Read The Faithless for Free Online

anyway.
    Cynthia looked in her bedroom mirror. She saw herself as a stranger would see her, looked at herself without any bias whatsoever, and she knew she still looked good. She had been lucky – most women after two children looked exactly like they had given birth to two children. She didn’t; there wasn’t a mark on her. That pleased her, because she knew that she would have to look around at some point for another husband.
    Because there was no way she was going to stay in this marriage, no way she was going to waste herself on someone as pathetic as James.

Celeste was happier than she had ever been, since Jonny had asked her to marry him. And it was obvious to anyone who knew her. She was genuinely thrilled at the direction her life had taken. As she looked at Jonny sitting at her mother’s dining table, she felt the happiness well up inside her. Her love for him was so strong it was as if she could hold it in her hands.
    She knew that Jimmy was thrilled for her; he was a really nice man, too good for her sister of course – not that she would ever say that out loud. But Cynthia somehow made you think awful things about her. It was as if she was only there to make you dislike her. She dumped her children here, at her parents’ house, for weeks at a time. Not that she minded; in fact, like her mum and dad, Celeste actually felt happier when the kids were there, because Cynthia didn’t seem to care about them really.
    Now, though, as they all sat around the table for Sunday lunch, Celeste suddenly felt sorry for Cynthia, and that was a new experience for her. She had always felt she was beneath her elder sister somehow, because in many ways she was a hard act to follow. For a start Cynthia was movie-star beautiful, a head-turner, a real stunner. It had been difficult to grow up in her shadow, a watered-down version of Cynthia. People had often pointed out her sister’s lovely face and perfect figure, and they had never realised how hard it had been for
her,
because no one ever talked about her in that way. It was as if, to them, she didn’texist. But, in fairness, she had understood why they had singled Cynthia out.
    Things were very different now. With Jonny loving her like he did, and her life being so tremendous, Celeste felt for the first time ever that she could pity her sister. Because, no matter what, she knew that Cynthia wasn’t happy at all, she was desperately
un
happy, and that saddened her. At the end of the day Cynthia was still her sister, she was still her flesh and blood. And she
did
want her to be happy. She wanted her sister to be as happy as she was, she wanted her sister – just once – to have a smile on her face that wasn’t forced.
    As Celeste looked at Jonny and saw his handsome face beaming at her, as she looked at little Gabby, all nervous twitches and tension, she wondered how anyone could give birth to a child, and not care for them in any way. It was clear to her suddenly that her sister didn’t care about anyone, least of all her little daughter.
    ‘What you thinking about, Celeste?’ Cynthia’s voice was low, but the question was serious. Everyone around the table went quiet, each interested in the answer.
    Celeste shrugged nonchalantly, embarrassed as always to be the centre of attention. ‘Nothing really, Cynth, nothing you’d be interested in anyway.’
    Cynthia grinned then. ‘Listen, Celeste, an original thought in your head would die of fucking loneliness.’ She laughed at her own joke, a loud, harsh laugh.
    Celeste couldn’t help herself. She said loudly and honestly, ‘If you’re not careful, you’re the one who’ll die of loneliness, Cynth.’
    Cynthia looked around the table, and she saw the shock on everyone’s faces at her sister’s words, a shock that was quickly followed by genuine laughter, and she knew then what they really thought about her.
    ‘That told you, Cynth! The truth hurts, girl, don’t it?’
    Her father was looking at her with such