‘But I am,’ Karla insisted. ‘I’ve been vile to the people I work with today, bullying one of them to the point of tears. I did the same to Jason, pushing him, insisting he accept financial help from Dad when he desperately didn’t want to. It’s no wonder he—’

‘Karla, stop,’ Diana interjected forcefully. ‘If you’ve snapped at anyone at work, it’s perfectly understandable, given your personal circumstances, and you pushed Jason because you were trying to support him. I would have done the same thing in your shoes. It was obvious it was breaking your heart to watch him struggle.’

Karla went quiet, but the tell-tale sniffles told Diana she was quietly crying. ‘Have there been any developments?’ she prompted her, softening her tone.

Karla took a moment to answer, then, ‘No, not really,’ she said shakily. ‘He went out after I got back tonight. Something to do with making sure everything was in order for the sale of his business to go smoothly, he said, which is rubbish. I know very well he’s been chatting to his new woman online.’

‘You don’t know he’s doing anything of the sort, Karla. Now he knows you know, I doubt he—’

‘But I do,’ Karla cut in, with a cynical laugh. ‘Of course he is, Mum. Why on earth would you of all people defend him?’

‘I’m not. I’m just trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.’ Diana sighed, conceding that she was actually harbouring a forlorn hope that somehow her daughter’s marriage could be saved. Even if Karla didn’t have proof he’d done anything more than browse, it would be naive to imagine he hadn’t intended to.

‘He’s not just looking out of idle curiosity, Mum, trust me,’ Karla went on, sounding more angry now than dejected, which was no bad thing. If they were headed for the divorce courts, her daughter would need to stand up and fight, not sit in the corner, licking her wounds. ‘I can’t believe he was actually jealous,’ she said, emitting another short laugh, this time one of disdain. ‘When I danced with that young guy at your birthday party, do you remember?’

Diana did remember. She’d been quite enamoured with the young man herself.

‘He was so furious, I was shocked. You know, that he would suddenly be so macho and proprietorial when we’ve been together for…’ Karla stopped. She was holding her breath – holding the tears back, Diana guessed. ‘He wasn’t jealous though, was he?’ She finally allowed herself a shuddery breath out. ‘His pride was wounded, that was all. He was looking to use that as an excuse to blame me for looking elsewhere.’