I lock up the back door with sweating, trembling fingers. Then I grab my bag and keys, leave the house and march next door to the Parkfields’. As the soles of my sandals slap against the pavement, I remember it’s Sunday morning, so the whole family will probably be home. Fine. Who cares? Let them all hear. If Hannah really is sleeping with my husband then her parents need to know exactly what’s been going on.

I stride up the front path and hammer on their door, ignoring the sharp pains shooting up my bruised arm. No one answers straight away so I put my finger on the doorbell and hold it down.

Eventually, I see a dark shape approaching through the frosted glass. I remove my finger from the bell and stand there, arms folded across my chest, preparing myself for a confrontation.

Lorna opens the door with a scowl of annoyance, wrapping her arms around her body. ‘Kirstie? What are you doing hammering on our door? Have you gone mad?’

‘I don’t know, Lorna. Maybe I have. Is Hannah home?’

‘Hannah?’

‘Yes, you know, Hannah, your eldest daughter. Can I speak to her please?’

‘Are you drunk again?’ Lorna asks, with a faint sneer.

I give a short laugh. ‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You know, Mel was right – you are a snobby cow. I always stuck up for you, but I don’t know why I bothered. Now, are you going to get that daughter of yours out here, or do I have to come in and drag her out?’

Lorna’s mouth drops open before she snaps it shut with a glare. ‘Okay Kirstie, you better leave right now, or I’m going to call the police.’

‘Do it,’ I say. ‘Call the police and then I’ll call the school governors and let them know that the headmaster’s daughter got pregnant when she was fifteen years old.’

‘What?’ Her face blanches. ‘I don’t know what you’re—’

‘Save it, Lorna. I know you’re a grandma.’

‘What are you doing here, Kirstie?’ she says. ‘My daughter has got nothing to do with you. What my family does is none of your business.’

‘Look, I need to speak to Hannah.’

‘Why?’

‘Just give me ten minutes with her, and then I’ll leave.’

‘What the hell is wrong with you, Kirstie? First, your behaviour at the barbecue yesterday, and then today, coming over here like this… I don’t think you’re right in the head.’

‘Ten minutes with Hannah, or I’m on the phone to the school governors. Your choice.’

‘Lorna! Who is it?’ Parkfield calls from a distant room.

Lorna sighs. ‘Wait here.’ She closes the front door and I see her dark shape recede through the opaque glass.

As I wait for her to return, I try to rein in my emotions. If Callum is to be believed I’m about to confront the teenage girl my husband is sleeping with. I need to hear Hannah admit it. To tell me to my face that my husband is the father of her child. Of all the things I expected to have to deal with today, this was not one of them. I don’t think it’s even sunk in yet.

A few minutes later, the front door opens again and I’m staring into the faces of both Lorna and Hannah.

‘You better come in,’ Lorna says. ‘Stephen’s working in his study. I’ve told him you’re here to pick up some of the girls’ old clothes for Daisy. I don’t want him to be disturbed by any of this. We’ll go into the living room.’

I step inside and follow them into the front lounge. We stand facing one another, the air between us crackling with tension and hostility.

‘Well?’ Lorna says, ‘Say what you’ve got to say and then leave.’

‘I need to speak to Hannah alone.’

‘No way,’ Lorna says. ‘You can say whatever you’ve got to say in front of me.’

‘I told you what the deal was, Lorna.’ I have a feeling Hannah won’t be quite as truthful if her mum’s in the room. ‘I’m not bluffing about calling the governors of our school and the new school.’

We remain deadlocked for a few moments, neither of us backing down until Lorna finally caves, ‘Fine,’ she says. ‘Five minutes.’

‘Mum!’ Hannah cries. ‘Where are you going? Don’t leave me with her.’

‘Don’t make this more difficult than it is, young lady,’ Lorna says to her daughter. ‘Your stepfather could lose his job because of your behaviour. He doesn’t need any more aggravation.’ She turns to me. ‘And you,’ she points at me, ‘remember she’s still a child. Whatever it is you’ve got to say to her, say it nicely.’

Finally, Lorna leaves the room, and I close the door behind her.

‘Why are you here?’ Hannah asks. ‘What do you want?’

No point beating about the bush. ‘Are you sleeping with my husband?’

‘What? No!’

My pulse skips a beat. Hopefully Callum has got the wrong end of the stick. ‘Really?’ I ask, ‘because Callum seems to think you are.’

‘Fucking Callum,’ she mutters.

‘He also said that my husband is the father of your child.’

To my horror, Hannah starts to cry. She sniffs and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.

‘Why are you crying?’ I ask. ‘Is it true? Is that why you’re upset? Because you’re scared to tell me?’

‘No!’ she says.

‘Because if it is true, I need to know. You were a minor when it happened, so I won’t be mad at you. I just need to know the truth, that’s all. This is my husband you’re accusing, so tell me. Please.’

‘Just go away,’ she snarls.

At that moment the lounge door opens and Stephen Parkfield walks in, his eyes blazing.

‘I just need a couple more minutes,’ I say. ‘I’m talking to Hannah.’

‘No you’re not,’ he replies. ‘Hannah, go to your room.’

Hannah scuttles away. I call after her. ‘Please, just tell me the truth!’ But she’s gone already and I can’t exactly chase her through the Parkfields’ house.

‘Get out,’ Parkfield says to me. ‘Now.’

‘You don’t even know why I’m here,’ I say.

‘I don’t care,’ he says. ‘You’re a drunk and a troublemaker and you need to leave.’

A million and one retorts come to my mind, but they all remain unspoken, lying thick and heavy on my tongue. Tears prick behind my eyes. Why can’t I just get the answers I need? Why is it so hard to find the truth about what’s going on? I take a couple of steps towards the lounge door, where Lorna is lurking. She gives me an evil stare and something inside me snaps.

‘Fine, I’ll go, but you both need to keep your daughter away from my husband.’

Lorna’s face drops. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Exactly what it sounds like.’

‘You’re delusional, Kirstie,’ she says.

That’s not the first time today someone’s called me delusional, but I really don’t think I am. ‘Ask her who the father of her baby is.’ I turn to Parkfield. ‘You can kick me out of your house, but it doesn’t change the fact that your daughter’s sleeping with my husband.’

‘Nonsense!’ Parkfield says. ‘We already know who the father is.’

‘Callum, right? You think it’s Callum,’ I reply. ‘But maybe that’s just what Hannah wants you to believe because the truth… the truth is…’ My voice cracks, but I force myself to keep going. ‘According to Callum, your daughter has been sleeping with my husband, and he’s the father of her child.’

Lorna blanches.

‘My wife is right,’ Parkfield says, ‘you’re delusional.’

‘I wish I were,’ I say. ‘I bloody wish I were.’

---

As I let myself back into my house, I get the feeling that I’ve just made everything a whole lot worse. I should never have gone next door shouting my mouth off. If Dom is found guilty of sleeping with a minor, then he’ll go to prison. When she’s older, Daisy will discover that her father is a sex offender. There will be a huge scandal and all the kids at school will find out about it. My colleagues, family and friends will be shocked. Our world will implode.

But what the hell else was I supposed to do? Ignore it? Hope it goes away? If Dom really did do this thing, then he deserves to be punished, but it’s Daisy and I who will have to live with the fallout. I find myself back in my kitchen, standing at the sink once more, looking out of the window into the back garden. It all looks so peaceful and idyllic out there. So calm. The complete opposite of the frantic whirlwind inside my head.

Although, if I know anything about Parkfield it’s that he loves his precious career above anything else. He won’t report Dom to the police because he’ll want to avoid the scandal. No, it suits him to believe that Callum is the father.

I don’t know why I’m standing around here. I know what I need to do. I need to confront my husband. But I’m putting it off. If Dom admits to this, then I’ll have to accept that my marriage is over. I’ll have no choice but to leave him and bring Daisy up on my own. I don’t want it to be true. Please don’t let it be. My throat tightens and my eyes sting. But I can’t fall apart. Not yet.