‘It’s me,’ had been the first words he’d said to her after almost three weeks of silence. Sue had said nothing, only sinking onto the cold stone floor, looking down the long corridor, full of shadows. ‘I am so sorry, Sue, I’m such a coward. I don’t know what came over me. I just got swept up in it all – the moment, the passion, the romance … You what I’m like. I feel things. I feel them in a much deeper way than most people. And I need to be loved. But … Today I realised what a fool I am, what a stupid, callous, cruel fool I am. It’s you that I love, Sue. It’s you and the children I should be with. Please, will you let me come home?’

Sue had closed her eyes tight, determined not to let the tears that threatened to force their way out between her lashes, so nicely coated in mascara by Tamsyn, fall.

‘Of course you can,’ she said simply, fighting to keep the emotion out of her voice. ‘Come home for Christmas.’

Rory had talked a lot more, but it was nothing that Sue hadn’t heard before. As his honeyed words dripped into her ear, as she listened to the sound of his voice, she realised the hurt she was feeling wasn’t because of her own broken heart. The anguish at realising that their marriage had ceased to work any more had faded a long time ago, perhaps after the second affair. It wasn’t that Sue didn’t love Rory any more, so he couldn’t hurt her. Having him at home and around the children, keeping their little family safe meant more than anything to her. No, the reason she was crying was because she knew that no one would ever love her now, not in the way that Ruan loved Alex or Jed loved Tamsyn. The rest of her life would be about avoiding her husband, waiting for his next indiscretion, looking after her children, chasing her dogs and sitting on committees. It wouldn’t be a bad life, or even a sad one, particularly. It’s just that no one would ever kiss her the way that she had been kissed on her doorstep ever again. That was why she had cried.

But now at least he would be home for Christmas Day, which would make the children happy. Although it did mean she’d have to get the turkey out of the freezer again, as she wasn’t sure Tamsyn’s invitation to have lunch with them would extend to her errant husband.

‘I want a real pony for Christmas,’ Petal said. ‘I always ask for a pony, but I never get one, and all the girls at school have got ponies.’

‘Yes, well, you’ve got a—’