‘So make the call then,’ he dared menacingly, taking a step toward her. She had seen an inkling of this darker side of him before, witnessed him aim his ire at other people when things didn’t go his way. But that was often how it went with talent. They were so used to everyone blowing smoke up their backsides that they could get away with behaving like toddlers. He had never been like this with her before though and now it scared her. ‘Or maybe you should call your latest squeeze and ask him to come to your rescue? He has form in that way, I hear. Let’s hope his right hook is better than his stick work.’

Should she call Ward back? Hannah wondered suddenly, but to what aim? It wasn’t as if he could crash the door down and come to her rescue. To say nothing of the fact that he didn’t even know where she lived.

Rob kept closing the distance between them and instinctively she moved backwards step by step, until she was up against the marble countertop with nowhere left to go as her ex loomed ever closer. This was one situation Hannah felt helpless to de-escalate.

Then all of a sudden came a chirruping sound of sorts, and she struggled to process what was happening when, out of nowhere, the stray cat appeared alongside her on the countertop. Then jumping onto the stool closest to Rob, it hissed, raised its paw and swiped at her ex in one quick motion, raking its claws across his cheek.

His hand flew to his face in shock and then he pulled his fingers away to assess the damage, staring at them in disbelief.

‘What the … ?’ he gasped, and then looked from Hannah to the cat, trying to process what had just happened. ‘You have a friggin’ cat?’

‘Get out, Rob,’ she cried, her voice faltering with a mixture of fear and relief. ‘I mean it. Leave.’

The unexpected interruption seemed to be enough to make him come to his senses. ‘You’re not worth it,’ he spat. ‘You’ve never been worth it. Look at you, a pathetic cat lady all alone in an apartment you don’t even own and could never afford. You’re nothing without me. A nobody.’

Hannah raised her chin defiantly. ‘If I’m such a nobody then why are you here?’ She levelled her gaze at him, composure slowly returning. ‘And I forgot to mention it, but this apartment has a state-of-the-art security system, including motion-activated CCTV.’ She smiled at the uncertainty in his expression as he tried to second-guess whether or not she was being serious. ‘Never come here again, unless you want that footage to be leaked to the press. And I’m sure you’re well aware that I can make good on that threat – you know, for a nobody.’