Chapter by chapter.
Read We Ruined Ourselves as it stands — 25 chapters. These are drafts: scenes can change, chapters can be revised, and nothing here is quite finished.
- 01SeamlessA sweltering evening run ends in a cracked phone, a frozen account and a house Adam would rather not go home to.
- 02The MirrorOne bathroom mirror, two ambitious careers and a consultant nobody booked: the Ashworths' morning curdles fast.
- 03Privacy GlassBehind the privacy glass, Adam's temper boils over as the car crosses a city of drones and holograms towards someone who got there first.
- 04Page FiveSomeone is sitting in Adam's chair, and he has brought a folio of papers and a very specific price.
- 05No Privacy Up HereHigh above Alderbourne, in a boardroom made of glass, Adam gives the performance of his career, almost.
- 06Eighteen YearsAn old mentor noticed something in the boardroom, and a friendly chat becomes harder to survive than the meeting.
- 07Removed from ContactsAdam reaches out to the brothers he has neglected and finds out how far out of date his contacts have become.
- 08The Ninth of AugustRain, empty wine bottles and a boy on the doorstep demanding payment, and then CILLA finds something in the logs.
- 09Your Potential, OptimisedWaking on the kitchen floor with every account locked and a Friday deadline looming, Adam brushes off CILLA's advice and thinks of someone else to call.
- 10Boardroom AdamIt's the first call home in far too long: a warm greeting, a cheeky favour and a story rehearsed a little too well.
- 11The Emergency BagCarol has promised more than she has, and with Arthur asleep downstairs she looks under the bed for a way to keep her word.
- 12Never Bite the HandA mother hammers on her youngest son's door with a favour, a story and a deadline, and Leo can't find the words to refuse.
- 13BroskiAmong the crumbling blocks of The Cliffs, a screwed-up letter sends Leo to the big brother he has always looked up to.
- 14Everyone's SecretaryBack at his desk, Daniel weighs a brother's plea while his inbox fills with rejections, rumours and a message from a name he hasn't seen in a while.
- 15A Lovely PhotoAdam turns on the charm at Sector C's front desk to fish for answers, and a photograph behind reception leads somewhere he didn't expect.
- 16The Tram WestFrom The Cliffs to the leafy west, a twenty-minute tram ride carries Leo through every layer of the city's history, and its silences.
- 17Between Two RosesSchool blazers, a rock playlist and a quiet exchange in the living room: teatime at Daniel's, with one thing kept from Clara.
- 18The Tea BagsA rare visit from the middle son brings laughter, hard news about Arthur's health and a whispered goodbye at the door.
- 19Bagels at EightThe board is waiting upstairs, but first Adam must sit through an eight o'clock breakfast he would give anything to miss.
- 20The Long Side of the DeskSummoned to The Pinnacle, Adam faces a row of directors, a list of careful questions and allegations he never saw coming.
- 21Something to Tell YouEleanor comes home early to make things right with Adam, bringing a confession of her own, but the morning has other plans for them both.
- 22Bad News on PaperSaturday breakfast brings squabbling daughters, a pile of unopened post and one envelope that has been waiting weeks to be read.
- 23Across Two BaysDaniel pulls up at Leo's flat in a hurry, and one phone call home turns everything Leo believed upside down.
- 24A Grain of TruthA quiet Saturday of toast and own-brand tea in South-Central is broken open when two sons come knocking.
- 25Morning, SleepyheadFor one Saturday morning the Ashworths eat breakfast together at last, until CILLA announces a car on the driveway.