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He stopped and looked back over his shoulder at her.

‘Really?’ he said. ‘And what would that be?’

‘There’s something you haven’t thought of,’ she said. ‘Something important.’

‘Really?’ he said. ‘This better be good.’

She Doesn’t Even Like You

Mary didn’t know if this was a good idea, but if it failed, so what? It might make things worse, but in truth there was no worse position they could be in.

‘So?’ Ryan said. ‘What do you have to say?’

‘This isn’t going to work. None of it. You’ve missed the single most important thing.’

He raised an eyebrow, an amused smile on his lips. ‘And what is that?’

‘You’re not going to want to hear this, Ryan. But she doesn’t love you.’

The smile fell away.

‘Yes, she does.’

Mary shook her head. ‘She doesn’t. That’s why she told you that you can’t be together while Carl’s still around. She doesn’t know you’re insane, so she didn’t expect you to try and kill him. It was an excuse, Ryan, a way to keep you from seeking her out again.’

She caught his eye.

‘And never mind not loving you. She doesn’t even like you.’

Mary couldn’t know for certain, but from what Ryan had said she was quite sure that Allison wanted nothing to do with him. She put herself in Allison’s position: married to a man who she believed was a violent sexual offender, something which had been brought to her attention by Ryan. She would have been glad that someone told her about Carl – despite the fact it was completely untrue, Ryan had produced compelling evidence in the form of the faked photos – but she would also have known that Ryan had an ulterior motive.

Every woman would know that.

And as a result she would have wanted to make a clean break with her past. Carl, Ryan: she would have wanted nothing to do with them. Maybe she even liked Ryan, but he would be associated with the past.

‘No,’ he said. ‘She’s not like that. You forget – we are meant to be together.’

Despite his words she could see a growing uncertainty in his expression, as well as a growing fear.

She enjoyed watching it, enjoyed the feeling she was able to hurt him, even if only in a small way.

A malicious anger flared in her breast.

‘She doesn’t love you.’ She could see that the words hurt him, that she was articulating his worst fear. ‘If she did, she would never have disappeared in the first place, Ryan.’

‘You’re wrong.’

His expression wavered, even more uncertain now.

‘You know that I’m right, don’t you?’ she said. ‘You know that people who love another person don’t vanish from their lives. They find a way to be with them.’ She smiled at him. ‘But she found a way not to be with you, even when she had nothing, when you were her only option. Poor Ryan. You did all this for nothing. For a woman that wants nothing to do with you.’

Mary spat the final words out.

He stared at her, his eyes hard.

‘You know nothing.’

Carl caught her eye. ‘Careful,’ he muttered.