Lila Parker — Marketing Intern
Intern.
I didn’t cry. Not then. My body shifted into some emergency setting where emotions felt inefficient. I took screenshots. Forwarded them to myself. Closed the laptop exactly as I’d found it, as though neatness could prevent collapse.
That evening Ethan walked in smelling of cologne and confidence. He kissed my cheek the same way he always did, asked about my day as if he cared, poured himself a drink. I watched him, stunned by the performance.
“Everything okay?” he asked, noticing my silence.
“Fine,” I replied. “Just tired.”
I waited until he fell asleep. Then I started packing.
Not my things. His.
I pulled two suitcases from the closet and filled them with his suits, his shoes, his ridiculous monogrammed cufflinks. I added his toothbrush, his watch charger, and the framed photo from his desk—the one where his arm wrapped around me like he was proud.
At 8:15 a.m., I loaded everything into my trunk and drove to his office building.
The parking lot buzzed with employees and coffee cups. I walked inside like I belonged—because I did. I had built my life around a man who worked in that glass tower.
At reception, I smiled. “Hi. I’m here to drop something off for Ethan Lawson.”
The receptionist blinked. “Uh—”
“I’ll take it up,” I said, pulling the suitcases behind me. “It’s personal.”
And then I saw her.
Lila Parker stood near the elevators, laughing with two coworkers, hair perfectly styled, bright badge clipped to her blazer. When her eyes met mine, her smile faltered—like she sensed danger but hadn’t yet learned to fear it.
I stopped directly in front of her.
“Lila?” I asked, projecting just enough for the lobby to hear.
Her face drained of color. “Yes?”
I placed Ethan’s suitcases at her feet and released the handles.
“Congratulations,” I said. “He’s yours.”
For a moment, the lobby fell silent—the way rooms do right before an alarm sounds, everyone instinctively holding their breath.
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