**CHLOE**I was starting to panic now.“It's... it's... it's Dad,” she managed to say amidst tears.My heart skipped a beat.“What happened to Dad?” I asked, my heart hammering in my chest. “Chloe,” she cried. “Dad's dead.”“What do you mean by that?” I asked Lily. I dug my fingernails into Jeffrey's hand, smiling. I'm sure I didn't hear that well.“What did you say, Lily?” I repeated. “Chloe… I'm sorry,” she said, still trying to catch her breath. “Dad missed a step and fell down the stairs; he hit his head badly…” And then she burst out crying.“What stairs? Dad literally just arrived a few hours ago, didn't he?” I asked and then hung up before she could even respond.She's messing with me; she's lying to me.“What's wrong?” Jeffrey asked.“Lily's messing with my head; she must think today's the first day of April.” I smiled. “She said Dad's dead.”Jeffrey froze and then pulled out his phone and called the house. I don't know who he called exactly, but they must have confirmed...

**CHLOE**He moved towards me, stretching a bouquet. "Sorry about your..."“Don't come any closer!” I demanded, hitting the bouquet to the ground. “What are you doing here?” All the fear I'd felt for Robert vanished instantly. He'd threatened Dad a lot of times while he was alive. Now, Dad is gone. What more did he want?He stared at me in a creepy way, brushing the hair on his chin with his fingertips. "Relax, Chloe. I mean no harm; I'm just here to offer my condolences and pay my last respects like everyone else.”“Well, you're not welcome here,” I snapped. “If you had even the tiniest bit of respect for my dad, then you wouldn't show up at his funeral when you know that you are the last person he'd have ever wanted to see.”Moving quickly, he clamped his hands around my neck, pinning me to the wall. “Careful…” he breathed, his voice adopting a falsely sympathetic tone. “That's not how you talk to someone you married.”Anger surged through me, and I swung my leg forward forcefully

**CHLOE**“Stop laughing and start talking,” Audrey demanded playfully. “Your bestie...” she added, mocking playfully. The stress on the “bestie.”“I met him in college,” I started.Lily lowered her phone and shifted her gaze to me. “Which college, girl? Same one I attended?” Audrey teased, and Lily chuckled.“Yes, I met him before I met you, though,” I continued.“Ouch…” Audrey pouted playfully. “But how come I didn't meet him too?” she complained.“He was my first friend in college, and we were doing the same major, so we got really close, but then he left after our first year,” I explained.Audrey shot me a sly smile. ”Really?”“Sis, just a friend?” Lily teased, making her and Audrey chuckle.“Goodness, I can't deal with you two!” I exclaimed. “You and I became roommates in our second year, remember?” I asked Audrey.“Yeah, but why didn't you ever mention him?” Audrey asked, frowning playfully, and then she turned to Lily. “You knew about this hot guy too?”“No,” Lily laughed. “I'

**CHLOE**“No, not that; I was just making sure,” he responded with a sly smile.“Making sure of what?” I asked curiously. He sounded like he'd heard something contrary.He didn't reply, and a smug look stretched across his face. Tcheew… I was starting to get pissed.I pushed out of my chair and stood up. “It seems like agreeing to have lunch with you was a bad idea.”I turned to leave, and then he stood up and walked over to me. “I'm sorry,” he apologized, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I wanted to make sure you're fine. I was just concerned about you, that's all.”I scoffed and moved back to put some distance between us. “I just heard some things about him in the media; that's why I was worried,” he explained.“Things like?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.“Nothing specific; I'm sure they're all rumors. Please just take your seat back. I'm sorry, I was totally out of line.”He sure was.I sighed and then settled back into my chair.“What will you have?” He asked, passi

**CHLOE**“What's the problem?” I asked, trying to study his face. Eric shifted nervously. “This is a bit embarrassing. Where do I start from?”“Just say it,” I encouraged.He took a deep breath. “So my niece came over for the weekend, and I decided to bring her to the park to relax a bit...”“Okay…? So what's the problem?”“She just had her first period, and I'm clueless on what to do,” he blurted out.I tried to stifle a laugh, but I couldn’t quite manage it. “So is that why you look like this?”Eric let out a frustrated sigh. “Please stop laughing; it's not funny. I'm worried about her.” “It's okay,” I reassured him. “Where's your niece now?” I asked, and he pointed to a young girl sitting down on a bench, her hands clutched tightly to the hem of her dress. She looked so scared and uncomfortable.Poor thing, she reminded me of my young self.When I had mine, Dad had been so clueless too. Luckily, it happened in school, and my class teacher helped me out.“There's a minimart just o