Finally, I ran out of energy and stopped, aware that I was actually panting with the effort of it. My senses seemed to snap back into focus and I stared at him, cowering pathetically, before I turned on my heel and headed for the bathroom. I slammed the door and locked it, then perched on the edge of the bath, as I reached with shaking hands for the taps, and turned them on full.

I stared at my knuckles, which were red and already starting to bruise. I wasn’t sure what I had done. Had I injured him? Surely not. I was far too small to have inflicted any real damage on someone as big as him. I waited for the bath to fill, calming myself with deep breaths. I climbed into the frothy water and sank gratefully down into it, hardly daring to look at my hands, as I lathered soap all over my body.

After a few minutes, my heart had stopped racing and I was calm again. I relaxed back and closed my eyes, telling myself I must have imagined it. Maybe I had dropped off to sleep in the bath briefly and dreamed it? It seemed the most likely explanation.

I lay there for a while, until I felt calm, relaxed and rejuvenated. I stepped out of the bath and wrapped a towel around my body, and another one as a turban around my head. I rubbed at the steamed-up mirror so that I could see my reflection and smiled when I saw that I looked the same as usual. Nothing had happened, it was just a dream. At least, that’s what I was going to believe.

I unlocked the door and walked out into the hallway. I was about to go into the bedroom, when I became aware that Ben was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, watching me with a look of sheer terror in his eyes. ‘What are you doing standing there like that?’ I said, smiling warmly at him. ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost!’

Ben frowned, wrong-footed. ‘Bella, we really need to talk about what just happened.’ His voice was trembling and there was a flash of tears visible in his eyes.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. ‘What are you on about? Nothing happened.’

Ben shook his head incredulously. ‘You attacked me!’

‘No, I didn’t. Don’t be so ridiculous! As if someone the size of me could attack anyone, let alone a six-foot-two hulk like you. You must be having some kind of hallucination. Listen,’ I said, adopting a softer, more sympathetic tone of voice. ‘It’s been a long, stressful day – for both of us.’

Ben’s mouth dropped open and he winced slightly as I put my hand on his arm.

‘So why don’t we get an early night and try to put everything else to the back of our minds? Let’s remind ourselves why it’s just you and me that matters. We don’t need anyone else. It’s better when it’s just us.’