Brad and I met at university. He built a law firm from the ground up, and I was right beside him. We lived in a sleek New York apartment, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the skyline. The city at night had always felt magical, the lights glittering like the biggest Christmas tree in the world.
And I’d given it all up for him.
That was my first mistake.
The second was believing he’d done the same for me.
I should’ve known when things started fizzling out. Should’ve known when he started working late, when his kisses lost their warmth. Should’ve known when Kate begged me to come to her father’s estate for the weekend, but I stayed home instead, completely unaware that while I was waiting for him, he was entertaining someone else.
The day Brad ended our relationship was the same day he destroyed my entire life.
I’d helped him build his company, but I wasn’t a partner. Not a wife. Just another employee, and just as disposable. He fired me, threw me out of the home we built, and left me sobbing on Kate’s doorstep with everything I owned stuffed into garbage bags.
She took me in, no questions asked, but even she couldn’t fix this.
I drag my fingers through my wind-tangled hair, dodging streams of impatient New Yorkers as I make my way home. Each step feels heavier, like the city itself is pushing back against me.
This isn’t how my life was supposed to turn out. Not three years ago, when I had a future. Not now, when I have nothing.
A man bumps into me, muttering a half-hearted apology before disappearing into the crowd. I catch my reflection in a storefront window, tired eyes, a face that looks older than twenty-nine. For a second, the weight of it all crushes me.
I want to scream.
At Brad. At Hayley. At myself.
But I don’t.
I square my shoulders and keep walking.
When I got to the apartment, my hands were shaking. I press the buzzer and wait, already bracing for Kate’s well-meaning pep talk.
It’s a blessing in disguise, Brook! You were miserable there anyway!
What the hell does she know about losing everything? About clawing your way up, only to be kicked back down?
The door buzzes open. I trudge up the stairs, exhaustion pressing into my bones.
One thing is certain—I refuse to stay here.
I don’t care how. I don’t care what it takes.
I’m going to get out of this rut.
Even if it means burning the whole damn city down to do it.
Fake It Till You Make It
“How’s the job hunting going?”
Kate’s voice is filled with hope, but I shake my head. It’s not that I hadn’t tried, but my resume was a disaster. A train wreck of short-lived jobs and dead-end positions.
“I can help?—”
“Kate, no.” I cut her off before she could finish. “I’m not taking your money.”
“I’m not offering it.”
I narrow my eyes. “Then what are you offering?”
