The narrator, Maddie, regrets not taking the day off work as she finds herself emotionally fragile and on the brink of tears.
Her colleagues notice her distress but she avoids confronting the situation in fear of being called into her boss Penny's office.
Maddie leaves work early, and only upon leaving does she feel capable of breathing easily, which leads her to cry openly on the street.
She meets up with Alex, and pretends to be a different version of herself—the one he knows—hiding the turmoil of her recent family tragedies.
As Maddie and Alex talk and walk through the park, she's internally struggling with her conscience for lying to him about many personal details.
Maddie contemplates telling Alex the truth but decides against it out of fear of losing him during a time she feels she needs support.
Maddie compares how she is using Alex for emotional support to how her friend Ben used her, which disturbs her.
They continue to Alex's flat to watch a film, and eventually, they start to become physically intimate, although Maddie feels detached and dissociated.
Maddie goes through with sex even though it feels uncomfortable for her, unlike her painful experience with Ben, which was at least manageable.
After sex, during a silent moment, Alex notices that Maddie is withholding something, prompting a discussion about her feelings towards sex.
Maddie confesses to Alex that she doesn't enjoy sex as it is always painful for her.
Alex admits that sex and physical connection are important to him, and despite Maddie's suggestion to try again, he cannot be with someone who experiences pain during sex.
They mutually acknowledge their relationship cannot continue, with Maddie internally suggesting she deserved this outcome for her dishonesty.