‘I don’t know, to break us up, destroy my career, just generally make my life a living hell,’ Hugo said, exasperated. ‘Evie, I can’t get her to back off. I thought moving would help. But now she’s following you as well? That’s too far.’

Evie thought back to her first impression of Chloe—she had seemed relentless. ‘Why didn’t you tell me all this when Chloe first turned up?’ Evie asked, growing more and more frustrated that Hugo had kept this from her for so long. ‘Maybe then I would have actually known what to say to her.’

‘I didn’t want to scare you. You’re home alone so much and I thought it’d freak you out. I wanted to try and fix it first before letting you know,’ Hugo said, leaving a long, jarring silence between them.

‘Hugo, you’re impossible—how could you keep me in the dark like this? I’m not some damsel in distress who can’t hack heavy shit,’ Evie said, hurt. What did it say about Hugo’s feelings for her that he was so willing to keep something like this from her? Evie couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets he might be hiding. She thought of the carefree way in which Sami and Ben had interacted tonight. How at ease, and so much themselves, they had been around each other. Evie felt a pang of jealousy; a longing for such an effortless, uncomplicated love. ‘How are we meant to grow as a couple if we can’t be honest with each other?’

‘Evie, that’s not fair. How can you be mad at me for this?’

‘Because you’ve been keeping this huge thing from me. And you had so many opportunities to tell me. I feel like an idiot. What must Chloe have thought of me—of us—when I couldn’t defend you? I don’t need protecting.’

Running his hand through his hair, Hugo looked utterly spent. ‘Evie, I’m sorry. I was trying to manage the situation as best I could.’

He walked around the bench to Evie and delicately took her face in his hands. She searched his eyes for any flicker of insincerity, but all she saw was hurt and love and contrition.

‘Do you think she’s dangerous?’ Evie asked. ‘Do we need to consider getting the police involved?’

‘No. I think she’s angry that I broke her heart, but I don’t think she would do anything serious. God, I hope not. I’ll speak to her. And warn her that we’re considering taking things further if she doesn’t stop bothering us.’

Evie shook her head. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Was this the price she had to pay for dating a celebrity?