He smirks knowingly and nods his head.

‘Ah, you’re a clever little thing, aren’t you?’ he says to me. ‘I knew you were smart. Charlie, do you have any idea how many Evas there are in my world? Hundreds, that’s how many. But this is my life now, this is what I know. You and I had something absolutely way up there, but I could never be the man you wanted me to.’

‘No, you’re right. You couldn’t.’

I think of Jack and how he puts our relationship first, even before his very high-powered career. I think of how everything to do with Tom Farley ruined my brother’s life, whereas everything to do with Jack only ever tries to better it.

I think it’s definitely time for me to go. Tom scrabbles in his pocket and finds a pen, then scribbles a note on the back of a receipt of some sort.

‘Look, I still believe you could make a living out of your songs, babe. I never stopped believing that,’ he says as he writes. ‘You’ve got talent oozing out of your bones, so if you take one thing from meeting me here this evening, please take that. Sorry if I disappointed you. You’re still the one, I meant what I said. It’s up to you though. It’s all up to you.’

He hands me the piece of paper, folded, and holds my fingers in his for a few seconds longer than he needs to. For just a moment, when I look at him, I see the man I once fell so madly in love with. His lifestyle has changed him in so many ways and by now I’m sure I don’t like it but I know there’s another alternative Tom Farley inside of him. A behind-the-scenes version, a man who away from the spotlight is still broken from the mess his parents left behind and a man who is longing for something he will never find.

Love.

Just as I thought there may have been another me out there, I know he can see another, parallel version of himself when he looks at me.

‘Maybe we’re all exactly where we’re meant to be in life, Tom,’ I say to him, putting the piece of paper into my handbag without reading what it says. ‘Maybe you and I just weren’t supposed to be together, after all. You’re an amazing singer, a killer front man, and I meant it when I said I was proud of you. I really am. It was good to see you. Enjoy the rest of your celebrations.’