I’m lucky the pub was full, or I would not have been able to stay there and spy on them. At one point, I thought Andriu might have recognised me. His glance hovered on me for a minute. Our eyes met but I quickly turned away and stood up and left. I couldn’t risk bumping into him in front of her. I want to talk to him alone.

The phone buzzes in my pocket. My mam is doing my head in. I can’t answer it because Andriu is in my sights now. He’s walking towards the next bridge. I quicken my step, my freezing hands holding my jacket closed over my chest as I shuffle in these cursed high heels. I cross over the road and follow him along the Liffey wall.

‘Andriu,’ I call out but he doesn’t hear me. So I move quicker. I’m almost running. I am running. ‘Andriu!’ Why can’t he hear me? Is he wearing headphones?

‘Andriu!’ I’m just a few feet away when he turns and stares at me in silence. ‘It is you… It’s me, Faye.’

‘What are you doing here?’ he says.

My smile fades. My heart slows. Andriu does not look happy to see me. If anything, he looks the opposite.

‘I saw you from across the street and I couldn’t believe it was you. I thought you were in London. What are you doing here?’ I say, doing my best to sound cool while every part of me is ticking like a time bomb.

‘Faye, I don’t really want to talk to you,’ he says, shaking his head like I was the one who broke his heart.

‘But Andriu, can’t we just talk? I need to talk to you.’

Andriu turns around saying, ‘Leave it be, Faye.’ Then he walks away.

What will I do? I can’t just leave it be. Why won’t he talk to me? I follow him.

‘But Andriu, listen to me, please, just for a minute.’

He stops and my heart kicks back into overdrive; he’s going to talk to me. Andriu turns around.

‘Okay, one minute.’

One minute, what will I say? I should have rehearsed this but in my head I imagined Andriu would be delighted to see me. That he’d want to talk all night long. We would discuss everything and make plans for getting back together. I did not expect this response. What will I say?

‘Andriu, I just want you to know that I forgive you.’

‘Okay,’ he says and turns back around. He’s walking away. What is wrong with him? Tara must have poisoned his mind. I rush forward and grab his arm.

‘Andriu, I still love you, I never stopped loving you…’

He puts his hand on mine, his touch a bolt of lightning shooting up my arm. But then he pulls my hand away.

‘Go home, Faye.’

‘But Andriu please, I—’