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“Y—You do?”
“Yes. I haven’t known for very long, but…”
“Oh, I see. The office gossips have been active in my absence, have they?”
“Something like that.”
There’s a brief pause. “I’m sorry, Hunter.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“Except I do. Here I am criticizing Ken Bevan, but what your father did to your mother was no better… and I was complicit in that. I knew what we were doing was wrong.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you do it?”
“At the beginning, it was quite simple. My husband had died, and I was lonely.”
“And for Dad? What was his reason?”
“He assured me there was nothing left in his marriage. He said he and your mom lived completely separate lives.”
“Was that true, though? From what I’ve heard, your affair with him started before Ella was born.”
“Wow… the gossips really have been busy.”
“Is that how it happened?”
She doesn’t answer straight away, but I can hear her breathing. “Yes,” she says eventually. “I can’t recall what age you and Drew were when I started seeing your father, but it was before Ella was conceived.”
“And you believed him when he said his marriage was over?”
“I did at the beginning, but to be honest, things were complicated.”
“I can imagine they were. He was married.”
“I know, but that wasn’t the reason for our difficulties.”
“What was then?”
“My daughter. I had to put her first, which meant your father could never stay the night, or be with us at weekends. He resented that, although he always maintained he couldn’t leave your mother.” That surprises me, but I don’t get the chance to comment. Doreen’s still talking… “I never asked him to, Hunter. Not once. As far as I was concerned, he had responsibilities, just like I did. But I loved him, and I wanted us to make the most of the time we had together. I thought I’d convinced him to accept that.” She pauses for a second, clearing her throat. “I think that’s why I found it so hard when he came and told me your mom was pregnant. My reaction wasn’t what it should have been.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“I—I’m ashamed to say my first instinct was to question who the father was. That was unfair of me. I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Did Dad tell you it was him?”
“Yes. He was honest enough to do that, at least.”
“What did you do, having it laid before you like that, knowing he’d lied to you about his relationship with Mom?”
“I handed in my resignation and told him I never wanted to see him again. He’d promised me the physical side of their relationship had ended when Drew was conceived, so I felt used by him, and devastated by what he’d done. I was ready to leave town and take my daughter with me, although I had no idea where we were going to go.”
“What made you change your mind?” Something obviously did.
“Your father came to my apartment.”
“He asked you to stay?”
