Because I wanted her to experience a relationship where SHE was the one who messed up. Character is revealed through adversity, and some of my favorite stories of both classic and current literature are the doomed romances, the couples that are impossible for one reason or another.
And any human with a brain should have taken her up on that offer of a shower!
Which I think makes the whole thing more tragic. I think it revealed a depth of Tom’s character that he turned her down. We talked a lot about Tom being a professional liar as a spy and disguise artist. In the end, he had to face the truth…she didn’t love him. And that wasn’t enough.
There was no guidance from on high, just thought that that was the way that romance HAD to end, in sadness.
If I’d stayed on the book, she would have gotten some off someone eventually!
EDIT: I find the comment below about cliche to be pretty ridiculous, actually, and of course, it argues a point I didn’t make. Weird.