My Sister’s Lies. S.D. Robertson

of her dreaded what was about to come. And yet, anticipating it would almost certainly involve Diane eating humble pie and asking for her help in some way, the competitive-sister streak in her was, in a warped way, slightly looking forward to it.

      Deciding to let them stay the night had been similar. If Hannah was totally honest with herself, the fact that Diane had seemed so desperate – like she had no other option – had appealed to her sense of one-upmanship, as well as her compassion.

      It was hard to feel anything approaching love or affection for Diane now when Hannah considered the awful state she’d been left in by her departure and the resulting loss of contact with her niece. Gradually, with a lot of patience and support from Mark, she’d learned to cope. She’d grown numb. Once warm emotions had run colder and colder until they’d frozen solid; she’d finally accepted the harsh reality that, for all manners and purposes, she no longer had a sister.

      Except suddenly here she was again … dining and soon to be sleeping in her home.

      How was Hannah supposed to deal with that? No wonder she felt so confused and conflicted.

      ‘Well, who wants some coffee?’ Mark asked, clapping his hands together as he stood up from the table.

      ‘Good idea,’ Hannah added, also getting to her feet and starting to clear the plates. ‘I’ll give you a hand.’ She looked at her sister as she added: ‘Then we can all sit down and have a good chat, right?’

      Diane nodded, her face looking very pale all of a sudden. ‘Of course. But could I be awkward and ask for tea instead of coffee?’

      ‘No problem,’ Mark replied.

      She also made a move to get up and help clear the dishes, but Hannah told her it wasn’t necessary. ‘You go and grab a seat in the lounge,’ she said, keen to have a few moments alone with her husband before the big discussion.

      ‘So what do you think she’s going to say?’ Hannah asked Mark a few minutes later. She spoke in a low voice but was glad of the noise of the kettle and coffee maker to ensure they weren’t overheard.

      He shook his head. ‘I really have no idea. She’s played her cards very close to her chest so far. It could well be money she’s after, I suppose. What kind of car has she got?’

      ‘I’ve not got a clue. I didn’t ask. Why would I? And I didn’t see them arrive in it. I don’t even know where she’s left it. A nearby car park, I suppose, although that won’t be cheap.’

      ‘Didn’t she ask if we had a space?’

      ‘Yes, when she first arrived, but I explained it was taken up with our own car and we didn’t discuss it further. I was too shell-shocked by her arrival at that point to even think about it. What’s her car got to do with anything anyway?’

      Digging out some chocolates from the cupboard to serve with the drinks, Mark replied: ‘I thought if it was a battered old thing, that might be an indicator of money issues. Never mind. Most people buy cars on credit anyway.’

      ‘And if she does ask us for cash? She can see we’ve got plenty to spare, based on the apartment. So do we help her out or not?’

      ‘She’s your sister, darling. What do you think?’

      Hannah peered at the coffee machine but saw it wasn’t quite finished yet. ‘Well, my first reaction would be to say no. She can’t just waltz in here after everything that’s happened and pretend like we’re still close. I’d send her to Dad, although I guess she’s already tried him first—’

      ‘Whoa, slow down, Han. You’re making a lot of assumptions here. Why don’t we wait and see what she has to say? It may not be what we think at all. And we don’t have to say yes or no to anything straight away. We can say we need a little time to discuss it with each other and think it over.’

      Hannah let out a sigh. ‘The problem is Mia. I wouldn’t want her to suffer in any way, even though she doesn’t seem to like me very much.’

      Standing behind his wife, Mark reached around and encircled her waist with a strong arm, planting a tender kiss on her neck. ‘What do you mean? Why do you think she doesn’t like you? You barely know each other. She’s a teenager, that’s all. They’re supposed to be grumpy. It’s in the job description.’

      Mia popped her head into the lounge to say goodnight as they were serving up the hot drinks.

      ‘Sorry, you don’t want a tea or coffee at all, do you?’ Hannah asked her, feeling bad for not offering earlier, even though she was keen to get on with their adults-only conversation.

      ‘No, she’s fine,’ Diane answered. ‘You’ve already brushed your teeth, haven’t you, love?’

      Mia nodded.

      ‘Enjoy Dust,’ Hannah added, immediately wishing she hadn’t, for fear of sounding like she was trying too hard.

      Mia nodded again and, before disappearing off to her room, whispered something to her mum.

      ‘No, not now,’ Diane replied. ‘You can have it back in the morning, like we discussed. And don’t go rooting through my stuff for it, because you won’t find it.’

      Hannah realised they were talking about Mia’s confiscated mobile and, although she left without saying anything more, it was clear from the stamp of the teenager’s feet that she wasn’t happy with the outcome.

      They’d put her and Diane together in the larger of their two spare bedrooms, which contained twin singles. There was also a double bed in the third room, but it wasn’t made up and Hannah hadn’t felt like making the extra effort to do it.

      Once they heard the bedroom door shut, Mark walked over to the lounge door and shut that too, signalling it was time to get down to business – whatever that meant.

      Hannah was really glad he was here. Mark was her rock and she wouldn’t have wanted to do this without him. It helped that he knew all the ins and outs of what had gone on between the two sisters, having witnessed first-hand the detrimental effect it had had on his wife.

      Mark could see her sister for what she was: an adept manipulator, who knew exactly how to wrap unsuspecting people – particularly men – around her little finger. Not that she’d shown much sign of that skill so far today. But why would she in the company of people already wise to her tricks?

      Hannah was actually surprised how accommodating Mark was being. He’d made it clear long before the sisters’ falling-out that he neither liked nor trusted Diane – and the way things had ended up, he’d been proved right. Not that he’d ever said so. He wasn’t that kind of man. As for what was going through his head right now, she couldn’t be sure. Hannah didn’t even know what she thought about this weird, uncomfortable situation. It all hinged on what her sister was about to say.

      ‘So,’ Mark said, sitting back down next to Hannah on the couch and pouring some milk into his coffee.

      From the armchair opposite, Diane cleared her throat before finally beginning to talk.

      ‘Right,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to get to the point, but, as I mentioned earlier, I really wanted to wait for Mia to be out of the way. This isn’t a conversation for her ears.’

      She paused to take a sip of her tea as the others watched in silence.

      ‘So you’re probably wondering what I’m doing here after all this time. You must think I have a right nerve turning up like this – I get that. But here I am anyway and, as you’ve probably guessed, I need to ask for your help.’

      Diane stood up and walked over to the window. She stared out over the city and gave a dramatic sigh, leading Hannah and Mark to flash each other a confused sideways glance.

      ‘I’ve missed this place,’ she went on, continuing to gaze outside with her back to the others. ‘I didn’t think I would, but it’s true what they