1) James invites his step-mother Teresa and her long lost daughter Emma to dinner to reunite them, without warning Teresa that Emma is her daughter. 2) In shock, Teresa rejects Emma, believing her to be a liar. James leaves them alone to reconcile. 3) Teresa apologizes to Emma and explains why she gave her up, but Emma leaves without saying a word, upsetting Teresa.

1. Deasil
Street
7.4

2. James had chosen his moment carefully. Warren was taking Megan out fishing that
evening, so he would have Teresa and Emma alone together in the house. Emma
managed to get through their evening meal despite her nerves, again pretending to
just be a friend of James.

3. James was feeling confident
everything would go well. Emma
had dressed nicely, had
complemented the meal…
And Teresa was in a fairly good
mood. Their finances were still in
ruins but she’d managed to forget
that tonight.
He couldn’t wait to introduce her.
They might not share any
DNA, but as far as James was
concerned she would be a part of
the family.

4. In a pause in the conversation James blurted out
the truth with no warning. Emma Eff was in fact
Emma Marshall, his step-mothers long lost
daughter. In shock, Teresa physically recoiled
and spat that Emma was a liar.

5. James, confused by Teresa's reaction announced he would ‘leave them to get to know
each other again’ and fled. Teresa just stared across the table at this stranger. Could it
be true? She hadn’t thought about her daughter for so long, had managed to block it
all out… Here at last was evidence of the mistakes that lost her a business career and
led her to baby-sit for Warren at Pablo’s bequest.

6. Emma just sat there, mute. Waiting for her mother to
say something. Teresa melted. If it was true, if this was
the baby she had given up then she had been granted a
second chance. A chance to make things right.
She began to speak, to explain and to apologise.

7. Whatever she said, Emma didn’t speak. When Teresa was
through she just nodded and left the house. Teresa was
distraught.
Why would Emma track her down and then leave her
hanging like this? What had she said to offend her?

8. She was in bed when Warren
returned with Megan, but the next
day her husband begged to know
what was wrong. He could tell she
was terribly upset, could he help?

9. The floodgates opened. At last Teresa told Warren everything about her past. How she
had been stalked and then accosted during her business internship by a friend of
Pablo. How she had been made pregnant by his forced attentions… how she had given
up her baby in the hope she could move on with her life.
When she had gone to her bosses for help and
support, they turned on her. The man, Emma’s
father, was powerful. Rather than prosecute him
they had hounded her out. She could never work in
business again. Pablo offering her a job for Warren
had been a lifeline.

10. She could see Warren
was crushed, and
begged for him not to
be angry.
Yes, she had kept all of
this from him for years;
but she was so
ashamed of that whole
period in her life she
hadn’t told anyone. Not
him, not Bernice…
Could he forgive
her, what was he
thinking?

11. Warren was angry and hurt. She must think him a
right llama not to have confided in him. She knew
everything about him, from his childhood, his first
marriage to Miranda… everything. He thought they
were a unit, a team. He couldn’t help wonder what
else she had kept from him.

12. He knew deep down he wasn’t being
fair, that what she had been through was
awful… But he couldn’t keep the
resentment and hurt from pouring out.
Teresa was shocked by his outburst,
where had her easygoing, loving
husband gone?
But when he started venting about
every little frustration he’d ever had
in their relationship she fought back.
This wasn’t a platform for him to
attack her over anything and
everything.
He was hardly perfect either, he had
ruined them.. Soon she was ranting
too.

13. The two of them had never fought like this before, words and accusations were
pouring out of both of them. Did she have Megan to trap him and live comfortably…
was Megan even his… did he plunge the family into debt on purpose or was he just
stupid… did he still love his dead wife more than her… could this be the end?