Chapter 2
Ethan wrote: [Still working. Don't wait up.]
I didn't reply. My finger slid across the screen, the blue glow casting shadows as I scrolled through every step he took to cross the line.
He wrote: [That intern from Phutands University is a real gem. I have to take her under my wing.
[The hot search was paid for. Stop overreacting. I was just tweaking her designs.
[We need to make the headlines, Aria. That's just how the game is played. Can you grow up a little?]
*****
At first, I asked, "Who is she?"
Then, I asked, "Why her?"
In the end, nothing but dead silence remained.
I stared at the endless stream of messages about Sophie on my screen. He didn't even notice I hadn't said a single word in our chat for ages.
All that stared back at me were those cold, emotionless "Read" notifications.
The last straw for me was three months ago.
This was a story about priorities.
That day, Sophie got a tiny scratch from a marble slab in Yllantel.
Meanwhile, I was out in the Nexalel, inspecting an abandoned factory, when the stairs gave way, and I fell, damaging my spine.
Even though we lived in the same city, our fates couldn't have been more different.
Ethan's idea of caring was just a chilly text. [Are you okay?]
But right after, he was all over Instagram, playing the hero.
He drove Sophie to the fancy Korshikka Hospital in his Tesla and posted, acting like some anxious dad. "Urgent! What's the best scar removal treatment?"
In the photo, Sophie sat in the passenger seat, looking vulnerable and drop-dead gorgeous.
I was sprawled out in the ER hallway, the air thick with disinfectant, watching him crack jokes with our mutual friends in the comments, never even glancing at my DMs.
That kind of indifference stung way more than anything my back ever felt.
After a sleepless night, I strapped on my bulky back brace and dragged myself to see him.
In his office, he was glued to the screen, frowning at Sophie's Rhino model like it was the only thing that mattered. My health didn't even make the list.
"Hold on, Aria. There's a structural issue here," Ethan said, never taking his eyes off the monitor.
He never looked up.
I stood outside the glass door, watching him obsess over Sophie's blueprints. In those two hours, it hit me that in his world, I was less than a placeholder in his drafts.
His Tatheskornian Institute of Architects Young Architect Award certificate from last year was taped right onto the glass door.
Emma Mccoy, his assistant, hurried over and lowered her voice. "Aria, Ethan's walking Sophie through the plan. It'll be at least two more hours..."
She checked my expression. "Maybe you should come back later?"
I stubbornly shook my head.
"I'll wait," I replied.
Emma looked uneasy.
"But you being here might be a distraction for them," she said.
A sharp pain hit me. I couldn't help but slump to the floor. Emma caught me just in time.
That finally made Ethan look up from behind the glass wall.
He peered through the glass, his expression like he was watching some awkward spectacle.
"Non-essential personnel, please leave," Ethan said, his tone icy and unmistakable.
His eyes were cold, like he was kicking out a stray who'd wandered into a luxury restaurant.
For a split second, his gaze lingered on my awkward, slumped form, his lips almost looked like he wanted to ask, "What's wrong?"
"Ethan, check out this lighting simulation..." Sophie chirped, pointing at the screen.
He spun around instantly. That flicker of concern was as thin as the glass's reflection, shattered the second you reached for it.
His subtext made it obvious that he wanted to say, "Don't act like a victim. Don't be unprofessional. Don't make me lose face."
Maybe, when he finally finished, he'd hand me a few notes he'd scribbled while guiding Sophie, as if it were charity, a token compensation.
The powerful central air conditioning filled the room with a low, steady hum.
Just a wall apart, he was the god of climate control, while I shivered, trapped between Turia's July heat and the chill of the office air.
I pulled my coat tighter around me and stepped into the elevator.
Five years ago, we walked out of Phutands University together, promising we'd conquer this city side by side.
Now, I had to admit that the person who once walked beside me was already gone.