Semua Bab Love And Lies: short stories : Bab 21 - Bab 30

"Dad, please let me follow you to the office, just this once," I said, giving him my best puppy-dog eyes."I thought you didn't like the office," he said, not even looking up from his laptop. "Why the sudden interest, Freya?""Can't I just decide to follow you for once?" I wrapped both arms around his leg, tugging like a child, batting my lashes up at him. "I promise you won't even notice I'm there."He sighed, the way he always did right before he gave in. "Don't cause trouble, and I won't wait around for you when it's time to leave.""Deal."I practically skipped to get my shoes.The truth was, this had nothing to do with the office itself. It had everything to do with the one glimpse I'd caught of Ethan the last time he came by the house simple, unassuming, and still somehow the best-looking thing I'd seen in months. I knew exactly how my father would react if he found out that was the real reason I'd suddenly developed an interest in his workplace. So I kept it to myself, tucked

Two weeks in, and "one-time thing" hadn't been true even for one full day.We'd gotten careful about it or told ourselves we had. Different floors during work hours. No eye contact in meetings. Texts that said nothing incriminating if anyone ever looked. But every night my dad worked late, I found a reason to be there too, and every night Ethan's door stayed open just long enough for me to slip through it once the floor cleared out.Tonight was supposed to be the last one. He'd said as much that morning, quiet and serious, cornering me by the elevator before anyone else arrived. "After tonight, we stop. For real this time."I'd agreed. I always agreed.By nine, the office had emptied the way it always did on deadline nights my dad buried in his monitor, the cleaning crew long gone, just the hum of the AC and the distant tick of the elevator moving between floors. I made my way to Ethan's office the way I had a dozen times now, and found him already watching the door like he'd been co

I hadn't seen Richard in three years, not since he'd skipped my wedding for a "work thing" everyone quietly understood wasn't really about work. So when Eliot told me his best man was flying in for his cousin's wedding this weekend, I told myself the tightness in my chest was nerves about seeing an old friend. Nothing more."You okay?" Eliot asked, adjusting his tie in the hotel mirror that morning. "You've been quiet.""Just tired." I wasn't. I'd barely slept, running through a hundred versions of how this weekend might go, none of which I wanted to admit out loud."Rich lands at noon. You remember him, right? We were all friends in college before—" Eliot caught himself, waved a hand like the sentence didn't need finishing. "Anyway. It'll be good, the three of us catching up.""The three of us." I repeated it carefully, testing how normal it sounded. It didn't sound normal at all.By the time the rehearsal dinner started that evening, I'd almost convinced myself I'd overreacted to th

After the wedding, things went back to normal. Eliot returned to his usual business and still had Richard around from time to time. One afternoon Eliot decided it was a good chance for the three of us to spend time together and suggested we went to swim maybe in the week coming “You know I would always beat you at swimming,” Eliot said, already boasting and grinning from ear to ear.“You wish,” Richard answered back immediatelyEliot came close to me and rested his hand on my shoulder. “Won’t you join us?”I bit my lip hard. I had been avoiding Richard because he still wanted us to be together. “You know I’m—”Eliot crashed his lips against mine before I could finish the sentence, making it clear I was joining them whether I liked it or not. Behind him I saw Richard’s face change at once. His knuckles tightened until they turned white.I pushed Eliot back with my hand. “Stop. Your friend is here.”“It’s not like he hasn’t seen more than this,” Eliot said without shame. “Unfortunatel

"You're overreacting," Evelyn said, arms crossed, watching the man her father's security firm had sent stride into the safe house like he already owned it."Your father doesn't agree." Gavriel set his bag down by the door, scanning the room once, twice, the way people did when checking exits had become instinct rather than habit. "Neither do I, for what it's worth.""You don't even know what happened.""I know enough." He turned to face her properly for the first time, and something in his expression made it clear this wasn't a conversation he intended to lose. "Someone's been watching your apartment for two weeks. That's not paranoia. That's a pattern."She didn't have a good argument for that, so she didn't try to make one. Instead she dropped onto the couch, arms still crossed, radiating the kind of stubborn frustration that came from being told what to do in her own life."How long am I stuck with you?""However long it takes." He didn't rise to the bait in her tone. "I'll stay in