I’ve always been seen as strong-willed, that’s for sure, but I don’t know that anyone has seen a raw fighter in me before. I suppose I have been strong lately. I’ve made some pretty big decisions in my life, not entirely for my own benefit, but more to help my brother.

Jack has noticed something in me that I hadn’t even taken time to notice myself. Maybe I am stronger than I think I am. Maybe I’ve a bigger reason to be here than I ever thought I had. I’m a caring teacher, I know that, but looking after Matthew gave me something that nothing else has done before. It brought out a side to me I didn’t even know existed.

My eyes reflect my surprise that he has noticed this, and also to his reference that to him I am ‘the one’. Yes, we’re living together, we share friends and have a great connection, but ‘the one’? Wow.

‘Ah Jack, that’s really sweet of you,’ I say to him. ‘You’re a sentimental old thing behind that cool, handsome front, aren’t you?’

He knows it’s true. The good thing about being with Jack is that I’ll always know exactly where I stand with him. He wears his heart on his sleeve, that’s for sure, and I never have to wonder. If he feels it, he says it. It’s one of his finest qualities, in my opinion.

The waiter invites us to enjoy some after-dinner drinks back in the champagne bar, showing us to a high round table with two stools, perfectly positioned against a full-length window that looks right out onto Paris’s most spectacular sights.

‘Dinner was exceptional, thank you,’ I say to Jack, knowing how much effort he has made to make this trip away so special. ‘You know, the past year and more has been such a strange experience since Matthew’s accident. I don’t know how we’d have got through it all without you.’

Jack shakes his head as he always does if I ever try to give him too much praise when it comes to Matthew’s recovery.

‘My brother was in a very dark place even before that night,’ I explain to Jack. ‘I know you’ve heard about his mental health problems before, but I think it’s nice to remind you sometimes just how much you played a part in getting him back on track.’

‘Charlotte, Matthew still has a long way to go,’ he reminds me. ‘Life in a wheelchair is a bitter pill to swallow for such a young man but he has the best support around him. You should be so proud of the strong family unit you have to get him this far.’