When she looked up again, guilt was plastered across her face. ‘They gave me this bag, you see. At the hospital. This see-through plastic bag with his belongings in it. His watch, his wedding ring, his wallet. And there were two phones. I remember holding the bag up and staring at them, wondering why he had two when the one he used at home was his work phone. His boss and one of his colleagues were still at the hospital. I asked if they were both work phones but his colleague joked about one of them being Adam’s “private” phone which he was always phoning and texting me on.’ She sighed and shook her head. ‘Standing in that hospital corridor staring at that unfamiliar phone confirmed what, deep down, I’d known for a long time. He’d met someone else. You’ll probably think I’m awful for fixating on it when my husband was only just gone but I had to find out who you were and that phone was going to give me the answer.’

‘I’m sorry. As I said before, I honestly didn’t know he was married.’

‘I know. I read your messages. My sister, Dawn, has this boyfriend who has a heart of gold but, for some reason, he knows how to do some dodgy stuff. Dawn told me that no good would come of unlocking the mystery phone and discovering the secrets it held but I couldn’t help myself. It was like an obsession. So her boyfriend unlocked it for me and there you were – the woman my husband loved. Texts, photos, emails, a Facebook account. A whole new life for someone called Scott Hastings.’

She explained how she’d read the most recent texts, which made it clear that Scott was planning to leave her to be with me. At that point, anger took over and she sent the text telling me that he’d picked her instead. She’d then worked back through the texts, seeing my discovery that he had a wife and twins, the ‘where are you?’ texts when he ghosted me, and as far back as the proposal.

‘Dawn took the phone off me at that point and wouldn’t give me it back. She said that Adam wasn’t around to justify or explain what had happened and that I’d only work myself into a frenzy going through every single text and Facebook post if she let me keep the phone. I had to remember him as the good husband and father I’d thought he was earlier that day and leave it there. She said I’d regret sending the text to you and she was right. I had no right to lash out like that and I had no right to keep the news of his death from you. She may be younger than me but my sister’s a hell of a lot wiser.’