Parted After The StormChapter 1

Demoted, I crouched curb-side, shoveling salty street fries through tears. I texted Silas that I was exhausted and the fries helped. He did not reply. Half an hour later, shivering in the biting Seattle air, I texted again that I needed to talk. His response cut deep. What exactly is the point of this text? Are you trying to get me to reimburse you for your junk food?

For six years, I had proven I was not a gold digger. Since his mother drained his accounts and left him millions in debt, Silas despised users. I never spent his money. We split every dinner bill. I returned expensive gifts. I kept our relationship hidden at work so my project results alone impressed the board.

Refreshing my feed, I saw Mina, the intern who stole my promotion, post a photo wearing a diamond necklace. The caption thanked Mr. Blackwood for celebrating her promotion. I recognized the limited-edition piece from a magazine. Only three existed worldwide. In six years, Silas had never given me a gift worth more than a hundred dollars. The jewels against Mina’s collarbone were worth at least a million. Tears clouded my screen. My desperate attempts to prove my worth over the years were apparently worth less to him than a cheap carton of street fries.

…

After choking down the last bite, I hailed a cab back to the corporate tower.

The promotion results were already posted on the internal network, but I still needed to ask him where I fell short. I had six years of project management experience. I ranked first in performance reviews for three consecutive years. My team had the lowest turnover rate in the entire company.

And I lost to a twenty-two-year-old intern who had just passed her probation period.

The moment I stepped out of the cab, I froze. Three yards away, Silas was leaning over, holding the passenger door of his sleek black Bentley open for Mina.

"There is no rush on this project," his voice drifted over, smooth and patient. "Just take your time getting familiar with the workflow. I am taking you to London in a couple of days to meet the clients. It will be a good learning experience."

"But I only just got hired full-time." Mina sounded appropriately hesitant.

"It does not matter." Silas cut her off, his tone softer than I had ever heard it. "As long as you have the drive, titles do not mean anything. Besides, I am right here. If anything goes wrong, I have your back."

The warm summer wind brushed against my skin, but I felt ice-cold down to my bones.

In six years, Silas had traveled to thirty-five countries for business. He never took me on a single trip.

He always fed me the same line: "We do not mix personal feelings with company business."

I had even asked him once if I could go purely as the project lead.

He had looked at me with cold, evaluating eyes. "Aria, are you trying to use your project metrics to extort a free business trip out of me? You need to remember your place in this company."

Remember my place.

I remembered my place so well that I did not dare commute with him. I did not dare post a single picture of us online. I did not even dare step into the same elevator with him at work.

And yet, he turned around and told another woman that titles did not mean anything.

Mina spotted me standing by the curb and waved enthusiastically. "Aria!"

Silas followed her gaze. His eyes swept over me for less than a second before returning to Mina.

"Get in," he told her. "I will drop you off so you can get some rest."

Mina nodded, flashing me a bright, innocent smile. "Are you heading back up to the office, Aria? Or do you want to catch a ride with us?"

Silas finally looked at me.

"Just call an Uber," he said flatly. "Mina lives in the opposite direction. It is out of the way."

But at the end of the night, he still had to return to the apartment we shared. So what exactly was out of the way?

Before I could force a single word out of my throat, he got into the driver's seat and started the engine.

I stood alone in the wind, watching the taillights bleed into the city traffic. I had been chasing that silhouette for six years.