I keep hearing the words “I love you darling.” He keeps saying it; all over the house. I walk past the room he is in, he says it. I pass him in the hall, there it is. He stands in front of me in the kitchen and………

It makes me feel sad. I want to believe him, like I did in the beginning. It could have been so simple to make this marriage work. We’re a good match in many ways. But every time I hear him utter the words, my first reaction (the first thought that comes into my head) is “no you don’t.” If he did he wouldn’t treat me this way. I want to believe it. I really do. But he has lied to me so much I cannot believe anything he says. The more distance there is between us the more I realise about him and our ‘relationship’ and it makes me sad that, what I thought at one time could be the perfect marriage, has actually been a sham all along.

I must not dwell on that. For me right now, the most important thing is turning that corner and embarking on a new life – without him! Once I have done that I can start to plan a future, start to live the life I want. Whatever that might be.