Author's Preface
[Cont.]
[Annie]
The city traffic thickens as mid-morning settles over the highway.
The sprawling skyline emerges through a grey haze, replacing the steep pine ridges with endless rows of glass and concrete.
Inside the car, the quiet remains steady, broken only by the low hum of the engine and the soft click of the indicator as Kai navigates the turning lanes.
When the car finally glides into our building's underground parking garage, the familiar subterranean quiet settles over us.
The sense of reality returning is almost physical, bringing a tight, familiar tension back into my shoulders.
Kai shifts into park, cutting the engine.
I unbuckle my seatbelt and set the empty paper cup in the console holder.
Reaching down, I begin folding the cashmere blanket, making careful, neat edges before laying it across the armrest between us.
Before I can reach for my door, Kai is already out of the driver's seat.
He opens the trunk, lifts my heavy duffel bag out, and slings it over his shoulder as if it weighs nothing at all.
"Kai, you don't have to carry that," I say, stepping out into the cool garage air. "You've driven for hours, and you've done more than enough."
"It's on my way," he says simply, stepping toward the elevator bank.
I follow him in silence.
The metallic doors slide shut, sealing us in the small, mirrored box.
Standing this close feels overwhelming in the tight space.
He stands slightly ahead of me, his profile reflected in the brushed steel wall—composed, upright, and entirely silent.
When the elevator chime sounds at our floor, the doors slide open to the quiet, carpeted hallway we share.
Kai walks ahead, stopping outside my apartment door.
He sets the heavy duffel bag down right beside the welcome mat, stepping back to give me space.
He doesn't hover and simply pulls his hands into his pockets.
I pull my key card from my pocket, but pause before tapping it against the sensor.
I look up at him.
"Thank you, Kai," I say softly. "For everything last night. Truly."
"Get some rest, Annie," he replies, his voice flat and entirely composed. "Call if you need anything."
He turns and walks the few paces down the hall to his own door.
I hear the quiet click of his lock engaging just as I tap my key card and step inside my apartment.
[ *** ]
The moment the front door clicks shut, I find my mother waiting right in the living room.
She's standing near the coffee table where two half-empty cups of tea sit beside her phone.
The second she hears the door lock engage, she snaps her head toward the entryway and hurries into the foyer.
"Annie! Where on earth have you been?" my mother demands, her voice tight with rising exasperation. "Why haven't you been answering your phone? I've been trying to call you since last night!"
I freeze near the entryway, still clutching my key card.
My mind reels, still caught between the quiet ride in Kai's car and everything waiting for me at home.
"Mom, please..."
"Oliver has been frantic all night, Annie," she continues, placing her hands on her hips.
Her sharp eyes sweep over me—taking in my rumpled hair, the faint dark circles, and the oversized cotton t-shirt I’m wearing. "He called me at three in the morning, and then again at seven! He said you threw a huge scene at the ridge, abandoned the weekend trip, and made his driver drop you off in the middle of nowhere."
I feel an icy coldness settle in my stomach.
Of course.
Oliver didn't just accept the blocked calls—he routed around me straight to my mother, spinning the narrative before I even made it back to the city.
"He was worried sick," my mother insists, her tone growing sharper, full of disapproval. "His mother called me, too! It’s embarrassing, Annie. He was trying to host a lovely weekend for everyone, and you just disappeared into a storm? Why are you acting this way toward him? You need to call him right now and apologize for spoiling the evening."
"Apologize?" The word tastes like copper in my mouth.
"Yes! He's been sick with concern while you've been ignoring everyone," she says, taking a step closer. "He's a good man, Annie. He comes from a wonderful family. You're being completely unreasonable and immature. Pick up your phone and call him."
Something inside me snaps.
The weeks of walking on eggshells, the constant pressure to conform to Oliver's moods, the humiliation at the estate, and the sheer physical exhaustion of the last twelve hours crash together, shattering my remaining composure.
"Stop it, Mom!" I yell, yanking my arm back as she reaches for me.
She blinks, stunned into silence.
"Just stop!" My breath comes out in ragged hitches, my chest heaving. "Oliver and I are not compatible in any way! Not physically, not mentally, not emotionally! He doesn't care about me—he cares about control! He has zero understanding of who I am, and I am completely done letting you push me toward him!"
"Annie—" my mom begins, her brow furrowing in deep confusion and offense. "I am just trying to—"
"I am never going to call him back," I cut her off, my voice steadying into a hard, unshakeable line. "And I am asking you, right now, to stop pestering me to meet him or stay with him ever again. It is over."
She stands frozen, her mouth slightly open, completely unaccustomed to me striking back with such raw, definitive force.
Before she can mount a defense, a soft, deliberate voice comes from behind us.
"Let the girl speak, Martha."
Grandma walks out slowly from the guest room, leaning lightly on her cane.
Her sharp gray eyes move from my mother’s flushed face to mine, full of quiet clarity.
"Mamma, you don't understand," mom tries again, turning defensive. "Oliver's mother said—"
"I don't care what your friend's son says, or what his mother says," grandma interrupts calmly, placing a firm, warm hand on my mother's arm. "Look at your daughter. Listen to her for once instead of worrying about keeping up appearances for your social circle."
My mom starts to protest, but Grandma gives her a single stern look that silences her.
Grandma then turns to me, her expression softening into deep empathy.
"Go on into your room, sweetheart," she says gently. "Refresh yourself and rest."
I swallow the lump in my throat, offering a quiet, grateful nod.
I pick up my duffel bag from the floor and walk down the short hallway into my bedroom, closing the door firmly behind me.
I sink back against the wood of the door, letting out the breath I feel like I've been holding since last night.
The apartment outside my room is quiet now—just the low, muffled murmur of my grandma talking down my mother in the living room.
I drop the duffel, strip off my clothes, and turn the shower on hot.
Stepping under the stream, I wash away the lingering cold of the mountain rain and the heavy residue of the past twenty-four hours.
After dressing in clean, soft clothes, I collapse onto my bed.
My mind drifts for a second to the apartment right across the hallway wall—to Kai, sitting in his own quiet space just a few feet away.
I pull the duvet up to my chin, close my eyes, and finally fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
[ *** ]
When I blink awake, the shadows in my bedroom have stretched long across the floor, painting the walls in the dim dusk of late afternoon.
A low hum of conversation drifting from the living room breaks through the quiet of the apartment.
I sit up, rubbing my eyes.
At first, I assume it's just my mother and grandmother talking.
But as I step closer to my bedroom door, a distinct, familiar voice makes my stomach drop.
Oliver.
I pull the door open and walk straight into the living room.
I find Oliver sitting on the sofa next to my mother.
He’s leaning forward, a cup of tea held loosely between his hands, his head tilted in a posture of quiet distress.
Mom is sitting right beside him, nodding sympathetically as she pats his shoulder.
I stop dead in my tracks, my blood running cold. "What are you doing here?"
Oliver immediately looks up, his expression shifting into pained relief. "Annie... thank God you're awake."
"Annie, don't start," mom says sharply, giving me a stern, warning look. "Oliver has been sitting here waiting for you for an hour."
I turn on her, my chest tightening with sheer frustration. "Mom, why did you let him inside? I explicitly asked you earlier to stop pushing him on me!"
"He came all the way here because he was worried sick about you, Annie!" She insists, her voice rising defensively. "The least we could do is hear him out!"
"It's okay, Mrs. Hayes," Oliver says softly, putting a gentle hand on her arm.
He stands up slowly, taking a step toward me with his hands raised slightly in surrender. "Annie, please... I just wanted to apologize for everything. I know I was wrong to push you at the estate. Next time we go out, I promise I'll ask for your permission in advance before extending our dates or making any plans. I just want to make things right."
I stare at him, a cold weight settling in my chest.
He’s managed to shrink the entire weekend down to a harmless disagreement about schedule changes—turning himself into the reasonable boyfriend and leaving me to look completely unhinged for walking away.
"We are not talking about this in here," I say, my voice trembling.
I turn on my heel, grabbing the doorknob. "Out. Now."
"Annie, be reasonable!" mom calls out, standing up to follow us. "He's trying to apologize!"
"Stay there, Mom," I snap over my shoulder, ushering Oliver firmly through the door before my mother can step out into the hallway.
I shut the apartment door behind us, cutting off her protests.
The quiet of the carpeted hallway wraps around us.
I march straight toward the elevator bank, putting distance between us and my front door.
I turn around to face him, crossing my arms over my chest. "What is wrong with you, Oliver? Leave. Go home, and stop contacting my mother."
He doesn't step into the elevator.
Instead, he steps closer to me, his tone dropping into a persistent, desperate whine.
"Annie, I'm not leaving until you forgive me and give us another chance. I know I made a mistake, but we can fix this. You're just angry right now."
"I am not 'just angry'!" I snap, my voice echoing off the hallway walls. "I am completely done! I don't want another chance, I don't want to fix this, and I want you to leave me alone!"
"Annie, please—"
Before I can take another step back, Oliver drops heavily to his knees right on the carpet in front of the elevator doors.
"Annie, I'm begging you," he says loudly, reaching out to clutch at the hem of my pants, his face twisted in despair. "Please don't do this to us! I'm so sorry! Just tell me you forgive me!"
Heat rushes straight to my face, a violent wave of mortification crashing over me.
"Oliver, get up!" I whisper harshly, frantically trying to pull my leg away from his grip.
"What are you doing? Get up right now!"
"Not until you forgive me!" he insists, his voice carrying down the quiet, residential corridor.
Panic and intense embarrassment claw at my throat.
I instinctively glance down the hallway toward Kai's door, my heart hammering against my ribs.
The corridor remains completely still.
No doors open.
No one steps out.
The silence from Kai's apartment is absolute.
"Please, Oliver, stop acting like this and just leave," I plead, my stomach twisting into sickening knots as I look around the empty hallway. "You're making a scene!"
"I'll leave the second you tell me we're okay," he says, looking up at me with wide, pleading eyes, refusing to budge from the floor. "Just say you forgive me, Annie. Please."
I can't take another second of this.
I can't risk my neighbors—or Kai—stepping out and seeing him on the floor outside my door.
"Fine!" I say hurriedly, giving an empty, completely unserious nod just to make it stop. "Fine, Oliver! I forgive you! Just get off the floor!"
His face instantly brightens.
The tragic look vanishes as if it were never there, replaced by a triumphant, satisfied smile. He springs to his feet, dusting off his trousers.
"I knew you'd see sense," Oliver says smoothly, stepping close and reaching out to pat my shoulder. "I'll call you tonight. Make sure you unblock my number, okay?"
"Yeah. Sure. Fine," I lie, nodding rapidly and taking a step back to push him toward the elevator doors. "Just go."
"See you soon, Annie," he says softly, stepping into the lift as the doors finally slide open.
He flashes me one last confident smile as the doors slide shut, sealing him inside.
The moment the elevator indicator lights begin to move down, the tension drains from my legs.
I sink my back against the wall, taking a deep, shuddering breath.
I run a hand through my hair, staring blankly at the empty hallway, the sheer humiliation of the interaction still burning under my skin.
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