lde

eady crumbled. I didn't speak. I simply walked over to the nightstand, picked up the "vintage and unique" watch he had given me, the cheap replica that mirrored his hollow promises. Witho

g of color. The clatter of the watch seemed t

She really outdid herself this time. You spent the night celebrating your 'big

cape, a denial. "Isolde, no, that's not...

same shirt I had seen him wearing at Apex just hours ago. I held it up, the fabric heavy in my hands. "Funny," I mused, my voic

He looked from the shirt to me, then to the hamp

yal, the sheer audacity of his lies, the depth of his contempt for me. "And the smell, Ben," I whispered, my eyes still closed, a tremor in

He stammered, trying to form words, but no

n! It's not what it looks like, I swear! It was a mistake, a moment of weakness, fuele

Haylie's office, Ben? A 'stepping stone'? A 'distraction'?" My voice rose, cutting through his pleas. "You stood there, a spineless coward, a

indows, mirroring the storm raging within me. The apartment plunged into a di

. I need to get ahead. You don't understand what it's like to come from nothing. This is my chance! We can still make this work

o use me, still seeing me as a means to an end. The pain was excruciating, a

was cold, hard, resolute. "There is no 'us', Ben. There is no 'we'

itcase behind me, and w

d and desperate. "Where are you going, Isolde? Yo

s once-charming features twisted into a pathetic mask of self-pity. "I'm going home,

s shoulders slumped, his fight finally draining out of him.

s it contained, behind me. The rain outside was relentless, washing away the last traces of