'As a woman, there are two things you should never ever trust in your lifetime: men and your menstrual cycle.'
That was the advice my mother gave me the night before I left for university. I thought it was silly. Cynical. Being a single mother would do that to you, so I heard.
Regardless, I kept her advice in the pocket of my subconscious. Even when I met him. When he distracted me with his good looks and every word he uttered conveyed love on angel's wings, her advice echoed faintly in my mind.
On one of those nights in his shoebox student room where we made sweet love, he realised we'd run out of protection.
'Don't worry,' I said confidently. 'I'm on my safe period. Plus, you'll pull out, right?'
He nodded.
But here, in this moment — two days after he dumped me — as I stare at the two thick red lines on the test strip in my hand, Mumsy's words ring like an alarm in my ears.
'As a woman, there are two things you should never ever trust in your lifetime: men and your menstrual cycle.'