LOGINBETTYMy eyes narrow into sharp slits. I shake my head, a bitter, humorless laugh escaping me. "What do you mean you don't know? It is your flash drive, isn't it? My question is, what the hell are those pictures? And why do you have them?"He swallows again, lifting a heavy hand to run his fingers anxiously through his dark hair."It is my flash drive, yes. But I didn't have those photos until recently, Betty." He drags his tongue across his bottom lip, his eyes locking onto mine with a desperate intensity. "A friend of mine who was at the bachelor party sent them to my phone. He sent them the night Amanda hosted that coming-out party at the estate."My chest violently tightens. I yank myself backward, putting distance between us.I was right. It was a game. Amanda was busy announcing their grand engagement to the world, and his billionaire friends were sending him pictures of the waitress he had conquered as a joke.Nathaniel sees the realization wash over my face, and he jolts forwa
BETTYI was halfway between Rhys’s apartment and the hospital when I froze on the sidewalk.My fingers gripped the silver flash drive in my pocket so tightly they ached after spending the last ten minutes rapidly constructing a barrage of furious questions to scream at Nathaniel.But every single one of them ultimately circled back to a single, impossible contradiction: How did we go from an undeniable, intoxicating connection... to him looking at me like I was a disease? It did not make sense.Suddenly, the confrontation felt like walking unarmed into a minefield. So I turned around and headed to the one place where I could think straight. Somewhere I hadn't been in a while.Now, I am sitting in the dirt at the cemetery, my back pressed hard against the cold, unyielding granite of my mother’s headstone.The afternoon sun has reached its absolute apex. It beats down mercilessly on the back of my neck, making the heavy black fabric of the hoodie cling to my sweating skin.I close my ey
NATHANIELI am left standing in waiting room staring at the exact spot where Betty was standing seconds ago. My arms are still half-raised, my fingers curled inward, grasping at absolutely nothing but cold air.The ghost of her warmth is still radiating against my chest. The scent of her, even csomething soft and inherently her that cuts straight through the antiseptic smell of the hospital—is still clinging to my shirt.I can’t believe she ran. Again. Just like she did on that damn elevator. She looked up at me, her chest heaving, her beautiful green eyes completely blown wide with a panic so absolute it mirrored my own, and she bolted.A nurse pushes a cart past me, giving me a wide, cautious berth. I ignore her, my jaw clenching so hard f teeth grind together.I frrfcc try to stop Betty. I couldn't. Because for those three suspended seconds before she pulled away, I felt it. I felt the exact moment her walls crumbled. I felt her melt against me, her hands gripping my shirt like I
BETTYMy arms hover uselessly in the air, suspended in absolute shock.Nathaniel’s massive frame is wrapped around me, his face buried deep in my neck, his heavy, ragged breaths ghosting across my collarbone.For three paralyzing seconds, my brain entirely short-circuits. I can't process what is happening.But as the initial shock fades, the reality of where we are slowly seeps in. We are in the middle of a brightly lit hospital waiting room, the nurses and orderlies are passing by, and are starting to stare.I should push him away. I should remind him of the boundaries we have drawn. The unspoken ones. But as the suffocating relief that Harriette is going to survive rushes through my own veins, it dismantles every single defense mechanism I have left.So, I do what any decent human being would do. I slowly lower my arms and wrap them tightly around his waist.The moment my palms press flat against his back, a profound, overwhelming warmth radiates from his body, seeping directly thro
NATHANIELThe hospital administration had flatly refused my demand to rent out the entire floor as I had done in New York, but after a sizable "donation" to the ward, they had at least provided me with a private, secure on-call room to clean up in.It is a small, confined space, but meticulously clean.I drop the duffel bag onto the small cot, walk straight to the sink, and I turn the faucet on full blast, splashing freezing-cold water over my face, letting it soak into my messy hair.The icy shock does absolutely nothing to ease the twisting, agonizing fear in my gut regarding Harriette, but at least the heavy, dark bags under my eyes look marginally less pronounced in the mirror.There is a tiny shower stall in the corner. I stare at it. It is entirely too cramped and practical for my tastes, but looking down at my rumpled clothes from yesterday, I don't care. I strip them down and step under the spray.There is no hot water, exactly as I expected, but I have never needed a cold show
NATHANIEL.It has been exactly three hours and twelve minutes since Betty walked out of the hospital.In that agonizing stretch of time, I have paced every single square inch of this sterile waiting room. I have yelled at the nurses behind the front desk twice, completely lost my temper, and threatened to buy the entire hospital and fire the administrative staff, until security politely but firmly informed me that if I opened my mouth again, I would be escorted off the premises.I hate to admit it, but Betty being was the only thing keeping the darkest, most volatile parts of me in check. And the second she left me alone, I unraveled.I clench my hands into white-knuckled fists at my sides, cursing internally for the millionth time.Harriette is still in surgery. The doctor hasn't come through those swinging double doors to give me a single update, leaving my exhausted brain to conjure up only the most terrifying, worst-case scenarios.I have tried everything to keep my mind occupied.
BETTYMy fingers wrap around the coffee cup, trying to siphon warmth from it, but the chill still clings to my skin.The cold this morning feels sharper, like the world itself is bracing for something.I am sitting by the window of a small coffee shop downtown, the scent of roasted beans and vanill
BETTYI can’t bring myself to go back home yet, probably because I’m still riding the strange high from the meeting I just had with Amanda.There is something else I need to do first, something I’ve been avoiding for far too long, and because for the first time in a long while I feel like I’m done
Hi my beautiful readers 🤍 I know I’ve been quiet for the last two days, and I wanted to thank you for your patience and kindness. The holidays asked me to slow down for a moment, but I never stopped thinking about this story or about you. I promise to resume posting two chapters a day starting
NATHANIELFor the first time in a very long time, I feel good.Good in a way I can’t quite explain, lighter, almost giddy. The kind of good that only comes when you finally convince yourself that the storm has passed.The hum of violins floats through the air, soft and expensive, matching the rhythm







