Chapter Two

Nina

The smell of coffee and butter pulled me out of sleep before the light did.  

I cracked one eye open.

Zoe stood at the edge of the bed with a tray balanced on one hand, dressed like she was about to close a deal. 

Her blazer was perfectly fitted, her dark hair pulled back neatly, and her heels dangled from her fingers. Even her apartment reflected her personality: quiet, elegant, expensive.

Nothing creaked here.

Everything was polished into silence.

“Don’t make me dump this on your face,” she said, setting the tray over my lap.  

Scrambled eggs with chives.

Sourdough toast.

Sliced avocado.

A small bowl of berries.

And coffee in my favorite mug, the white ceramic one with the chipped handle I mentioned once six months ago.

“You’re going to work,”  I murmured. My voice sounded rough from crying.

“I’m leaving for work in ten minutes,” she said. “You’re going to eat first.”  

She sat beside me carefully, making sure not to wrinkle her blazer.

Outside, her driver was probably already waiting downstairs. Inside, she was still.  

I picked at the eggs. My appetite had been gone since the hotel. Since Room 26.  

Zoe watched for thirty seconds, then reached into her bag on the chair and pulled out a black card. No name. Just a chip and the bank’s crest.  

“Take it, in case you need anything,” she said, dropping it on the tray beside my plate.  

I stared at it. “That’s your card.”  

“Corporate card for client dinners. This one’s personal.” She tapped it with a fingernail that had a clear manicure.

“PIN is your birthday. Use it. Get yourself anything, anything that will make you forget him. I don’t care what it is. Just use it.”  

“I can’t take your money, Zoe.”  

“You’re not taking it.” Her voice remained calm and practical. “You’re borrowing my ability to stop worrying for five minutes so you can remember who you were before that idiot.”

I lowered my gaze. Sometimes I forgot how much Zoe noticed.

She glanced at the expensive watch around her wrist.

“I have a meeting with the board in less than an hour,” she said. “But I’m not leaving until you eat at least half of that.”

To stop her from staring at me, I forced myself to take a bite. It tasted painfully normal.

“Thank you,” I said.  

“Don’t thank me.” She stood up and smoothed invisible wrinkles from her blazer before slipping on her heels. “Go out today. And send me a picture of something stupid you bought.”

A small smile tugged at her lips.

“If you don’t, I’ll come home during lunch and drag you shopping dressed exactly like this.” She gestured at herself. 

Despite everything, I let out the faintest laugh.

The door clicked shut behind her moments later, and silence swallowed the apartment again.

But the black card remained on the tray. Warm from her hand.

And for the first time since I caught Nolan with Liana…

Getting out of bed didn’t feel impossible.

I carefully placed the tray on the bedside table and picked up the card again, staring at it for a long moment.

Zoe was only two years older than me, but she had achieved more than most people twice her age. Despite coming from an incredibly wealthy family, she had never once looked down on me.

The moment she graduated from high school, she started working at her father’s company.

That should have been me, too.

If I hadn’t thrown away my future for Nolan.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

Aside from the small monthly shares I still received from my father’s company, Zoe had practically carried me through the last few years.

And she never once complained about it. I didn’t think I could ever repay her.

Carefully, I slid the card beneath the pillow before heading toward the bathroom.

The bathroom door clicked shut, and the sound felt like a door sealing off the rest of the world.  

Steam curled from the sink as I turned the tap hotter. My hands shook as I turned it hotter, until the water scalded my palms.

Good.

Physical pain felt easier to handle than the ache tearing through my chest.

I splashed water on my face, once, twice, three times, like I could wash his name off my skin. Like I could scrub the image of him and Liana tangled on the bed out of my eyes.  

The mirror caught my reflection. Mascara stains streaked beneath my eyes. My lips were pressed so hard together they’d gone white.  

“Stop crying,” I told myself. My voice sounded small.

“Just… stop.”

But my voice sounded broken.

I gripped the edge of the sink until my knuckles went numb. Forgetting wasn’t working. The betrayal clung to me like poison beneath my skin.

Eventually, I turned off the water and slid down against the bathroom wall until I sat on the cold floor tiles.

‘What do I do now?’

The thought came raw, ugly, and fast.  

Block them both. Book the first flight out of the city, drink until I didn’t remember my own name, pretend it never happened. Run like I used to run from everything hard.  

“Yes,” I whispered bitterly to myself. “That’s exactly what I should do.”

The water dripping from my fingertips had already gone cold.

After a while, I forced myself back to my feet.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I walked straight to Zoe’s wardrobe and pulled out two dresses before laying them on the bed.

But suddenly, going out felt exhausting.

So I collapsed back onto the mattress instead.

Time passed slowly.

At some point, my phone buzzed beside me. It was a message from Zoe.

My love, I’ll be sleeping over at Nicole’s place tonight. He’s sick. Please take care of yourself. And call me if you need anything.

I typed back a simple reply.

Okay.

Then I opened my notifications. Missed calls from Nolan flooded my screen. Text messages too. I didn’t bother reading a single one, so I blocked him immediately.

A second later, another message popped up. From Liana.

Sis, I’m sorry you had to find out that way, but Nolan doesn’t love you. We’ve been together for four months now. I hope you won’t mind if I keep him.

I stared at the message for a long time.

Four months.

While helping me plan my wedding…

While pretending to love me…

Slowly, I pressed the block button.

Then I checked the time.

7:45 PM.

The apartment had already gone dark outside the windows.

I suddenly couldn’t breathe inside those walls anymore.

Without thinking too much about it, I grabbed the black card from beneath the pillow, slipped into one of Zoe’s dresses, and headed out.

No destination. No plan. I just needed somewhere that didn’t remind me of betrayal.

The cool night air hit my skin the moment I stepped outside the building.

For the first time all day, I inhaled properly.