like a ghost from the past. She hadn't heard him in years, and yet, the sound brought with it a
alm, even a little playful, but she could
no. No, it's fine," she stammered, hating the way her voi
ore Ethan spoke again. "I figured. I saw... the vi
tle back onto her shoulders. "Oh, great. So now you're calling
California a few days ago. And when I got here, I started thinking about everyt
achael's heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to stay guarded. She didn't w
ugh. "Well, the city's changed a lot since
ied. "I thought maybe you could take me arou
She couldn't let him think she'd been waiting all these years for his return, no matte
nd it tugged at something deep inside he
a quick goodbye and hung up. The moment the call
elf, pacing her tiny apartment. "
ted her friends, spilling the
almost immediately. "He thinks he can just waltz
r how much she tried to convince herself, she couldn't shake the image of Ethan's face, the w
cations on her phone continued to buzz relentlessly, reminding her of the viral video th
d out to silence it, wishing she could stay in bed forever. "I wi
bed, dragging her feet through her morning routine. Her phone buzzed with more notific
tered and died in the middle of the road, leaving her stranded and fuming.
r mood souring with each step. Just when she thought it couldn't get wo
cture of the license plate. The car didn't even slow down, and Rachael
. She rushed to the restroom, grabbing handfuls of toilet paper to clean he
ble. Rachael kept her head down, trying to focus on her work, but Cl
smug grin. "Not the kind of fame I'd want
ing back a retort. She wouldn't give Claudia t
The HR manager's tone was cold as they warned her about the company's reputation and how
y lobby beside the parking lot, clutching a bottle of alcohol she'd stashed in her bag. She
g lot, the bottle of alcohol still in her hand. Her vision swam, and every step felt heavier than the last.
nough to snap her out of her dru
l position. The woman screamed, scrambling to cover herself with what looked like a designer ja
ed, climbing out of the car. Rachael blin
face was unmistakable, Ashley, the supermodel. It wasn't until
he tried to piece together her mistake. Before she could say
ed fingers gripped Rachael by the collar, yanking her upright. "Do you kn
explain, but the words slurred toget
ping Rachael across the face. The sound echoed through the
th venom. She spun to face Deevin, still seated in the back, watchin
Ashley continued to yel
o sit there and let th
there was a flicker of somethin
!," Ashl
ene," Deevin said fi
t." She grabbed a fistful of Rachael's hair, dragging her forward. "You're goin
. She still had the bottle of alcohol in her hand, and in a moment of
nd shot out and grabbed her wrist, twisting
one night," Deevin said, hi
ith wide eyes. "You're hurting me,"
her knees. "If you can't control yours
ked, crossi
round, realizing that several people had gathered to watch the cha
ossing me" Ashley hissed, leani
tting B
htening up and releasing his
er face twisted in disbel
s dru
ed, his tone
ting anything ou
my
said, cutting her off. Without waiting for a response
Rachael. "You're going to pay for this," sh
head spinning from the alcohol and the sheer chaos of what had just happened
hem said, nudging
. She barely registered the guards hurling insults at her as t
f shoes appeared in her blurred line of vision.
a familiar voi
to focus. "Ethan?" she whi
ying her as she swayed. "L
f the night finally catching up to her. "You al