‘Look, love, I never wanted you to know about the trouble with the businesses. It’s been a hard old slog the last few years. The building craze died overnight, house prices dropped. I don’t need to paint a picture, do I? I had invested in a lot of land and property, and when I realised I was overreaching myself I placed everything in your name in case they ever foreclosed on me. Lots of blokes did it. If they bankrupted me, they couldn’t touch your assets. You didn’t own the sites or the car lot until I was near my court date. Then I was hoping that somehow Stephen would run the businesses and bring them back out on top. When you began running them, I was frightened of this happening, but you were so happy to do it, my love, you were so pleased to be helping me, helping us, I couldn’t deny you that pleasure. Also, I must admit you have done a fine job. I never realised what a good brain you had in that pretty little head, I suppose. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, but it was bound to come out at some time.’

Georgio’s voice was broken, his whole demeanour crushed. Donna felt her heart break for him, knowing what it had taken for him to have to tell her that. Big Georgio Brunos whose wife had never had to worry about anything from the day they married. She knew he was proud of that fact. Georgio Brunos’s wife had never worked and never wanted. He was so chauvinistic in that way, and she had gone along with it. Even when she had taken her OU degree, he had treated it like her little hobby.

She had deliberately played up to his ego, had acted how he wanted her to act. It occurred to Donna now that she had been living a lie for so long it had almost become a truth. She pushed that thought from her mind. She had wanted Georgio desperately, and had taken him on his terms. This was all her fault in a way. If she had spoken up before now she would have been more aware of what was going on and it wouldn’t have been such a shock finding it all out. Carol Jackson and Davey had more of a partnership than she had ever had with Georgio. This knowledge hurt her deeply. Suddenly she knew that Carol Jackson would have insisted on knowing exactly what was going on. Her respect for the woman went up one hundredfold in that split second.