EBOOK
About
Casey Marshall looks like she has it all; a successful interior design business, a devoted husband, friends who love her, and a family fortune that means a comfortable lifestyle. But looks can be deceiving.
Casey has more than her fair share of worries. A successful business partnership with her long-time friend, Janine, ended when Casey left to pursue her dream of interior design. The effects of this old wound are felt in their mutual friendship with another friend, Gail, leaving the previously happy threesome feeling uneasy.
Casey not only worries about her damaged friendship with Janine, but also her complicated relationship with her younger sister, Drew. After the deaths of their parents, Casey became responsible for her sibling, both financially and emotionally, creating a rift that has only deepened with time.
The only salvation from these worries is her marriage to Warren. Successful, handsome, and completely enraptured by his wife, her husband is the perfect reward for a life that, contrary to what some believe, hasn't always been smooth sailing. Before they married, Warren had even insisted on a prenuptial agreement that meant he would receive none of Casey' s considerable family fortune should they divorce. She trusts him completely and now thoughts of starting a family are beginning to take hold.
Distracted by thoughts of a baby, Casey didn't hear the car until it was too late. It slammed into her at almost fifty miles an hour, breaking nearly every bone in her body and plunging her into a coma. Lying in her hospital bed, Casey slowly begins to realize that although she is unable to see or communicate, she can hear everything that goes on around her.
She soon discovers that her friends aren't necessarily the people she thought them to be - and that her accident might not have been an accident at all. As she struggles to break free from her living death, she begins to wonder if what lies ahead could be even worse. "Fielding is a master of anticipation and knows how to create a labyrinth of tension, never providing an exit until the very last page." - The Globe and Mail Joy Fielding is the author of Charley's Web, Heartstopper, Mad River Road, Puppet, and more than a dozen other acclaimed novels. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach, Florida. Visit her website at www.joyfielding.com. Chapter One
Less than an hour before the car slammed into her at a speed of almost fifty miles an hour, throwing her ten feet into the air, breaking nearly every bone in her body and cracking her head against the hard concrete, Casey Marshall was sitting in the elegant, narrow dining room of Southwark, one of South Philadelphia's more popular white-tablecloth restaurants, finishing lunch with her two closest friends and stealing glances at the beautiful, secluded courtyard behind their heads. She was wondering how long the unnaturally warm March weather was going to last, whether she'd have time to go for a run before her next appointment, and whether she should tell Janine the truth about what she really thought of her latest haircut. She'd already lied and said she liked it. Casey smiled at the thought of an early spring and allowed her gaze to drift over her right shoulder, past the luminous still-life painting of a bouquet of enormous pink peonies by Tony Scherman, and toward the magnificent mahogany bar that was the centerpiece of the restaurant's front room.
"You hate it, don't you?" she heard Janine say.
"The painting?" Casey asked, although she doubted Janine had even noticed it. Janine regularly boasted she was oblivious to her surroundings. Having said that, she always seemed to select only the finest, most expensive places for them to have lunch. "I think it's fabulous."
"My hair. You think it's awful."
"I don't think it's awful."
"You think it's too severe."
Casey has more than her fair share of worries. A successful business partnership with her long-time friend, Janine, ended when Casey left to pursue her dream of interior design. The effects of this old wound are felt in their mutual friendship with another friend, Gail, leaving the previously happy threesome feeling uneasy.
Casey not only worries about her damaged friendship with Janine, but also her complicated relationship with her younger sister, Drew. After the deaths of their parents, Casey became responsible for her sibling, both financially and emotionally, creating a rift that has only deepened with time.
The only salvation from these worries is her marriage to Warren. Successful, handsome, and completely enraptured by his wife, her husband is the perfect reward for a life that, contrary to what some believe, hasn't always been smooth sailing. Before they married, Warren had even insisted on a prenuptial agreement that meant he would receive none of Casey' s considerable family fortune should they divorce. She trusts him completely and now thoughts of starting a family are beginning to take hold.
Distracted by thoughts of a baby, Casey didn't hear the car until it was too late. It slammed into her at almost fifty miles an hour, breaking nearly every bone in her body and plunging her into a coma. Lying in her hospital bed, Casey slowly begins to realize that although she is unable to see or communicate, she can hear everything that goes on around her.
She soon discovers that her friends aren't necessarily the people she thought them to be - and that her accident might not have been an accident at all. As she struggles to break free from her living death, she begins to wonder if what lies ahead could be even worse. "Fielding is a master of anticipation and knows how to create a labyrinth of tension, never providing an exit until the very last page." - The Globe and Mail Joy Fielding is the author of Charley's Web, Heartstopper, Mad River Road, Puppet, and more than a dozen other acclaimed novels. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach, Florida. Visit her website at www.joyfielding.com. Chapter One
Less than an hour before the car slammed into her at a speed of almost fifty miles an hour, throwing her ten feet into the air, breaking nearly every bone in her body and cracking her head against the hard concrete, Casey Marshall was sitting in the elegant, narrow dining room of Southwark, one of South Philadelphia's more popular white-tablecloth restaurants, finishing lunch with her two closest friends and stealing glances at the beautiful, secluded courtyard behind their heads. She was wondering how long the unnaturally warm March weather was going to last, whether she'd have time to go for a run before her next appointment, and whether she should tell Janine the truth about what she really thought of her latest haircut. She'd already lied and said she liked it. Casey smiled at the thought of an early spring and allowed her gaze to drift over her right shoulder, past the luminous still-life painting of a bouquet of enormous pink peonies by Tony Scherman, and toward the magnificent mahogany bar that was the centerpiece of the restaurant's front room.
"You hate it, don't you?" she heard Janine say.
"The painting?" Casey asked, although she doubted Janine had even noticed it. Janine regularly boasted she was oblivious to her surroundings. Having said that, she always seemed to select only the finest, most expensive places for them to have lunch. "I think it's fabulous."
"My hair. You think it's awful."
"I don't think it's awful."
"You think it's too severe."