"No, it isn't alright." Jo protested, because, really, she did love Zach. If any small detail of their circumstances were to change she could feasibly find a way to make it work, but as it stood it was just too much compromise. Loving him meant foregoing everything she loved about the world, and she wasn't ready to make such a strong commitment.

Turning from him fully, Jo moved further into the room. Her hair was a mess from the constant messing of it that day. She didn't used to be this full of anxiety, this pent up and perched on the edge waiting to flee. "It isn't okay because I'm going to hurt him. Because I have hurt him." She didn't often think of the baby she lost in the explosion, but when she did it was with such relief to not have been forced to make a decision either way on it. That in itself was a betrayal of their relationship, much as it irked her to admit it.

"I think I need to leave." She added lastly, quietly. Not leave his flat, but the country. Not that Alfred was likely to understand the difference.