Lily avoided Ethan the next morning.
Not because she was afraid of another argument, but because she didn't trust herself to have one without saying too much.
She arrived early, settled at her desk, and buried herself in work. Spreadsheets, emails, revisions. Anything to stay focused.
It worked for exactly twenty minutes.
"Morning."
His voice came from behind her. Calm. Neutral. Like yesterday hadn't happened.
She didn't look up. "Is there something you need?"
Ethan paused. "We need to talk."
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Then, they kept moving. "I disagree."
He stepped closer. Not hovering this time—deliberate. "About yesterday."
"You made your position clear," Lily said flatly. "In front of everyone."
"That wasn't my intention."
She finally turned to face him. "Intentions don't erase consequences."
Something shifted in his expression. Not anger. Something tighter. Controlled.
"I wasn't trying to undermine you," he said. "I was trying to protect the project.
"And I was trying to protect my work."
Silence settled between them again. Familiar now. Heavy.
Ethan exhaled. "We can't keep fighting like this."
"You started it," she said.
A corner of his mouth twitched. "You never back down."
"Neither do you."
They stared at each other, neither willing to blink first.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from management.
Deadline moved up. Presentation in three days. Full revision required.
Lily read it twice. Then a third time.
Ethan leaned in despite himself. "That bad?"
She turned the screen toward him.
He whistled softly. "Looks like we're in trouble."
Her shoulders tensed. "This doesn't change anything."
"No," he said slowly. "It makes everything worse."
They stood there, caught between irritation and urgency, knowing one thing they refused to say out loud.
Whether they liked it or not, they were stuck with each other.
And this time, there was no walking away.