He was smiling, but it was a fixed smile that didn’t reach his granite-like eyes, and his actions were exaggerated – throwing the door open a little too hard, kicking off his shoes so they banged against the wall. I could feel his fury, but he was waiting for me to do something, say something, that would allow him to vent his anger on me.

In the end my silence became too much for him. He flung himself into an armchair. ‘Spit it out, then,’ he said. ‘I’ve told you that you’re forgiven, but you’re still behaving as if you’ve got something to say. Sorry might be a good place to start.’

I took a deep breath. I knew what had to be said, but I had no idea how he would react.

‘Ian, I told you before I went away that we are done. I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out, and for my part I can only apologise. But I would appreciate it if you would find somewhere else to live.’

He laughed. He actually laughed. ‘I’m going nowhere. If we’re done, you’re the one that’s going to have to go. This is my home too, and I’m not the one ending things. I said I’d forgiven you. I even bought you fucking flowers to show there were no hard feelings, and I had a clean-up to welcome you home. As I said, I know you’ve been upset and maybe that’s an excuse for your behaviour, but with a little effort from you we can go back to how things were before.’

I stared at him. Putting used cans into the bin and giving each room a quick squirt of crappy air freshener was, I knew, Ian’s idea of a clean-up, but I couldn’t get the smell out of my nostrils, the taste out of my throat, and it made me nauseous.

‘It’s my house, Ian. You know that. I paid the deposit, and I pay the mortgage. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. It’s time to go our separate ways.’

‘You invited me to share your home,’ he said, a hard, knowing smile on his face that chilled me. ‘I left my roots because you promised we would be a couple for life. I’ve supported you emotionally, moved to the other side of the country to be with you, shopped, cooked and cleaned so that you have the freedom to do your job. I’ve been the main carer.’ I glanced around the room at the mess, but he just laughed. ‘That means I have what is known as a beneficial interest in the property. It’s the law. I bet you didn’t know that, did you? This is my home, and I’m going nowhere.’ He folded his arms and sat back.