‘Callie, saving my life… That sounded quite dramatic!’

Roman glanced across at her and Ella continued. ‘If I’m honest, I was struggling with life, I needed help and Callie came to my rescue. I lost my parents, my home and my business. I think it’s safe to say the last twelve months of my life have been the worst ever.’ Ella swallowed down a lump in her throat. She turned towards the window while she blinked away the tears.

‘I’m sorry to hear about your parents.’ Roman’s voice was soft, and he turned down the volume on the cassette deck.

‘Tragic accident,’ added Ella. ‘Carbon monoxide poisoning, and to add to everything, I lost my inheritance and my fiancé, when he went to work one day and never came home. I’ve not seen him or my money since.’

‘You are kidding me, right?’ Roman narrowed his eyes. He really wasn’t sure whether Ella was being serious.

Ella shook her head. ‘I kid you not. It’s so far-fetched, you’d never believe it in a million years.’

‘I’m absolutely shocked! It’s like something you’d read in a magazine. Is he still missing, your fiancé?’

Ella nodded. ‘Yes, my guess is he’s living it up with my inheritance. You see, Dr Alex James wasn’t even a doctor – who knows what his actual name is! But I was conned and he took my heart, my money and left me with a parting gift that I wasn’t expecting… He’d maxed my credit cards up to the limit, leaving me with thousands to pay off.’

Roman looked shocked to the core. ‘How could anyone do that? He literally went to work and never came back?’

‘Exactly that. I spent a short time thinking he was dead, lying at the bottom of a river, but when the police investigated, they discovered everything. It all sounds so stupid when I say it out loud. Although we were together twelve months, it wasn’t me he was interested in – he was just interested in stealing everything I owned, including my self-worth.’

‘I’m actually lost for words. I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all this!’

‘I’ve spent the last six months sinking so low that I thought there was no way out, pretending I could manage when I couldn’t. The only friend I have left in the world is Callie, who has literally saved me. Sometimes you’ve just got to let people help and swallow your pride. Good friends are hard to find, but if it wasn’t for her…’ Ella’s voice faltered. ‘There you go, that’s me in a nutshell.’ It had been a long time since she really opened up like this and was surprised at how good it felt to talk to Roman.

‘Ella, I really don’t know what to say.’