The Good Life by Martina Cole

do that for him in any case told him all he needed to know. Every time he saw her he fell more in love with her, and the relationship that she had with his mother was the icing on the cake. There was no way Molly would be rowed out of this baby’s life. His mother, the raving Catholic, condoning his adultery was mad enough in itself, but his mum and Jenny had a genuine friendship built on love and respect and it pleased him no end.
    Jenny didn’t care that his mum had a past because her mother’s was so similar. He wondered if that was why they got on so well; both Jenny and Cain had lived through the humiliation of having been looked down on all their lives. They knew the pain that caused a child and how, no matter what, they still loved the offending parent in their own way. For all Eileen’s faults − and they were legion − Jenny adored her and he understood that because he felt the same about Molly. His mum, God love her, had taken to Jenny big time; they were always together these days. He could sense his mum’s excitement at the thought of having a grandchild whose life she would actually be a part of. That was heady stuff after the way Caroline had treated her over the years. It made him feel ashamed, because he should have nipped Caroline’s treatment of Molly in the bud but he had just wanted a quiet life. He had a feeling he would get exactly that with Jenny.
    A part of him hated himself for the way he was willing to abandon his marriage, his lawful wife and even his first-born child. But Cain Moran wanted Jenny Riley more than he had ever wanted anyone or anything before in his life. Every time he touched her, even heavily pregnant as she was now, it was like a revelation. It was as if this was what he had been put on this earth for − to be with this girl and share his life with her.
    Loving Jenny Riley was the easy part; it was telling his wife he wanted a divorce that was going to be the killer. But tell her he must, and sooner rather than later. It was still only months since she had lost her mother, and that was making things difficult for everyone. Caroline was milking her mother’s death for everything it was worth. She was like someone from a Victorian novel, lying around all day, comfort eating. She was gaining weight and blaming Cain for it.
    He wiped a hand across his face as if to banish the thought of her. Then, getting up, he walked into the en suite bathroom as quietly as possible; the last thing he needed was Caroline awake at this hour of the morning, shouting the odds. But luck wasn’t on his side and he heard her voice as he started his early morning piss.
    ‘What time did you finally roll in?’
    He rolled his eyes with annoyance. ‘Yeah, good morning to you too, Caroline. You know I was at a meet last night. You spoke to Johnny about it.’
    He heard the grunt of disbelief that told him she still thought Johnny Mac was a part of some conspiracy against her. If only she knew that Johnny was about the only person who counselled him to think long and hard before he broke up his marriage. He was Caroline’s sole supporter.
    ‘You getting up today?’
    He heard her sigh heavily.
    ‘Why? What is there to get up for? You tell me that.’
    He gritted his teeth and said as evenly as he could, ‘Little Michael, how about him? Your auntie Dolly can’t stay here for ever, can she?’
    Caroline sat up in the huge bed and yawned loudly. He looked at her as he walked back over. He was tired having been out late the night before but, instead of getting in to have a longer sleep, he bent down and picked up his jeans off the floor, slipping them on quickly. She was getting to be the size of a house. He saw the chocolate wrappers on the night table on her side and knew she must have had a midnight feast. Her face was fuller and, even though she was still a good-looking woman, her permanent expression of discontent was marring her features.
    She had suffered a blow, he accepted that. But she had