“But they must have noticed the bruises? The black eyes?”

“I told them I fell down the stairs at work.”

“And they believed that?”

“Eventually.”

“Please, Clare, you have to tell someone. You can’t keep this inside you. It’s too big.”

“I’m fine.

I’m coping.

I’m better than I was.”

Mark Farley is attempting to write 1,000,000 words in 2016. Please wish him luck!