Vivienne stood still in front of the full-length mirror, 15 floors above Sydney’s Hyde Park. Lights of boats on the Harbour twinkled in the distance. The city looked cold and distant from up here on a dark autumn night. She couldn't help thinking that cold and distant was exactly how she had trained herself to be professionally. She looked again in the mirror. The black sheer dress was, she thought, pure sin. It clung to...

The decision came not in one grand moment, but in quiet accumulations. First, it was small things: Lily’s favourite coffee beans appearing in Jane’s kitchen, Jane’s worn tee shirt becoming Lily’s preferred sleepwear on the nights she stayed over. When Jane let her wear anything at all, that is. Then Lily’s laptop charger was permanently plugged in beside Jane’s desk. A drawer cleared and lined with tissue paper for Lily’s...

Friday evening found them leaving the city behind, Lily’s sleek BMW packed with weekend bags and an esky of simple provisions. The drive to the central coast cottage was quiet at first. Lily focused on the road, and Jane fiddled with Spotify on her phone until her acoustic playlist kicked off. She started with Amy Shark’s Adore, but now Angus & Julia Stone have filled the car with soft, breathy harmonies. Their hands link...

Two weeks had passed since the night at Jane’s apartment when Lily had taken full command, and the memory of it still lived in their bodies like a second heartbeat. They had seen each other often in those weeks, never more than a day or two apart. A long, salt-winded walk along the coast at dawn, where they held hands openly and spoke of nothing important. Coffee on Jane’s balcony that stretched into hours of quiet conver...

Three nights after the evening that had unravelled Lily so completely, Jane opened her door to unexpectedly find Lily standing there, city lights glittering behind her like scattered diamonds. It had been a brutal week for Lily, endless meetings, a partner who unrelentingly demanded perfection, even at 2 a.m. … performance demanding constant unflappable competence that Lily didn’t always feel. She was, though, determined...

Three days had passed since the twilight beach walk, and Lily had spent every one of them carrying the memory of Jane’s almost-kiss like a live ember beneath her tailored suits. In the office, she was flawless. Her voice calm and cutting, posture immaculate, every point perfectly made. Colleagues complimented the stunning argument she put forward to her Senior Partner in her research for the Morrison case; the judge comme...

The café was quiet enough that every small sound felt intimate: the hush of waves beyond the open windows, the low hum of classic vibes from hidden speakers, the soft hiss and whirr of the espresso machine. Late-summer light slanted through the windows in thick golden beams, turning the salt air a little hazy and warm. Jane stepped inside, the bell above the door giving a gentle, familiar chime. She had come straight from...