‘I wish… I wish it had been real. I wish I could have met you properly. I think I’d have liked you. I’m not sure what you’d had made of me. Anna thinks you’d be horrified I haven’t seen Footloose. There’s the thing. You have likes and dislikes. Hobbies. Passions. You love. You feel. I put it all second, all of those things that make us human. I made the science more important than the emotion. I’m sorry for what I’ve put Anna through. What I’ve yet to put her through.’

When Anna wakes up, Oliver needs to tell her some more bad news.

Chapter Sixty

Adam

Words. Sentences. Snatches of a one-sided conversation that makes no sense.

Harry isn’t real?

Anna has survivor’s guilt.

If Anna’s the survivor, what does that make me?

I try to move, but I can’t.

Chapter Sixty-One

Oliver

‘I’ve booked you flights back to the UK for the morning. A private ambulance will meet you at the airport to transport you both to St Agnes. It’s a private hospital.’

‘Oliver…’ Anna begins to cry. Oliver feels his heart shatter.

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Is there anything I can say to make you change your mind?’ Anna wipes her eyes with her sleeve.

‘You could stay but the trial is over. Don’t you think you’d be better off at home, with your family and friends?’

‘I thought you were my friend,’ Anna says in a small voice.

‘I’d like us to stay in touch. I’ve grown very fond of you, Anna. Of you both. Do you hate me?’

Anna considers the question. ‘No, I don’t. You’ve shown me something wonderful. Something amazing. I wish it could carry on but… no, I don’t regret coming here. That chance to spend some more time with Adam, to see the life we almost had, I feel… I feel incredibly sad that it’s over, of course.’

‘Nothing lasts forever, unfortunately.’

‘Love does.’ There’s a confidence to her words. ‘I had thought a few weeks ago that I didn’t love Adam anymore, that our struggle through infertility was too long, too hard for us to recover from, despite my pregnancy. The resentment too deep. If you hadn’t given me the opportunity to speak to him again, perhaps I’d always have felt that way. Now I know. Nothing is insurmountable if you want it badly enough. Adam is my…’

‘Seagull?’ Oliver suggests.

‘Not quite as romantic as I hoped, but yes. My seagull. My mate for life. My everything.’

‘If there’s ever anything you need. Anything. Just call. More than anything, I want you to be happy. I hope Adam recovers, Anna. I really do.’ Adam only has a 3 per cent chance of recovery but Oliver is rooting for him. He’s a scientist, but he still believes in miracles.