One of French author Francois de la Rochefoucauld’s most famous maxims is on the subject of jealousy. ‘Live on doubts,’ he advises; ‘it becomes madness or stops entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty.’

Francois de la Rochefoucauld is advocating an ostrich-with-its-head-in-the-sand approach to doubts about a lover. Don’t risk challenging your lover, or doing your own detective work to uncover the truth – because while you may discover your doubts were unfounded, the contrary may occur:  you’ll know that your lover has betrayed you.

In my novel Burning Embers, Coral suspects that Rafe is a womaniser and that he is seeing other women; namely, her stepmother, Cybil, and a dancer at Rafe’s nightclub, Morgana. Coral does not have conclusive proof of the fact, but the more she falls in love with Rafe, the more she is plagued by doubts – for what young girl wants to give her heart to a man who can never give his wholly in return?

At some point Coral must face a difficult choice: live on doubts, or determine the truth and face the consequences of that truth, whatever they may be.

Another of de la Rochefoucauld’s maxims is this: ‘In jealousy there is more self-love than love.’ Coral’s jealousy, then, is evidence of her sense of self-worth: she believes she is worth more than a man who would betray her and expect her to share him.

Ultimately, if she is to be true to herself, Coral must give this jealousy space inside, take it seriously and act upon it. As the Spanish say, Vivir con miedo es como vivir a medias(A life lived in fear is a life half-lived). She must find the courage to move past her doubts, into a place of authenticity and knowledge.