As I left the office that evening, Ethan fell into step beside me, an unusual hesitance in his posture. \u201cI cleared my schedule for Thursday,\u201d he announced, as if bestowing a great gift. \u201cWe\u2019ll finish the photos.\u201d<\/p>\n
I offered him a small, empty smile. \u201cI\u2019ll write down the recipe for you. Then you can make it for her yourself next time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late that night, a video popped up on my socials from Chloe. It was grainy, loud. Her and Ethan in a dim bar, her arms around his neck, his hands on her waist, their lips locked in a deep, slow kiss. The caption: *\u201dDon\u2019t be mad, Laur! It was just a dare! Didn\u2019t want you to hear it from someone else and get the wrong idea #BestFriends\u201d*<\/p>\n
My calm, my utter lack of hysterics, seemed to throw him. He reached out, his hand covering mine on the knife. His touch was almost\u2026 gentle.<\/p>\n
When he reached for a bundle of celery, I took it first. A quiet, humorless laugh escaped me. \u201cI should make the bone broth too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze. Stared. The world tilted.<\/p>\n
At 5 AM the next morning, I was jerked from sleep. Ethan was pulling me out of bed. \u201cUp. Now. I bought groceries. Make the breakfast you always make for me. Chloe wants it, and I can\u2019t get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing. Just watched him leave.<\/p>\n
I shook my head. \u201cI can\u2019t. I have plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
I continued organizing my project handoff files, ignoring the cup.<\/p>\n
Right on cue, his phone sang Chloe\u2019s song.<\/p>\n
He stopped, frowning. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
On the way to the client\u2019s office, I passed the new hire, Chelsea, in the stairwell. She was gripping a silver bracelet, identical to mine, yelling into her phone. \u201cA cubic zirconia knock-off from a department store gift-with-purchase? Are you *kidding* me? Who got the real Tiffany one, you cheating jerk?!\u201d<\/p>\n
My transfer was approved. I was leaving for Seattle in 48 hours. My work was almost done.<\/p>\n
He just stared at me, his hand falling away.<\/p>\n
He hovered, the unasked question about the finger protector hanging in the air. He never asked.<\/p>\n
Still half-asleep, I found myself in the kitchen, my fingers curling around the chef\u2019s knife he shoved into my hand. He buzzed around, unloading bags, talking a mile a minute about Chloe\u2019s avocado allergy, how she liked her eggs *just so*, how the bacon had to be crispy but not burnt.<\/p>\n
He stopped, grabbing my arm. \u201cThat\u2019s the third time you\u2019ve shut me down today. What is wrong with you?\u201d His voice rose. \u201cTalk to me, Lauren!\u201d<\/p>\n
He was animated. Warm. Alive. It was a side of him I rarely saw, reserved exclusively for her.<\/p>\n
The change was instantaneous. The anger evaporated, replaced by urgent concern. He released me, turning away. \u201cHey, what\u2019s wrong? Okay, okay, breathe. I\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
After lunch, Ethan stalked to my desk, his expression stormy. I gave him a flat, disinterested look and went back to my screen.<\/p>\n
I walked to a trash can in the corner of the lobby. I pulled the cheap silver bracelet from my purse\u2014I\u2019d worn it every day\u2014and dropped it in. The wrinkled finger protector followed.<\/p>\n
I cooked. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, the broth. I packed it all in his favorite insulated carrier. At the door, he turned, looking at me with an expression I couldn\u2019t decipher. \u201cThat wedding dress you loved\u2026 the one with the long sleeves. I\u2019ll bring it home tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five years of devotion. Five years of being his cook, his maid, his emotional punching bag. That was enough to repay a broken finger.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t look back. Not once.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026You don\u2019t have to go all out,\u201d he said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. \u201cIt\u2019s just breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t come home that night.<\/p>\n
I let it ring. And ring. And go to voicemail.<\/p>\n
I began washing the celery, my movements mechanical. \u201cYou always finish that. Every last drop. You never leave any.\u201d I looked up, meeting his confused eyes. \u201cShe must love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand clenched around the soft leather finger protector in my pocket, crumpling it into a pathetic lump.<\/p>\n
He loomed beside me, a tense silence emanating from him. Finally, he set his half-finished takeout coffee cup next to my keyboard. \u201cHere. You look tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone rang again. Ethan\u2019s old number, the one still etched in my memory after five years.<\/p>\n
Fate Rolls Dark by Mark Twain 5 \u00a0Chapter 5 As I left the office that evening, Ethan fell into step […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gave-up-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21974\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}