Telling Lies: Rosewood Lies, #3

By T.A. Rosewood

On her 21st birthday, Kate meets Dan.

Instantly attracted to his boyish charm and mysterious ways, before long, she has fallen for him big time.

After he suddenly disappears without a trace, a shocking letter arrives, and his lies and behaviour become clearer.

But where is the letter coming from and why did Dan keep this such a big secret?

What does Kate's future now hold when she finds out about her own hidden past?

This new psychological thriller will keep you guessing how Kate's life will turn out for everyone involved and how many people have been Telling Lies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: T.A. Rosewood
• Release date: Sep 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215156728

T.A. Rosewood

T.A. Rosewood is a women's fiction author who writes relatable, emotional storylines. She began writing at a very young age - failing her English GCSE, for writing too much! She has three novels and two novellas out currently with more on the way and lives in North Essex, England, with her husband, two children, and two west highland terriers. Sign up for her newsletter for new release updates - please visit www.tarosewood.com If you would like to connect with T.A. Rosewood, she would be very happy to hear from you: Catch me over on these social channels. https://www.facebook.com/TARosewood https://www.instagram.com/tarosewood https://twitter.com/TARosewood https://www.tiktok.com/@tarosewoodauthor

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Prologue

As she slowly turned back round, her face stinging with pain, she knew this had to be the last time he ever struck her frail, bruised body making her feel so worthless and insignificant. He had taken his last swing at her now and she was determined she wasn’t going to take anymore. She just couldn’t. Mustering as much faltering energy as she could, a rapid fire inside her lit up and she suddenly thrust her pained, battered body towards him. Grabbing his head hard in her tiny hands, screaming as loud as she possibly could straight into his now, shocked face. She could feel her entire body trembling with anger, the adrenaline searing through her chest cavity, kicking in and giving her the strength and the power she needed to finally fight back. This was it, she had to stop him for good this time.

Stumbling backwards with shock at her sudden attack, he fell, hitting his head on the edge of the kitchen table. Her chest heaving, breathing rapidly, she watched as this person who she had once thought so much of, once loved more than anyone ever before, sat up, his evil eyes glaring at her with blood trickling down the side of his sweaty face. Scared for her life, she turned slightly, wrenched open the kitchen drawer and grabbed the biggest knife she could find as he gradually began pulling himself back up.

No more. I tell you. I’m not taking this anymore, don’t come any closer, I mean it, she cried out, tears now streaming down her reddened face. She was shaking like never before, like someone else was shaking her body ferociously. She began taking steps backwards to escape his clutches, as she watched him try and stand. Her hand still wielding the knife in front of her pointing it at him with the full intent on using it if she really had to. She knew he wasn’t going to leave it; he would never just stop there, especially as she had fought back this time too. Knowing this wouldn’t end well, she had to do whatever it took. She had to get away, this had to stop today.

Now come on, you know you won’t do anything with that thing, give it here, let’s sort this out, he said, stumbling again.

His voice always calmed a little after every time he had hit out, maybe knowing that he’d gone too far but wanted her forgiveness, wanted her to love him and forget his ways. He still had to be the one in charge though, he loved being in control of her and any situation thinking she was too weak to leave him or do anything to protect herself.

But this time was different, something had changed her mind about him for good. She just glared back at her husband, locking into his dark, angry eyes and shook her head, No, I don’t want to sort it out, don’t come near me or I swear, I...I will kill you.

He laughed sarcastically, wiping the warm blood from his face, smearing it across his brutal hand that had struck her so many times before. She used to love those hands touching her, making her feel so loved at the start of the relationship. What had made him change so much, why had she put up with this for so long. Why and how had he become such a horrid person to be around and why did he always take it out on her?

Her thoughts were broken as he suddenly launched himself and grabbed her tightly around her wrist, don’t be stupid, he bellowed as they battled against each other, scrambling across the kitchen floor. So many times, he had hit her so hard, she’d passed out and by the time she came to, everything had been neatly put back in place. He would be there when she woke, towering over her to make sure she didn’t leave, apologising profusely, crying for sympathy and forgiveness from her, telling her how much he loved her and needed her in his life, saying he wouldn’t do anything like that again, but she wasn’t going to let him win this time.

The fire inside her was raging and nothing was going to put it out today. Not this time. With an almighty thrust, and all the power she could muster, she yanked her arm away, out of his clutches, and then returned it swiftly toward his body, ramming the knife into his stomach without thinking, I told you to leave me alone, she shouted, thrusting again and again, I told you; I told you; I told you! she shrieked as he reached out grabbing her arms, then losing grip again.

After what seemed like ten minutes, he became silent and lost his tight grip on her. He fell to the floor once more. As he hit the ground, smashing his head on the ceramic tiles, blood gushed from his wounds. Now, he remained down, stunned and bleeding heavily.

Gasping for breath, wheezing slightly; her chest felt heavy and in pain, her tears blurring her vision as she looked down at her blood stained, shaking hand. As she lifted her hand up, grasping tightly around the knife, she watched the dripping red fluid dropping down at her feet.

Everything seemed to be deathly silenced in the moment, her small but frantic movements seemed in slow motion, and she couldn’t hear a thing apart from the thumping of her heart and his slight groaning and moaning as he lay there unable to sit or stand. Unable to get hold of her for once in his life, for once in their relationship, he wasn’t in charge.

Glancing down at him curled up holding his stomach in agony, his eyes now closed tightly seething with the pain of the injuries she had just endured on him, she knew she had to go, and it had to be quickly. She was pretty sure enough damage had been done by the way he was staying on the ground and not coming at her again.

She dropped the knife, the noise twanging in her ears as it bounced onto the tiles. Her hand was free of the weapon and all she wanted to do was run away and never return. Spinning on her feet, stumbling out of the kitchen and into the hallway, she ran to the front door frantically unlocking it and swinging it open to the outside world. Bare feet, clothes ripped and tears filling her eyes, she was outside.

Running into the middle of the street, her face filled with sadness, her clothes splattered with both their blood, she stood there motionless, frightened, shocked, and alone.

Her mind was in complete turmoil fretting with questions as to what she was going to do, what she would say to people, who could she turn to. How could this have happened, why had she let it go this far, was he badly injured or could he be dead, could she have killed her husband, and more importantly, what would become of her and her innocent son? Her son, the only good thing to come out of this relationship. The only thing she lived for in her cruel marriage for so many years. This thought just by itself, filled her heart with dread, filled her eyes with the biggest tears she had ever felt. Her son, her boy, her only child.

In that very moment, and just in the nick of time to give her the strength she needed, her beautiful, brave little boy appeared. He reached up and just held her hand as tightly as his trembling hand could do so. It was the two of them now, united. They were both safe from that man, she had saved them and would do everything to protect their life from now on.

Chapter One

Kate...

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When you think about your future, what comes to mind? What do you really want out of this crazy world and everything that life can throw at you? How will your future turn out or evolve from this day forward, and how can you or could you, improve it along the way? Will you choose to study more, work up the career ladder you’re already in, build a fantastic new life or be your own boss and have an amazing business? Do you dream of having lots of or more children than you have already, an extended family, a big house, fancy cars, and a great partner to spend the rest of your years with?

Most of these thoughts were something that played on Kate’s mind so often, daydreaming about her future and how it would be. Sometimes it would take her off on a tangent to another world of creativity and adventures that she wanted to experience. She really had no idea how it was all going to eventually pan out but, she had fun dreaming. She was a big-time dreamer, but a determined one at that. The biggest dream she had was making her mum proud, which she never faltered to do during their years together.

Kate, a twenty-four-year-old waitress from Hertfordshire, England just getting by each month with her petty wages from two waitress jobs. She often thought to herself, was this all she had aspired to be when she left college? No, she hadn’t but things just work out that way sometimes, well for some people anyway.

From a young age, she had always had big plans, dreams of running her own fancy, city restaurant. Following the likes of famous chefs, down to earth, Jamie Oliver or the more controversial style of Gordon Ramsay to help drive her into chef celebrity status success. She loved Jamie Oliver and his traditional home style of cooking and had even met him once at a food festival in Essex. Her signed cookbook was a treasured memory of that day aged just nineteen at the time, meeting someone she admired so much. After that, she had always hoped they would spot her food creations and talents on social media, tagging them in every post. Maybe they’d offer her a job at one of their places and believe in her to give her a step up the chef career ladder. But alas, this hadn’t happened for her, but it was still alright to dream right? Being the optimist, she always clung to the idea that maybe they would spot her one day. ‘What’s the point in just pretending this is all that will become of my future when you can dream it to happen?’, she used to say to her auntie.

She loved cooking and baking and had always spent hours in the kitchen with her mum creating new flavours of cookies, cakes and sometimes even bread. This was one baking mission that they never mastered to the standard they had hoped for although it always tasted okay to them. ‘Bread is bread,’ her mum used to say to encourage her daughter and keep her spirits up.

But after her mum, Fiona, died, that cooking spark in Kate died too. Her vision for dreamy cakes and special ingredient biscuits got lost and put away to the back of her mind. She just couldn’t face it without her cooking buddy by her side, so she just opted for working in the industry instead. Waitressing at two local restaurants serving food instead of creating it kept her food cravings satisfied.

Kate had grown up in a loving home to her single parent mum, Fiona who had not been able to have children herself. She had fostered around five babies and had been on the adoption waiting list for seven years, patiently awaiting that all important phone call to say that she could finally adopt and be granted with her special bundle of joy. She loved fostering and specifically enjoyed fostering babies, but it was for such a short time. Usually having them leave to be adopted when they’d reach around twelve to eighteen months of age. After many discussions with her sister and researching like crazy, she decided she wanted to go down the adoption route, settle down with a child ‘of her own’. She wanted to be able to give an unwanted child the life they needed and deserved.

The day finally came, and Kate arrived at just the right time in Fiona’s life. Her online business was thriving selling handmade jewellery and she had a nice new apartment in the outskirts of town overlooking the marina near Hemel Hempstead. Kate had been born to a teenager, whose family had decided that the baby should be given up for adoption. The young girl had had a complicated life already and so her aunt had taken care of her throughout the pregnancy and made all the arrangements. The baby would be adopted as soon as possible after the birth.

Kate was the perfect match for Fiona, and she instantly fell in love, the moment she saw her laying in her hospital crib with a pink, woolly knitted bonnet on. She had practically run all the way to the hospital after they had rung her to say the baby had arrived and was ready to go to her new home the next morning.

It was mid-September when Kate had been born. Two weeks early, weighing in at six pounds exactly, looking ultra-cute with her scrawny little pouty face and super sweet, button nose. Her thick dark head of hair was adorable with one little curl at the front. She had been in the hospital for just over twenty-four hours after the birth, spending the evening with her natural mother. With all the documents signed, the mother didn’t ask for any more information on where the baby was going.

All Fiona knew was the mother’s name, that she was from the Cambridge area, and the fact that she had only been sixteen when she’d given birth to Kate. Her full name was going to be Katie-Jane Ellington and Fiona couldn’t wait to get her new daughter back home.

There were various documents to sign and paperwork for Fiona to sort out and pick up when she arrived, but she knew exactly what she had to do. She had spent the past year or so learning the whole adoption process. All she wanted to do now was hold her little baby, her gorgeous new ‘daughter’ and give her all the love she needed.

That afternoon, her dream came true and as she placed her in the car, she smiled down at Kate and just gently kissed her little head as she slept peacefully sucking on her dummy, without a care in the world.

Kate began to sleep through the night by nine months and on her first birthday, she took her first steps while they visited the beach in Dorset. Fiona felt so lucky to have Kate sharing her life, but time moved so quickly and before they knew it, Kate was approaching the dreaded teenage years and all the ups and downs that would bring along with it.

Can you believe she’s going to be a teenager already? Where has the time gone sis? said Sally as they wrapped Kate’s presents the night before her thirteenth birthday. Fiona’s sister, Sally had been so supportive of the whole adoption. She had been as excited as Fiona and had been finishing off the decorating of the nursery while her husband and sister collected the baby from the hospital all those years back. She had even insisted on helping with the night feeds during the first few months. She adored her new niece and spoiled her at every opportunity.

I know, replied Fiona, it’s crazy how fast the time has gone. I still remember the first day I saw her in the hospital, she said glancing over to the first ever photograph of Kate above the fireplace, in her new cot, she looked so tiny when we collected her that day, and I couldn’t wait to get her snuggled back at home, she continued, sealing the present with some sticky tape and tying some pink ribbon around the package, I just wish I was going to see more years with her...

Hey, sister, Sally interrupted, you know I’ll take good care of her; I promise, she will have the life you had all planned out for her, she held her sister's arm tightly but gently at the same time reassuring her all would be ok.

Fiona had been suffering with constant stomach pains and back ache for the past eight months and she had tried to ignore them as much as possible. She hoped that her search on the internet about the symptoms she had, would not turn out to be true, but, after Sally’s constant nagging to get to the doctors and a vast array of tests and scans at the hospital, her fears were proven right. And it was now too late to treat so they’d had to come to terms with it quickly.

It didn’t help the shock they had felt, to learn that she had pancreatic cancer and it had spread too far to other organs. She was given a diagnosis of a matter of a few more months to live, that it could be weeks even. So, without thinking negatively she had to make plans quickly so that she knew Kate would be taken care of, financially and with the right people bringing her up.

As soon as Fiona had learnt that the cancer was inoperable and had bravely come to terms with the fact that she was terminally ill, she had asked her sister, Sally to take care of Kate, now just thirteen years old. Without any persuasion needed, Sally agreed and had moved the two of them into her penthouse apartment on the outskirts of Hertfordshire for two reasons. One, to take care of Fiona for the last few weeks she had left in more comfort than her little place and two, so that Kate could get used to living with her and her husband, Rob.

Sally was the obvious option. Their parents were no longer around, and she knew that her sister would make a great stand-in mum when she had gone. She had a great marriage to Rob, of five years and was moving into a three-bed house in the next few months so Kate would be well looked after until such times as she could get her own place when she was old enough.

The three-month prognosis became just four weeks as her condition deteriorated rapidly. The last few weeks for Fiona and the whole family were very tough. Kate didn’t attend school during that time, wanting to be with her mum as much as possible before she passed away. They would lay together talking about the adventures they’d had and watch Disney movies that they’d enjoyed together when Kate was much younger. Fiona had stopped making her jewellery and sold the remaining stock online apart from one particular necklace that she had worn for the past year. A dragonfly with a pink gemstone in the middle which she had given to Kate to wear, telling her that she only had to touch it when she felt alone, that it would represent her, and she would be there for Kate in spirit.

You make sure you behave yourself for your aunt and uncle okay darling? she had whispered a few days before.

I will mum, I promise, Kate had answered, trying her utmost to hold back the flood of tears that were waiting to cascade down her face.

Hold my hand Katie darling, Fiona asked as she turned her fragile and cold hand over.

Kate held it with both of her hands, trying to keep her warm but as the hours went on, Fiona gradually said less, became even more cold and then silently drifted into a deep sleep.

Katie, sweetheart, it’s time, Sally said quietly as she sat beside her and wrapped her arm across Kate’s shoulders. She had been there for the entire night, resting her head on the bed and not letting go of her mum’s hand.

As Kate wearily lifted her head up, she looked at Fiona lying motionless and silent, Mum... she whispered. But as no sign came back, Kate knew. She had gone to sleep and was not going to wake up now. Her pain was over, but they felt thankful that she had gone peacefully with her daughter by her side.

The teenage years flew by and were not without the occasional argument, but Kate had made a promise to her mum, and she tried hard to keep it. Sally and Rob adored bringing her up and felt so proud of how well she had coped with everything and then going on to live by herself too.

When Kate turned twenty, she started a new waitressing job in Cambridge, commuting every day on the train. It wasn’t ideal but she did enjoy the buzz of the city. The other staff members had become good friends and they’d often meet up after work and at weekends. Sometimes, they’d even go on short holidays together. Kate loved her job and when she had to help in the kitchen, it brought back great memories of cooking times with Fiona.

Her one-bedroom terraced house was a great little discovery. It was only rented but Fiona had left enough money in a trust fund for her that it was paying for it nicely. She had enjoyed decorating it, with Sally creating the Feng-shui balance thing that she loved doing. They’d even come up with a memory wall to put photos and ornamental flowers up to remember Fiona by. The necklace hung in the middle on a little heart hook whenever Kate wasn’t wearing it. She worried that she would lose it at work and never be able to forgive herself so made it part of the display instead.

Everything was going in the right direction, and she had gradually begun to delve back into baking again, searching out the recipes she had created with her mum when she was around eight or nine years old. Her funny, scrawled writing on a notepad which had cake mixture encrusted on their favourite pages. The old thing was so special though and they both loved flicking through it to see what crazy creations they had made during that time. Sally thought it hilarious that they would come up with such crazy names for biscuits too.

With Kate’s twenty-first birthday coming up, plans were already being discussed. Various celebratory options were put on the table to choose from. Such as spa days, Ibiza long weekender and meals out at some fancy restaurants in London and there was even a suggestion of jetting off to Paris for a special French dinner and show. With all the options available, Kate had decided she didn’t want anything wild or fancy, so, they decided that Sally would throw her a slightly lavish dinner party with a few of her close friends back at their place. It was a night that Kate would always remember for more than one reason.

Chapter Two

Daniel...

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Sally was laughing hysterically at her feeble attempts in the kitchen trying her hardest to create amazing and luxurious tasting food for the guests. In the end, she had let Kate take charge of the food decorating and instead, homed in her skills making exotic cocktails to finish the evening off.

So, now you’ve reached the big twenty-one hey? What’s next for our budding little chef? asked Sally as the guests finished their food nibbles and retreated into the lounge to wait for their fancy cocktails to be prepared.

Chef? Ha, I wish, Kate replied shrugging her shoulders, I can’t seem to get anywhere with my cooking lately. All I seem to do is serve food, then sleep, then serve food, sleep, serve, sleep, etc. she chuckled as she finished decorating the espresso martinis with three coffee beans on the top of each perfectly straight martini, it’s never ending with the two waitressing jobs I have now. It's just not the same cooking without mum, I’ve not felt confident about it for years really. I guess I just don’t feel as passionate about cooking to be honest, she said, as Sally met her eyes, Like I said, I just serve the food instead these days, she laughed, trying to perk the atmosphere up a little bit. She didn’t want to upset Sally or seem down about cooking when she had gone to all this trouble to arrange this evening, I have been dabbling with some of the cookie recipes that we made, she said trying to change the subject swiftly, but...well, it just doesn’t feel the same, you know? They never seem to turn out right.

Aww, darling, I know it must be hard but, Fi, your mum, loved baking with you so much. She used to ring me when you’d gone to bed and tell me about the funny ingredients you used to like putting in, she nudged Kate’s arm, Hey, you know what you need to get you inspired? pausing and now prodding Kate in the ribs, A man. You need a nice young man in your life sweetie, someone to take care of you while you launch your cooking career, she joked, smiling widely and rather cheekily at Kate who was already shaking her head, be a kept woman like me, it’s fabulous darling, raising her cocktail glass and chinking their glasses together, laughing, she then continued, Rob has always been a gem like that, maybe he could set you up with one of the lads from his rugby team. He’s coaching the local team now you know, but they are around your age, she raised her eyebrows, thinking if she had spotted anyone suitable the last time she went to watch a match, do you want me to ask him if there’s anyone suitable?

Oh god no, auntie. Seriously, I’m ok by myself at the minute. I just need my big break at work, someone to spot me on Instagram or something, she pointed towards her phone, I keep posting about food and stuff and tagging the well-known chefs and some of the local celebrities. I’m going to apply to some more up market restaurants, see if I can get something in London maybe? Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey have places there. It’s where the magic can happen apparently.

I’m sure it does sweetie, but, hey, how about getting a bit of action away from work for a change? The guys in the team are really fit. Hey, I’ll tell you what, if I wasn’t past my due date, and not been so head over heels in love with my Rob, well, I may have tried my luck, her eyes lit up and she winked at Kate, sniggering a cheeky laugh.

Auntie. Really, behave yourself, Kate laughed at her aunt’s humour, she’d always been funny and loved being a bit cheeky.

Her husband Rob had always been ‘in the money’ inheriting his grandfather’s stately home in the Cotswolds. He had sold it a few years afterwards when he met Sally as they had decided to settle in Hertfordshire instead, starting up his own website company. It had built up so quickly and he now had around a hundred and fifty people working for him creating, selling, and managing websites to all types of businesses. And as most of it was done remotely, there was no need for offices, so the overheads and outgoings were minimal, meaning more profit for them in the long run. Any staff meetings were usually done either via video meetings or at a local hotel venue, with just the main team including Rob’s new business partners. He went into partnership with them so that he could step back a bit and take some of the pressure off himself and Sally.

The two of them