The Last Lie: The must-read new thriller from the Sunday Times bestselling author

‘But you took that test! It was fine.’

‘I know. That’s what I thought. But it must have been faulty.’

‘OK,’ Claire said. ‘It’s not the end of the world. There are things they can do even if you have a low sperm count. We can try those.’

‘Not in my case,’ Alfie said. He sounded worse, flatter and more exhausted, than Claire had ever heard him sound before. ‘I have no sperm, Claire. None at all. It’s impossible.’

‘No,’ Claire said. ‘It can’t be! I’ll talk to Dr Singh. See if—’

‘Claire!’ Alfie’s voice was almost a shout. ‘Please don’t make this any worse than it needs to be. It’s time to move on.’

She was about to argue, but she caught the words on her lips. Now was not the time. And besides, Alfie had no doubt explored all the possibilities with Dr Singh, and so if he said it was impossible it must be. He wanted this as badly as she did; there was no way he would leave any stone unturned.

‘OK,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry, darling. I feel for you.’

‘I don’t care about me. It’s you. This is your dream. You deserve better.’

‘There is no one better,’ Claire said. ‘And this test result doesn’t change how I feel about you one bit. I love you as much – more – than I ever did. This will only bring us closer.’

‘Thank you,’ Alfie said. ‘Thank you for saying that. It means a lot. I love you.’

She looked at her watch. It was ten a.m. ‘I’ll see you tonight. What time are you home?’

‘I don’t know. I’m a bit behind. But I don’t want to be too late. I need to see you.’

‘Get back as soon as you can. We can have a drink and talk about how to deal with this. OK?’

He agreed and she put her phone on her desk. She pushed it away from her, then rubbed her temples. So there was a reason she couldn’t get pregnant, and it was this. Although she’d wanted him to go and see Dr Singh she hadn’t really thought there was a problem. It was more for peace of mind than anything else. But now this had happened.

And as it started to sink in tears came to her eyes.

She shook her head. She could cry about it later. For now she needed to get her thoughts straight. Firstly, Alfie would be devastated, so she needed to be sensitive to him. Secondly, there were still avenues they could explore. If she wanted to have her own baby then they could use a sperm donor, or they could adopt. She’d often thought that, after she had a couple of her own and built a family home, she would like to adopt a child. There was something about the idea of sharing what she had with someone in need that appealed to her.

Well, maybe that was going to happen sooner than she’d thought.

She closed her laptop. She needed a coffee. As she got up, Jodie called.

‘Hey,’ Claire said. ‘How’re things?’

‘Good,’ Jodie replied. ‘You? Want to meet up tonight?’

‘I can’t. And I thought you were locked into Pippa world.’

‘I was. But, amazingly, she’s going out tonight. We were supposed to be watching a movie, but she called and said she had plans. She sounded quite happy, actually. Maybe she got asked out on a date. Either way, I thought I’d take advantage and see if you were free.’

‘Sadly not,’ Claire said. ‘I have plans with Alfie. But I’m glad Pippa is off your hands, for a night at least.’

‘Me too. See you soon.’

Claire put her phone in her bag and headed for the main doors. She needed to get some fresh air. She could get her coffee somewhere nearby.

As she left the building she noticed that the busker was gone.

Alfie (#ulink_6fec0ac7-9e7f-5eb0-bd30-82556563f0d3)

Alfie put his phone down – his Henry Bryant phone – and stared out of the office window.

He was in trouble. Big trouble.

Just before he’d given Claire the bad news, Pippa had sent him a text message – We need to talk– which he’d ignored, as usual. He hadn’t been able to ignore the next one she sent, though, since it contained his name. His real name.

You’ll have to answer this one, Henry, it read. Or should I say, Alfie?

She knew who he was. How, he had no idea, but she knew. And if she knew, then others might. She was right; he had to answer, so he had called her.

Well, well, she said. Nice to hear from you, Henry.

She put a heavy, sarcastic emphasis on the ‘Henry’.

Look, he said. I can explain.

Can you? she replied. I doubt it. Although I suppose you’re trapped in an unhappy marriage and Henry Bryant was your way out?

Yes, he said. I know it’s a cliché but it’s true. And this is true, too – I was falling for you too deeply and I knew that if it carried on I’d be in trouble, which was why I had to end it.

You texted me, she said. You didn’t even have the decency to call.

I knew if I did you’d persuade me. I’m weak, Pippa, when it comes to you. I would have heard your voice and I would have been unable to do it.

She paused and he sensed her soften. He was telling her what she wanted to hear. It was amazing how easily people would believe you when you did that.

Pippa, he said. I knew that if we stayed together I’d eventually have had to choose between you and my marriage, and I’d have chosen you. But that’s impossible. My wife is vindictive. The divorce would have been messy and she’d have made sure I was left with nothing. And that’s not all … she’s violent. There’s no telling what she would have done. So I couldn’t let it come to that.

I’d have helped you, Pippa said. We’d have been OK together.

You couldn’t stop her. No one could.

It wouldn’t have mattered. As long as we had each other, everything else would have been irrelevant.

Oh, Pippa, he said,injecting real longing into his voice. I want to see you. Can we meet? Tonight?

I don’t know, she said. You hurt me.

Now she thought she was in the driving seat, she was playing hard to get, but that was all it was.

Please, he said. I miss you.

I miss you too, she replied, her voice almost a whisper.