For two years, she almost believed in fairytales. He introduced her to his mother. She taught him to sit still. But off-screen, the script began to fray. His need for applause clashed with her need for sanctuary. Their love became a performance, even in private.

And that was everything.

He proposed, not with a ring, but with a joke that only she understood. “We’d be the most annoyingly perfect couple on the planet,” he said. “Let’s annoy the planet.”