Poor Ezra. She knew how impatient Matt could get with his fussy little ways, the clothes he would and wouldn’t wear, the cuddly animals that had to keep him company at the table or he wouldn’t eat. She hurried to the car, pulse racing as she thought about Matt’s rage the night before, hoping he’d calmed down.

Hailey’s words echoed in her mind, and she wondered what Matt had told the girls. It was half-term this week, so the girls would be at home, and she bit her lip as she drove, terrified of what she was about to face.

By the time she pulled up outside the house, she was sweating. How do I have a conversation with Matt without upsetting the kids? Would he even let her see them? The severity of her predicament started to hit home, the possibility that she could be separated from her family. Her very worst fear. She’d vowed that it would never happen to her, that she wouldn’t repeat her mother’s mistakes. She would be different, her life would be different – and it had been, up to a point. But there were also similarities she’d chosen to ignore.

She pushed the thoughts from her head and hurried to the front door, put her key in the lock, but the door wouldn’t budge. The bolt was on. She went round to the side door, frightened that she was locked out of her own house. Tentatively she tried the handle, letting out the breath she was holding when it opened.

Sophia and Amelia were in the kitchen, making toasties, and looked up when Sara walked in, their expressions quickly changing from surprise to anger.

‘Does Dad know you’re here?’ Sophia demanded, looking over her shoulder towards the lounge.

‘I’ve come to talk to him,’ Sara said, unsure how to play this, feeling so vulnerable not knowing what the girls did and didn’t know.

‘Well, he doesn’t want to talk to you.’ Sophia’s hands were on her hips, her body blocking the way through.

‘In fact,’ Amelia snapped, eyes flashing, ‘none of us want to talk to you.’

Sara stopped, startled by the venom in their voices, desperate to hold her daughters, hug them to her and explain what had happened. But she couldn’t, and it broke her heart.

‘Cheater,’ Sophia said, pointing at her. ‘You’ve ruined everything.’

‘Dad!’ Amelia shouted. ‘Mum’s here.’

Suddenly Matt appeared from the hallway, and before she could react, he was bundling her out of the back door, which he shut behind him, standing in front of it like a bouncer, arms folded across his chest.

‘You’re not welcome here.’ There was a stony look on his face, and as her hopes went into free fall, her mouth went into overdrive, gabbling her excuses before he could go back inside.