BUT IT’S MY BIRTHDAY...

Mary*, 31

Padding silently down the stairs so as not to wake the kids, I paused on the bottom step to make sure I couldn’t hear any little voices.

But all was silent.

Bliss, I thought to myself.

Being a single mum to three kids was tough, and although I loved it, I did revel in the few hours of peace I got each night when they were all tucked up peacefully in bed.

Just as I’d settled on the sofa with a cuppa, a blanket and the remote, my phone pinged.

Hey babe, you around tomorrow? I could come over with a takeaway... it read.

I couldn’t believe how thoughtful he was

I’d been seeing Claudiu Ivascu, 22, for a few months now.

We’d met on