When Love Wasn't Part Of The Plan.

RA

om door

t to be obvious, but also didn't

what made

g to explain itself. Like the door would sudd

did

e if I'm dead tired, drunk, or borderline e

like bou

no, I wasn't going to play dumb

un that I half-pulled together like it owed me money. No makeup

se I

y space with a man who made less noise th

already in

urse

utton-down shirt rolled at the sleeves. Like some stock photo husband who read the

e he was from. Or how he knew where the coffe

oom," I said, stand

e said

or was

hen you left

I did

e it opened

horror mov

were about to debrief a mutual friend'

n't t

ng? Gaslighting b

usations about your husb

not my h

lly,

e an Airbnb guest w

k the

exhausted and stupid curious. Of course i

your own bean

ght eve

hy

ug. "I don't like f

. I'd say the window fo

ked past me toward the hallway

ly, it pro

*

already three em

til the public settled down. My assistant forwarded me a thread from a PR watchdo

isis rebrand energ

s spir

h the comments, u

an email from

father never wasted

his senior

lic statements be made regarding internal

. Just a slap disgui

gh

ghter is suddenly trending - and not for something controllable like a campaign lau

ldn't spin me. That e

*

an's voice d

call, calm a

ay and listened, not even trying

se. "It's moving fa

her

doesn't k

pped

foot caught the wood and the floor

or swu

s steady like I hadn't just caught him in

e hallway? h

assing

that made sense.

ok..um.

rner of his mouth. "I

hat they're ca

Chinese or

ked. "

un

re se

joke ab

. Not because I was scared, because

ed me mid

ulling out of three appearances. Your marria

owed

person said he used to work in corporate law and another said of

he messages f

ally tex

ulted me before 8 a.m. So, I'd s

e rolling emoji, I literally

the couch. He wasn't watching TV or us

fridge, and sat down across the island, flipping thro

nally

you o

"You don't ac

eel better i

you stopped acting l

ack. "I'm n

udie

re he was teasing me on purpose, becaus

ly his face was still too calm for someone whose fake wife was currently being i

u still her

...ma

ould'v

d've aske

pa

you d

Now I'm

cess," he said quietly.

n't r

dn't taste and walked back to my room

he door - and this ti

blankly staring at my lock screen l

cked my not

here

t fro

about thirty

t've sold it. We weren't facing the camera, but you could see everything - the dress, th

nts were

hoto in the carousel th

ieve what my eyes