and throw them at his head. I resented that he didn’t have a problem with leaving us for a few nights every week. Actually, it was more than a few.I missed admiring him. I was good at being an appreciative wife, it had been the one thing I excelled at. Surely he missed my gratitude too?‘Can’t you stay one more day?’ I wheedled to no avail. I tried a brighter tone. ‘Harry would love to tell you about his first day at junior school.’Lately, Harry was struggling with Rob working away so much. And much as I didn’t want to antagonise Rob, if Harry had a problem, I did too.‘You know I can’t.’ He shook out a pair of expensive jeans, folded them and lay them flat. He turned in the arms of a linen shirt, then rolled it from the collar into a narrow cylindrical shape. He lay it next to the others in his case; a row of black, white and grey shirt-sausages. I glanced at the clothes still hanging on his side of our wardrobe and the muted colours matched my mood.Can’t stay,