Chapter 2

02

The room went quiet. A few seconds later, someone let out a low laugh.

Kathleen's face flushed, then paled, the composure she'd been faking cracking apart right in front of everyone.

"Davina, what is this nonsense?"

Ezra's sharp tone made my smile fade.

It wasn't that I'd never seen him angry.

In lectures, he'd shot back at professors who shirked their duties; at parties, he'd coldly called out people with bad intentions.

But this was the first time he'd turned that anger on me.

And over another woman, no less.

I breathed in to hide the sting at the bridge of my nose, and slipped into my usual coaxing tone with him.

"She's been putting me in my place all night, and I said one thing back. How is that me making trouble?"

But his voice came out cold.

"Kathleen said all of it for my sake. You shouldn't talk to her like that."

If a moment ago I'd still felt a flicker of hurt, hearing him say that froze my heart through.

"I see I had it wrong. She's not the wife. She's your mother."

I'd goaded him. His voice shot up.

"Enough, Davina!"

"Apologize to Kathleen."

I stared at him, hard, tears gathering fast in my eyes.

My voice was very soft.

"Never."

The crowd that had been enjoying the show finally stepped in to smooth things over.

"All right, all right, Ezra, don't be angry. Today's the day you came home. You should be happy."

"Don't take it to heart either. If Kathleen hadn't talked Ezra into going abroad to build his résumé back then, you wouldn't even be in the picture."

"Right. Honestly, landing the spot of Ezra's girlfriend, you've got Kathleen to thank for that too."

They talked over each other, but I only watched the man beside me.

He set his glass down lightly on the table. It made a clean little click.

Like a matter settled for good.

"Kathleen is my friend. If you can't show her even basic respect the one time you meet her—"

"Then let's cancel you coming home with me to the old house tomorrow."

Everything in me went stiff.

Before we came back, Ezra had said he wanted to take me home to meet his parents.

Had said that because of me, for the first time he'd started thinking about settling down.

That same day, I'd called my mother, full of certainty, telling her Ezra was every bit as good as the men on those arranged-marriage contracts.

Telling her to prepare a party to welcome her future son-in-law.

Reminding her not to go too grand, so we wouldn't scare him off.

But looking at the cold line of his profile now, with those words still ringing in my ears,

everything I'd done before made me look like a fool.

"You're sure?"

His long fingers slid along the rim of the glass, careless.

"You know me. I never say things I'm not sure of."

Whistles broke out from the corners of the room. "That's our Ezra." "Ezra's the man." The words came from every side.

Each one scraped across my face until it stung.

There was nothing left to say. Every extra second I stayed was an insult to myself.

So I grabbed my bag, stood, and strode out.

Only once I was outside the door did I realize that at some point my face had gone wet with tears.

Three years together. Of course it hurt.

Behind me came a sudden rush of footsteps.

Just as I was about to wipe my eyes, a hand caught my arm.

Ezra took in the state of my face, froze for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

"Come on. I'll drive you."

He pulled the car door open and looked at me.

"We can talk on the way."

Heartbroken as I was, my sense hadn't left me.

Walking out felt satisfying, but it didn't solve anything.

And even if we broke up, there should at least be a clear cause of death.

I was about to get in.

"Ugh, Ezra, I think my period just started—"

Kathleen, who'd followed us out at some point, suddenly crouched a little way off, clutching her stomach.

The second the words left her mouth, the car door he'd just opened slammed shut again.

He crossed to her, tense, his voice both scolding and helpless.

"Why is it early? You've been staying up late again, haven't you?"

Then he stripped off his jacket in one quick motion and tied it around Kathleen's waist.

"Wait here."

He tossed off the words and headed for the convenience store across the street.

Not once did he look back at me, still standing where he'd left me.

"See that clearly?"

Kathleen spoke up behind me.

"Even after three years abroad, he still puts my needs first."

She straightened slowly, her face full of mockery.

"Want to bet he comes back with more than one thing in his hands?"

"Besides the brand of pads I use, there'll be a new thermos filled with hot cocoa."

"There's a pharmacy next door. He'll buy me imported painkillers, exactly enough to last the three days before my period."

"And in case I get cold, he'll pick up a pack of heat patches and a plug-in hand warmer while he's at it."

Seeing me stunned, she suddenly laughed, delighted.

"He did all of this for you at the start of the month, didn't he?"

"Trying to keep two women's cycles straight in his head gets confusing, so the app on his phone tracking your period? I'm the one who recommended it."

She paced slowly until she was right in front of me.

"Everything that made your heart flutter is just the leftover perks I got tired of."

"No one can do what I do for him, and no one can take my place in his heart."

"So be smart. Don't push this until you've got nowhere left to stand."

Our eyes met, and when I saw the hunger buried in hers,

I suddenly laughed.

"If the two of you are so perfectly in sync, why is he dating someone else?"

"You say you know him better than anyone. Then you must know exactly how he sees you."

"Or how about we find out. If you confessed to him, would he even spare you a second glance?"