41

Emily wiped the sweat from her forehead and glanced up at the clunky air conditioning unit. The site team was supposed to replace it in February but so far, the new one sat untouched, collecting dust and taking up space.

As she flipped through the test papers in front of her, Adrian's name distracted her from the humidity. He had not answered any of the questions, she noted but had instead written out chapters of her book—the steamy ones.

Blood rushed to her face as she squirmed in humiliation, ashamed of herself for ever writing such rubbish. Reading it made her want to disappear—for a giant hole to swallow her whole.

At the very bottom of the page was a stark warning: 'Stop talking to Damien about me. He can't help you.'

This message knocked the last bit of hope out of her, leaving her deflated. It was sad and painful to admit, but she had been pinning all her hopes on Damien.

She was thinking about Damien as he appeared at the door, as if by magic. She'd seen him, and he knew it, b