I know better than to ask him why he doesn’t leave her if what he says is true. He could give me a list of excuses, but at the end of the day he stays for the same reason Millie’s mother stayed, for the same reason all abuse victims stay.

Deep down, they think they deserve what they get.

Felix stops walking and turns to face me, digging his hands even deeper into his pockets. ‘I thought if I tried to give her what she wanted in bed, it’d help with her … frustration,’ he says. ‘But it’s like she’s passed the point of no return. The attacks are getting worse. It’s as if she’s been holding herself in check all this time and now she can’t stop. Doesn’t want to stop.’

‘Jesus Christ, Felix. And you haven’t talked about it? With anyone?’

‘We saw a marriage counsellor together a couple of times, but I was too ashamed to tell her what was really going on. The woman said we needed to visit her separately to break the cycle of codependency. Stacey wouldn’t agree to that, and I couldn’t see any point doing it on my own.’ He lets out a harsh bark of laughter. ‘Proves the woman’s point, I suppose.’

‘You can’t go on like this, Felix,’ I say urgently. ‘You have a kid. You both need to get your shit together for his sake. Surely Stacey must realise this … your relationship … she must know it isn’t normal?’

‘She does, but she thinks it’s part of what keeps us together.’ His eyes are shadowed. ‘She’s got this idea we have some sort of shared sickness, and if we cure it, it’ll destroy us.’ He shrugs. ‘Maybe she’s right. I mean, it’s not abuse, not really. Not if I let her do it.’

‘Bullshit,’ I say succinctly.

‘Perhaps it’s my fault, Tom. If I’d stood up to her when it first started—’

‘Felix, this is not your fault.’ I put my hand on his shoulder. ‘You have to leave her. This isn’t going to get better. Vinegar doesn’t turn into wine.’

‘I went to see a lawyer a few weeks ago,’ Felix admits. ‘But then the shit hit the fan at Copper Beech, and I’ve been too busy trying to salvage what I can for my investors before the company goes belly up.’

A nasty thought suddenly occurs to me. ‘You said things have been like this between you and Stacey for years,’ I say. ‘No one’s ever guessed?’

His mouth twists. ‘No. We’re the perfect power couple. Everyone wants to be us, hadn’t you heard?’

‘So what’s changed?’ I ask warily. ‘Why is she suddenly involving my wife?’