Love Has Become a Dilemma

The day Joanna Cole's mother, Amelia, married Arthur Cullen, Danny Dant got drunk and accused her of chasing his family's wealth. From then on, the boy she had tried to save turned cold, bringing other women home each night, and now his attention has settled on Chloe Dant. Ten years of love leave Joanna and Danny seated at neighbouring tables on New Year's Eve, strangers beneath the fireworks that spell out his devotion to another woman.

After the meeting, Joanna calls her mother and agrees to break up with him, asking to be sent abroad the following week. Danny's gifts, his curt messages and a transfer of fifteen thousand dollars reduce her to an errand, while Chloe's curated photos display the life Joanna once shared. Packing eight years of love into five boxes and one suitcase, she tears apart the photos she had once painstakingly mended.

At the first morning meeting after the holidays, Danny sits at the head of the table with Chloe beside him, and Joanna notices the silver band missing from his finger.