And yet, in order to come clean to Tom, to be able to live a life with Ivan and Layla, and still share access to Sadie and Callum, she would have to tell Ivan about them too. When she thought of him, a chill rolled over her skin, despite the intense heat clinging to every wall. But this wasn’t about him, this was about the baby. She would do the right thing. Wouldn’t she?

Once, she almost laughed to herself, all of this had seemed possible, right even. Yet however she looked at it now, she could see she was doomed. The only way forward was self-annihilation.

Unable to stop the thoughts from flooding through her mind, she went back to their suite and took one of her sleeping pills, falling, at least temporarily, into sweet oblivion. She was still dozing when Ivan returned, the light from the crack in the curtain illuminating his silhouette as he moved through the bedroom, a shopping bag held behind his back.

She watched him through half-closed eyes from the bed.

When she heard the sound of him talking from the walk-in wardrobe, a while later, she sat up and stretched, her bones cracking. Wondering whether it was time yet to collect Layla from the crèche, she stepped into the slippers by the bed and walked towards the other side of the suite, following the hushed tones of Ivan’s voice.

Moving slowly behind him, trying to stay quiet so as not to disturb his call, she stood there for a moment until he turned, the phone to his ear, his face falling when he saw her.

‘Jesus, Gabriela,’ he said, once he’d gathered himself, holding his hand over the microphone.

‘Sorry,’ she replied, hurt by the aggression in his voice.

‘I’ll call you back,’ he spoke into the speaker and then, giving her his full attention, ‘Don’t sneak up on me like that.’

‘I wasn’t sneaking, I just didn’t want to disturb you. Where have you been?’

‘I went for a walk. I thought you could do with the time to yourself. We should go and get Layla. Did you go to the spa?’

‘Yes,’ she said, following him back into the bedroom.

‘Right. Well, you’re not dressed so I’d better go down. Have a look at the dinner menu. We’ll order room service tonight.’

‘Sure. Ivan, is everything OK?’

‘Everything’s fine,’ he said. ‘Why shouldn’t it be?’

Waiting until she’d heard his footsteps disappear down the hallway, she stood and moved back towards the walk-in wardrobe. There was something about the way he had looked at her before he left the room that made her self-conscious of her appearance. Since Layla, her skin had been prone to break-outs, and the sleepless nights were taking their toll on other parts of her body too.