She was here. Having watched her mum climb out of the car and come through the front door, Sophie stepped back from the window. A car driven by another man, she’d noted. She obviously had him at her beck and call, just like she’d had Justin.

Sophie was disinclined to talk to her – what could she have to say, after all, that was worth listening to? On the other hand, what she did have to say would be important. For one, Sophie would quite like to know who her father was. She would also like to know why she’d decided it was okay to lie to her, as if she had some God-given right to fuck up her life because she’d given birth to her.

She intended to have an exit strategy in place, however. If her mum fed her more bullshit, as Justin just had, she wanted to be well away from them both. Justin could bugger off on fictitious business conferences as much as he liked, and her lovely mother could stew in her own mess.

Checking she had all she needed in her overnight bag, she glanced at her phone as it signalled an incoming call. Justin again. She’d guessed it would be. Obviously he’d heard the disillusionment in her voice when she’d ended their last call and was concerned. Or maybe he now realised that she knew what a complete screw-up her life was. Well, that was tough. If he were genuinely concerned, he wouldn’t have lied – end of. Rejecting the call, she selected Chloe’s number, and then waited worriedly as she took ages to answer. Please pick up, Chloe, she prayed silently, as she heard Jessica and her mum talking in the hall. She would be up in a minute, Sophie guessed.

Was she contemplating dropping the news casually into the conversation, Sophie wondered, saying, Hey, what do you fancy for dinner? Takeaway? And then, Oh, and you’re the product of a seedy affair I had, by the way, but I decided to pass you off as Justin’s. Fancy some onion rings?

Finally, Chloe picked up. ‘Hey, what’s happening ?’ she said warily, aware from Sophie’s texts earlier about her mum’s dirty little secret that the shit was about to hit the fan.

‘Everything,’ Sophie said shakily. ‘It’s a complete nightmare. Mum’s just arrived. I swear, if she tells me one more lie…’ Sophie stopped and squeezed her eyes closed. ‘I need to talk to you, Chloe,’ she went on tearfully, despite her best efforts not to waste tears on people who obviously didn’t give a damn about her. ‘Can I come over?’

‘Crap, I’m not in tonight, Sophe,’ Chloe said worriedly. ‘I’m babysitting.’

Shit! Panic twisted inside her as Sophie heard someone coming up the stairs. ‘I have to go. Can you meet me somewhere?’ she asked her. ‘Please, Chloe. I really need to talk to you.’

Chloe hesitated. ‘I’ll get something sorted,’ she said, after a second. ‘Where and when?’

Sophie blew out a sigh of relief. ‘Brum town centre. An hour? I’m taking the bus. I’ll meet you in the Bull Ring, outside H&M, second floor.’

‘Okay,’ Chloe said uncertainly, as Sophie rang off.

Pushing her phone into her bag, she braced herself, turning to face the door as there was a light tap on it. If a single untruth came out of her mouth, if she tried to justify what she’d done in any way, Sophie would be out of the door, and she could rot in hell.

‘Hi.’ Coming cautiously in, her mum looked at her uncertainly. ‘How are you?’

Sophie almost laughed at that. ‘Ecstatic,’ she said shortly. ‘How would you be?’

Her mum’s face paled.

‘So, who is he?’ Sophie asked bluntly, careless of the fact that her mum actually looked like shit. As far as she was concerned, she deserved to. ‘The man you cheated on Justin with,’ she clarified, as her mum grew an impossible shade whiter. ‘You know, my father – as opposed to the man you passed off as my dad for the whole of my life!’

Her mum flinched, as if she’d just slapped her. Through narrowed eyes, Sophie watched the swallow slide down her throat, her arms going protectively around herself. It wasn’t going to work. The fragile, defensive body language wasn’t going to cut it. Not this time. ‘Well?’ she demanded.

Alicia’s eyes scuttled for the safety of the floor. ‘I don’t know,’ she said weakly. ‘Not for sure. I—’

‘You don’t know?’ Sophie stared at her, incredulous. ‘You mean it was a one-night stand?’ Lie number fucking one. She’d heard Justin asking Jess how long it had gone on. Whether it was still going on. So, obviously he thought it was. How could she do that to him? How?

‘No! I didn’t mean…’ Stumbling over her words, Alicia shook her head. ‘I meant I wasn’t sure whether—’

‘Who, Mum?’ Sophie kept eyeballing her.

‘A colleague,’ Alicia finally said.

‘Ah, an office romance,’ Sophie said facetiously. ‘How boringly predictable.’

‘No. It wasn’t like that,’ Alicia said, looking more flustered by the second. Trying to remember her lies, Sophie thought angrily. ‘There was an after-work thing. A birthday party. I—’

‘An office jolly.’ Sophie widened her eyes girlishly. ‘So, obviously it was perfectly reasonable to end it with a fun shag with the nearest bloke. What, was it his fucking birthday?’

‘No! I didn’t intend for it to happen, Sophie. I’d been drinking. I lost track of how much. Your dad… Justin wasn’t well, and I—’

‘Oh, nice one,’ Sophie sneered. ‘He’s not well, so you feel sorry for yourself and decide to get a little attention elsewhere?’

‘No. I didn’t decide anything. I… He…’ Alicia trailed off, tears spilling down her cheeks. ‘Sophie, please… You’ve every right to be angry, but please sit down and let me try to explain properly. I know how it looks, and I did lie to Justin, but—’

‘Who is he, Mum?’ Swiping tears from under her own eyes, Sophie stayed standing. ‘The man at the funeral, the man Justin was staring at, was that him? Is that why he left so suddenly?’

Alicia didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. The guilt in her eyes said it all.

‘You’re a real bitch, do you know that, Mum?’ Sophie said quietly. ‘He’s just buried his baby! And now he has to deal with this shit! Of course, that’s assuming Lucas was his baby.’

Alicia looked up sharply. ‘Sophie, stop it,’ she begged. ‘Please stop.’

‘I wish I could,’ Sophie said, her heart pounding so hard she was sure it would burst right out of her chest. ‘I wish I could stop my fucking life and get off!’

‘It was never meant to happen!’ Alicia sobbed. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt Justin. I didn’t want any of this.’

Sophie studied her mum hard. ‘So you regret it then?’

Alicia looked at her bewilderedly. ‘Of course I do. I wish to God I could turn back the clock, but I can’t!’

‘Cheers, Mum,’ Sophie said, her heart sinking without trace. ‘You know what, you don’t regret it half as much as I do. Have a nice life.’ Swallowing hard, she turned away.

‘Sophie, wait!’ Alicia tried to stop her as she grabbed up her bag and turned to push past her. ‘I didn’t mean I regret having you. I’ve never for one second regretted—’

‘I wish I was fucking dead!’ Sophie spat.

Did her mum honestly think she wanted to listen to this crap? That she would want to hang around while they split up, tearing her apart in the process? Well, stuff that. She wasn’t about to stay here or with her bitch mother – no way. And Justin was hardly going to want her living with him. He’d want out of the whole crappy situation. At least they had that much in common, she thought cynically, as she thundered down the stairs.