Chapter Two.

The next morning, Nora barely registered Martha’s greeting and her own response as she came down the stairs and headed straight for the living room.

Her brain had entered autopilot mode as a coping mechanism from all her overwhelming emotions, and she was grateful for that for several reasons, especially the fact that she was detached from her feelings for the time being.

The living room was quiet, save for the hum of the dishwasher and the sound of Martha moving around as she cleaned the remnants of the previous night.

Nora lay on one of the couches, blankly staring out the large window opposite her as the fog from her brain slowly cleared, and every action, every word of the night before replayed, and then the emotions came flooding back, almost drowning her with their intensity.

She curled herself further into the cushions of the couch, like she could physically hide from the guilt, or the shame, or the pitying look Martha was probably giving her.

Nora knew she looked the way she felt, and the pity was inevitable, especially from the kind older woman whom Nora sometimes took as a mother figure. But she couldn’t handle pity; she didn’t deserve it.

She wanted to believe she’d been provoked, cornered by that sugary-sweet interviewer who asked just the right question to pierce her insecurities. But Nora knew the truth: the jealousy had always been there.

All the interviewer did was hand it a microphone.

Her phone buzzed.

Three notifications.

Then five more.

A relentless swarm.

Before she could open a single article, the screen lit up with a call.

Carmen.

She sighed, answering. “Carmen—”

“You’ve seen the headlines?” her agent demanded, not bothering with pleasantries.

“Not yet,” Nora muttered, rubbing the fatigue from her temples.

“Well, let me help paint the picture.” Keys clicked aggressively on the other end. “Number one: ‘BLOCKED AUTHOR THROWS SHADE AT SUCCESSFUL HUSBAND ON LIVE TV.’ Cute, right? Oh! And here’s a fan favorite: ‘IS THE HALE MARRIAGE OVER? AUTHOR’S JEALOUS OUTBURST GOES VIRAL.’”

Nora’s stomach twisted.

“This was supposed to be a comeback,” Carmen snapped. “A reminder that you still belong in this industry — not your final nail in the coffin.”

“Carmen—”

“Your publishers want proof you’re writing again. I got them to allow six months before they start clawing back your advance. Six. Nora, that’s the best I can do.”

“Six months? That’s not enough time! I can’t—”

“You’ve had time, Nora. They want proof you can still deliver.”

The line went dead.

“Fuck,”

The interview, the call, the fight, everything was falling apart so fast, and she was letting it. Crying wasn’t going to fix anything; it only showed weakness, and she refused to be weak like her.

She needed to take back control of her life. She needed a plan that would fix everything, and fast.

...

Three hours and an unhealthy amount of caffeine later, Nora wasn’t close to finding a solution. The only thing she’d been able to do was get PR to try to do damage control on the situation. She was still seated on the couch, laptop in her lap, trying to come up with the perfect plan when she heard Camila’s voice.

“Oh, thank God,” she breathed as she pulled Nora to herself for a hug.

“I swear your mama bear hugs always make me feel better,” Nora said, holding her tight.

“My boobs do have a healing effect.”

Nora snorted a laugh as she held her tighter for a few more seconds before letting go.

“I came as soon as I saw the blogs. Escaping the devil's den was hard, but not even he could hold me back from coming to you.” Nora rolled her eyes at healing Camila, referring to her boss as the devil.

“Your boss is not that bad. I’ve met the man, he’s charming AND handsome.” Nora said, hoping to distract Camila.

“You met him once, I’ve worked with him for the better part of a year, he’s the devil, period,” Camila said, waving the subject off. “Are you okay?” she asked pointedly.

“I’m fine.” Camila cocked her head to the side like she was deciding whether to believe her.

“Really, I am. I handled Pittsburgh, I can definitely handle this.” At the mention of Pittsburgh, Camila cringed before shaking off the feeling like it was physical.

“I like the positive attitude, keep that up. Anywho, healing boobies aren’t the only goodies I possess…” wiggling her brows, she reached to pull out something from a paper bag Nora hadn’t noticed.

“I brought our favorite ice cream!” Her excited smile was infectious, “Come on, let’s go get some spoons and dig in,” she said, pulling her up from the couch and heading for the open kitchen.

“I swear you’re the only one who knows how to get me out of a sour mood,” Nora said, accepting the spoon and sitting at the counter.

“I love you,” Nora moaned in delight as she took a spoonful of ice cream.

“Don’t let Ethan hear you, or he might get jealous.” Nora’s expression fell for a fraction of a second, but luckily Camila didn’t notice.

“Okay… healing boobies, check. Ice-cream, check. Time for trash talk…”

“Ah.. the trinity,”

Ignoring Nora’s sarcasm, Camila continued, “That host was trying to get a rise out of you, and anyone with eyes can see that.”

“And I played right into her trap. You’d think the Pittsburgh fiasco would teach me a lesson.”

“Pittsburgh wasn’t your fault, and neither is this… well, not completely.”

“Carmen called, and she was pissed.” Camila remained silent. “She said I have six months before they begin legal action to retrieve the advance. And writing isn’t looking promising, and now the world thinks I’m a bitter has-been who’s jealous of her husband.” The ice cream didn’t look so appetizing anymore.

“Hey, hey, you’re not a has-been, and the world doesn’t know you. As far as Ethan knows how you really feel, the rest of the world can shove it.” Nora nodded even though, after last night, she wasn’t sure if Ethan really knew how she felt.

“I-“ Ethan, walking into the kitchen, cut off whatever she was about to say.

Their eyes caught and her breath hitched, but then she noticed the look in his blue eyes- the ones she had fallen for in a Paris café almost seven years ago- and her heart trembled.

She wanted to reach out to him, to hold him until they both felt okay, but she couldn’t because she was the cause of the look in his eyes.

“Please do ignore the third wheel.” At that, they both turned to Camila.

“Hi Ethan, how are you?” she asked, completely oblivious to the rising tension.

“I’m alright. If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to Nora real quick.” He responded, staring intently at Nora. Camila’s gaze bounced between them at his tone, going from teasing to concerned. Giving her a quick, reassuring smile, Nora silently followed Ethan out of the kitchen, past the living room, up the stairs, and into their bedroom.

“I know you’ve seen the interview-“ Nora began to say, but was cut off.

“My team’s handling PR. We’ll get ahead of it.” Ethan said as he moved towards their closet, his voice detached from emotions.

“I’m grateful for the help, but I had that under control and…” She paused as she watched him pull out the suitcase he kept packed for emergency trips.

“Ethan? What’s going on?”

“I’m leaving…”

“W-What?”

“I’m leaving for Boston.”

“Is this because of last night?” When he didn’t respond, she continued, her words coming out in a rush due to her rising panic, “I can fix it, in a few days, it’s going to be water under the bridge.”

“Nora...” His voice was strained. “We are the ones who need fixing, and I-I think we both need space to think.”

“What does that even mean..?”

“A separation. Last night only proved that we can’t continue pretending everything’s fine when it’s really not.”

“You think I wanted this? That I wanted to humiliate you?”

“I think you’re angry because you feel like I’m winning,” he said softly, as he made his way to her by the door. “And I’m tired of being the villain just because I’m successful right now.”

Just before he left, he leaned over to kiss her forehead, and in that instant, she saw him, the man who used to bring her coffee during deadlines, who believed in her brilliance when she couldn’t. Now, his eyes were just tired and terribly sad.

“I tried to make it work, but I just... I can't be the enemy anymore, Nora. I can’t.” And with that, he left, taking her heart with him.