‘Ben!’ I called after him and he stopped in the doorway. ‘Ben. I love you!’ I said, my voice breaking, trying to force the words out – sometimes they didn’t come naturally.

‘Well, is that enough?’ The words came from Ben and hit me like a bullet in my chest, but I knew I had the ammunition to fight back.

I took a deep breath. ‘Ben, is Daisy sleeping?’

‘What?’ he snapped. ‘Yes, why?’

‘Good. I have something I want to talk to you about. I think we need to sit down.’

‘Oh right, now you decide you’re going to give me the big reveal, tell who my father is? He’s not some murderer, is he? Is he in prison?’

‘Ben stop, this isn’t about your father. This is about Daisy.’

‘What? Daisy? Why?’ Ben was getting more agitated.

‘Because son, she is not who you think she is.’

‘Why are you so intent on telling me that Daisy isn’t good enough for me? I’ve known all the time you don’t like her. Why are you choosing now to unleash your hatred when you can see how much we are both struggling with what has happened to Eve, to our home, our lives?’

‘Because, son, none of those things would have happened to you if she had been honest with you from the beginning because, believe me, you would have run for the bloody hills. Daisy would be a distant memory and you would still have your piano, your guitars, your clothes, your song lyrics…’ I could see the pain flash across Ben’s face. He hadn’t said as much yet but I knew the grief he was carrying was not all for Daisy and her friend, but also for his own personal belongings; the words he had written down. He was an old-fashioned soul never using a computer or making copies. Those words were lost. Years of work burnt in an instant. Never to be seen or read again.

‘Son, please sit down. I promise you I am doing this because I love you, not to cause you more pain. I just need you to know that the woman upstairs, you think you know, is nothing but a fraud. We don’t need to give her the time of day let alone shelter her through her grieving. These are her losses, not ours. We are one, son, you and I. Daisy, she is… someone else entirely, not like us. Sit, please. Hear me out. You will understand when you hear what I have to say.’

Ben shook his head, he pushed past me and pulled aggressively at the chair and sat down. ‘I’m here, Mum, but I swear whatever ludicrous thing you have to tell me will not change my feelings for Daisy.’

‘Okay, son, wait there.’ I scuttled up to my bedroom. I stopped by Ben’s room on the way to make sure Daisy was still sleeping. She was. Those drugs she so freely took from me were doing the trick nicely.