The metallic taste of blood on her mouth makes her sick and dizzy and the sight of her bruised face in the mirror makes her stomach tie in a knot she’s not sure she’s ever going to learn how to untie. Locked in the bathroom mirror she waits for what she knows will come next and closes her eyes to try and not to see, covers her ears with hands she can barely lift to try and not to hear.

Edmund uses his keys to get inside and kneels in front of her, begging forgiveness and promising he’ll never do it again, all of which he’s said before and will certainly say again. Juliet doesn’t believe a word.

She swears to herself, every time, every day and after every shout that this will be the last time but then. Then. Then he says he loves her and that, that’s the one thing she will never know how to quit.