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She knew what he would say before he said it.

‘There’s a note,’ he said, in a low voice. ‘In our fridge.’

Mary and Ryan read it together, standing by the kitchen counter, the note unfolded on the dark granite.

So, he did not tell you why he really wanted to marry you.

That is unfortunate: I was hoping he would, as that would clear all of this up. Once you knew that, the rest would be obvious.

But he did not. You should ask yourself what else he is lying to you about.

That, though, is now your problem. I tried to help you, but you did not listen to me.

You are not LISTENING to me.

And that is a problem. It is time to start, Mary.

Or I warn you: things are about to get far more serious.

Part Three

Two Months Earlier

Despite her situation, which is not nearly good enough for her, you smile to yourself. You feel a sensation of contentment, something you had almost forgotten existed. It gives everything around you a softness, a warm glow to the edges. You have not felt like this, not felt so optimistic, so positive, so good, for an extremely long time.

There is ample reason.

You have been worrying that this will not work out, that she will not be the same person, will not be ready for what you have in store for her, but that worry has been washed away by what you have seen today.

You know now she is who she has always been. You have seen it. You are seeing it now. You watch her in the park, running with her dog, a puppy she must have recently acquired. It is the dog that has eased your mind: only someone who is looking forward, who is approaching the future with enthusiasm and happiness, acquires a puppy.

She is lithe and athletic and beautiful and your love for her is undiminished. You knew it would be. How could it not be? How could something so rare and pure and perfect ever corrode?

She is herself. Loving, caring, optimistic. Ripe for a new life.

Proof, if any were needed, that this is working as hoped. At first you were dismayed by the situation she lives in: the substandard accommodation in a dangerous part of town, the lack of friends, the low-paying job. But now it is clear that this is a good thing. Anyone who is looking to the future – anyone, say with a new puppy – will be ready for a change.

And this is what you will offer her.

She does not know it yet, but she is poised on the precipice of a new life. A better life.

The life she should always have had.

She pauses and sinks onto her haunches. You see the band of her underwear above her jeans and feel a rush of desire. For a moment you are embarrassed at the baseness of your reaction, but you suppress the shame: it is normal. Even a love this pure has a physical component.

She sits, and the puppy runs into her arms. She kisses it and falls backwards, holding it against her chest. It stands over her, panting – you find you don’t like that, so maybe the puppy will have to go – then flops down, its jaw resting on her cheek.

So typical of her: so kind to other living beings.

That tells you this is the moment.

You step out from the copse of trees and walk towards her, excitement swelling and mounting in your stomach and chest.

This is the moment you have been waiting for, for a long time.

It is the moment you have both been waiting for. She may not know it yet, but she soon will.

A Physical Invasion