She rocked back a half step, raising her hands somewhere between waving him off and warding him off, as though one touch wouldn't cause the last shreds of her dignity to crumble entirely. "That's okay."

Except it wasn't. Any more than the smile she'd tried to give was real.
His remorse was real. The threatening impend of her dissolve was real.

This all ending, sooner rather than later, in every way, was real.

"I guess it just wasn't meant to be," all tumbled out of her mouth, foolish and fleeting, as she turned, pulling the sides of her cardigan tighter over her chest, and walked away quickly over the wet rocks, giving up any charade that she could stand there with him now.