Chapter 1

My boyfriend, well, my ex-boyfriend Morgan, dumped me after living together for eight years. My name is Tara, and now, at twenty-eight, I am by myself again.

We discussed getting married, buying a home together, and, if so, how big. Where should we live? How many children should we have? What if we had all boys or all girls? Should we try again? Then, one day, he stated, “We’re over. I’ve met someone else, and you need to move out.”

I was devastated and pleaded with him to let me stay. “Morgan, what’s gone so wrong all of a sudden? We’re almost married. Please don’t kick me out. I’m sure we can work things out.”

He was adamant and said, “No, I want you out by the end of the week.”

I took the following week off work. I was a mess, crying most days as I searched for a place to live. I found a rundown dump within a fifteen-minute drive from where I worked, in an area I didn’t care for, but it had cheap rent. The house was open at the front, and you could easily see into the lounge and main bedroom from the street if the curtains were open. At least when you looked out over the crappy garden, the view was nice, looking over a park. I had no option but to take it.

That was six months ago, and now, I have placed lace curtains over the front windows so no one can look in and brought the garden back to life. Although it is a rental, I wanted it to look nice.

It has taken me all this time to get Morgan out of my mind, but recently, I’ve been chatting online with a guy called Mike. He seems nice always pleasant with his chat, and we’ve flirted a little, but we haven’t shared photos or met. We are both twenty-nine.

I told him that six months ago, I broke up with my long-term boyfriend. He sympathised and said maybe it was a good thing and suggested that he and I might get together. But he was elusive and mysterious when I asked about his relationships.

I get home from work around 6pm every day and turn on the computer to see if there’s a message from Mike. There often is, but over the past week, he’s not been there as much, and it’s me messaging him to get our chat going.

Around 8pm, I see Mike is online.

“Hi, Mike. I’ve been missing our chats lately. Is everything okay?”

“Sure. I’ve had a lot on my mind at work. That’s all.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. I thought, maybe you didn’t want to chat with me any more?”

“No, not at all. In fact, I want to improve our relationship if you are ready to meet someone again?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I mean, we’ve only chatted online and not sent each other photos of ourselves.”

“Get your phone and send me a selfie. I’ll do the same for you.”