The darkest secret

Melissa Howarth, 36, Manchester

Sitting on my mate’s sofa with Michael Batty, then 33, butterflies began to flutter.

‘It’s so good to see you again,’ I beamed.

It was October 2017, and we’d first met two years earlier, at a party just like this evening’s.

We’d picked up where we’d left off, our conversation flowing easily.

Michael, then 34, seemed kind, was clever, too – with qualifications in accounting.

So, when he asked me out, I happily accepted.

Chatting over dinner a few days later, I loved being in Michael’s company.

But a dark cloud seemed to hang over his