‘Oh please, don’t be disingenuous,’ he replied with a touch of irritation, although she could tell he was trying as hard as she was to remain composed. ‘I moved in here and then moved out with scarcely a word of explanation, and you want to know why I might think I owe you an apology. Let’s at least be honest with each other. Did my moving in – and out – mean so little to you?’

‘It didn’t seem to mean much to you,’ she snapped.

She pressed her lips together and stared at her wine, annoyed that he had stung her into betraying her feelings.

‘I’ve taken a paternity test,’ he told her.

Geraldine held her breath and waited, aware that this could change the course of both their lives. At the same time, she realised that it actually meant nothing to her. If Ian wanted to move back in with her only because he had discovered Bev’s baby wasn’t his after all, she would never know what might have happened if he had turned out to be the father of the child. Geraldine would never have stood by and allowed him to abandon his wife and child, but this way she would never know if he loved her enough to be prepared to give up everything to be with her. Struggling to hide her dismay, she sipped at her wine and refused to look at him.

‘We get the result tomorrow,’ he went on.

‘So you still don’t know whether Bev’s baby is yours or not?’

‘Not yet. I wanted to make a decision about my life – mine and yours – without knowing if I was the father. It seemed fairer to you. Otherwise you’d never really know how I feel about you.’

Geraldine nodded to show she understood, although she still wasn’t quite sure what he was telling her.

‘If the baby’s mine,’ he pressed on, with an air of desperation, ‘I’ll do everything I can to support Bev and my child, for as long as she needs me to. Despite the way she’s behaved, I’m determined to do the right thing. But…’

He paused and drew in a deep breath. Geraldine felt as though the room was spinning around her. She put her glass down and stared at the dark red wine, willing him to take her in his arms and tell her that he loved her, and only her, no matter what.

‘I’m not going back. I can’t. The marriage is over.’

She waited.

‘Are you listening?’ he asked, a note of anguish creeping into his voice. ‘Did you hear what I said?’