Her words vexed him. ‘I do, Jia. You think I don’t know that you’re running your father’s business now? What kind of journalist would it make me if I was the only man in town not to know what sort of criminal network your father headed up?’ he said. Then his tone softened. ‘But I love you. Not some vague idea of you. But you. You with the half-finished cups of tea with the tea bag still left in them. I miss the smell of your hair, and finding all my razor blades blunt because you’ve used them, and the weirdly organised crockery cupboard. I want us to be a family. I know what life is about, Jia, I’m not under any illusion. You’re a complete hard-arse, and I’m OK with that.’

‘That’s not it,’ she said.

‘What else is there? Tell me something that would keep me away, then. Life isn’t black and white, I get it, and you’re trying to clean up your father’s mess and I want to stand by you while you do that. You’re a good person, Jia.’

His words weighed her down. They were so far from what she was that they left her lonely. The human capacity to lie to oneself, to pretend that the obvious was not so, no longer surprised her, but that Elyas was willing to deny evident truths in order to be with her did.

But then she thought of the pregnancy… Maybe it was enough, or he was enough, or maybe enough was enough, and rationality returned. The Khan needed a spouse, some semblance of normality. A woman without a husband in this city was a target for talk, and that was something she didn’t need. She remained silent for a time, and when she spoke her response was measured. ‘If we were to be together you would not be able to ask questions about my work. There are things I wouldn’t be able to talk to you about. Things I will never be able to tell you,’ she said. Elyas nodded. ‘It was only recently that I realised how much my father really loved me. He was a good man, a great man, and I misunderstood him. He lived by his own rules and ancient laws, and for a long time I thought that was wrong. I believed in the British justice system. I believed that hard work and honesty was the answer. I know now that although many claim to live that life, few in fact do.