Maybe he’s right. The school term is ending soon, and he’ll be moving back to their place in Sydney. Their place that’s started feeling like her place. At first it was lonely without him, but that’s eased. Part of her feels sad. She wishes she’d been longing for him to come home every day. It’d be easier than having this conversation.

‘I don’t think we should be together anymore.’ Her throat contracts, choking her breath. Tightness grabs at her chest. It hurts so much that she wonders whether she’s doing the right thing.

He grimaces, his eyes shutting for a moment as though he’s about to be in a car accident and is preparing himself for the collision. There’s nothing for him to do but wait for the impact and pain to pierce his body.

She stands mute, wishing she could think of something better to say than I’m sorry.

But then he shakes his head, wanting to whitewash her words. ‘You’re just stressed about work and I haven’t been around. We’re not spending time together, so of course it feels weird to be planning a wedding.’

He’s been preparing himself for this. It hasn’t come as a complete surprise, and that surprises her. She’d imagined he was oblivious to them drifting apart. She’s been trying to ignore the fact that they’re on different paths, but maybe he’s been doing the same thing.

‘We don’t have to do anything about the wedding. Let’s just hit pause.’ He glances at her again, but quickly goes on before she has a chance to say anything. ‘Once I get back, things will go back to normal. We’ll sort everything out.’

She thinks about him coming back and sharing the flat again. Of course she can imagine it because them coexisting has been second nature to her for the past ten years. But somewhere along the way they’ve become more friends than lovers. The idea of him coming home doesn’t spark excitement in her. The idea of going to sleep without him doesn’t even make her body ache. The yearning and desire has faded, but to tell someone this outright would be like a slap in the face.

‘I don’t want things to go back to normal.’ Her voice is barely audible. She wills herself to look at him, she owes him that much.

Sadness swells in his eyes, yet all hope hasn’t faded. ‘Please, Darce. Can we just see how everything is once I get back?’