‘If it’s OK with you guys,’ she said, returning her gaze to the lighted room. ‘I’d like to share everything with you now.’

Justine reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘Take your time,’ she urged.

‘After Jason died, I discovered he’d cheated on me with one of our friends. I thought I had two choices – to pretend it never happened and keep my memories unblemished, or to hate Jason for the pain he inflicted and tell myself he wasn’t worthy of my grief. I can tell you now that neither of those options work.’

Her confession was met with initial silence and April wished Jodie was there with an expletive or two.

It was Josh who spoke up. ‘I can’t imagine how that must feel. It was bad enough that people thought Erin had been unfaithful.’

‘It’s been tough,’ April said, ‘and I wish I’d shared with the group sooner, but in some ways, it wasn’t only my story to tell. Bree, the other woman, was and is married, and up until recently we worked for the same council. When I left, I expected to feel some relief, but that didn’t come until Callum contacted me.’

‘Is he her husband?’ asked Nadiya.

‘Yes,’ April said. ‘He wanted to meet me and I spent a sleepless night worrying about what he might say. Did he have suspicions of his own? Would I tell him about Bree and Jason if he asked? As it turned out, Bree had beaten me to it. They’d been trying for a baby without success and she must have decided that her conscience was getting in the way.’

‘How did he take it?’ asked Steve.

‘He was a mess as you’d expect and wanted me to tell him what to do. I said he was lucky to have a choice of whether he and Bree had a future,’ replied April. Her hands rested in her lap and she played with the wedding band on her right hand. She had come close to throwing it away after discovering the affair, but she was glad she hadn’t. ‘Knowing what I know now, I’d forgive Jason anything to have him back. Maybe not for good, but long enough to give him the chance to convince me we were worth fighting for. That’s what Bree and Callum are trying to do, and I could tell that he still loves her. I told him I hope they’ll stay together.’

‘Is that really how you feel?’ Steve asked.

April looked around the group. This was the one place where she could be honest. ‘No, I’m bloody angry,’ she said, but she was smiling because her anger was a normal reaction, as was the relief she felt washing over her. The wound was clean. It was time to heal.