‘So we’ll talk when I’m back,’ he said and Gabriela nodded, focusing on her daughter, telling herself to let her go.

‘Gabriela, is something wrong?’ he asked and she shook her head, forcing herself to look at him, unprising her fingers. ‘No. Nothing’s wrong. I’ll call you …’

She got off the train at Great Portland Street, walking through Regent’s Park, the light reflecting off the top of the pale stone of the Nash buildings. Despite the bright sunshine, a shiver ran through her as she exited onto the Outer Circle and walked along Parkway. The feeling that followed her was fear tinged with an emboldening, a sense that at last she was going to do the right thing.

When she tried to transpose her memories of the people she had known and loved over the years as she walked back through the streets of her childhood, she found she could no longer imagine it as it was, but as she crossed onto Pratt Street, the familiarity of the signage soothed her. Inside Daphne’s, the white tablecloths and dark wood furnishings were of some small comfort.

Though she was early, Madeleine was already waiting, not in their usual table in the window but in one of the booths on the right. The sight of her risked triggering the emotions that were brimming near the surface.

Kissing Madeleine on each cheek before taking her seat, it took all Gabriela’s self-control not to lean in and break down on her shoulder. In all the years she’d known Madeleine, the lines in her skin deepening and taking new form, her friend had never fundamentally changed. And yet today, there was something different about her, something dancing just out of view.

Even as Gabriela had walked there, the thoughts of the weekend circling in her mind like sharks in an ever-shrinking tank, she hadn’t been sure whether she would tell her. But finally, as she sat in front of her now, she knew what she was going to do. There was no longer room for the lies that had permeated her life for so long that she no longer knew what the truth was; the lies had swollen so grotesquely that they were crushing her.

It wasn’t just Madeleine she was going to reveal herself to. She was going to tell Tom, as well. He would hate her for it, but he could hardly deny that their life together had fallen apart a long time ago – and he would never stop her seeing the children, that much she could count on. Sadie and Callum would be hurt, of course they would. But she was their mother and she loved them, and they would understand, eventually, that this was never about them.

Madeleine cut her off, mid-thought.

‘What will you drink? Wine?’

When she looked up, the waitress was standing next to them.

‘Actually, I think I’d like something stronger. A brandy?’