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‘Right, so it’s my fault is it? Life got a little bit too real, so you had to run away to another man? You really do have some nerve.’

‘We can move past this,’ she pleaded. ‘We’re so good together. Vetty and Maverick—’

‘So what was your plan?’ he interrupted her, not wanting to hear any more about his stupid online persona. ‘Not that it matters now, but I’m curious. If it hadn’t been so obvious on the scans, would you have just worried everyone by pretending the baby was premature?’ Her lack of response was answer enough. ‘Did you ever intend to tell me the truth?’

‘Honestly?’

‘Yes. Honesty is about the only thing I’m really interested in hearing.’

‘I don’t know.’

‘So you were prepared to let me support you, meet a child who wasn’t mine, fall in love with it and bring it up, and you were never going to tell me.’

Again, she didn’t answer, telling him everything he needed to know.

‘That’s what I thought.’ He shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to keep himself from clenching them into angry fists. ‘Will you tell me why?’

‘Because I didn’t have any other choice.’ She shrugged as if it was obvious. ‘Come on, Maverick and Vetty? We’re a power couple, made to be together. We’re like soulmates or something. I couldn’t let you throw that away.’

‘Me? You think it was me . . .’ He shook his head in disbelief, then realised that he didn’t care. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘You’re right.’ She seized on the words. ‘It doesn’t matter. None of it matters. We can just go back to being how we were, and have the baby. And they’ll grow up calling you daddy and we’ll be incredibly successful and rich, and we’ll make money from all over the world, living in the best resorts and the best hotels in every country. It’s going to be so amazing. Can’t you just see it? Our baby is going to be a star.’

‘But it’s not my baby, and that’s the point, isn’t it? You’ve spent all this time lying to me. You don’t do that to someone you love. When you love someone, you treat them better than you do yourself, because their happiness becomes yours.’

‘Of course we’re in love. I just made a silly mistake. When you love someone, you forgive them their mistakes. We’ll be fine, baby. Better than fine.’

He really hoped that was true, and he really, really hoped that Angela would forgive him his stupidity. He doubted that she would, and he knew she probably shouldn’t — but he also knew that he’d do everything possible to convince her to give him another chance.

But if his time with Angela, and Mallow, and Ruby, Ernie and even the stinky ferrets and guineas had taught him anything, it was that love didn’t come with conditions — it had to be built on total trust and honesty. If you lied to an animal — if you broke their trust — they would hold it against you and see you as a threat, often with teeth, beaks, claws and hooves to protect themselves. But if you treated them with love and respect . . . well, you got something so pure it was almost magical, and incredibly valuable and worth cherishing. Like Mallow. And that was just with the animals. With Angela . . . oh, he really hoped he hadn’t screwed that up beyond redemption, but he wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to speak to him again.

‘So we’re all good then?’ Yvette asked him, snaking closer to him. ‘We still love each other, and we can bring the baby up like it’s yours. No one will ever know. I love you, Ricky.’

‘Yvette, no.’ He caught her wrist as she reached out to him, stopping her hand in mid-air. He didn’t squeeze or twist — he wasn’t like that. As much as she’d hurt him, he didn’t want to hurt her. As Maverick, he might have pushed her away, shouted and sworn and acted like an idiot. But as Ryan — as himself — he just didn’t really want her to touch him. So he gently released her hand, and stepped away, taking him closer to Mallow — and maybe closer to the version of himself he actually liked.

‘What do you mean, no?’ She pulled a face, like the word tasted bad. Perhaps it did to her — it certainly wasn’t one she heard very often.

‘I mean no,’ he replied calmly. ‘No, we’re not “all good”. No, I don’t want to be a family with you and your baby. No, I don’t think there’s a big, bright, glittering future between Maverick and Vetty. And no, I don’t think you really do love me. I’m not sure what we had was even really love.’

‘What do you mean?’ Her voice hissed angrily between her teeth. ‘We were good together.’

‘Yeah,’ he agreed. ‘We were good together, and we made great content and had great sex. But outside of videos and the bedsheets, I don’t think you ever really loved me,Yvette. Because if you did, you would have treated me a lot better than you have.’

‘So now what?’ She jumped to attack mode. ‘Are you saying I abused you or something?’

‘No. I’m saying you cheated on me, and lied about it. And that if you hadn’t got caught today, I think you would probably have carried on lying about it. Even now, you’re standing here trying to convince me that somehow this is my fault, to make yourself the victim, so I have to be the one to apologise and make things right. Well, I’ve got news for you, Yvette. I’ve moved on. And you’re going to have to do the same.’

‘Where am I supposed to go?’

‘Why not go back to the actual father? Go back to Jean.’ He spat the name out.

‘He’s not interested in me like that.’

‘Well clearly he was . . . more than once. Can’t you work it out with him?’

‘I doubt it. His wife doesn’t know about me.’

‘Wow. You really are the lowest of the low.’ He couldn’t help the comment slipping out. He didn’t really want to be mean to her, but he was so angry at what she’d done to him. And apparently he wasn’t the only one having his relationship torn apart by her selfishness.