‘Look—’ He reaches for my hand and I pull away, hurt smarting my insides. ‘It wasn’t meant to be anything… I didn’t want to upset you.’

‘Rupert, for fuck sakes just explain yourself.’ My tone is cold, and I wrap my arms across my body, not wanting him to touch me.

‘Yes, OK,’ he says eventually, ‘yes, I did have something to do with Angus not taking you on but let me explain. I didn’t realize at first that The Children’s Trust was where you were looking at volunteering, but then I saw a message on your phone from Angus thanking you for coming in and I freaked out. I called him and told him not to take you on.’

‘But why, Rupert? I don’t understand. I wanted to do something with my time, and I chose Angus because I knew his charity was important to you. I wanted to do it for you.’

‘Because of Caro, OK?’ Rupert shoves his chair back and starts pacing the kitchen. ‘Because Caro worked there, and it was bad for her. She saw such awful things, heard such awful stories, and it really affected her mental health.’ He pauses for a moment, takes a minute to steady his breathing. ‘I am pretty sure that the things she saw, the things she heard about there were partly to blame for why she did what she did and I didn’t want the same to happen to you.’

‘Oh, Rupert!’ I get to my feet and go to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. ‘I’m not like Caro.’ His words from the previous evening ring in my ears and I let go of any residual anger. ‘You don’t need to worry about me, but you should have spoken to me, not gone behind my back.’

‘I know that now.’ Rupert looks down at me, and my heart breaks at the expression in his eyes. ‘I’m so sorry, Em, it’s just… all that stuff about people watching you, horrid messages… Caro said the same things to me and it was all in her head and I just got so… frightened that I reacted without thinking. I can’t lose you, too. I love you so much.’

Tears spill over my cheeks as I lift my face, reaching up to kiss him. ‘I love you too, I understand now. I don’t need to volunteer there; I can find something else.’