The confrontation I knew was inevitable happened as I left the office building. Hazel was waiting for me near the gate, her figure stand out against the fading evening light. My chest tightened the moment I saw her, her shoulders were slumped and trembling slightly, her eyes filled red and glossy with unshed tears.
She walked toward me slowly, clutching the strap of her bag like it was the only thing holding her upright.
"Luke," she said softly, her voice almost pleading.
I stopped, forcing my posture to remain relaxed. My heartbeat was steady, too steady for how much my body wanted to react.
"Can we talk? Please?" Her voice cracked on the last word, and I saw the tears well up, threatening to spill over. She wasn't pretending; she looked completely broken, and a part of me, the part that still remembered her kiss in the rain, ached to reach for her.
"Hazel," I said quietly. "Not now."
"I just need you to hear me out." She took a hesitant step closer, shaking her head as if trying to dislodge the pain. "I didn't want any of this to happen. That night—"
I cut her off, the memory sharp. "That night told me everything I needed to know."
She swallowed hard, a tear finally tracing a path down her cheek. She wiped it away with a furious, embarrassed swipe of her hand. "No, it didn't. You don't understand. I froze, Luke. I didn't know what to do. When Ethan called, I never meant for you to..."
"You didn't stop him," I said, my tone sharper than I intended, the coldness a shield for the hurt. "You answered the phone. You let his voice back into our space."
Her lips quivered. "I couldn't just ignore it! You don't know what he's like…"
I sighed, glancing away toward the busy street. The cars, the noise, the whole city felt distant, muffled by the barrier I was building between us. "Until you fix your problems, Hazel… I can't do this. I won't be a casualty in your war with him."
She shook her head, more tears falling freely now. "So that's it? After everything we… after everything we talked about?"
"I didn't ask for this drama," I said flatly, the words feeling like stones I was throwing at my own heart.
She looked down at her feet, her whisper so quiet I almost missed it. "I was ready… I was ready to start something real with you."
I didn't reply. I just turned and walked away. And for some reason, every step I took away from her felt heavier than the last, as if I were leaving a part of myself behind in that spot.
That night, sleep was impossible. I sat on my bed in my silent apartment, the dim blue light from my phone the only thing bright in the room. The silence I had craved now felt oppressive.
Then, a message popped up. From an unknown number.
Unknown: Stay away from her.
I stared at it, my blood running cold. Before I could process it, another one followed.
Unknown: You think I don't know where you live now? Don't test me.
I clenched the phone so tightly, my hand trembling with a potent mix of fear and rage. Ethan. It had to be him.
A bitter, humorless laugh escaped my throat. "Coward," I muttered into the empty room. Hiding behind texts. Still, I didn't respond. I tossed the phone aside as if it were a venomous snake and stared at the ceiling, letting the dark, quiet night swallow my chaotic thoughts.
For the first time, I felt a profound regret for ever meeting Hazel. "Maybe I should've never gotten close to her," I said under my breath. "Maybe she wasn't worth all this."
---
Saturday evening arrived faster than I expected. The Grandview Hotel was a world away from our drab office. It was glowing, and the air was thick with the scent of expensive perfume, fine wine, and polished brass. The low sounds of people talking and soft jazz filled the grand ballroom. Everyone was dressed in their best, wearing masks of effortless success.
I spotted Mark the moment I walked in. His eyes widened in surprise, but before he could call out, his gaze slid to the woman on my arm, and his jaw went loose.
Anna.
She looked stunning, in a red satin dress that seemed to drink the light and glow from within. Her smile was so captivating it was impossible to focus on anything else, and when she offered one to a passing executive, half the room seemed to pause and take notice.
And I was the one walking beside her.
Heads turned and conversations stopped mid-sentence. I could feel the weight of their stares, that mixture of shock, curiosity, and outright envy. It was a drug, and I inhaled it deeply. Even Hazel froze.
She was standing near the lavish buffet table with a small group from accounting, holding a flute of champagne. Her hand stopped halfway to her lips when she saw us. Her expression was a devastating mixture of confusion, hurt, and sheer disbelief, all crumbling at once.
Anna leaned closer, her breath a warm whisper against my ear. "You weren't kidding about making an entrance," she said, a playful, proud smile on her lips.
I forced a small, confident smirk, the kind I'd been practicing in the mirror. "I'm a man of my word."
Mark gave me a questioning look from across the room, but he stayed put with his girlfriend. The timing was wrong.
The night flowed on. Glasses clinked and polished laughter echoed under the high ceilings. The senior partners gave speeches filled with hollow praise about "synergy," "exceeding benchmarks," and "one big family." Everyone applauded on cue.
I clapped too. But my mind was a world away, locked in a battle between the intoxicating high of my very public revenge and the worry ache of the heart I was trying to harden.
Every time I glanced up, Hazel was there. She was pretending to listen to a colleague, pretending to laugh at a joke, but her eyes, heavy with unshed tears, kept finding me.
And every time they did, something twisted, deep and painful, in my chest.
Later, as Anna drifted away to chat with the marketing team, I went to the bar for a stronger drink. That's when Hazel appeared beside me, her presence feeling like a sudden drop in temperature.
"Luke," she said, her voice barely a whisper, trembling with emotion. "What… what is this?"
I turned toward her, swirling the amber liquid in my glass. "What do you mean?"
She gestured weakly between me and where Anna stood, laughing. "You came with her?"
Her tone wasn't angry; it was devastated, as if she was witnessing a fundamental law of her universe breaking.
"Yeah," I said simply, taking a sip. "Why does it matter?"
"Because I thought…" she trailed off, shaking her head as if to clear it. "I thought you still cared. That we could fix this."
I let out a bitter chuckle. "Care?" The word felt alien. I took my phone from my pocket and unlocked it. "You want to know what 'caring' got me?"
I held the screen out to her, forcing her to read the two threatening messages from the unknown number.
Her eyes widened in horror as she scanned the words. "He… he texted you?" she breathed, her face draining of all color.
"Yeah. Told me to stay away from you. Said he knows where I live." I pocketed the phone again, the action final. "See? Doesn't matter. It's over."
She looked at me, her eyes pools of liquid hurt. "And you think she'll fix you?" she whispered, her gaze flicking toward Anna with a mixture of pity and disdain. "That girl? You think walking in here on the arm of the ice queen will make you feel something again? Or are you just trying to prove a point?"
Her words hit a nerve they had no right to touch. For a split second, the cold expression cracked, and the raw truth almost spilled out. I'm not trying to be fixed by her! I'm trying to be protected by her. I'm trying to feel powerful again because being with you made me feel so weak. I want to fix this, but I don't know how without getting destroyed in the process.
But I said none of it. The words died in my throat, choked by pride and fear.
"Luke?" Anna's voice cut through the tension from across the room, her tone light. The timing was absolutely cruel.
Hazel's lip trembled. Seeing that I had nothing to say, that the chasm between us was now too wide to cross, she turned and walked away, fast while her shoulders shaking with silent sobs, disappearing into the crowd of smiling, clueless people.