It's OVER

Harriet didn't love him any more, but leaving was going to break his heart

It was a Thursday afternoon when Harriet finally decided to leave James.

They'd been together for three years. James had in many ways been the ideal partner - generous, considerate and supportive.

He was almost everything Harriet could wish for, except she didn't love him truly, madly, deeply.

She still enjoyed his company, yet something was missing. Harriet knew instinctively that the spark just wasn't there. She could no longer pretend.

When James left for work, she phoned her office to say she wouldn't be in that day, then packed her belongings.

She started to write a note.

It began... 'Dear James, When you arrive home, I won't be here...'

She screwed it up and tossed it into the waste bin. A clean break would be best. No matter how she tried to explain, Harriet knew James would attempt to persuade her to stay, work at the relationship, give it another try.

He'd contributed so much, now she was breaking his heart.

The doorbell sounded. Her best friend Babs had come to lend a hand with moving. They piled everything into Babs' car.

'Ready?' she asked.

Harriet nodded and they were off into the stream of traffic, edging their way along busy thoroughfares to the tiny, rented flat on the other side of town that Babs had helped her find.