Hell Hath No Fury by Rosie Harris Read Free Book Online

I’ve always thought that being opposites you were well suited, if you know what I mean.’
    Marilyn had sighed, her blue eyes dreamy. ‘I am crazy about him!’ she admitted. ‘I only wish he was a bit more passionate.’
    When John had asked her to marry him, Marilyn could stand the uncertainty no longer. It took a lot of courage to summon up the nerve to talk to him about what she’d come to believe was shyness on his part, but she was determined to do so. She’d been on the pill for over three months in anticipation of them making love, and she felt it was important to clear the air, and discuss the situation.
    John had been both embarrassed and evasive, but she had insisted on an answer.
    â€˜I thought you’d prefer not to rush things. I thought you’d want to wait until we were married before . . . before . . . you know what I mean.’
    On their wedding night they’d both been nervous, but he had been far more apprehensive than her.
    â€˜I’m sorry, but I’m afraid of hurting you, Marilyn,’ he whispered apologetically as he held her close.
    I’ll scream if you do,’ she teased, hoping to put him at ease.
    It had the opposite effect. His face had gone chalk-white, and his eyes had darkened with fear. ‘No! Please don’t scream, my darling. Whatever you do, don’t scream. I couldn’t bear it if that happened.’
    It had taken months to reassure him, and even longer to reach even a degree of satisfaction for either of them.
    All his fears had surfaced again when she’d been expecting the twins. He’d barely touched her after she told him she was pregnant. His excuse was always the same; he was afraid he might hurt her. Even his kisses were chaste, as if she was as brittle as glass.
    He’d refused point blank to stay with her when she went into labour.
    â€˜I couldn’t bear to be there, and see you in so much pain and distress,’ he told her. ‘Please don’t make me! I’ll stay at the hospital. I’ll come and see you the moment it’s all over.’
    After the twins were born, John’s apparent lack of sex-drive hadn’t seemed to matter. Malcolm and Danny had taken up so much of her time that love-making had taken second place anyway. She’d even been glad that he wasn’t very demanding.
    So why was he lying there in that state with his clothing in such an incredibly revealing state of disarray?
    The fears she’d harboured about his sexuality surfaced anew, and even though she struggled to push them aside she couldn’t help wondering if he did enjoy a vicarious sex life that she knew nothing about. Had he been entertaining another man when something untoward, like a heart attack, had happened?
    If only she could switch off the light, go out of the room, and then come back in again and find John snoozing in his armchair asleep, just as she had expected to do.
    If only this was a delusion, or a practical joke, and everything was perfectly normal.
    Scalding hot tears slowly oozed between her lids and trickled down her cheeks. Anguished tears. She felt a sense of bewilderment. Confusion. She didn’t know what to do for the best. And John couldn’t help her.
    He would have known what to do! He always did.
    Calmly, logically, no matter what the problem was, John always coped. This time, when she most needed him, he couldn’t help!
    Hesitantly, Marilyn walked towards her husband, and then crouched down beside him. His dark eyes stared unseeingly. Nervously, she placed a hand on his neck, just below his left ear, to check if there was a pulse. She could feel nothing. There was no rise and fall of his chest. She held her fingers over his gaping mouth to verify if he really had stopped breathing. She could feel nothing. She felt for the pulse at his wrist. Again, nothing.
    She tried to gather her wits. Was it too late to try resuscitation? She wasn’t even too sure how