A bubble of anger seemed to pop inside him. Why had he let her come between him and his dad? What had his parents really done that was so bad? He swallowed hard, trying to quell the bitter taste of fury. It wasn’t her fault, he admonished himself. She had no idea that this was around the corner, lying in wait for them like a silent landmine.

After what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes, his phone rang. Freya’s number flashed up on his screen. He reddened with shame instantly, before picking up. ‘Hello, Freya.’

‘Oh my God, Ben. Charlotte’s just rung. I can’t believe the news about Peter! I am so, so sorry.’

Ben shook his head. ‘I can’t believe it either, Frey.’

‘What can we do to help?’

‘You can tell me what to do now because I don’t have a clue. I sent Mum and Emma home, saying I would take care of everything but I realized that I don’t actually know.’

‘OK, I’ll talk you through it all … Here’s what you need to do.’

By the time Ben drove back to his mum and dad’s house a couple of hours later, he was exhausted. He drove on auto-pilot, barely aware of his surroundings, still too numb to feel anything other than disbelief. As he pulled up in their driveway, he remembered that he still hadn’t told Bella. Steeling himself, he called her number. ‘Ben?’ she said, sounding uncharacteristically nervous.

‘Yes,’ Ben felt his eyes fill with tears at the sound of her voice.

‘How is he?’

Ben swallowed, knowing he would have to learn to say the words many times over the coming weeks and months. ‘He’s dead. He died, Bella.’

Bella gasped. ‘What? No! That’s just not possible!’ There was genuine shock in her voice. There was a pause as she digested the news. ‘My God, I can’t believe it.’

‘I know. I’ve just arrived back at Mum and Dad’s—’ Ben stopped speaking, unable to continue. It wasn’t his mum and dad’s anymore. It was just his mum’s. His dad was gone. The realization washed over him like a giant wave and he put his hand over his face, which was wet with tears.

There was a long silence at the end of the line. Finally, Bella spoke.

‘Are you coming home?’

‘Not tonight. I need to stay here with Mum and Emma, to make sure they’re OK. Just look after Elodie and I’ll call you in the morning.’

‘OK.’ Bella’s voice was barely a whisper and Ben could hear how devastated and upset she was. Somewhere at the back of his mind, it touched him.

The house was deathly quiet as Ben let himself in. He walked from room to room, looking for his mum and Emma, before deciding that they must be upstairs. He found them in his parents’ bedroom. Jo was under the duvet, propped up on a pile of white pillows, while Emma sat on the edge of the bed, holding her mum’s hand. Both were pale with shock.