After the First Snow

Three days after Julian returned to Seattle, he found me at NorthStar Systems' acquisition gala. I was leaning against the terrace railing, talking to Maya about our marriage.

"He asked me last night if I wanted to have breakfast together." I swirled my sparkling water. "And the first thing that popped into my head was that I wasn't used to it anymore. I can't even remember what he likes to eat."

Maya frowned. "You two haven't lived together in almost a year. That's normal."

"The problem is we're still married. But now it's like we're strangers who got assigned to the same hotel room by mistake. Five minutes alone with him and I'm so uncomfortable I could crawl out of my own skin."

Maya's gaze shifted past my shoulder, and her expression froze.

"Being with me is that uncomfortable?" A man's light, casual voice drifted over.

I turned around. Julian stood a few feet away in a charcoal suit with no tie. He was thinner than when he'd left, and his color wasn't good.

Maya took the hint and slipped away. Julian held out his hand. "Let's go home."

"I drove myself."

"You've been drinking."

"Sparkling water."

He glanced at my glass but took my hand anyway. I pulled back instinctively; he paused for half a second, then held on tighter. People nearby were already starting to stare. Our marriage had never been public. Three years ago, when NorthStar was preparing for its IPO, Julian and I quietly married at a King County courthouse, with only our lawyers and Maya as witnesses. Back then, I thought keeping our marriage private was meant to protect us. Only later did I understand that what it really protected was Julian's company, his privacy, and the old love story the media still preferred to tell.

"Let go."

Julian took me straight to the car. As we drove away from the hotel, the stereo came on, playing a tech podcast.

The host was talking about NorthStar's founder, who had just returned after ten months in Europe. The guest laughed. "Lena Hart's Instagram is full of snowy mountains, a cabin, her parents, and her high school sweetheart. Hard not to believe they're back together."

Julian turned off the stereo.

"Lena and I are not back together."

"Okay."

"Don't you want to ask why I stayed in Europe so long?"

"Robert was getting treatment. You were helping them."

"And?"

"That's it."

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. "I can explain."

"There's nothing to misunderstand."

Back at the townhouse, he kept the engine running.

"You weren't like this before."

I unbuckled my seatbelt. "People change."

"Because I was gone for a year?"

He thought a year apart was the only thing between us. What he didn't know was that my love for him had already faded with the first snow.