She stopped, taking a moment before she replied, anger churning in her gut, replacing, for once, the relentless guilt. ‘Well,’ she said, squaring up to him, arms akimbo in the winter sunlight, ‘there is some truth in that, if I’m absolutely honest.’ She saw him flinch. ‘At some stage, Devan, you’re going to have to stop bloody picking at this scab or we’ll never move forward.’

She shocked herself with her uncompromising tone, and she had clearly shocked her husband. He looked at her aghast. ‘You’re making this my fault?’

‘That isn’t what I said. But listen to this: I withdraw pretty much all of the warmth, kindness, even sex from our marriage. I stop showering or dressing in clean clothes, drink too much and slump on my phone all day long, refusing any offers of help. I go on at you to give up something you love that you aren’t ready to give up,’ she took a breath, ‘and outwardly question where our marriage is going.’ Another breath. ‘Would you be understanding and endlessly patient? Or might you be as childish as me, feel rejected, unconfident … and vulnerable to the first woman who seemed to admire you?’ She was shaking, but she was shaking with relief. At last she’d said what she had not dared say, what had been festering in her mind for weeks now. ‘Don’t think I’m letting myself off the hook,’ she added quietly, ‘but there’s only so much guilt a person can feel, so many times a person can apologize, without any sign they’ve been heard.’

Looking indignant, but also a bit punctured, Devan replied, ‘I asked you to come home, didn’t I?’

‘Yes, and I’m so happy you did. But think about what I said.’

His face was set stubbornly. Then it fell, his body seeming to lose its strength as he slumped over, hugging his arms around his chest.

‘I honestly thought you didn’t love me any more,’ she added, more gently.

Devan’s face suffused with anguish. ‘Oh, Connie. Of course I loved you. I love you. I’ve never stopped. Not even when I found out about Jared. I hated you, too, then. I never wanted to see you again. But I never stopped loving you.’

Connie, tears in her eyes, had just nodded.

Now, sitting opposite Neil, she brushed away the memory as she tried to concentrate on what he was saying.

‘You should treat yourselves, Con. Get away somewhere warm for a few days. Change the record, change things up with your marriage. You’ve always been such a strong team – that still holds true, doesn’t it?’

‘Maybe,’ she said diffidently, which caused Neil to frown.

‘You do still love the man, don’t you?’