As she approached, she almost dropped the note until reflex tightened her fingers around it. The bedroom was a mess, but not just a mess as in dirty pyjamas left on the floor or an unmade bed. Drawers were open and clothes fell over the sides. On the floor, even more had been tossed here and there along with some discarded cosmetics. Had Bella not seen Evan leaving, her first thought would have been that they’d been robbed, but things like that just didn’t happen in Meadowbank.

She scanned the room once more, trying to focus through her misted vision. The drawers were open because he’d scooped out all his clothes. His side of the wardrobe hung empty, and the hangers clattered together where his suits had been. For the first time Bella’s unwavering optimism could find nothing good to hold on to, nothing positive to think about. She felt herself falling into a deep, dark hole that she wouldn’t be able to climb out of.

Evan had left her and worse than that, he’d also cheated. How had he become unhappy enough to do that? The only conclusion she could draw was that for all this time, he must have been pretending a happiness he hadn’t felt. But for how long?

Bella sniffed back the pain as she unwrapped the tight ball of paper, but she knew there was nothing he could say in these words that would lessen her pain. Everything he’d said was written down. Nothing more, nothing less, and unsure what she was supposed to do after such a monumental shock, Bella lay down on the bed among the old, worn-out clothes he’d left behind and cried.

As the house grew colder, Bella shivered. She couldn’t stay there forever, sprawled out on the bed, drowning in heartache. Even though all she felt like doing was putting her pyjamas on and sitting in front of the fire, basic human functions needed performing like eating and drinking, and she needed a wee. Though she felt like she’d cried out all the moisture in her body as her mouth was parched and her throat dry and scratchy.

Pulling off her sensible dress and tights, she threw on her warmest pyjamas and dressing gown. It was like being encased in one of her mum’s hugs. The thought of telling her family, knowing it would upset them as much as it had her, filled her with dread, but she had to. Someone might have seen Evan leave and news would be travelling around the village. Not in a horrid gossipy sort of way. Only one or two of the villagers were like that. Everyone else would be kind and thoughtful, checking in to see if she was okay, but she wanted her parents to hear the news from her.