Page 2 of The Little Cottage by the Cornish Sea

I ran and I cried. Why would he do that to me? Wasn’t it enough, the way I had let him treat me all these years? If he’d wanted to end it, why not just tell me, like I had thought to, rather than accuse me of a crime and potentially ruin my life forever?

I cried so hard, I could barely see the road before me as I fled my life, my job and my home with all its memories.

Never again would I walk through my front door and sit in my living room, surrounded by all my books, family photographs and piano.

Never again would I sleep in my own bed, drink from my favourite mug, soak in my own tub.

Never again would I do anything that was me.

And never again would I see my best friend Tamsin and her family.

The simple life of simple Kate Miller, now accused of corporate blackmail, was no longer.

I supposed I’d better add burglary and identity theft to my list of crimes, too, what with Sophie Graham’s clothes and ID staring at me from the passenger seat.

My heart ached for everything that I’d lost in one moment. I had severed all ties to anything that was me, the real me. In the space of a few minutes, my life had been thrown upside down.

But how do you leave yourself behind, just like that?

Even if all my memories would follow me, I’d have to try and find space for new ones.

And my persona? Would I have to smother it, like those people in witness-protection programmes?

Yes, the less I gave away about myself to anyone, the longer I’d stay safe.

Survival and freedom were the only things that mattered now.

My only regret was leaving Tamsin and her family.

Her husband Mike was going through chemo, and now I’d no longer be there to hold her hand or babysit little Jake while Tamsin spent hours on end by Mike’s side.

It broke my heart to have to do this, but better to not think about it right now and keep busy with the practicalities that would save me from going to prison.

My first stop was at an ATM machine where I took as much cash as I could from my accounts, which was not a lot.

It would have to last me as long as possible.

There was of course a queue, and every minute I fought not to scream out, Please hurry!

to the people in front of me. I lifted my collar against the wind and slipped on a pair of oversized shades, trying to look as calm and indifferent as possible, even bored, while on the inside I was screaming.

After that, I ducked into a Co-op and bought a few bottles of water, a sandwich and a jumbo packet of Hobnobs.

There was no telling how long I was going to be on the road.

No telling where I would end up. I kept envisaging someone tapping me on the shoulder and sussing me out.

Keep your shades on and your head low . Anything to look as inconspicuous, and hide the panic that threatened to spill over at any moment.

And that was when I received a message from Mr Templemann, the senior associate of the law firm:

Kate, bring back the documents and we won’t prosecute. You have my word.

As if. Mr Templemann had been like a grandfather to me, but there was no way I could trust him now. Not until I could figure out how to prove my innocence. Business was business, and the fifty-year reputation of his firm came before any personal feelings he held towards me.

My next stop was to buy a new phone. It used a significant chunk of my already meagre cash supply, but I needed a number that Will didn’t know.

I took screenshots of some of our text conversations and transferred them over, just in case.

Then I took my old phone apart and ditched the pieces into different rubbish bins along my way. The bridge to the past was gone.

My first call on my new phone was to Tamsin but I withheld my new number from her.

She had enough problems without having to deal with mine.

I gulped down a lump of tears. When her answering machine kicked in, I almost breathed a sigh of relief because the last thing I wanted to do was face her knowing that I wouldn’t be able to see her for a while.

I took a deep breath and gathered all my nonchalance.

‘Tams, I didn’t do it! But no one will believe me so I’m going away for a bit.

I’ll call you when I can.’ Realising it sounded a bit too dramatic, I fake chuckled.

‘It’s too late to talk me out of it, you have no idea where I am.

’ Which was true. I didn’t even know where I was going.

And before I burst into tears, I swallowed and cried, ‘Love you!’

The dread of what lay ahead, total uncertainty, nearly choked me.

How had I let this happen? How had I let Will squash my dreams and very willpower like this, turning me someone so fearful? So easy to get rid of? My father would be heartbroken if he’d seen what I’d become. He’d be absolutely outraged. And he’d be right.

An uncertain life full of questions and doubts stretched out before me.

Just where did I think I was going? How was I going to survive on a limited wad of cash?

And without a job? In any case, I had to get away from Will’s sphere of influence.

He’d already convinced everyone I had stolen those documents.

If Mr Templemann believed him, I had to take my hat off to Will’s superb powers of persuasion.

So now things were going to change. I had suddenly changed. Sophie Graham’s strong perfume must be going to my head , I cackled to myself, just to give myself a boost of courage. I was fully aware that there was absolutely nothing to laugh about.

I had to find a way to get my sanity back. In a safe place, where I could start a new life. Reboot, and all that, with decent people around.

When I hit the M25 and was practically ensconced in the facelessness of humanity, I began to panic again. Now what? Where could I go? It wasn’t like I’d been planning The Great Escape and had figured everything out. Any direction was just as good as the other.

Think, think fast! Or maybe it was best not to think and just follow my instincts.

I took the first exit and found myself crying with relief as I hit the M4 leaving London. If I could escape Will, I still had a shot at a semblance of a life. Secretive, fugitive, but at least not behind bars. It was the price I’d have to pay.

Without even thinking twice about it, I punched in my destination. I now knew exactly where I was going. Or returning to. Cornwall. More specifically, the place of my childhood holidays which Will had never even bothered to ask about. The barely known seaside hamlet of Starry Cove.