Chapter 2

Wednesday at ten-thirty was the slot Dorian had reserved on his "standard schedule" for sex.

Once a week, thirty minutes each time.

He had a recurring alarm for it.

He was never late, and he never went overtime.

When the half hour ended, he would rather take a cold shower than touch me again.

"Five minutes left," he said after coming out of the bathroom. "If we're doing this, hurry up."

I stayed where I was.

His expression cooled.

"Eliza, what now?"

I wasn't trying to start a fight.

I didn't want to fight anymore.

"Dorian, I think we should brea—"

His phone rang before I could finish.

He glanced at the screen and answered in a low voice.

"Okay. Don't be scared. I'm coming now."

He was already changing clothes.

"Some debt collectors are outside Arabella's apartment. I don't feel comfortable leaving her there alone. I'll be back soon."

The front door slammed at the same moment his intimacy alarm went off.

The overlapping sounds made my head ache.

The next day, I nearly thought I was hallucinating when I saw Arabella at the office.

A coworker noticed my reaction and pulled me aside.

"That's the new hire. Apparently she's Mr. Keller's girlfriend of seven years.

"You should've seen them getting out of his car this morning. They were all over each other. I'm so jealous. Who knew Mr. Keller was that into his girlfriend? I guess the seven-year itch doesn't stand a chance against true love."

Her mouth kept moving, but I stopped hearing her.

Right after graduation, Dorian and I had lived in an apartment barely large enough for a bed and a table.

Back then, he held my hand in grocery stores and never let go when we ran into people we knew.

If someone asked who I was, he raised our joined hands proudly.

"My girlfriend. What do you think?"

Later, Dorian became an executive.

The day I resigned from my old job and joined his company, he came out of a meeting to greet me.

The elevator opened.

He took one step toward me, then stopped when he remembered his assistant and several administrators were behind him.

That night, he held me and explained.

"There are too many eyes in the office. People talk. It could hurt you too. Let's keep a little distance until I'm established. Once I'm secure here, I'll make sure everyone knows you're the most important person in my life."

I believed him.

Now the break room was packed around Arabella.

Someone noticed the ring on her finger.

"Wait. Is that the Eternity ring from the magazine? The one with a starting bid of a hundred thousand dollars?"

Arabella held out her hand with an airy laugh.

"Someone gave it to me. I don't really know much about jewelry."

"Was it Mr. Keller?"

She laughed again without confirming or denying it.

Then her eyes crossed the room and landed on me.

One eyebrow lifted.

That smile hadn't changed in seven years.

It was the same look she used in high school whenever she decided something belonged to her.

Dorian stood behind the crowd.

He looked at me with the expression I knew too well: reassurance, guilt, and a silent request not to make things difficult.

It was the same look he had given me every time he pretended not to know me at work.

To everyone else, he was merely glancing politely at an ordinary employee.

My fingers turned the ring on my hand.

Dorian had made it himself when we first started dating.

The man who hated inconvenience spent an entire day shaping the metal.

His hands blistered from the work.

"Just wait for me, Eliza. Once I've made it to the top, I'll have you standing proudly beside me where everyone can see."

At work, Dorian and I had always kept things strictly professional. Boss and subordinate, nothing more.

He hated complications.

He hated rumors.

Apparently, someone else could make him stop caring about both.

I slid the handmade ring from my finger.

In front of everyone, I dropped it into the trash.

The silver band tapped lightly against the metal bin.