‘I’m failing to see how this ended up in making a baby.’

‘We went to a pub and got drunk, so drunk that my memory of the whole thing is a bit hazy; I think I might have passed out. After that, I cut off all communication. I blocked her. After her reaction to the abortion comment I thought she seemed vengeful, crazy.’

‘And then she turned up in our Baby Group.’ I spat the words out; this was like something out of a horror film.

‘I was so shocked when I first saw her there. And at the same stage of pregnancy as us. I put two-and-two together.’ His head was hanging so low it was almost in his lap. ‘I freaked out, panicked, big time.’ His words then became peppered with sobs. ‘Honestly Aisha, I’m furious with myself, for keeping all of this a secret from you; I know I should have come clean.’

My mind was ticking over, trying to piece together the dates. This would have been at exactly the same time I discovered I was pregnant.

He seemed to read my mind: ‘That day, when you came to work to tell me you were pregnant…’ His voice trailed off, like he didn’t have the guts to finish the sentence.

‘Tell me Jason,’ I pressed. ‘You owe me the truth now.’

‘That was the morning after it happened. I didn’t have the heart to be so callous as to wipe the joy from your beautiful face with this dirty news. Not that day, and then there was never the right day.’

So many things clicked into place. He had fed me so many lies. I felt like the world’s greatest mug for not noticing or confronting him about anything, even when Jason and I were so obviously drifting apart during my pregnancy. In the weeks after Joni was born he had been so much more attentive and kind. Now I knew why. His guilty conscience was catching up with him.

He looked at me pleadingly. ‘I would do anything – anything – to turn back the clock. I love you both so much,’ he wept. ‘I’ve tried to show you that. I know I struggled when you were pregnant and wasn’t there for you. But you and Joni are the most important people in the world to me. I’d be lost without you.’ He looked like a broken man.

We were soon both in floods of tears. I used the last of the tissues in my pockets.

We were interrupted when Joni woke. At the sound of her first cry Jason went to reach for the pram, but I instinctively knocked his arm away, accidentally sending my coffee cup, which had remained in the cup holder, falling out and onto the ground.

‘Get off!’ I snapped, finding some kind of other-worldly strength from within. I stood up and gripped the handlebars, releasing the brake. ‘Don’t touch my baby!’

A few people turned to look at us with concerned expressions. I didn’t care.