In His Shadow

The promise of happiness Hugh is offering seems too good to be true. That’s because it is…

As I stand outside the registry office with my husband-to-be, Hugh, I can tell something isn’t right. He won’t speak to me, he won’t even look at me and it’s almost making me have second thoughts.

Almost.

Despite the feeling in my gut, I’m sure I’m doing the right thing. After all I’ve been through in the last year – the death of my parents, and my partner of ten years walking out, I deserve this chance of a new start. I can’t return to my lonely life – I don’t want to be alone again.

So I go ahead.

It’s only our wedding night and already, I sense even more that I might have made a mistake. Hugh’s disappeared. I mean, what sort of a man leaves his bride alone on their wedding night? I ring the police, I ring around hospitals and when I can take no more, I return home alone. I’ll never forgive him for this.

Except I do.

Professionally, I’m flying. But in my personal life, I’m a hot mess and it doesn’t take much for me to believe Hugh’s explanations and apologies. Again, I push my fears and anxieties to the side and try to enjoy our first days as newlyweds.

But with his ring firmly on my finger, Hugh starts to show his true colours and it often feels as though he’s taking me over. My heart, my home, my finances, my career – my life.

He says he doesn’t know how I ever survived without him, and neither do I. The trouble is, will I survive with him?