LOGINBy the time I got back into my car, I was already angry enough to regret answering Liam’s messages.The city blurred past my windshield in streaks of red brake lights and wet pavement while exhaustion settled heavily behind my eyes. Upstairs, Elena was finally happy because Marco had apparently crossed an ocean to hold her while she complained about stomach problems. Meanwhile, I was driving toward the office at almost eleven at night because my boss had decided “urgent” apparently meant ruining my evening.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.“Unbelievable,” I muttered to myself.Traffic had thinned by the time I pulled into the underground parking garage beneath the building. The office tower looked almost eerie this late at night, most of the windows dark except for a few glowing floors above.Of course, his office lights were still on.I stepped out of the elevator already irritated, heels clicking sharply against the quiet hallway. The entire floor was empty. No Amy. No Ral
The parking garage beneath my building smelled faintly like rain and concrete when I pulled into my spot. Marco sat beside me with the bouquet balanced carefully across his lap like the flowers themselves were fragile enough to bruise. The drive back from the airport had softened some of my earlier irritation, mostly because his excitement about seeing Elena was strangely difficult to resist.Even after a ten-hour flight, the man somehow still had enough emotional energy to ask about my sister every thirty seconds.“Do you think she sleep?” he asked while unbuckling his seatbelt.“Barely.”“She eat anything?”“She managed crackers.”Marco sighed heavily, as if this was devastating information.I killed the engine and grabbed my heels from the floorboard before stepping out of the car. Cool evening air wrapped around us immediately while city noise hummed softly in the distance.As we walked toward the building entrance, Marco checked his phone again.“She stopped answering.”“She’s pr
The airport pickup lane was a special kind of hell.Cars crawled forward inch by inch beneath glowing overhead signs while impatient drivers leaned on their horns as if it would somehow make traffic disappear faster. Planes thundered overhead every few minutes, the sound rattling faintly through my windshield. I sat gripping the steering wheel with one hand while Elena’s voice filled the car speakers through Bluetooth.And unfortunately, she sounded close to death.“Is he there yet?” she asked weakly.I closed my eyes briefly. “No.”A dramatic groan came through the speakers. “I think I’m actually dying.”“You said that twenty minutes ago.”“This is different.”“You’re dehydrated, Elena. Not possessed.”“I keep...I keep running back to the bathroom every hours.”I physically cringed. “Why do you keep telling me that?”“Because you don’t care about me.”“I cared before you started describing your digestive system in detail.”She groaned again, louder this time, and I could practically
I stood near one of the raised display platforms with my arms crossed tightly while Elena disappeared behind another fitting-room curtain carrying enough white fabric to supply a small country. Soft piano music floated through the air overhead, blending with the constant murmur of emotional mothers, excited bridesmaids, and saleswomen pretending every dress was a religious experience.I already hated this place.A woman across the room burst into tears because her daughter stepped out wearing lace sleeves.Another group applauded.Actually applauded.I rubbed my temple slowly. “This building is exhausting.”Beside me, Liam glanced up from the catalogue in his hands. “You’ve said that six times.”“And I’ve meant it every time.”He leaned casually against the edge of a display table, entirely too comfortable here for someone who spent most of his life intimidating conference rooms. Elena had forced him out of his suit jacket earlier after claiming he looked “too corporate for romance,”
The chapter opened with me regretting every decision that had led me into a bridal boutique before ten in the morning.“I still don’t understand why I’m here,” I muttered as Elena dragged me through the entrance by the wrist. “You already found someone willing to marry you. My job here is done.”Elena laughed softly without slowing down. “Your job is emotional support.”“My job,” I corrected, “is to make sarcastic comments and drink expensive champagne I have no intention of paying for.”“That’s still support.”I narrowed my eyes at her as a woman near the front desk offered us bright, terrifyingly cheerful smiles. The entire place smelled like perfume, fresh flowers, and money. White dresses surrounded me from every direction like ghosts of commitment waiting to attack.I already hated it.The boutique buzzed softly with voices and movement. Mothers adjusted veils. Brides stood on little platforms while people cried over lace. Somewhere behind us, someone actually clapped because a w
By the time the office finally emptied, my brain felt like it had been dragged across concrete.The overhead lights on our floor had dimmed automatically hours ago, leaving only the warmer desk lamps and the city glow bleeding through the windows. Amy sat across from me with her heels kicked off under the conference table while Ralph leaned back in his chair spinning a pen between his fingers like he had absolutely no responsibilities left in life.I envied him for it.“I’m serious,” Amy said, pointing at me with a fry she had stolen from the takeout container between us. “Your life is becoming a television show.”“It’s really not,” I muttered.“It really is,” Ralph replied immediately.I rubbed my forehead slowly. “Can we not do this tonight?”“No,” Amy said. “Because what do you mean your sister invited Liam to her wedding?”I dropped my head onto the table dramatically.Ralph laughed. “That reaction alone tells me this story has range.”“I’m surrounded by terrible people.







