Chapter 0278
Chapter 0278
It’s the question I’ve been dreading because the answer isn’t going to be something that they want to
hear. But everyone is staring at me, and I can’t bring myself to lie.
“Stories,” I say finally. “Real stories about real people. That’s what matters to me.”
There’s a moment of silence, and a flicker of something that looks like disappointment flashes across
Elise’s gaze. “How... quaint,” she manages, before turning her attention to Meg’s phone, who is
scrolling through her most recent bikini pictures and talking about her breast augmentation.
All I can do is sit, my spine stiff in my chair. My gaze meets Marcus’ from across the room, who just
shoots me a subtle nod and a thumbs-up. It makes me want to roll my eyes.
Just then, my distracted gaze lifts past his shoulder, and for a fleeting moment, my heart leaps into my
throat.
There, in the doorway, a figure appears, a silhouette backlit by the golden chandeliers, and for that split
second, it’s Abby.
It's her shape, her grace, the way she holds herself. Her golden hair cascading over her shoulders, her
eyes lit up as she looks at me. My breath catches, and I’m rising from my seat.
But then reality crashes over me. It’s not her. It could never be her. It’s a different woman entirely, a
trick of the light, a mirage in what feels like the driest desert on the planet.
I sit back down, the disappointment crashing over me like a wave.
“So,” Marissa says, leaning in and smelling too strongly of floral perfume, “Karl… What do you think?
Diamonds or pearls?” She’s holding her phone out to me, but I’m not looking. My gaze is transfixed on
the window, through which I can see my car sitting in the driveway.
Waiting. Beckoning to me.
“Karl?” she asks, wiggling her phone a bit with a giggle. “He’s so cute when he’s distracted, isn’t he?”
Then, with a clarity that feels like I’m just awoken from a very long dream, I know I can’t do this
anymore. Not another minute of feigned interest, not another second of nodding along to stories that
mean nothing to me.
“Excuse me,” I interrupt. My chair scrapes on the floor as I stand abruptly, and the conversations
around me fall silent.
Marissa looks up at me, her eyes slightly widened, her mouth parted in surprise. “Is everything alright,
Karl, dear?” she says.
I offer a smile, one that doesn’t quite reach my eyes. “I just remembered, there’s something I need to
do. Please excuse me.”
Before Marissa or any of the other women can retort, I’m pushing away from the table and crossing the
room. My hand is moving to loosen my tie, and I’m unbuttoning my suit jacket. I pause for a moment by
the door, thinking, then grab a bouquet of flowers out of a vase, not caring that water and loose petals
splatter all over a tray of petit fours.
It’s then that Marcus’ hand claps over my shoulder.
He furrows his brow, his gaze sliding down to the flowers in my hand before they slide back up to me.
“And where, exactly, are you going?” Content of Drаmąոovels.cоm
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