‘I would ask that you listen to what he has to say,’ Tara continued, ‘and that you consider your thoughts before speaking out. This is not a place for judgement, but we appreciate that some of you may find it difficult to offer the support we’ve come to expect from each other. We can talk more about that afterwards, but first, I’d appreciate it if you kept any questions until Nick has finished.’

Heads snapped in Nick’s direction. He cleared his throat and leant forward, spreading his legs and resting his elbows on his knees. He looked up and as he began to talk, he met the gaze of each member in turn, including April.

‘I’d like to start off by offering an apology. I haven’t been completely honest with you all.’

April huffed. Nick hadn’t been honest full stop. There were no half measures. He had deceived them.

‘As you know, Erin and I weren’t married, but what I failed to mention was that she was married to someone else,’ he said, pausing to acknowledge a couple of gasps. ‘We were ill-fated lovers in many ways. When we met, I knew straight away that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and she felt the same. If things had been different, if she hadn’t become ill, we’d be married by now, I’m sure of it.’

‘It wasn’t a simple matter of you choosing to marry her, Nick,’ April said coldly, ignoring Tara’s request not to interrupt. ‘She had a husband.’

Nick glanced towards Faith, but she was out of reach, wedged between Jodie and Steve. ‘We stopped seeing each other when she found out she had breast cancer. The initial prognosis was good, and I was going to be a distraction she could do without. She needed stability to get her through her treatment.’

‘Oh, it gets better,’ April interjected again. ‘So you ducked out when it got tough and let her husband look after her. I suppose you thought you’d pick up where you left off when the hard work was done.’