Chapter 2

Behind me, I heard Hector's voice, panicked.

"Theresa, is Zachary mad? This is all my fault."

Then came Theresa's voice, certain of herself, like she had the whole situation handled.

"That's just how he gets. You'd think a grown man would stop acting like he's eighteen. Ignore him. He'll cool off on his own. Let's go. Don't you have content to shoot?"

The car slowed deliberately as it passed me. I caught the flash of satisfaction in Hector's eyes, clear as day. Even the exhaust seemed to be mocking me.

My eyes stung, but I bit down hard and refused to let the tears fall.

In nine years together, Theresa had never once indulged my temper. She never came to smooth things over first. No matter how upset I'd been the day before, I was the one who always got over it, the one who put a smile back on for her.

That was exactly why, the last time she stood me up and actually bothered to comfort me for once, I'd let myself believe her again.

But I'd since learned she wasn't like that with Hector. On nights when thunderstorms scared him, she'd stay on the phone soothing him until he fell asleep. When his cat wouldn't settle into their new place, she dropped everything to calm it down.

Hector was the reason behind more fights than I could count between us. She always said the same thing: he'd been like a little brother to her since childhood, and his mother had personally asked her to look after him.

But I had feelings too.

I'd stood by her from the days when nobody knew her name to now, when she ran her own company, and everyone addressed her respectfully. And still, in her heart, Hector would always matter more than I did.

A sudden roar cut through my thoughts. A motorcycle clipped my arm as it tore past. Already dizzy from my cold, I lost my balance and went down hard, my hands and knees slamming into the pavement.

I gritted my teeth, waited a few seconds for the pain to ease, and pushed myself back up.

I walked into the café next door and asked the barista for some antiseptic and bandages to clean up the scrapes. My nerves finally started to unwind a little.

Then, reaching for my wallet to pay, my stomach dropped.

My phone was gone. That motorcycle. The motorcyclist had to have taken it.

Left with no choice, I borrowed the barista's phone under her curious stare and called Theresa. I kept my voice steady despite the humiliation clawing at my chest.

"Theresa, I just fell, and my phone's gone. Can you come back and cover my bill? The address is..."

A scoff cut me off.

"Zachary, could you be any more childish? What, you didn't think I'd really leave without you, so now you're scrambling for an excuse to save face?

"I'm just having a meal with Hector. And now you've fallen and lost your phone too? Can't you come up with a new jealousy act?"

Hector's voice carried through from her end of the line.

"Theresa, this is so spicy! I need water, hurry, hurry!"

"Coming.

"Stop pretending. It's not going to work on me."

The call ended without hesitation.

Something in my chest clenched tight. The scrapes on my knees weren't even that bad, so why did my heart hurt just as much?

The barista spoke up suddenly.

"The lady you were calling, is she the Theresa Reitz who runs the Reitz Group?"

I nodded quickly, thinking she must just recognize the name. But her expression shifted into open contempt a second later.

"Ms. Reitz comes in here all the time. She's even got our VIP card, all because her boyfriend loves our little cakes. We all know her boyfriend. But you… we've never seen you before."

Something in my chest twisted. Every time I'd asked Theresa out for afternoon tea, she'd always claimed she had no time. Turns out it wasn't that she had no time. She just never had time for me.

The other staff started laughing too.

"Sweetheart, if you're going to lie, at least come up with a better story."

Someone had their phone out, recording me the whole time.

"I need this on camera, in case you try to skip out on the bill."

Every eye in the café fixed on me, fingers pointing.

"Can you believe people still try to dine and dash nowadays?"

"What time and age is this? Pretending someone else is going to pay, that's hilarious."

Humiliation crashed over me in one wave after another. I stopped arguing, and slowly lifted my head.

"Fine. Call the police."