Chapter 1

Only three days after moving into our new apartment, the Seattle rain started, pouring down without any sign of stopping.

Julian sat on the sofa, his face dark with irritation.

"Maya, you never learn to respect other people's time."

But I was only one single minute late.

To make it up to him, I had ridden my e-bike through the pouring rain just to get the red velvet cake he had been craving.

The tires slipped on the wet asphalt, sending me crashing onto the curb. My knee took the brunt of the impact.

Now, I stood in the entryway, holding the smashed, lopsided cake box.

He didn't even look up from his phone.

"Did I make you crash?"

"Maya, when you make decisions on your own, you need to accept the consequences."

"Now, think about how you're going to apologize to me."

For the longest time, I convinced myself that he was just a perfectionist who valued punctuality.

Until our quarterly review meeting, when Chloe showed up forty minutes late.

Julian actually stood up and pulled out a chair for her.

"No rush. Take your time," he said softly.

"I’ll always wait for you."

"If we have to, we’ll just restart the entire presentation."

The patience and warmth on his face were things I had never seen before.

In that split second, the harsh truth hit me. He wasn't actually a strict, cold robot.

His endless rules and rigid boundaries were reserved only for me.

Slowly, I closed the journal in my hands—the one filled with pages of my anxious apologies and self-blame.

Ten thousand "I'm sorrys" would never buy me a single "It's okay."

So, I’m done.

The conference room fell into a dead silence.

Julian's eyes never left Chloe for a second.

One time, two times...

I silently kept count. He paused the entire meeting six times just for her.

Every time she knitted her brows in confusion, he would patiently break down the concepts for her.

Those were the exact same questions he would usually dismiss as "unbelievably childish" if they came from anyone else.

Yet yesterday, after I had pulled an all-night session to organize the data, I made a tiny verbal slip during my presentation.

Julian had snapped instantly: "How can you make a mistake on something so basic?"

Then he stood up and walked out, slamming the door.

The black coffee on the table had gone completely cold.

Right now, he wouldn't even spare me a glance.

Those forty minutes felt like an eternity.

When the meeting finally adjourned, everyone started filtering out.

I stayed in my seat, mechanically packing up my folders.

As I neared the corner of the hallway, I heard the excited chatter of my coworkers.

"Chloe, Julian is so sweet to you! That necklace looks incredibly expensive."

"It looks so gorgeous on you!"

I glanced over.

Chloe was holding a massive bouquet of red roses—a piercing, violent red.

Around her neck was a delicate platinum necklace, sparkling with tiny diamonds.

She smiled casually. "Oh, please. I think he just gave it to me because my report went well. You know how Julian is. He cares a lot about his team."

The envious sighs around her grew louder.

I looked down.

Last week, when I found a velvet jewelry box in the inner pocket of his suit jacket...

I thought it was a surprise for me.

It turned out the surprise was never meant for me.

When I raised my head, I bumped into Penny’s worried gaze.

She was one of the very few people in the office who knew about my relationship with Julian.

I forced a weak smile at her.

By the time I finally clocked out, the sky had completely opened up. It was a torrential downpour.

I stood under the awning of the building, the freezing wind biting through my collar.

Across the street, I spotted Julian. He was waiting by his car.

He shielded Chloe from the rain with his own body, his arm gently guiding her shoulder.

The umbrella was tilted entirely over her head, leaving his own shoulder completely soaked.

They got into the car, splashing through the puddles as they drove away.

Penny’s voice was laced with anger.

"Maya, I’m sorry, but... Julian treats you like garbage."

"What kind of boyfriend acts like that? Last time you were a minute late, he gave you the silent treatment for a whole month. He completely shuts you down in front of everyone at work..."

"And that other time, when you submitted a file one day late, he kicked you off the project immediately."

Her voice softened. "Dating someone that strict must be exhausting. If I were you, I would have..."

Just then, my phone buzzed.

It was a text from Julian:

Your presentation yesterday was full of holes. After all these years, you still haven't grown at all.

I’ll help you edit it after dinner tonight. Don’t be late.

You know I don't like to wait.

Yet, he had just waited for Chloe for fifteen whole minutes.

Something inside my chest crumbled.

I forced another smile at Penny. "He's just demanding. But... he's fine."

Penny's boyfriend pulled up in his car.

"Maya, the rain is crazy. Do you want a ride?"

I shook my head. "No, go ahead. I'll call an Uber."

After they left, I opened my Uber app.

The screen showed a massive surge. I was number 236 in line.

In the past, when things like this happened, I would always wish Julian would come to pick me up.

But he was too efficient. He hated "wasting time" on things like traffic.

He always said, “Energy should be spent on productive things.”

The rain felt like a heavy curtain falling over the city.

I stared at my screen, my fingers trembling.

Finally, I typed out:

Julian, the rain is really bad... Can you come get me?

A second later, his reply popped up:

Did you seriously leave the office without an umbrella? Maya, when are you going to grow up and be independent? How much longer do I have to babysit you?

Two minutes later, another text followed:

Since it's raining, I'll give you a ten-minute grace period. I’m waiting for you at home.

I stared at the words, a suffocating lump rising in my throat.

I don't know how much time passed.

But slowly, painfully, I typed back:

Then why could you drive Chloe home? What about me?

The rain was deafening.

For the first time in my six years with Julian, I couldn't tell if the aching tightness in my chest was anger, or just complete, utter disappointment.