Ben pursed his lips. ‘Really? They looked like a lot more than that. And now it all makes sense, of course. Why you’re so keen for me to stay at home with Elodie while you go out to work, even though we don’t need the money …’

I could feel the heat in my cheeks and knew that I was blushing furiously. ‘Oh, stop being so dramatic!’ I blustered. ‘There’s a perfectly innocent explanation …’ I wracked my brains to think of something plausible.

‘Which is?’ Ben’s eyes met mine and I could see a spark of defiance that I thought had gone completely.

‘It was a joke. That’s all.’ I adopted my sternest tone in the hope that he would let it drop.

‘And all the other messages from Leo? Are they jokes, too? Only they’re not very funny and they look a lot like arrangements to meet.’

Damn, I didn’t think that he might have read them all. I bit my lip, my mind racing. Eventually I decided that there was no point in denying it. I had been caught red-handed. ‘OK, so what? It’s just sex, nothing more. It means nothing.’

Tears sprang into Ben’s dark eyes, which surprised me slightly. ‘How long?’ he whispered.

I exhaled loudly, not wanting to discuss this now – or ever. ‘Not long. Look, Ben, don’t make a big deal out of it. You never seem to want to have sex so what am I supposed to do? Live like a bloody nun?’ It was deeply unfair of me but guilt was making me bluster.

Ben recoiled at my words and shook his head. ‘Why didn’t you talk to me about it? Instead of skulking around behind my back? Behind Elodie’s back.’ His voice wobbled slightly at the mention of Elodie’s name.

‘Oh, for Christ’s sake, Ben!’ I snapped. ‘Stop being such a bloody wimp!’ I stood up crossly and picked up my plate, all hunger now completely gone.

‘Promise me you won’t see him again.’ Ben’s voice lacked conviction but he was clearly trying to sound as manly as possible.

I hesitated. ‘Oh, whatever! Fine!’ He didn’t need to know whether I saw Leo or not and I wouldn’t be making the mistake of giving him access to my phone again.

Ben watched me silently as I scraped the food into the bin. ‘You haven’t even said sorry,’ he murmured.

I gritted my teeth, as a wave of rage swept through me. ‘Ben, please stop making this into such a big drama. You’re blowing it all out of proportion.’

‘I’d like to see how you’d react if it was me you caught having an affair!’

I looked up at him, surprised by his outburst. I couldn’t remember the last time he had raised his voice to me. ‘As if anyone would want to have an affair with you!’ The words flew out of my mouth like the rattle of a machine gun.

Ben’s face creased in pain and he stood up slowly. ‘You are such a bitch sometimes,’ he whispered, shaking his head, before turning his back on me and heading towards the door.