Chapter 2

“Shh.”

He pressed a finger to my lips and glanced toward the door.

“The girl's listening out there. Leave me some face, would you?”

Something caught in my throat.

A thousand words jammed up behind it until my eyes went red.

He paused, the pad of his thumb brushing lightly at the corner of my eye.

“There, don't cry.”

“Go home and throw pillows at me, refuse to cook for me, delete me off your contacts. Whatever it takes to feel better.”

“I promise I won't hold any of it against you.”

My mouth opened, but not a single word would come out.

He must have figured he'd smoothed things over well enough, because he turned and headed for the door.

Two steps out, he looked back.

“Oh, and don't call Clarissa out on any of it.”

“She's thin-skinned, a lot of pride. Once she really starts crying, she's hard to settle.”

He was gone before I could answer.

Outside the door, Clarissa's voice came timid and probing.

“Honey, did you work it out with Kayla? Did she agree to break up?”

Abraham cleared his throat twice.

“Not yet.”

Clarissa hesitated, and something wounded crept into her voice.

“Honey, you don't believe me?”

“Everything I told you is true. On your wedding day, you realize the one you really love is me, and you walk out of the wedding right then and go register a marriage with me.”

“The reason you won't break up with Kayla now isn't that you still love her. It's that you haven't seen your own heart clearly yet.”

The more she said, the more frantic she got, a sob edging into her voice.

“Dragging it out like this isn't fair to any of the three of us.”

For a few seconds it went quiet outside.

Then Abraham let out a low laugh.

“Of course the one I love is you.”

He sighed, as if he were truly torn.

“Kayla's been building this company with me since graduation. Two solid years in a basement, and once she nearly got herself killed saving me.”

“Out chasing investors, she put up with clients pawing at her. And all those nights she pulled, her face is worn out from it.”

“All these years, no credit maybe, but at least some effort. I have to give her a little time to accept it, don't I?”

“Crash!”

The bottle of makeup remover slipped from my hand and hit the floor.

I crouched to pick up the pieces, and a shard sliced my fingertip.

Blood mixed with the oil and ran all over my hand, and no matter how I wiped, it wouldn't come clean.

Just like Abraham.

The boy in the white shirt who once stood on a stage and gave a speech.

How had he turned this filthy?

I sank down onto the floor.

The tears fell in big, heavy drops.

That summer, a downpour flooded the basement.

I carried a drunk Abraham out on my back, then went back for his laptop and slipped, knocking myself out at the foot of the stairs.

I lay in the cold water all night and nearly froze to death.

When I woke, he was sitting by the hospital bed, his eyes red.

“Kayla, neither I nor my laptop matter as much as you do.”

“If there's ever a next time, you just go. Don't worry about me, all right?”

Those words carved themselves into me.

I really did believe he held me more precious than his own life.

Later, I went with him to meet clients.

Those men slung arms around my shoulders, pressed their faces close, put their hands on my legs.

I was shaking all over, my nails dug into my palms, I wanted to run.

But when I looked up, I saw him down there humbling himself, pitching the plan.

So I held it in. I sat there and didn't move.

And all of that, in his eyes, came down in the end to one line.

No credit, but at least some effort.

So once the company went public and he became the tech world's new golden boy,

he no longer liked this face I'd worn out with sleepless nights, and had to keep going out to hunt down younger, prettier ones.

Wasn't that it?

Outside, Clarissa laughed, sweet as anything.

“Honey, is it that you pity her? Is that why you were going to marry her?”

“What else?”

Abraham's tone turned careless.

“She's not young anymore. Once she's away from me, who's going to want her?”

My hand dropped, limp.

The boy Abraham in my memory blurred until I couldn't make him out.

My phone buzzed wildly all at once, and I fumbled it into my hand.

The person on the other end sounded worked up, and like he didn't dare believe it.

“Kayla, why aren't you answering? Are you …… sure you want to marry me?”

I wiped my tears and gave a small smile.

“I'm sure.”

“Then, should I come to you?”

I shook my head.

“I'll come to you.”

This city I'd only stayed in because of Abraham.

I wanted to leave it.

As I stepped out of the fitting room, a text popped up.

It was a flight booking confirmation.

A message came right after.

“Tomorrow. See you in Silvercreek.”