An email.
From Reign Management Agency.
My heart lurches into my throat as I jab the screen harder than necessary.
Hi, Cup & Cake team,
We are just reaching out before our order today to inform you we will be pausing our weekly service for the time being.
Have a great day.
—Claudia
Executive Assistant
Reign Management Agency
The words blur.
And the last thread between Nathan and me is gone… just like that.
I sink onto the bench, staring blankly at the useless coffee cooling beside me. My chest feels hollow, my throat tight. I bite the inside of my cheek, fighting tears that sting harder with every blink.
My only instinct is to reach into the bag, break off a flaky pastry, and shove it into my mouth to anchor myself. But before I can swallow, a city bus screeches to a stop right in front of me. I glance up at a six-pack glistening under stadium lights, golden hair swept back, perfect smirk plastered across a giant sportswear ad.
Of course.
I stare at her flawless face as my own tears spill down my cheeks, cheeks undoubtedly blotchy and damp in broad daylight. My laugh comes out broken, jagged, more of a choke.
I throw the half-eaten pastry and coffee into the trash, wipe my face, and stumble back toward the van.
And because the universe isn’t done with me yet, there it is. A bright yellow parking ticket fluttering under my windshield wiper.
I climb into the driver’s seat, grip the steering wheel until my knuckles ache, and finally let go. My forehead falls against the leather, and the sobs I’ve been swallowing all morning tear their way out. My heart hurts. It hurts bad. It’s never hurt this bad.
When I can finally catch my breath, I pull out my phone and text Ashton.
Ella:I need to go home. Can you close for me today?
Then I drop the phone face down in the passenger seat, start the van, and drive.
Later that night, the couch practically grows around me. My sweats are stained with chocolate smudges and chip salt, and an empty takeout container balances on the armrest like some sad badge of honor. I shove another handful of pretzels into my mouth and chew slowly, my stomach already protesting. Comfort eating, my mom calls it. Except there isn’t much comfort in it, just distraction.
I tell myself I’m down for a lot of reasons. Work stress. Long days at the bakery. The weather. But deep down, I know the truth.
It’s Nathan. Even without him in my life, he’s haunting me.
Every thought circles back to him. To Aurora or… Ivy. To the fact that somewhere inside me, I might be holding the missing piece he needs, but I can’t get close enough to hand it to him.
He’s built walls around himself so high that I can’t climb them if I tried.
So maybe it’s time to back off. Stop hurting myself, hoping for something he’d never let me near.
The knock at my door startles me out of my spiral. I freeze, half-expecting it to be some neighbor asking me to turn down my TV, but when I open it, it’s Ashton.
Except this time, she doesn’t come armed with a snarky comment or some outrageous story to fill the silence. She doesn’t even wait for an invitation. She just walks in, sets her bag on the counter, and wraps her arms around me.
The hug is tight, warm, the kind that makes my chest ache in the best way.
