If Leah had known it was him, she wouldn’t have answered the door. She had presumed it would be Tom; he was supposed to have headed home to Leeds earlier that day, but his things were still by the door and he hadn’t returned since the police had taken him for questioning again. Surely he hadn’t been kept at the station all this time? The longer he’d been there, the more suspicious of him she’d become.

She wasn’t able to push the door closed in time, and before she was able to hold him back he was already inside the hallway, shoving the door shut behind him.

‘Jamie’s upstairs,’ she said cautiously, as though this might in some way deter him. She realised the attempt was futile. Leighton’s face was reddened with anger. She’d seen him angry before, but never like this.

‘Good,’ he snapped. ‘He can hear what a scheming little bitch you are.’

She opened her mouth to call to Jamie, but Leighton was too fast. He grabbed her by the arm and forced his other hand over her mouth, stifling her attempts to speak. She staggered backwards and hit the newel post, sending a flare of pain shooting up her spine. His other hand tightened around her arm, cutting off her circulation. She had seen enough of him to realise he had a temper, but she had never seen him like this. For the first time, Leah felt afraid of him. His hand was pressing against her mouth, his fingertips digging into her face.

‘You’re not going to call him. You’re going to come with me,’ he said, gesturing along the hallway, ‘and you’re going to listen to everything I have to say. Understood?’

She nodded, not really seeing any other option. He pulled her along the hallway, although there was no need; she would have gone willingly with him. She didn’t really want Jamie to see any of this, though Leighton had no reason to know that.

In the dining room, he used his foot to push the door closed behind them, his hands still occupied with holding her arm and covering her mouth. They moved to the kitchen and he did the same there. She thought he’d let her go once they were in the kitchen, but he obviously didn’t trust her not to cry out. He moved his hand from her arm and she felt the blood rush back to her wrist and hand. The pain was relocated when he grabbed her hair by its ponytail and snapped her head back.

‘Listen to me, you devious little bitch,’ he said, shoving her against the kitchen worktop. ‘You stay away from my family. You don’t go anywhere near my wife and you don’t go anywhere near my kids. Got that?’

Leah nodded as much as she was able, though his hand holding her hair back made it difficult. She tried to speak, begging him to let go of her.

‘You’re not going to scream?’

She shook her head. He let her go abruptly and Leah reached for her neck, rubbing at the ache that had started there. ‘What the fuck is wrong with you?’ she said, swallowing gulps of air as she tried to catch her breath.

‘Wrong with me?’ He still looked as though he wanted to hit her, and Leah still wasn’t certain he wouldn’t. ‘What the hell was that all about, coming to my house like that?’

‘I just wanted to see where you lived.’

He looked at her incredulously. ‘And that’s any of your business because …?’

She could feel tears spiking at the corners of her eyes and she hated them. She hated how pathetic they made her look – how weak and needy – and yet she had already known that at some point they would make an appearance, betraying her. He didn’t understand any of this, yet she had always thought it was obvious. She just wanted to be with him. She wanted to be a part of what he had.

‘You’ve made it my business.’

‘No I haven’t,’ Leighton snapped back. ‘You’re the one refusing to leave me alone.’

‘So none of this is your fault? You’ve not done anything wrong?’

He flinched at the challenge, knowing there was no way he could possibly consider himself blameless. He’d had choices. He’d made them. All Leah was doing was making sure he faced up to the consequences.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thick envelope. He put it on the kitchen worktop beside her. ‘This is the end of it.’

Leah glanced at the envelope. ‘You’re paying me off?’

‘Why not? That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?’

She started crying then, unable to hold back the tears any longer. She didn’t bother to try to hide them and he didn’t bother to pretend he couldn’t see. He looked as if her sadness disgusted him.

‘Don’t do that,’ he said, looking away from her and back to the envelope. ‘Just take the money and stay the hell away from me.’

He moved to leave the kitchen, but she grabbed the envelope and stepped in front of the door, blocking his exit.

‘Move.’

‘Please don’t,’ she said. She reached for his arm, gripping him tightly. ‘Don’t shut me out, please.’

‘Get out of the way, Leah.’

She stood her ground, staring at him defiantly. ‘You can’t pay me off. I’m not going anywhere.’ She reached for the top of his jacket and shoved the envelope down inside it. She didn’t care any more. He might have thought he knew her, knew what she wanted, but that wasn’t it at all. Not any more.

‘Take it and that’s the end of it,’ he said, reaching into his jacket to retrieve the money. He put it back on to the worktop. ‘It’s over. Say it.’

She held his stare, refusing to back down. She wasn’t going to do what he said. Everything had been on his terms and now she was just expected to disappear at his command. It wasn’t going to happen.

‘No.’

His anger was tangible. She could feel it in the air between them, as though the atmosphere had been bound into a tight knot forcing them in different directions.

‘Do it, Leah, or …’

‘Or what?’

His jaw tensed. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her back into the kitchen, clearing the doorway and his escape route. She didn’t bother to follow him or try to stop him this time. Moments later, she heard the front door slam as he left.

She went into the dining room, sat at the table and sobbed silently, wondering where everything had begun to go so wrong.