It had been a struggle to tell the lie in the first place, the words hesitant, tasting sour in her mouth, her eyes flitting all over the place as she spoke. But she’d made sure she was busy unloading the dishwasher when she told him so he couldn’t see the guilt on her face and she couldn’t see the frustration in his eyes that his routine would be disturbed. He’d responded with a bang of the door as he stormed off into his office and he hadn’t mentioned it since. His apparent acceptance of the arrangements didn’t make sleep any easier though, her lie chattering inside her head, keeping her awake. She wondered if it would be better to just tell him everything, but each little deception made it harder to come clean and confess the truth.

I’m putting it all right, she told herself. No need for him to know. Just have to be patient.

Once Hailey had taken the girls to football and Matt was busy bathing Ezra, she started to get herself ready. After a quick shower, she did her hair and make-up, then put on a clean set of work clothes – navy trousers and a white blouse – so Matt would believe her story of it being a work event.

‘You’re looking all dolled up,’ he said, coming into the bedroom as she was putting the final touches to her make-up. The mascara wand froze on its way to her lashes for a moment before she carried on with what she was doing, hoping she didn’t look as flustered as she felt.

‘I’ve decided I need to up my game. Fiona and Julia always look so impeccably turned out, I felt quite shabby at the last meeting.’

‘So who else is going to be there?’ he asked. He was trying to sound casual, but she knew it was a loaded question. ‘And what exactly is this incredibly important event you’re going to anyway?’ There was an edge to his voice, and she knew he was put out that she’d taken his work time away from him that evening, delaying his progress.

He was watching her in the mirror, and she glanced down, busied herself packing away her make-up. She kept her voice light, as if this betrayal of trust she was about to embark upon was nothing of any consequence. The knots in her stomach pulled tighter. ‘I told you. It’s an event for board members and managers of voluntary-sector groups. A compliance update. There’re so many new laws about data protection, risk assessment, health and safety, safeguarding…’ She shrugged, gave him a little flicker of a smile. ‘It’s a job to keep up to date with them all. So that’s what it’s for and that’s why it’s important.’