And, despite the doctors she’d consulted telling her that in most cases an abortion does not affect fertility or future pregnancies, it was always at the back of her mind that the choice she’d had to make at sixteen was the reason she wasn’t able to conceive now.

She felt a shiver as a memory surfaced. It was of the moment she broke the news to her parents after the pregnancy test proved positive. Her mother had started to cry and her father looked at her as though she were scum.

‘You’ll have to get rid of it,’ he said. ‘No way am I letting you have that bastard’s child.’

‘It’s not up to you, Dad,’ she told him. ‘It’s my body and my baby. If I want to go through with it then you can’t stop me.’

‘You’re so young and you have no idea what it will do to your life,’ he said. ‘Please listen to me, Annie, and be sensible about this. I’m only thinking about what’s best for you.’

They’d argued about it for days and during that time it was always at the back of Annie’s mind that having the baby could bring her and Daniel back together.

Eventually, though, she succumbed to the pressure from her mum and dad, as well as her uncle.

The only people who knew about the procedure were her parents and Bill.

Until she went and told Janet.

Annie had a sudden urge to confront the woman for revealing her secret. She needs to know how pissed off I am, she told herself.

Without giving it any more thought, she headed towards Janet’s house, the wine buzzing in her ears. She was probably a little drunk, which was why she was acting on impulse for a change. Normally she shied away from confrontation, especially with people she knew. But this was an issue she wasn’t prepared to bottle up.

When Janet opened her front door, it was immediately obvious to Annie that there was something wrong. Her normally immaculate fair hair was a mess, and it looked as though tears had washed away most of her make-up. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, and there were dark circles beneath them.

The sight of her shocked Annie and stopped her from launching into the blistering tirade that had been building in her head. Instead, she felt a sobering flush of concern for the woman and instinctively reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

‘My God, are you all right?’ she said. ‘You look sick.’

Janet shook her head. ‘I’m not ill, Annie. It’s just that I’ve had the day from hell and I can’t stop crying.’

‘Well, I’ve had a bad day too so let me come in and we can compare notes,’ Annie said.

Janet gave a wearing sigh. ‘Okay, but you’ll have to forgive the mess I’ve made. I lost my temper and let rip.’

Annie got another shock as she stepped into the living room. It was indeed a mess. The artificial Christmas tree was on the floor along with various decorations. And there was a large wet stain on one wall just above an area of carpet speckled with shards of glass.