The Marriage Trap: A completely addictive psychological thriller

by Sheryl Browne

  Karla waited for him to close the kitchen door, and then, ‘I didn’t know he was coming,’ she said quickly.

  ‘Yeah, right.’ Emitting a scornful laugh, Jason shook his head.

  ‘Jason, I didn’t.’ Karla’s voice bordered on desperate.

  ‘Right, so’ – Jason glanced back at her, unconvinced – ‘he just dropped by for a cosy chat and a cup of tea with his daughter? In which case, I can go up and take a shower and leave you two to it, can I?’

  Sighing, Karla lowered her gaze and pressed her fingers hard to her forehead. ‘He was hoping to have a word with you, but—’

  ‘No, Karla,’ Jason stated categorically. He wasn’t about to go through it all again – the reasons he would never consider accepting any proposition her father had to offer. He’d already said it, time and time again. Even in the wildest scenario – that the man wouldn’t try to control their lives – Jason needed to be the one to provide for his family. If his reasons weren’t good enough for Karla, then… He didn’t know what then, but he’d had enough of this.

  ‘Jason, stop,’ Karla said, as he turned back to the door. ‘Talk to me, please.’

  ‘About what?’ Jason faced her, his temper rising, despite his best efforts not to let it. ‘What do you want me to say that hasn’t already been said, especially with him sitting on the other side of that wall?’ He nodded angrily towards the lounge. ‘The answer is no, Karla. I can’t do it. Could you please just accept that and ask him to—’

  ‘Right. Fine,’ Karla cut across him. ‘Don’t then.’ She held her hands up, as if in resignation. ‘I understand. You don’t think I do, but I do. We’ll manage on my wage if we have to.’

  That hit home. There was no way they would manage for long on Karla’s income alone, not now they’d taken out a mortgage on the house. Glancing down, Jason drew in a long breath. ‘It won’t come to that, Karla,’ he said, his gut tightening as he reminded himself he would not only be jobless if his company went under, but also up to his eyes in debt. Karla had a trust fund, due to her when she was forty – Fenton had made sure she wouldn’t see a penny before then – but how could Jason ever justify forcing her to use that money to pay their way because of his pride?

  ‘It might well,’ Karla reminded him soberly. ‘And I’ll stand by you, you know I will. I always have. But on one condition, Jason.’

  Wondering where this might be leading, Jason looked curiously back at her.

  ‘You have to stop this ludicrous battle of wills with my father,’ Karla announced.

  ‘I have to?’ Jason laughed, amazed.

  ‘Yes, you,’ Karla said forcefully. ‘He is what he is – I don’t need to be constantly reminded of that. But, whatever he is, he’s the only person you’re likely to get the financial help you need from. If you won’t accept that help, then you have to sell the business. It’s either that or end up in the bankruptcy court, and then you really will have messed up our future.’

  ‘I see.’ Nodding slowly, Jason digested. Great move, Karla. So, it’s either give up and sell up or sell my soul to your father?’

  ‘Yes.’ Karla held his gaze. ‘You’re giving him exactly what he wants by refusing. He won’t need to work at destroying our marriage if we go on like this. We’re doing it for him by arguing all the time. Can’t you see?’ She searched his face, her expression imploring. ‘Because if you can’t, our children can. They’re aware of what’s going on. You must know they are. Can you not just stop this? Accept defeat? If not for me, then for them?’

  Feeling that like a low body blow, Jason drew in a long breath. ‘Right,’ he said, breathing out slowly. ‘Message understood.’ Or rather ultimatum, one undoubtedly suggested by her delightful father. ‘Do you mind if I go, now you’ve delivered it?’

  ‘Oh, I give up. Just… do what you like. You probably will anyway.’ Looking him over disappointedly, Karla turned away, going across to the oven to pull it open and start dragging out dishes.

  Which meant what? Exasperated, Jason watched as she carried the dishes across to the work surface. Banging them down, she retrieved the tin foil from the drawer underneath and set about covering them.

  His gaze went to the dining table at the far end of the kitchen, which was set for two, he noticed, and with two candles which had obviously been recently snuffed out, judging by the smell of candle wax and smoke. He looked back to Karla. She was wearing make-up, or had been. She was wiping most of it from her face now, along with her tears. She was also wearing the dress he loved her in. A clingy, short red dress. She’d worn it in Paris last year. It had been the first romantic break they’d had in a very long time, when his sister, Hannah, had offered to have the kids so they could do something special for their anniversary. Fitting in all the right places and showing off her long legs to maximum advantage, the dress had turned him on. It had turned the waiter who was serving them on. Karla had looked hot that night. Jason had been desperate to get her out of the restaurant, back to the hotel and out of the dress to make slow, sensual love to her. His plans hadn’t quite worked out.

  They’d strolled along the ​Promenade Plantée, which had been bursting with cherry trees, wildflowers and spring aromas. They’d wanted to take in the alternative views of Paris: tucked-away rooftops and balconies. They’d smelled the flowers, but they hadn’t actually enjoyed much of the views. Karla had kept the dress on while they’d made love with the lust-fuelled urgency that doing it al fresco brings.

  She was wearing the dress tonight for him. She’d got the kids up to bed early and had been cooking a special meal for him. She hadn’t known her father was coming.

  Jason felt like the worst kind of hypocrite ever, assuring himself he cared more about her than her phony father ever could, that he was taking a belligerent stance in order to somehow protect her from being at the man’s beck and call. It was bullshit. He just couldn’t accept failure. He had been refusing to consider the cost of putting his ego above the real needs of his family. Christ. What the hell was wrong with him? ‘Karla…’ He stepped towards her, wanting to apologise, to try to make things right.

  ‘Oh, you might want this.’ Karla stopped him, moving away as he attempted to thread an arm around her waist. ‘Nice profile photograph, by the way.’ Picking up his phone from the work surface, she handed it to him.

  ‘Profile…?’ Jason’s confused gaze shot from his phone to her.

  Karla said nothing, eyeing him meaningfully instead, before turning away to walk across to the dining table and pour herself a large glass of wine.

  Jason flicked to the messages he and Mark had exchanged late last night, the attachment Mark had sent, and his heart flipped over. Shit. ‘Mark sent it,’ he said quickly. ‘He’s on Tinder.’

  ‘Looking to hook up,’ Karla said. ‘I gathered. So, does she have a sister?’ Taking a large gulp of her wine, she picked up the bottle and came back towards him.

  Jesus. Jason scrunched his eyes closed. ‘I was joking.’ He scrambled for a plausible way to explain. ‘It was just… something to say. Look, Karla, I’m sorry. I can see how this might look. I shouldn’t have—’

  ‘Fancied a foursome, did you?’ Karla stopped in front of him, the look in her eyes one of soul-crushing humiliation.

  ‘What?’ Astonished, Jason searched her face. Surely she didn’t think…? ‘Come on, Karla.’ He reached for her hand. ‘You don’t seriously imagine I…’

  ‘Sounds like fun,’ Karla said, her wounded gaze never leaving his. ‘Maybe I should try it sometime. I wouldn’t want to be seen as sexually unadventurous, after all, would I?’

  ‘Karla…’ Realising how hurt she was, Jason’s heart dropped like a stone. ‘Please don’t. I forgot to delete it, that’s all. I promise you there is no way I—’

  He stopped as there was a tap on the kitchen door.

  Karla retracted her hand, moving away from him, as Robert stepped in. Jason ran his hand over his neck in frustration. He felt utterly powerless. She must have imagined all s
orts, which might explain why she’d gone to so much effort tonight. And what did he do? Her reliable husband, who appeared to be keeping dubious images on his phone? Storm in and accuse her of being disloyal. She’d been reaching out to him. She’d been trying to fix things. She was always trying to fix things, rescue bad situations that he’d created. She was always there for him. And all he could do in return was mess things up. Was he really going to mess up the rest of her life out of sheer bloody-mindedness? Mess up his kids’ lives? Karla was right. He needed to stop thinking about himself and start thinking about his family.

  ‘Not interrupting anything, am I?’ Robert asked, looking interestedly between them. ‘I thought I’d get off, Karla,’ he went on. ‘I can see Jason’s too distracted to have any kind of sensible conversation tonight.’

  Sarcastic git. Jason’s gaze went to Karla, who said nothing. She didn’t have to. She was busying herself at the sink in order to hide the fact that she was upset from her father, which pretty much said it all.

  ‘Robert, wait.’ Jason stopped him as he turned to the hall.

  Robert turned back, his eyebrows raised enquiringly.

  Feeling sick to his gut, Jason steeled himself to do what he’d sworn he never would. ‘I’ll call you,’ he said, though the words almost stuck in his throat. ‘About the proposition you mentioned.’

  Robert’s eyes widened momentarily, as if he was taken aback. Then, ‘Not before time,’ he said, a smile Jason couldn’t quite work out curving his mouth. ‘I’ll look forward to our discussions. No need to call. Just turn up on Monday. Two o’clock. Make sure to be punctual, though, Jason. I have a tight schedule.’

  ‘Hold on, Dad, I’ll see you out.’ Karla turned from the sink, as, having set the tone for their dealings together, Robert continued on up the hall. ‘Thank you,’ she mouthed to Jason, immense relief obvious in her eyes as she hurried past him.

  ‘No need,’ Robert called back, followed by, ‘Damn. Silly place to leave a computer, Jason, if you don’t mind my saying. I almost fell over it.’

  Robert made a great show of untangling the strap of the computer bag from his feet. Karla hurried to relieve him of it, and placed it on the hall table.

  ‘Thanks, Dad,’ she said, squeezing his arm as she showed him out of the door.

  Jason so wished he could show him out of the door. Permanently.

  ELEVEN

  JASON

  Waking up in his own bed, rather than the spare bed, Jason was disorientated for a second. He’d slept badly, despite the fact that they were at least avoiding spending the night in separate rooms. The immense frustration he’d been feeling when they’d come to bed – after a strained Sunday, avoiding discussion of anything emotive around the kids – hadn’t been helped when he’d found himself incapable of making love to his wife.

  Karla had turned to him, wanted to make love with him. And he’d wanted to. After so long lying together, barely touching, with their problems hanging ominously between them, he’d been desperate to close the gap, to feel the kind of closeness that making meaningful love brings, but he hadn’t been able to. Karla had been understanding, snuggling up to him, whispering that it didn’t matter, that it was perfectly understandable, given the stress he was under. Jason had seen the fleeting uncertainty when he’d looked into her eyes though. Her insecurity, just for a second. Insecurity which had undoubtedly been planted there by him and that damn stupid photograph on his phone.

  Sighing in despair, he ran a hand over his face and stared up at the ceiling. He would make it up to her. Organise a romantic evening out – the theatre or a dance club, maybe – and a luxury hotel room for the night. At least now he might be able to afford to. Hopefully, caving in and agreeing to take the loan from her father would go some way towards showing her that he did want to make things up to her. That he cared about her and really wasn’t looking for cheap sexual kicks ogling other women.

  He still wasn’t convinced that accepting financial help from Fenton wouldn’t invite more problems than it would solve, but the reality was that his business would fold without it. And at least this way, even if it meant he would have to swallow every ounce of his pride, Karla would have some peace of mind. Things were never going to be right between them while they were both constantly worrying about money; he could see that now. Jason just hoped he didn’t live to regret it. He had a feeling he would, but if it meant Karla’s and the kids’ futures were safe, it had to be the right thing to do.

  Propping himself up on his elbow, he studied his wife in the early light of dawn. She was beautiful. Even with all they’d been struggling with, she tried to be upbeat and positive. Supportive – she’d always been that.

  Picking up a strand of her long, blonde hair, he ran his thumb and forefinger along the length of it. He loved her hair. He hoped she never cut it, as she sometimes threatened to when she claimed it looked like straw. Jason never thought it looked anything but glorious – more so when it was messy, like it was now. He loved her, he thought determinedly. After so many arguments between them lately, which had come close to breaking them, he needed to prove that to her.

  He saw her eyelashes flutter slightly as she stirred. She hadn’t slept well either. She hardly ever did, always seeming to wake in the night. He often woke, sure he could hear her quietly crying. Sometimes, she would jolt awake, which scared him half to death. She would talk in her sleep, calling out her sister’s name. She never talked to him about what was haunting her, which completely gutted him. Jason had never learned the details of Sarah’s death, other than that it was something to do with a bang on the head. The whole thing seemed to be cloaked in secrecy for some reason. Diana had said that Karla found it too painful to talk about. Judging by the nightmares, Jason had to accept that that must be the case, even now. He wished she would trust him enough to confide in him though. Sometimes, when she was upset, she seemed to go into herself, to switch off almost, rather than reach out. He wished she wouldn’t, that she would realise he was there for her. Always would be.

  Brushing her hair gently aside, he pressed a soft kiss to her bare shoulder, at which Karla wriggled onto her back. ‘Sorry,’ he whispered. ‘I didn’t mean to disturb you.’

  ‘You didn’t,’ she assured him, stretching languidly. ‘I was awake, sort of.’

  ‘Have I ever mentioned how beautiful you are?’ he asked, his gaze sweeping her face.

  ‘Yes.’ She reached to trail her hand delicately across his unshaven chin. ‘But then, you’re an excellent bullshitter.’

  Jason laughed. ‘It’s not bull,’ he assured her, wondering why she never seemed to realise how attractive she was. ‘You’re beautiful. I’m not interested in other women, Karla. I know you must have been upset, seeing that photo on my phone. I should have deleted it immediately. Please believe me.’

  Karla studied him, giving him a long, searching look, and then reached to trace his lips with her fingers.

  ‘She couldn’t hold a candle to you anyway.’ Jason smiled and kissed each of her fingers in turn.

  Karla rolled her eyes amusedly. ‘Now you’re definitely bullshitting.’

  ‘Never.’ Jason leaned to brush her lips with his. ‘Those sharp blue eyes of yours would see through me in an instant.’

  ‘You’d better believe it,’ Karla said. ‘And then I would be forced to do unspeakable things to you.’

  ‘Promise?’ Jason’s smile widened. He tasted her lips again and then, thinking he could possibly live up to expectations, closed his mouth over hers, kissing her softly, before working his way slowly down her slim neck.

  ‘Oh God.’ Karla arched her back as he moved to her breasts, and then, ‘Oh God!’ she cried, and almost shoved him off the bed.

  Not quite the reaction he’d hoped for. Confused, Jason rolled over as she shot up.

  ‘It’s gone eight.’ Karla flew to the door to grab her dressing gown, stuffed her arms into it and yanked the door open. ‘Holly, Josh – up!’ she yelled, attempting to rouse t
he kids, who’d obviously also overslept. ‘Now, please. We’re late!’

  Groaning, Jason threw the duvet back and blinked at the clock. They’d slept through the alarm? No, they hadn’t. They’d forgotten to set it. Crap!

  Bathroom or kitchen, he debated, pulling himself off the bed. Karla would need some help downstairs. On the other hand, he was seeing her father later today, and he needed to be ready for whatever knots Robert Fenton would no doubt try to tie him in. He needed to go through the company accounts. Liaise with Mark as to where they were with the software glitch.

  Heading for the landing to make sure Karla would be okay coping with the pandemonium that was bound to ensue downstairs, he met Holly coming out of her room. She’d obviously gone to bed in an experimental hairdo. ‘What time is it?’ she asked blearily.

  ‘Late,’ Jason supplied, straightening the lopsided bun thing on her head. ‘You have about fifteen minutes and counting.’

  ‘Fifteen minutes?’ Holly’s sleepy eyes shot wide. ‘God, I’m never going to get my make-up done in that time.’

  Make-up? Jason squinted after her as she twirled around to hurry back to her bedroom. Since when did eleven-year-olds go to school wearing make-up? He sincerely hoped she didn’t emerge wearing the red lipstick she’d been playing with the other day. That would definitely ensure pandemonium before they left.

  ‘Josh?’ Deciding he might do well to leave the battle of the make-up to Karla, he knocked on his son’s door and then peered around it.

  ‘What? I know,’ Josh said, looking stressed as he stared at him from where he stood in the middle of his room, wearing not a lot. ‘I’m coming. I’ve got my underpants on back to front.’

  ‘Oh.’ Jason hid a smile in favour of a suitably serious look. ‘Might be a good idea to put them on the right way around then.’