Afterwards, she would go back to Lisa’s and drink all the wine she could. And maybe look for an apartment. And then make a resolution to drink less alcohol, because she’d been using it as a bit of a crutch the last few months.

Slowly, Cora could start this life she’d created for herself.

A car pulled into the drive, the tyres crunching on the gravel. A door slammed, then another. Alec collecting his carry-on bag from the back seat. Keys at the door. It opened, then closed. His measured footsteps fell in the passage.

He paused, framed in the doorway as he caught sight of her standing in the kitchen. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

There was an irony in the fact that he chose now to be able to read her mood.

“Alec, we need to talk.” It sounded rehearsed because it was.

He stared at her.

“I’m leaving. I think it’s best if we get divorced.”

Doctor Massey had told her to use the words that clearly said what she wanted, not to soften the blow to save his feelings. If she wanted to feel validated, she had to make sure she actually said what she meant. It had to be clear.

Alec actually laughed. It echoed strangely in the house. “Are you joking?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m serious.”

“Well, I’m not going anywhere.” His jaw clenched.

“You don’t have to. I have my bags in my car, I’m going to stay somewhere else until I can get an apartment or a house sorted.”

His eye ticked when she took that measure of control from him. “Cora, this has to be a joke.”

“I’m not joking.”

His mouth gaped, like a fish, as he tried to pull together the words he needed. “You can’t do this to me, Cora.”

“I have to do it for me. And for you.”

“Don’t you tell me what I want!” His hand clenched on the handle of his carry-on. “Please. Stay. I—I thought we were better.”

Stay away from blame. Stay away from direct hits at him and only speak of how you feel.

Cora took in a measured breath. “I know you’re not happy anymore. I know I’m not either.”

“You’re going to put me through this? To put my family through this? Yours?”

Cora swallowed. Tried to remember she wasn’t doing anything to him. “I need to leave.”

His voice was hard, his eyes like flint. “Your family will be so ashamed of you if you get a divorce.”

That may be true. “This isn’t about my family.”

“If you go, I’ll make sure they know it’s you who left me.”

One of the stories Cora had read online had said a man methodically ruined his girlfriend’s life through social media with lies and threats. “Okay.” Cora nodded. “You can say what you want.”