Set Me Free by Daniela Sacerdoti Read Free Book Online Page A

almost felt sorry for him. “Yes. Your mother will be relieved.”
    â€œI suppose she will be, yes.”
    Suddenly it was all very civilised. No more shouting, no more recriminations, no more accusations. The quiet death of love. Or maybe the ugliest part was still to come, if we found we weren’t able to move on from all this. If we were faced with the reality of it all, its inevitability.
    â€œI’m sorry, Maggie,” he said, and he looked devastated, truly devastated. Gone was the angry man, the patronising, fake-pious husband who made a big show of being lumbered with a troublesome family. For a moment he looked a bit like a little boy; and for a moment, for the briefest of instants, I contemplated asking him to stay. In that split second I wanted to start again, to forget the past and be the unit we used to be, that we’d been for years. I wanted my husband back.
    But the moment passed.
    â€œMy name is not Maggie,” I said quietly, and turned around before he saw my tears.

4

Aftermath
    Margherita
    I sat there, stunned and trembling. Suddenly, the house seemed enormous. Empty. There was dough everywhere and everything was broken, everything was ruined. I needed to speak to someone. I needed to speak to my mum. I dialled the number of her coffee shop with shaking hands.
    â€œHello, La Piazza?”
    â€œMum?”
    â€œMargherita? Are you okay?”
    She’d heard the distress in my voice. For a moment I couldn’t speak.
    â€œI’ve been better, I suppose. Mum, Ash just left . . .” I began, wearily gathering crumbs from the table. It all seemed so futile. So pointless. Cleaning up the kitchen, cleaning up the house, cleaning up the wreckage of my marriage.
    â€œHe left you?”
    â€œI asked him to leave.” Tears began to break my voice.
    â€œOh Margherita, I’m sorry.”
    She didn’t sound surprised. “She smells us and knows what we’re thinking,” Anna had said once. It sounded weird, but it was true.
    â€œYou’re not surprised, are you?”
    â€œNot really.”
    â€œYou knew it would happen. You knew . . .”
    â€œI’m not blind, Margherita. Even being away up here, it’s not hard to guess. I had my doubts about Ash, and so did your dad, but you always had our support, you know that, don’t you? It’s not like I wished this on you, tesoro mio . Please believe that.”
    â€œI know you didn’t. And I know that you and dad never thought that Ash was right for me, and here I am—”
    â€œMargherita, there’s no point in looking back right now . . .”
    â€œYou and Dad stayed together until the end.”
    â€œSome people do, and some don’t. It’s just the way it is. You and Ash made a wonderful child together. Something very, very good came from your love for him. And anyway, we’re talking like you’ve filed for divorce! This is just a temporary separation . . . maybe it’s just a blip . . .”
    I had to take a breath before I answered. “I don’t know. I don’t know if it is. Some things he said . . . I don’t know. Maybe. I hope so.”
    â€œI just hope that whatever happens, you’ll be happier than you’ve been in the last few years, because I know that things have been very hard for you.”
    I was too choked to reply.
    â€œWhy don’t I come down for a couple of weeks?” she said, and I was so happy she’d offered. I didn’t want to ask because I knew she was under so much pressure running a busy coffee shop.
    â€œThat would be wonderful. Thank you, Mum.”
    â€œI’ll speak to Michael and see what we can arrange for cover, okay? Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll come down soon.”
    When I put the phone down, the house didn’t seem so empty any more.
    That night, at dinner, the children didn’t notice their dad