Page 50 of The Happy Family

She really does think she has completed her mission.

My revenge is going to be even sweeter than I thought.

Jude suddenly wakes up then, the little boy letting out a cry to alert everyone else in the room that after his nap he would now like to go back to being the centre of attention. Luna quickly finishes her biscuit before reaching down and picking him up out of the pram, and he quickly settles, showing he has developed a close bond with his mother, as one would expect. But I decide to test that bond now.

‘He’s gorgeous,’ I say with a smile. ‘Would it be okay if I held him?’

I study Luna’s reaction to my request, interested to see how it will affect her. Will she be mortified about the thought of allowing her arch-enemy to hold her baby? But, if she is as saintly as she suggested earlier, why should she care about handing him over to me if she really just wants me to be happy?

I wait and see what Luna does.

She keeps up her act.

‘Of course,’ she says, standing up and carrying Jude over to me before carefully lowering him down into my arms.

‘Just watch his head. He still can’t support it yet,’ she says to me as if I have never held a baby before in my life. But there are two children in this room who are evidence that I have more than my fair share of experience when it comes to this, and I gently cradle Jude without the need for any further instruction.

As Luna steps away, leaving me with her child, I love the power I hold over her in my arms now. I am literally in possession of the one thing that she must love more than herself, the only thing that could possibly stop her selfishness so that she resembled something like a normal human being rather than the monster she is. Of course, I’ll never know for sure how much Luna is willing to sacrifice for her baby, and whether she is like almost every other mother on the planet in that she would be willing to lay down her life for her child.

But wouldn’t it be fun to find out?

For now, I make do with snuggling Jude, this innocent little boy who has no idea of the monster he came from. Whatever happens from here, this poor child will not have a normal life. I am going to see to it that the truth comes out about Luna, even if it costs me my own life in the process, and even knowing that he will grow up without his mum around. Luna will either be in prison or dead. It’s not his fault and it’s not what he deserves. But it is what is going to happen and, for that, I feel terribly sorry.

‘He’s very handsome,’ I say, aware that all eyes in the room are on me, as if I might not be well enough to be holding such a precious thing as a baby. But there is no danger of me dropping him.

‘Can you believe that you two were this small once?’ I say to Arthur and Ruby, both of whom scoff and agree that it can’t be true, especially my son, who seems to think he has always been the bigger, more boisterous person he is now.

‘They grow up so fast,’ my mum says then, a hint of sadness in her voice. I’m sure she can hardly believe how I have gone from a baby to being an adult in the blink of an eye, and particularly how, while all these years have passed, I’m technically back to depending on her again.

‘No matter how much they grow, they still end up costing you money,’ Dad chimes in, and everybody laughs.

‘You can say that again,’ Reid adds.

For a split second, it’s as if we are a normal group of people enjoying some time together in a house in the suburbs. If somebody was to look in on us through the window, they might simply see a scene of relative domestic bliss. But below the surface, a storm is coming, and the reality of this situation is that it won’t be long until all of us in this room can never be together like this again.

If I have my way, it will be Luna who is missing.

If she has her way, I guess it will be me.

So who will win?

I’m starting to feel tired now and I cannot allow fatigue to make me sloppy and slip up in my deception of Luna. That’s why I indicate that I’m ready to hand Jude back to his mother before making sure to yawn a couple of times so that everybody hopefully gets the hint.

‘How about we get going and give your mother some time to rest?’ Reid says to Arthur and Ruby, getting the hint.

‘Yes, you are looking tired,’ Luna says. ‘We’ll get out of your way so you can relax this afternoon.’

Luna looks more than happy to leave, which is the opposite of my children, who both want to stay here.

‘You can visit again tomorrow,’ Reid says then, and I smile at him because he is still not showing any signs of limiting me to the way we were co-parenting before.

‘I’ll be sure to stock up on chocolate biscuits for when you return,’ Mum adds, and that piece of good news is enough to get Arthur and Ruby moving.

I want to see them off from the front door, even if it’s going to take a lot of effort to get myself there, so I allow Dad to help me up and then we follow everyone out into the hallway. As I watch my children put on their coats and shoes, I feel a pang of pain that they are leaving me. It’s not right that Luna gets to spend so much time with them and I’m stuck here, missing them every minute, but it’s not forever. At least I hope not.

‘See you soon,’ Luna says as she waves us off with a smile before pushing Jude’s pram out of the door. ‘I hope you get some sleep, Sadie.’

‘Thank you,’ I reply, playing my part until that woman is out of sight and earshot before I turn back into the house and let out a deep breath. That was hard, but I did it. Luna still has no idea that I’m onto her, and that’s the way I like it.