Seven Years, A Shattered Promise

bell

n a sharp red dress, slammed the gavel. The ticker symbol f

owd below, a ghos

ding her dream. I was the architect of the code that made

go public, Alex, the world wil

d from the speakers, cut

d we hear there's more good n

e I knew, the one she used for magazi

th as glass. "I'm engaged to Ethan Hayes. He' s

n Hayes. He looked soft, almost fragile, with wid

d slipping through my fingers. The noise of the crow

walked away.

ring. It buzzed again. And again. Finally, I answered, ste

voice was sharp, impa

," I said. My own voice

ifficult. I was g

ed. "After th

nd. "Listen. I'm comi

use apartment she owned, the one I had lived

, Alex. Just

s everywhere-expensive perfume and ambition. I walked into th

oup sat on the stove, still warm. A sin

oked in years

, followed by Ethan. He looked even younger

tening, a tool she used to get w

a small, nervo

looked

eart, why don't you watch some TV?

chen, her grip firm on my a

e said, her voice low. "H

lack coffee to save her first major deal. I' d gotten pneumonia

pleading for an understanding I couldn't give. "You're wild. You'r

olve her of everything. He was weak, so she had to be

e. The rage and the hurt were still

e," I

She wanted a scene, something she could manage, some

ou have to say

me to say, Chloe

, his "innocent" eyes wide with curiosity. He w

from every project, telling my family I was just a mid-level programmer at some tec

er voice turning brisk, all business now. "I'll ha

turn seven years of my life, of lov

" I asked, a real laugh, cold a

he asked, genuinely confused. Fo

his voice soft and high-pitched. "O

"Chloe, it's the caterer for the engagemen

d look, as if this was my

stantly shifting back to the commanding CEO

mask dropped for a fraction of a second. A flicker of triumph, of col

"I have to go. We'll sort this out later. My

than's hand and walked out the door, leaving

my phone buzzed.

fun while it lasted. Here' s a million dol

ars. The price

round my heart cracked. Rage, h

soup on the stove. Th

stine white wall. The gray liquid and bits of vegetables slid dow

sn't

threw them to the floor, where th

right about that. And surv