On my wedding night I hid under the bed to surprise my husband. His mother came in instead, sat down on the mattress above me, and put a call

His voice came out of that phone and for about a second I did not recognise it.

He said: she’s probably wandering about with her friends somewhere.

He said: don’t worry, Mum.

She has no idea what we’re doing.

Everything in me went cold, from the shoulders down.

Lorna gave a low little laugh and said: good. Is the apartment on the coast in her name yet?

He said: it is.

He said: I told her it would make her feel secure. She thinks I bought it for her. But I kept every receipt.

He said: give it a few months, we say we’re incompatible, and I use the purchase records to take the property when we split.

That apartment was our  wedding present to ourselves.He was the one who insisted it should be in my name alone.