‘I know,’ he said, ‘I’m a walking cliché.’
‘When did it start?’
Rob clinked a fingernail against his wine glass.
‘Oh, come on, Rob, what does it matter now?’
‘I’m really sorry, Liv. I didn’t mean it to happen.’
‘When did it start?’
‘A year ago.’
This time I didn’t choke on my wine. I spat it out, all across the new white sofa.
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘And your parents don’t approve of the match?’
‘Nicola grew up in a council house and her education doesn’t stretch beyond GCSEs, so what do you think?’
‘That she’s their worst nightmare?’ I threw Rob a smile, which he returned. ‘What’s she like?’
‘You don’t want me talking about the woman I cheated on you with.’
‘Actually, I do. I’m curious.’
‘OK. Well, she’s really funny, and I mean hilarious. She does stand-up comedy in her spare time and she’s bloody good at it. She’s smart too. She may not have the certificates I do, but she’s ten times cleverer than me.’
‘Pretty?’
‘Of course. If my parents could look past their snobbery, they’d see how happy she makes me.’ Rob screwed up his face. ‘Sorry, this is really weird, isn’t it? I shouldn’t be saying all this stuff to you.’
‘Why not? We may be married, but it’s only a piece of paper. Besides, I met someone too.’
‘While we were together?’
‘No, sorry, you don’t get off the hook that easily. It’s someone I met at Lowen Farm.’
‘What’s he like?’
‘He’s…’ my eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t talk about Seb. Even thinking about him broke my heart. ‘There’s no point telling you, because thanks to your mother, I’ll never be able to see him again.’
‘Maybe you could still see him? Mum wouldn’t need to know.’
I shook my head. ‘Even if he accepted that scenario, which I’m telling you now he wouldn’t, I couldn’t take the risk. Can you think of any way out of this?’
Rob swilled his wine around his glass. ‘I’m so sorry, Liv, but I can’t. Neither of us has any money to fight my parents in court. We could make a stand and say we won’t go along with this charade, but then what would happen to Bertie?’
‘You haven’t seemed that interested in Bertie these past few months,’ I said, some of my old resentment resurfacing.
‘I didn’t have a choice. Mum said it would muddy the waters if I spent time with him. I thought she was doing it for Bertie’s benefit, but I should’ve known better.’
‘Then we’re stuck in this bizarre limbo forever?’
‘Not forever. I intend to work my arse off until we’ve got enough money of our own that mum can’t threaten us anymore. Once we’re financially independent of them, we’ll be free to do as we please.’
My heart sank as I considered how long achieving financial independence might take. It could be years before I was able to fight Marion, by which time Seb would be long gone. I was trapped in a gilded cage and would be an old woman before I ever found the key.
