Ben sighed, as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. ‘Well, they’ve gone now, so you can go back to bed and sleep off whatever lurgy you’ve picked up.’

Ha! I’d won. I was fairly certain that was the last we’d be seeing of Matt and Freya. ‘No, it’s fine,’ I said, flashing him a brilliant smile. ‘I feel much better now.’

I was sitting at the kitchen table, with Elodie lying in her baby gym, gurgling happily and kicking her legs wildly, when the landline rang. I picked up the handset and glanced idly at the caller display. Ugh, it was Jo. There was no way I was going to answer it, so I put the handset back down and carried on reading the article on my phone.

‘Why are you ignoring the phone, darling?’ said Ben, as he raced into the kitchen and snatched up the handset, just before it went to the Ansaphone.

I gave a tiny smile but didn’t answer him.

‘Hi, Mum, how are you?’ he said cheerfully, before pausing to listen. ‘Don’t be daft.’ He frowned. ‘Is everything all right?’

I looked up at him, my senses suddenly on high alert, as his legs seemed to buckle and he slumped down on a chair. ‘A heart attack? Shit. How serious?’

It felt as though my own heart had stopped in sympathy. Had Peter had a heart attack? He couldn’t have. It just wasn’t possible.

I watched Ben intently, searching for clues as to what might have happened. He was swallowing hard and trying to keep calm. ‘Right, don’t worry, I will be there as soon as I can. Which hospital? OK. Get yourself a coffee and I’ll be there in a couple of hours. Does Emma know?’

It was obviously Peter. And it sounded serious if Ben had to dash off immediately. He spoke for a few more minutes before telling Jo he loved her and hanging up. All the colour had drained from his face and he looked as if his legs had turned to jelly.

‘What’s happened? Is it your dad?’ I asked, slightly unnecessarily.

Ben nodded his affirmation, clearly fighting back tears. I wanted to cry myself through shock and, inexplicably, anger at Peter. How dare he do this? I walked over and wrapped my arms around Ben, as much for my own benefit as his.

Ben took a deep breath and gave me a slightly apologetic look. ‘I need to call Emma and go.’

I nodded, still too stunned to take it in. ‘Of course you do. Let me know the second you have any news.’

Ben nodded. ‘Of course. Just keep an eye on our baby girl while I’m gone.’ He knelt on the floor and kissed Elodie, who beamed up at him with a gummy smile.

‘I will,’ I assured him, wanting him to get out of the flat and get to the hospital as soon as possible. ‘And we’ll be waiting for you when you get back.’