‘What? How’s that a problem?’

‘Once you stop doing little things for yourself, things change. It’s a luxury and a privilege having staff, naturally, but becoming disconnected from the basic rhythms of everyday life is also risky – it can be isolating. Alienating. These small routines ground us, we need to stay connected to the mechanisms of our own survival, even if it’s just something as insignificant as buying the milk.’

‘No chance.’ Lucy shook her head. ‘You don’t know what it’s like here. It was hard enough going anywhere back home, but here, it’s tenfold. Galáctico is another word for god here. People are always staring, watching, judging, filming us even. We took Leo out for lunch last weekend, just a burger, but so many fans came up wanting their photo with Rob, his autograph . . . We ended up having to leave. Leo was in tears, bless him.’

‘I can imagine how hard that must be for you. Loss of anonymity can be particularly difficult to adjust to.’

‘I’ll never get used to it. Me and Leo, we never asked for any of this.’

‘Of course not.’ Charlotte took another sip of her tea and watched the little boy play too. So much of her job consisted of just listening to her clients, really hearing what they were telling her. ‘And of course it works on multiple levels, doesn’t it? The general public, invading your privacy with endless gawping, albeit harmless; but it happens on the inter-personal level too, when new people come into your orbit. They know you’re Rob Santos’s wife—’

‘And that he signed for ninety-five mill. I can see it glowing in their eyes when they talk to me.’

‘Big boob syndrome,’ Charlotte nodded. ‘It’s all they can see.’

Lucy let out a peal of sudden laughter. ‘Yeah. Big boob syndrome, that’s it! That’s it exactly.’

Charlotte smiled, knowing there was no joy in her laughter. ‘It can be hard knowing who to trust: do people like you for you, or because of Rob, or because of your lifestyle? That’s incredibly emotionally isolating. Plus you live in a gated community with guards and patrol dogs, and for good reason – your wealth makes you targets – but the upshot is you’re as much kept in by these high walls as the public is kept out. And that’s physically isolating.’

‘Yeah.’ Lucy’s face fell again as she looked around at the perfect house. ‘But then I feel guilty, don’t I? We’ve got so much, more than I could ever have dreamed. What right do I have to moan?’

‘Having money at this level can be a profoundly lonely experience, Lucy, and on top of that, you’re a young mother, living in a foreign country, far from home, away from your own family and friends, isolated by the language, not to mention being trailed by the paparazzi . . . Who wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by that?’

Lucy nodded, looking close to tears.

‘The challenge for you is to weed out the people only looking at your boobs and find those people who’re interested in you for other things.’