Page 28 of The Girlfriend’s Secret

I brush my teeth, change out of my clothes and then get into bed and Frederik and I make small talk in between him reading his book and me trying to hold onto the small kernel of courage I have about what I plan to do very soon. When the lights go out, Frederik falls asleep fast, which only helps my plan. But I wait longer before getting out of bed because he’s not the only one in this house who needs to be asleep for this to work.

* * *

I open our bedroom door and peer out and see that the light beneath my son’s door is now off. How long should I leave it before going in there? Are they both already asleep? Or will one of them still be awake and see me creeping in?

I decide to wait a little longer.

But I can’t put it off forever. If I’m going to do this, I need to be brave at some point and sneak into my son’s bedroom to get what I want, so eventually, I leave my bedroom and creep towards his.

Reaching the door, I put my ear against it and listen in. I can hear soft snores. They sound like Joel’s. I’d recognise that sound anywhere. But I can’t hear her.

Either she’s a silent sleeper.

Or she’s still awake.

I swallow hard before reaching out for the handle. Then I open the door and go inside, hoping to get what I want.

But also scared of losing something precious at the same time…

NINETEEN

LIANE

As I enter my son’s bedroom, I already know it’s too late to turn back. If Haven is awake, she’ll have heard me coming in and, any second now, the light will go on and I’ll be caught standing here. But that doesn’t happen. There is no light, nor are there any sounds other than my son’s soft snoring. I wait a few seconds to make sure before taking a few more steps into the bedroom and as my eyes adjust to the lack of light in here, I can now just about make out the shapes of the two people in the bed.

My son is lying nearest to me, on his side because he’s always been a side sleeper. She lies next to him. Haven is on her side too, her back to my son, her head facing out of the bed. Facing in the direction of where I need to go.

I take a very quiet but very deep breath before taking a tentative step towards the bed. I’m very aware that there could be numerous trip hazards on the floor by my feet, based on how many items of clothing I saw lying on the carpet in here the last time I came in. All I can do is be careful and hope that I don’t fall victim to tripping over a T-shirt or getting my foot caught in some loose lingerie.

So far, so good. I make it to Haven’s side of the bed, and my eyes are continuing to adjust to the dark room, helping my cause, like I’m some kind of nocturnal animal hunting for its prey in the dead of night. I keep moving until I reach the bedside table close to where Haven rests her head on her pillow, but before I make another move, I lean in to make sure she really is asleep.

I can just about see that her eyes are closed and her mouth is hanging open slightly, suggesting she is in a deep sleep, and she hasn’t been disturbed yet. That’s good, but I still haven’t got what I came for so this will all have been for nothing until I have.

Looking away from Haven and down at the bedside table, I make out the dark shape of her mobile phone. I had assumed she would keep it on here while she was sleeping, as most people do as they charge their device overnight, and sure enough, here it is, plugged into the cable that goes into the wall.

All I need to do now is quietly unplug it.

I experience yet another nervous nanosecond as I pick up the phone and gently remove the charging cable from the bottom of it, careful to place the cable down quietly rather than allowing it to fall and potentially clatter off the side of the table. Now I have Haven’s phone in my hand, but it’s still no good to me unless I can unlock it.

The only way to do that is to get as close as I can to my son’s sleeping girlfriend.

Leaning in towards her, I hold the phone towards her face and pray that there is just enough light in here for the facial recognition technology to do its thing. The only way for me to gain access to her phone’s contents is if this phone thinks she is the one trying to access it. But will it work?

I hold the phone as close as I dare to in front of Haven’s face and hold my breath. But it doesn’t work. As I feared, it’s too dark in here. What can I do now?

I look at the lamp sitting on the bedside table. Dare I turn it on, just for a second, so that there’s enough light in here for this to work? It seems way too risky, but it’s also the only way.

I decide to do it.

Through gritted teeth, I flick the switch and suddenly the room is flooded with far too much light for my liking. I quickly look at Haven and Joel, afraid that they might have just woken at the sudden brightness, and as Haven’s body shifts, I hold my breath and prepare to get caught. But after an anxious few seconds, both people in the bed still seem asleep. So I don’t waste another second. I hold Haven’s phone back in front of her face and, thanks to the extra light in here, the facial recognition software does its job and the phone now unlocks.

I quickly turn the lamp back off and the darkness that ensues feels comforting. What is not comforting, though, is that my eyes now need to readjust to the change in lighting again, and I am forced to wait for several seconds longer than I’d like to before I can make my way out of the bedroom.

As I do, I make sure to keep tapping a few buttons on Haven’s phone, to make sure it doesn’t automatically lock again and force me into repeating what I have just done. But, after what feels like a very nerve-shredding few minutes, I finally make it back out of my son’s bedroom and into the hallway. Once I close the door behind me, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

That’s the first part of my plan complete.

But now to get started on the second part.