Tears rose to Olivia’s eyes and she furiously blinked them back. “Oh, Simon, I can’t even imagine how...” She couldn’t continue; any sentiment seemed trite, falling far too short of the grief he’d experienced. “I’m so, so sorry.”

Simon nodded, accepting. “It was the hardest and most horrible thing that has ever happened to me. And afterwards I had...” He paused, choosing his words with care. “I had trouble coping,” he finally said. “I was teaching A level music at an independent school in London and the kids were so entitled, so ridiculously privileged without any sense of how much they had—the opportunities, the possibilities, life just stretching in front of them and they always acted so bored by it all, as if they couldn’t even be bothered.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, I know of course that they had no bearing on my brother, two completely separate things. I knew that then, but it happened one day in one of my lessons that I...well, I sort of flipped, I suppose.” He shook his head. “I lost my temper because some poor kid hadn’t done his homework, wasn’t even trying. He had a lot of raw talent that he just wasted, because he was so busy watching YouTube or Snapchatting or whatever it was that sucked all his time. And it made me so angry, because my brother had so much potential—only thirty-five, a criminal psychologist, doing amazing, important work.” Simon managed a sad, wry smile that nearly broke Olivia’s heart. “So when I saw this kid acting so indifferent, rolling his eyes, refusing to try, it flipped some switch in me and I completely lost my temper. Shouted, flipped a desk over, broke someone’s violin.”

Shock rippled through Olivia at this admission. She could understand it, of course she could, but it was still hard to take in—Simon, this gentle, sensitive, quirky man, displaying such a frightening loss of control when in a position of authority.

“I was dismissed immediately, of course, and thankfully no charges were brought against me. I even managed to keep my teaching certification, although I’ve got a black mark on my record. I had to take an anger management course and for the first few months here, there had to be another staff member in the music lessons with me, which I understand but I also know I’d never do something like that again. It was a one-off, something that broke inside me, but won’t again.” He sighed heavily and leaned back. “Anyway, word got around here, and I’ve noticed some parents in the playground giving me looks. I don’t blame them, really. But I also know I’m completely trustworthy with the pupils in my care.” He raked a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “So now you know.”

“Oh, Simon.” Olivia shook her head, still near tears. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Does it change anything?” he asked starkly. “Between us?”

“No, of course not,” she answered, and then wondered if she’d been too quick to reply. Did it change things, knowing Simon had this difficult past? People were complicated, Olivia knew that, of course, but Simon was particularly so. And being with someone like that—loving someone like that—meant getting tangled up in their grief, wrestling with their issues...and that was hard. But just because something was hard didn’t mean it was not worth pursuing.