His Wife, Her Sister, Their Secret novel · Chapter 15 of 24

Chapter 15: What Poppy Wants

"No police," Poppy said.

She said it before I had finished the sentence.

It was seven in the morning, and we were sitting on the loft floor with the baby asleep in a drawer Pauline had lined with a towel.

"Listen to me first," I said.

"I've listened. I've thought about it every night since June. They'll ask me when, and I'll say June, and they'll ask why I waited."

"Because you were frightened."

"Because I was twenty-three and I went upstairs in a club to look at a present." She picked at a thread on her yellow sock. "They'll ask what I was wearing. They'll ask about the father's name on the birth form. They'll ask if I ever let him hold me at Christmas."

"Poppy."

"Half the station drinks at his charity night, Mari. He gave them a defibrillator."

I didn't have an answer to that.

I had a head full of the things I would have said to anyone else.

I put them down, one at a time, and looked at my sister.

"What do you want, then?"

She didn't answer at once.

The baby made a small noise in his sleep and she touched his chest to settle him.

"I want to say it to his face," she said.

"Poppy."

"In front of the wives. The ones who bring him casseroles. The ones who let him hug their daughters." Her voice was shaking, but she kept going. "He told me nobody would believe a word I said about the president. I want to be standing there when they do."

← Chapter 14 · All chapters · Chapter 16 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend