I waited for Ben to suggest that his parents should come to visit, but as things had settled down between us since the Christmas ‘incident’, it was as if he didn’t want to tempt fate.

For my part, I only wanted to see Peter again once I felt like I was back to looking my best and had lost the unsightly jelly-belly that my pregnancy had left behind. So it suited me perfectly to have the excuse of the row at Christmas to avoid having to see them. Jo sent texts, letters and flowers, all apologizing profusely for what she’d said and begging my forgiveness.

Ben and I would read them in silence, before quietly carrying on with whatever we were doing, with no discussion or even acknowledgement.

The weeks ticked by and I liked that our bubble had shrunk to just Ben, me and Elodie, with only sporadic visits from my mum. I felt back in control, which is how I liked it. Matt and Freya seemed to have got the hint and their phone-calls, which I had grown expert in ignoring, had dwindled away to almost nothing. I never mentioned to Ben that they had called or left messages on the Ansaphone because I didn’t want him getting any ideas about rekindling their friendship. That most definitely wasn’t going to happen.

I also ‘accidentally’ smashed his mobile phone and then offered to get a new one for him, making sure that he got a new number in the process, so that no one from his ‘old’ life could contact him. When he started to complain and wail that I’d lost all his contacts, I burst into tears and he promptly shut up.

So when Ben came home from work one day and mooted the idea of finally inviting his parents to visit, it took me entirely by surprise. I had been trying to contact him at lunchtime and he wasn’t answering his phone. I had a sixth sense that he was doing something he shouldn’t have been doing and I was ready for a row about it by the time he came through the door. His sheepish demeanour only confirmed what I suspected.

‘So, what were you doing today that was so important you ignored my calls?’ I asked him, as we sat down to eat the risotto he had prepared.

‘I didn’t ignore your calls.’ Ben took a mouthful of his risotto but seemed to struggle to swallow it and winced slightly before continuing. ‘I was at work, Bella. I can’t just drop everything and take a personal call every time my phone rings. It’s unprofessional and it will get me into trouble. We can’t afford for me to lose this job.’

There was something about his patronizing tone that annoyed me and I threw my fork down onto my plate. It landed with a clatter and made both of us jump. ‘But what if it’s urgent? What if it’s something to do with Elodie?’

‘Well, then of course I will drop everything and come running. But it wasn’t about Elodie, was it?’