‘You know it’s not your fault, don’t you?’ Dr Meredith had said to her straight out. ‘A young man, who I think it’s safe to assume had his own issues, wrongly judged you. It’s most unusual for a stranger to want to make someone else feel so terrible. It makes me wonder what he was venting and why – he picked on you, Bess, but you probably weren’t the only one he did this to. You were young, naive and open, and those three factors alone influenced your choices. They influence all of our choices at that vulnerable age, and he exploited every aspect of that. Plus, you don’t know that what he said was true. I doubt it was. Think about it – what are the chances of being seen at every encounter? It’s highly unlikely. Far more likely, he was acting on gossip fed to him by Lawrence, because he knew how to wound you, and the fact that he wanted to do so at all speaks volumes. He may have been a bit in love with you himself, jealous and angry? I’m not justifying or condoning his behaviour in any way, and you can’t either, but it might help if we can understand it a bit. It wasn’t your fault – you didn’t do anything wrong.’

Bess had climbed into her little rusting car after the session with a clearer head and lighter shoulders than in decades. I didn’t do anything wrong . . . I didn’t do anything wrong . . . Dr Meredith’s words had cut her free from the net she dragged behind her, and slowly, slowly, helped restore some of her self-worth. Bess knew this was a vital step in her new beginning. She called Mario from the car park outside Dr Meredith’s office.

‘I want . . .’ She closed her eyes, turning her words simultaneously into a prayer. ‘I want you to come home. I love you, Mario. I love you completely. I’m getting better, feeling better, and I pick you. I will always pick you and I want you to pick me, I really do.’

‘Jesus, Bess! I’m stood in the middle of the site crying,’ he half laughed. ‘All the lads are looking. I will always pick you – you know that. I’m coming home, baby. I’ll come home . . .’

Bess knew it would be much to Natalie’s relief that her dad had packed up his belongings, lying scattered all over her apartment. She and Mario had lived apart for three horrible months and the first night they climbed together back into their slightly dilapidated bed, Chutney snuggled them both, delighted for the return to the status quo.