The Pain Behind Her Smile

Chloe reached Caleb's restaurant to find the door still open. It must be closing time, she thought. She stepped inside, her eyes sweeping the room.

"Are there still customers?" she murmured to herself, walking deeper into the restaurant. The file from the company was pressed against her chest.

A few steps further, she saw Caleb. He was with a woman, and the two of them were laughing, completely at ease with each other.

"Come on! You can't just do that all of a sudden. Look, I've spilled it everywhere!" the woman said, holding a glass in her hand as she laughed.

Chloe stopped where she stood. She did not know what to do with her feet, her hands, or even her face. Her world felt as though it had been crushed into pieces. She had a crush on Caleb, a very big one, and she had carried it quietly for a long time.

Then she saw the worst thing she could have imagined.

They kissed, right there in front of her.

In a state of shock, Chloe let go of the file. It hit the floor with a loud thud, making Caleb and the woman turn toward her. Everything was happening too fast, and she had no idea what to do. Caleb and the woman began walking toward her.

"Chloe," Caleb called.

"It's been a while, Chloe," the woman said warmly, as though nothing were wrong.

Chloe's face fell, but she refused to let them see it. She covered her pain with a smile.

"Yeah. It's good to see you, Evelyn," she said with a small chuckle. She knew this woman well.

"You're here for work, right?" Caleb asked.

"Oh, should I let you two talk?" Evelyn offered.

"No, no, no. We can talk later. It's fine," Chloe said quickly, grabbing the first excuse she could find to leave. "Bye!"

She hurried out of the restaurant.

"Wait..." Caleb tried to call her back, but she was already gone.

Chloe sat at the subway station, waiting for her train. Her thoughts were trapped in her head, and she stared into space, barely aware of her surroundings.

The buzz of a notification broke through her thoughts. It was a message from Caleb.

> Sorry. I know that must have shocked you. I'm sorry.

>

You only had eyes for Evelyn, Chloe thought as she read. But I still wanted to stay by your side. Because I thought that maybe you'd... that you might notice how much I like you.

She was still lost in thought when her train pulled in. The sound snapped her out of it.

"That's my train!"

She jumped to her feet. A man, also rushing to catch the train, bumped into her, and the file flew out of her hands, scattering its contents across the platform. Chloe groaned. Somehow, her day had managed to get even worse.

She crouched to gather the scattered papers. Then her phone rang. It was Adrian.

She stretched out a hand to answer it, but the phone slipped from her fingers and fell straight into the drainage. Her eyes followed it down, and no sound came out of her.

"Hello? Ms. Stephanie?" Adrian's voice called out, but there was no response.

A girl passing by noticed Chloe on the ground and went straight to help her pick up the papers.

"That must have hurt. Be careful," she said gently before walking away, leaving Chloe behind.

"It hurt a lot," Chloe said, so softly that it was barely a voice. "I thought it wouldn't. But it does. It hurts so much."

The words escaped her before she could stop them. She broke down in tears, right there on the roadside.

Morning came. Chloe got ready for work, using every trick and hack she knew to make sure nobody could tell she had been crying.

"Nobody will be able to tell I was crying, right?" she asked her reflection.

She packed a makeup kit into her bag and set out to meet Adrian.

Adrian arrived looking elegant and understated in his black sports car. He stopped by the roadside to pick her up.

"Hi," Chloe greeted.

"Get in," Adrian said.

"You drove here yourself?" she asked.

"This is a personal affair," Adrian replied.

The entire drive was silent. At last, Chloe spoke.

"Did you call me yesterday? I didn't know, but I saw that I had a missed call from you last night."

"I actually called about today, but I hung up because I couldn't hear anything." Adrian glanced at her. "Why?"

Chloe chuckled.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said, covering up what had happened.

Adrian could tell she did not want to open up, so he didn't press her.

"The weather is really nice today!" Chloe said, looking out the window.