In Wednesday’s Emmerdale (June 19), Belle King kept a big secret from her abusive husband Tom when she decided to get an abortion without telling him.

Recently, viewers have seen Tom start abusing his wife, including getting physically violent with her. Tonight, Belle, who’s been trying to hide her pregnancy, got wise to the fact Tom had started to track her movements, so she hatched a plan to sneak out of the village in order to go to the women’s health clinic.

After Tom wouldn’t let her take the car, she came across a spare key and managed to convince Amelia to look after Piper so she could attend her appointment. Determined not to let Tom know her whereabouts by tracking her phone, she left it in Esther’s pram.

At the clinic, the nurse began to explain the abortion process to a fragile and despondent Belle, who could barely make eye contact as the nurse handed over a pack of pills. She told Belle she was four weeks pregnant and she would need to take several tablets between 24 and 48 hours apart.

Noticing Belle was clearly troubled, the nurse asked if she was okay and Belle explained that she hadn’t told her husband about her decision. “It’s not because I don’t love him. Because I do. And none of this is his fault,” she explained.

“It’s all me,” she added, sharing it just wasn’t the right time to expand their family.

She then refused another appointment after the nurse asked her if she wanted to think about her decision and come back. “I won’t change my mind,” she admitted.

Later on, Belle decided it was time to start the process and she took the first pill to terminate her pregnancy.

After, Tom later encouraged her to eat something to keep her strength up for the baby, unaware that she had taken the first pill shortly before. He then placed his hand on her stomach to ask if she could feel anything so early into her pregnancy.

But Belle broke down after he started sharing how excited he was that they were having a baby. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I can’t wait,” he told her.

With Tom’s words ringing in her ears, Belle broke down in tears as he walked away.