Keep it together!

It takes every inch of control you have to **** the jealousy down. ‘Oh,’ you echo, fighting to keep your voice calm. ‘Right. Okay. When was the last time?’

‘I…’ Now Emma looks as if she really might be about to cry. ‘I’m… it’s… oh, you know that day you came to see me? After the press junket? He came over that morning. I didn’t want to see him,’ she says fiercely, ‘but he wouldn’t go away, so… I came out. Just for a minute. Just to tell him it was over. Really and properly over. Forever.’

The knot in your stomach relaxes slightly. ‘Okay,’ you say slowly. ‘Right. Well, I mean… that’s fine, isn’t it? Now he knows.’

Emma nods, but her eyes are still shining with tears. ‘I know, but… well, he said it was all a horrible misunderstanding, and I mean, I knew he was lying, but… I just can’t believe he brought her here! When he knew I was coming!’ She actually stamps her foot on the floor, and it’s a good thing the room is so noisy, or he’d have been able to hear her all the way across the room.

You squeeze her shoulders again, but it feels a little weird, this time. Well, how are you supposed to comfort a girl about her ex? Tell her he probably didn’t mean it?

Fuck that. ‘He’s a cuntmuffin,’ you inform her flatly, steering her away from the stage. ‘An overcooked fucking cuntmuffin, Em. He’s not worth one more tear out of you, seriously.’

‘I know…’ Emma wipes at her cheeks almost angrily, like she’s ashamed of herself. ‘I know. Oh, God, I’m sorry I’m being like this. I know it must be horrible for you. And I don’t care, I really don’t. It’s just… it’s just, exes…’

‘I know,’ you tell her – and to your surprise, it’s not a lie. ‘I get it. Exes are always hard.’

Something in your tone must have registered with Emma, because she looks up, blinking. ‘Has this – I mean, have you ever been – has this ever happened to you?’

‘Have I ever been cheated on?’ you echo. ‘Yeah. Not nice, is it?’

Emma clings to your chest like a child. ‘It’s the most horrible feeling in the world.’