‘I hope I didn’t ruin your life, Charlotte,’ he whispered to me, his face etched in agonizing pain. ‘You rarely sing and you never write, do you? Tom Farley believed in you and even possibly loved you, but I couldn’t get past my big fat ego to let it happen. I hope you are telling me the truth and that you’re really happy with Jack.’

I felt my nose itch and I sniffled, which told me I was on the edge of letting go of a burst of emotion, but I couldn’t. I breathed out.

‘I am happy,’ I assured my brother. ‘Now, let’s hit the bar and celebrate your little sister getting hitched. I need a gin and tonic. A large one! And I think you do too.’

Emotions were high, but I held it together knowing that fate was playing its part in my life and I reminded myself I was the luckiest girl in the world.

It was my wedding day. Of course I was happy.

‘So, eight o’clock then at the new steak house?’ I say to Sophie, who is now on a roll of examples of how habitual and boring our husbands are fast becoming.

‘Yes, see you then,’ she says, still on her rant. ‘Did I tell you he is growing a beard? It’s the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen! I swear he’s losing the plot, never mind his hair!’

My head, on the other hand, is still full of arithmetic and spelling rhymes from my day at school. My new job is ‘different’, let’s say, and after two full months in, I’m just not totally convinced I fit the bill. I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad it’s Friday and I can’t wait to get home into the warmth of a bubble bath in our new dainty cottage.

With an authentic thatched roof, whitewashed walls, red ornate sash windows and two floors of country-inspired living designed by Jack’s long-time friend Rick, whose impeccable taste gave it the wow factor, it’s a world away from the buzz of city life. It reminds me in a way of the pace of Loughisland where everyone knows your name and your neighbour lives across the fields, rather than next door. I’ve even started an Instagram page for interior design lovers and my followers are growing rapidly, way quicker than I ever anticipated. It’s the closest thing to heaven and is slowly beginning to feel like home.

I say goodbye to Sophie, smiling at her observations of married life, and reflect on the past few months which have been progressive and exciting in so many ways, yet hugely challenging as I do my best to adapt to a whole new approach at Holy Trinity.