'So you claimed. I never quite understood why.'

'I tried to explain-'

'I gather that my crime was to work day and night to give you a comfortable life, with every luxury you could want. For this I was punished by the loss of my wife and both my children.' A touch of iron in his voice made it clear that he was as unyielding as ever.

'Perhaps I'd better go away and return another time…'

'No! You must have come here for some reason. You've kept well clear of me, Faye. Even when the children visit me, you never come with them. When I collect them from your house, you speak to me as little as possible.'

'I don't want to upset them with fighting.'

'How are they? It seems a long time since I saw them.'

'You could have seen them last week if you'd come to Cindy's school play, as you promised. She had the lead. She was longing for you to be there and be proud of her.'

'I meant to, but at the last minute something came up.'

Faye sighed. 'Something always did come up, Garth. A business deal was always more important than your children.'

'That's not true. I was there for Adrian's birthday.'

'Only for two hours. And you didn't come to see him playing football, did you? He really minded about that. And Cindy was heartbroken when you missed her birthday last year. She loves you so much, and you let her down all the time. It's her birthday again next week. She'll be eight. Oh please, Garth, try to be there, just this once.'

'Saturday? Hell, I don't think I can make it. I've got a client-' He saw her looking at him with resignation and said, 'Was this what you came for?'

'No, I came to say I want a divorce.'

He took a sharp breath. 'That's a bit sudden, isn't it?'

'We've been separated for two years. You've always known I wanted a divorce.'

'I thought you'd have seen sense by now.'

'You mean, return to you?' She gave a brief, wry laugh. 'I remember that your version of seeing sense was always people doing what suited you.'