I got myself another glass of water and put my coat and handbag away, and while I was doing that you messaged back cheerfully to say you were on the sofa watching Game of Thrones and accidentally falling asleep.

And, you know, I think that was the first time I’d ever known you to outright lie to me. I mean, there was the money thing, it was true, but you’d never actually told me that you were solvent. You’d just let me assume. And you hadn’t hidden what Dina had said to you, either, even if you hadn’t been quite open about how you felt.

But now here you were, telling me a stark untruth. And, in this case, I was certain it was for a really, really bad reason.

I desperately wanted to know where you were, but I had no way of knowing without alerting you to the fact that I was home. And for some reason that was the scariest thing of all.

So I did a crazy thing instead. I went back out there, in another rip-off cab ride, and I started stalking your favourite bars and restaurants. At first I told myself I’d just check a couple. I figured you might be at La Mejican or the Pitcher and Piano. When you weren’t there, I thought of a few more. And a few more.

I was out there for three hours, and when I finally gave up because the blisters on my heels were too bad for me to walk any further, it was after midnight. You still hadn’t messaged me to tell me you were going to bed. You’d only sent a query at eleven, asking if I was still having fun, which I replied to with a thumbs up, because I had to reply somehow.

I was so sure you were still out there by the time I gave up. I was certain you were meeting up with someone. Cheating on me. I cried all the way home in the cab.

The house was still empty when I got in, and I couldn’t face being in the sitting room or in bed when you returned. I just couldn’t. So I went to the music room and huddled on the sofa in the dark.

You actually didn’t get back that long after I did. An hour at most. But it felt like years had passed. I’d been unable to sit still.

I heard you arrive home, then make yourself tea before you went up to bed. I had all my things with me, so there was no reason for you to know I was there. I listened, hardly breathing, to the sounds of running water. You showered for a long while. Were you washing off traces of whichever woman you’d been with, Niall? Is that what you were doing?