‘I’m not making a fool out of you; you are the first person who has brought a smile to my face and made me think about life again in a really long time. I don’t go buying hot chocolate with all the trimmings just for anyone, you know.’ Ella knew that Roman was trying to lighten the mood. ‘But you were right, I’m at breaking point and I need help. I just can’t hold it together anymore, and today is really not a good day for me.’

There was a calmness to Roman’s voice which Ella wasn’t expecting. ‘Heartcross was a new start for me too.’ He took a breath. ‘But it’s all spiralling out of control now.’ Roman stood up and picked up the same photograph that Ella had looked at and placed it down on the table next to his wedding ring. Ella could see his hand shaking as he brushed away a tear from his eye. She didn’t say a word but she leant forward and put a hand on his knee.

‘What is it, Roman?’ Her voice was soft.

He blew out a breath. ‘I was getting married, hence the ring, but we never quite made it to the altar.’ Roman’s voice faltered but he carried on. ‘Hattie and I met at school, we were childhood sweethearts, inseparable. We had grand plans to live in a mansion with an army of children running around our ankles. Hattie got pregnant at sixteen, before we’d even started college. At first our parents were mortified, telling us how stupid we were, how our lives were ruined, but Hattie and I stuck to our guns and we had a beautiful baby girl, Megan.’ He took a breath. ‘At first we lived with Hattie’s parents who were worth their weight in gold. They helped us with the baby and when we were eighteen I proposed. We couldn’t afford a lavish wedding, just a small group of family and best friends. I forfeited my stag do to look after Megan and encouraged Hattie to go out with her friends, as her favourite local band was playing at the pub. I didn’t mind – I just wanted her to have fun, as she worked so hard looking after our daughter.’

Ella was still listening intently and could see that Roman was building up to something. He picked up the wedding ring and put it in the palm of his hand then squeezed it tight.