She should have been ecstatic that I’d fallen pregnant so quickly, but as my stomach grew she retreated until eventually she admitted she couldn’t face being a parent after all. That it wasn’t what she wanted. She walked out and moved in with her parents. I was devastated, scared, alone and four months pregnant. At my next appointment with Victor I broke down and admitted everything to him. We became friends after that. He’d pop over to see me, to make sure I was eating properly and to take me out – trips to the theatre, dinner at restaurants I’d never have been able to afford. I enjoyed his company. He was a clever, charming man. And I didn’t think of it as crossing any patient/doctor line, although I see now how guileless I was. But I was so heartbroken, so lonely, I was grateful for his attention. After all, he knew I was gay. When it came to renewing my lease on the flat he invited me to lodge with him instead. ‘I’ve got this lovely big house,’ he’d said. ‘And I’m single. Let me look after you. You shouldn’t be on your own at a time like this.’

I was surprised that he was still single. This handsome, eligible man must have had women flocking around him. But when I asked him he joked that he was a workaholic and didn’t have time for a wife and children, not while he was building his practice. His house was stunning and on one of Harrogate’s most salubrious streets. I couldn’t say no. Maybe if I’d had my parents around or friends in the area – we’d only moved up a few months before I got pregnant to be near Audrey’s family – then I might have resisted. But I was grief-stricken and terrified and, oh, so naive and I looked up to Victor. Respected him.

Unfortunately he hadn’t respected me.

It went well at first. We rubbed along together. But then he became possessive: when I went out he asked where I was going and with whom. I worked as an usherette at the local cinema, handing out ice creams after the B movies, and when I made friends with this woman he started to act jealous. And that was when I realized my mistake. I might not have had any romantic feelings for Victor, but he did for me. Other things I began to notice: he started telling me what I should be eating, wearing, how much sleep I needed. I couldn’t breathe. And if I didn’t take his ‘advice’ he would spend the next few days ignoring me, slamming out of rooms and giving me the cold shoulder.