You spent the morning laughing at me and making me tea. You weren’t angry, even then. You were happy with my explanation that April had bought us a lot of champagne to celebrate, that I just hadn’t eaten enough to cope with it. You were cheerfully accepting of it all, until we were curled up on the sofa watching Lawrence of Arabia, and my phone buzzed.

I saw the message flash up on my home screen at the same time you did.

Hi Louise, it’s Matt. It was so great to meet you last night. Let me know if your free to hang out later. I’d love to see you again.

However bad you felt right then, Niall, I can guarantee that I felt worse. It felt like my whole world was falling apart. I couldn’t help looking at you, and I saw when your cheerful face became hard. Cold. Furious.

‘What the actual fuck, Louise?’

It must have been bad, for you to swear like that. I mean, even with your slightly gendered view of the appropriateness of swearing, I’ve almost never heard you do it.

I was silent for a long time, and then I shook my head. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know who that is.’

The silence was terrifying. And when you said ‘Give me your phone’, it didn’t sound like you.

I was actually too frightened of you to argue. Even though I knew it might make everything worse.

I was shaking as you opened my messages, and something awful happened to my heart as I saw that I’d messaged this guy first, with the word ‘hello’.

I watched your face, and I cringed away from you. There was nothing in your expression except rage. It twisted your face into something else, and for the first time I thought you might do something violent. Did you teeter on the edge of it, Niall? Because it looked like you wanted to put your hands round my throat. I’d like to know if I’m right.

It was words you lashed out with in the end. Asking if I was a drunken whore. Asking why the hell I’d said I wanted to marry you when I really just wanted to screw around. And on, and on, until eventually, crying so hard I could barely say it, I told you to ask April what had happened.

I was terrified when you called her, but I also desperately needed you to stop. To pause.

April reported what she’d said later on. She told you to stop being stupid, apparently. That obviously it was just some asshole taking my phone. No, of course I hadn’t given anyone my number. No, I hadn’t flirted with anyone. There had just been some guy who was keen on me and he had clearly crossed some lines.