Bryn shook her head, her refusal coming out almost through clenched teeth. “No, thanks.”
Her voice was barely audible, fragile, as though it might break apart in the air at any second.
As the door shut, the office was left in a quiet emptiness, mirroring the hollowness in her heart.
Bryn took a deep breath, trying to steady the trembling of her body. She wiped away the tears, grabbed the file on the desk, but her mind kept drifting back to the past.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting patterned shadows across the floor. She could almost see that gentle Alex again—he used to wait for her every evening after work. He would look at her lovingly, with a slight smile on his lips. But ever since Francesca came back, everything had changed. Those moments that once filled her with sweetness now felt like knives, carving into her heart.
It turned out it had all been an illusion—his tenderness was never truly meant for her; it had always belonged to another woman. Bryn let out a bitter laugh as tears traced down her cheeks. She brushed them away in a swift motion, taking a deep breath to swallow the emotions welling up inside her. She couldn’t keep holding on to this any longer. It was time to let go.
As the night deepened, the office lights slowly dimmed and city lights began to glow in the distance. Finally, Bryn dragged her weary body out of the building. When she arrived back at the villa, she noticed the soft glow coming from the study. Alex was home.
On the dining table sat a neatly wrapped box from her favorite dessert shop—their signature cake she loved so much. Her heart gave a slight flutter. Had he remembered? But that brief moment of joy quickly dissolved as she noticed a new post on Francesca’s social media. It was a photo of the same cake, captioned, “I’m so happy. Someone remembered my favorite cake.” In the background of the picture, she could spot a familiar watch—Alex’s, the one she had given him as a birthday gift.
She remembered the day she gave it to him. He had smiled, beaming with joy and said, “From now on, you’ll spend every birthday with me.” How ironic those words seemed now. It wasn’t just their looks that she and Francesca shared; they apparently shared tastes too. Bryn stared at the cake on the table, feeling a wave of nausea rise within her.
The cake, she realized, was likely something he’d picked up while out with Francesca. She could almost picture it—Francesca teasing him playfully while Alex gazed at her with the warmth she’d once thought was hers.
Everything she had believed belonged to her was in reality shared with Francesca. She turned, her steps heavy and made her way upstairs, pausing outside the study. She raised her hand and knocked.
“Come in,” his deep voice responded from inside.
