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Chapter 7

Author: Lyra Vesta
He went ahead and told the world we’d been engaged.

A week after our conversation at the café, Maya from IT at my new company came to my desk in the morning, phone in her hand.

“Lena, is this you?”

On the screen was a post from an entertainment news account. The headline read:

ASTER CEO REVEALS SECRET ENGAGEMENT AFTER LIVESTREAM “SINGLE” ANSWER

Beneath it, the outlet had reposted a statement from Ethan’s account:

The day Lena agreed to marry me was one of the happiest days of my life. I said I
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  • He Said He Was Single, So I Made It True   Chapter 9

    For several days after the conversation in the parking garage, I kept thinking about the box, not because I wanted to go back, but because it changed the shape of the past. He had imagined a life with me. He had made plans. And each time, he had decided there was something more urgent than keeping them.Work went on. There were new briefs, revisions, and meetings where no one cared who I had once been engaged to. I made mistakes and corrected them. I learned which ideas held up with an audience and which needed another pass. Slowly, my colleagues began coming to me with questions about the work.Life went on, too. At first, the empty apartment sometimes felt painfully quiet. There were weekends when I wanted someone to share dinner with or simply sit together on the couch. But gradually, I began discovering a life of my own. Maya took me hiking in Griffith Park, and a few coworkers invited me to a Sunday farmers’ market. I tried new restaurants on a whim and made weekend plans withou

  • He Said He Was Single, So I Made It True   Chapter 8

    By next morning, several outlets had updated their stories. Aster’s official account also released a short statement confirming that my work and campaign assignments had been based on my role and performance. The company regretted that private information had been disclosed without my consent and asked the public to respect my privacy.It didn’t make the story disappear, but at least Aster made clear that my work there had been my own.During the project meeting that day, the colleague who had made the remark about Ethan stayed quiet.The department head listened through my proposal, then slid two pages back across the table.“Redo these sections. The data doesn’t support your recommendation.”I wrote down her comments. To my surprise, I felt myself start to relax.I didn’t have to wait up for Ethan after another late night at the office with Chloe, or watch him bring her to company events while I stayed a secret. I could also stop worrying that people would dismiss my work as a favor

  • He Said He Was Single, So I Made It True   Chapter 7

    He went ahead and told the world we’d been engaged. A week after our conversation at the café, Maya from IT at my new company came to my desk in the morning, phone in her hand. “Lena, is this you?”On the screen was a post from an entertainment news account. The headline read:ASTER CEO REVEALS SECRET ENGAGEMENT AFTER LIVESTREAM “SINGLE” ANSWERBeneath it, the outlet had reposted a statement from Ethan’s account:The day Lena agreed to marry me was one of the happiest days of my life. I said I was single during a livestream. That was wrong. I’m sorry to everyone I hurt. I love you, Lena. Forever and always.I read it twice. He had told the truth, but only part of it. He’d left out that I’d returned the ring and ended our engagement. Now he’d turned our private history into a public spectacle.“I’m sorry,” Maya said. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”“You didn’t.”I looked at the post again. Thousands of people had already shared it. The comments were filling with questions.Wai

  • He Said He Was Single, So I Made It True   Chapter 6

    I chose a café across town, in a neighborhood I hadn’t have chance to explore.Ethan was already there when I arrived. He stood when he saw me. His eyes moved first to my left hand.The ring was gone. He already knew that. He had found it on the nightstand, resting on top of my apartment key.Still, he looked.“Twenty minutes,” I said as I sat down across from him. “Let’s not waste them.”He sat down slowly.“I stopped the campaign,” he said. “The videos are coming down. Chloe won’t appear in any more of them.”“You told me that.”“I know.” He laced his fingers together on the table. “I should have stopped it sooner.”He paused before adding, “I’m sorry.”I had imagined hearing those words for so long that I once thought they would change everything. Now they settled between us, small and late.“I can tell people the truth,” he said. “I can say we were engaged. I can correct what I said on the livestream.”“No.”He looked down at the table. “You wanted me to acknowledge you.”I wanted

  • He Said He Was Single, So I Made It True   Chapter 5

    By afternoon, everyone at Aster knew that the campaign had been canceled.The videos featuring Ethan and Chloe were removed from the company’s content calendar. Their scheduled livestream was reassigned. PR was told that no future campaign should suggest a romantic relationship between them.No explanation was given.Chloe walked into Ethan’s office shortly after three, carrying the presentation deck for their next product launch.She closed the door behind her. “This is because of Lena, isn’t it?”Ethan did not look up from his laptop.“The campaign is over.”“And what happens to me?”“You go back to the job you were hired to do.”Chloe stood still.“So I manage your calendar, arrange your meetings, and pretend none of this happened?”“That was always your job.”She gave a short laugh, but there was no amusement in it.“When people first started calling me the future Mrs. Carter, you were in that Slack channel.”Ethan’s fingers stopped above the keyboard.“You reacted to the message,”

  • He Said He Was Single, So I Made It True   Chapter 4

    Ethan did not come after me that night. He still believed I had only taken this fight further than usual.I had left before.Once, after an argument, I stayed at a hotel for two nights. Another time, I ignored his calls until morning.But I had always come back.So after the livestream ended, Ethan drove home with the black velvet box on the passenger seat.He thought I needed time to calm down and I would answer his calls by Tomorrow. Once he explained and gave me the necklace, everything would return to normal.It was nearly midnight when he opened the apartment door.The living room was dark.“Lena?”No one answered.He switched on the lights.For a moment, the apartment looked the same.The couch cushions were straight. My mug was still in the drying rack. The blanket I usually kept over the armchair had disappeared, but he did not notice that yet.He set the velvet box on the kitchen island.“Lena?”The bedroom door was open.Ethan walked inside and stopped in front of the closet.

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