Read Online City Lives by Patricia Scanlan - Free Book Online

to be insulted by the likes of you,’ she managed to sputter, drawing her fur coat around her as she tried to regain her dignity. ‘You’re a
little slut. Look at you . . . not even
dressed
at this hour of the morning,’ was her quavering parting shot.
    Caroline watched her mother-in-law step into the lift. ‘Goodbye and good riddance,’ she gritted as the doors closed and it began its descent. She felt utterly drained but at the same
time a sense of elation began to bubble within. She’d spoken her piece. She hadn’t submitted to bullying. She’d faced down her mother-in-law. She’d turned the situation
around and taken control of it and Sarah was the one who was left floundering. Best of all . . . she’d never have to see the old wagon again. Whatever doubts she had about the divorce, one
thing was certain. Sarah had just put the iron in Caroline’s soul. This was one battle that malignant, appalling woman was not going to win. With a determined jut to her jaw, Caroline went
back into the bathroom and stood under the steaming jets of water. She felt she was washing Sarah Yates’s dark vicious energy down the plug-hole and out of her life.
    ‘Drive me home,’ Sarah ordered as she got into the car. She was incandescent with rage. How dare that cheap, slutty, ill-mannered hussy speak to her like that? She
had never been spoken to like that in all her life. It was shocking.
    Sarah trembled in the front seat of the car. Things had not gone at all to plan. A cold fear gripped her heart. What would she do if Richard left for America? And if they got divorced, it would
be in the papers. Richard was very high-profile. The family name would be disgraced. All the neighbours and relations would know. She’d never be able to hold her head up.
    A sensation in her chest, like a vice getting tighter and tighter, made her gasp. Blackness enveloped her. Sarah gave a little moan and slumped forward.
    ‘Holy God! The old bat’s snuffed it!’ Hannah Gleeson squawked in terror as she came to a screeching halt amidst a cacophony of beeping horns.

Nine
    Caroline breathed deeply the salty tangy fresh air as she strode briskly down the woodenworks of the Bull Wall. It was cold and windy. She didn’t care. It was just what
she needed to clear her head of the lethargy and depression that had invaded her. She’d had a leisurely shower and a cup of coffee and croissants before she’d left, and that had perked
her up.
    In front of her, a couple, their two young children and a frisky little cocker spaniel were having fun as they skimmed stones on top of the waves.
    ‘Mammy, Mammy look,’ the younger child cried as the dog barked encouragement when she threw a stone as far as she could. The man gave his wife a hug as she stood cheering.
    Caroline walked past them and tried not to feel envious. That little tableau made her feel that her own life was very empty. When she’d married Richard she’d always imagined that
they’d have children. A happy family life had been her dream. Maybe hers was to be a life without children, and if that was the case she just had to put up with it. Perhaps it was a blessing
anyway that she’d never conceived a child with Richard. The poor child wouldn’t have grown up in a very happy environment. Perhaps when she and Richard finally went their separate ways
there’d be a relationship there for her. Who knew what would happen? Optimism surged. She could go to a fortune-teller. She hadn’t been to one in ages.
    Caroline smiled to herself as she walked along past the golf club. At least she was rid of Mrs Yates. She was very proud of the way she’d stood up to her mother-in-law. The old Caroline
wouldn’t have done that. And she was proud of Richard for having the guts to tell her that he was going to live his own life.
    She was definitely going to find somewhere new to live. A total break with the past was called for. It would be nice to have a place of her own. A place she could