I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, naked as the day I was born. I remember the conversation I had with Ethan last night. It was so intense I question for a second if it was a dream, but it wasn’t. After everything that was said and the energy all of his truths took out of me, I know I should feel worse, drowning in regret, feeling guilty when I think of Sarah, but I don’t. It all feels distant, like it’s now in the past. The look of disappointment on her face no longer affects me. It’s done.
After I quickly dress, I leave the bedroom quietly. The penthouse opens around me in pale morning light, the wood counters, muted steel, windows, stretching forever upward. Everything is too clean, too clinical, too organized. It feels like walking through someone else’s mind.
When I enter the kitchen, a woman stands at the counter, arranging cups with calm precision. She is older, and I immediately recognize her from a few days ago when I turned up here late in the evening. She turns when she hears me, and her eyes soften immediately.
“You must be Leo.” I stop on the spot. How does she know who I am?
“Yes. I — sorry, I didn’t mean to —”
“You’re not intruding,” she says gently. “I’m Lilian.”
She gestures to the coffee machine as I take a seat, dying for a cup of caffeine.
“Sit. You look like you’re deciding whether to flee through the windows.”
Heat crawls up my neck as its pretty fucking obvious what I’m doing here.
“I was just… I’m a friend of Ethan’s.”
“It’s not my business why you’re here,” she says simply. “Or how long you stay.”
She begins making coffee like this conversation is ordinary. Like it’s normal for men to wake up in their employer’s penthouse after detonating their marriage. I bet she’s seen it all here. A vault of secrets.
“You don’t have to worry, Leo,” she adds, and my hands tremble slightly as I rest them on the counter.
“Has Ethan gone out?” I ask, and Lilian glances at me.
“He’s in his office,” she says.
Something inside me loosens. He didn’t run away from the mess he left in bed. I’m slightly embarrassed by last night. How weak I was, allowing myself to break down like that. The coffee is placed in front of me, warm and rich-smelling. Real coffee. Not the bitter, watery shit I drink at home.
“Thank you.”
She nods once, satisfied, and I take a sip and of course it’s perfect. Footsteps sound behind me and I know who it is before I turn. Every time Ethan enters a space, it feels like he has been announced over speakers with trombones sounding in the background.
As usual, his focus is straight on me, watching me drink my coffee, and for the first time I don’t shy away.I’m so used to his stares now that it doesn’t feel wrong or awkward. It’s become my new normal. What does surprise me is the way he walks straight over to me, cups my jaw and kisses me. Shit. It’s a kiss that’s in between gentle and rough. Possessive.
Lilian pretends very hard to be fascinated by the espresso machine, which makes me smile. Ethan rests his forehead briefly against mine and I sink into the touch.
“You slept well.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Good. You need to brush your teeth and shower.”
“Are you saying I smell?”
“Yes, and badly.”
“Fucker,” I mutter before finishing off my coffee. I’m just about to excuse myself to go clean up when we’re interrupted.
BANG.
The sound slams into the penthouse like a gunshot.
Another bang.
There is shouting outside the door, muffled by distance. Ethan’s expression doesn’t change, but mine does. Lilian walks over to the door and I hold my breath. What if it’s that guy from last night?
