Author's Preface
[Cont.]
[Annie]
The nearby cafe is dimly lit and filled with late-working professionals and couples.
We sit at a small corner table, but the atmosphere only makes Oliver’s elevated voice carry further than it should.
"Annie, I'm sorry. I know I messed up, but you have to give me another chance," Oliver pleads, reaching across the small wooden table. "Tell me what I need to do. Just guide me on how to be a better partner for you. Tell me what to change, and I'll change it."
"Oliver, stop," I say, keeping my voice as low and firm as possible. "It’s not about giving you a list of instructions. It's over between us. We aren't compatible, and I don't feel the same way anymore."
"Then I'll match your compatibility!" he insists loudly, his hands gesturing wildly.
Nearby customers turn their heads, frowning at the commotion.
"Just tell me what to do! I'll adapt to whatever you want, Annie. You just have to show me!"
Mortification burns through me as I notice the glares from surrounding tables.
I feel like a villain—like I'm heartlessly breaking a desperate man's heart—even though I have repeatedly set clear, reasonable boundaries with him.
"Oliver, please lower your voice," I press, my cheeks flaming red. "It’s not something you can fix or perform. I am simply not into this relationship anymore. You deserve someone who actually wants to be with you and values you, but that person isn't me."
Oliver doesn't listen and instead, his face twists with dramatic desperation.
Before I can react, he slides out of his chair and drops directly onto his knees on the hard cafe floor.
He reaches out and grabs my hand in a tight, pleading grip. "Annie, please. Don't do this to me. Just give me one more chance!"
"Oliver, get up!" I gasp, mortified, desperately trying to pull my hand free from his grip as half the cafe turns to stare at us in silence. "Stop doing this! Do not act like this in public!"
Oliver looks up at me, his eyes wide, his grip still stubbornly holding onto my fingers.
"Then will you accept my request if I do it in privacy?"
I freeze, horrified by his words.
The sheer absurdity and disregard for my boundaries leave me speechless, my face burning with a mix of utter humiliation and disgust as I yank my hand completely free from his grip, pushing my chair back so hard its legs scrape loudly against the floorboards.
"Get up, Oliver," I say, my voice trembling with a mixture of rage and mortification. "This right here—this exact, performative display—is why I cannot be with you. You don't respect my boundaries, you don't listen when I say no, and you turn every boundary I set into a public spectacle. Get your act together."
Without another word, I reach into my handbag and pull out the thick white envelope that had been bothering me for a while—the exclusive delegate passes he had given me weeks ago.
I drop it squarely onto the center of the glass table.
"And take these back," I add, my voice sharp and final. "I am not taking your handouts, Oliver. I don't want to be tied to you, I don't want to be indebted to you, and I certainly don't want your charity.”
"Annie, wait—"
"This is not how grown adults talk, and it is definitely not what I agreed to speak to you about," I snap, taking two sharp steps backward. "Do not follow me."
I turn on my heel and scurry out of the cafe, the bell above the door chiming loudly as I push into the cool evening air.
Behind me, I can hear the heavy thud of the door swinging open again and him calling my name down the sidewalk.
I don't look back until I hit the corner, breaking into a rushed stride toward the company building’s underground parking structure.
My chest heaves, my mind racing in a tailspin of stress.
As I round the final corner near the parking ramp entrance, I nearly collide with a broad shoulder.
I stumble back, gasping, only to look up and see Kai.
He’s standing near the side entrance, his coat draped over his arm, holding his car keys.
He takes in my disheveled hair, my flushed cheeks, and the frantic way my eyes keep darting toward the street.
His brow instantly furrows. "Annie? What happened? Are you okay?"
"I'm... I'm fine," I force out, my voice coming out breathlessly as I adjust my bag strap. "I'm just heading to my car."
Before he can respond, my phone vibrates in my hand.
It’s an unknown number.
I press decline, but two seconds later, a flurry of text messages floods the screen.
A tremor passes through my hands as I read them.
I look up at Kai, the panic slipping through my attempt at composure.
"It's Oliver," I tell him directly, my voice tight. "He showed up at the cafe around the corner. Now he's texting me from a different number saying he's going to wait outside our apartment building."
Kai listens, his expression sharpening with clear concern.
He steps toward the executive parking bays and unlocks his car with a sharp beep.
"Come on," he says. "Get in."
I hesitate, taking a step back. "My car is down on B2, Kai. I can just drive back—"
"He knows your car, Annie," Kai says gently, keeping his distance so he doesn't crowd me. "If he's watching the street, he'll look for you driving out. It's safer if you ride with me."
The logic of his words cuts through my panic.
I look down at my phone, then back at Kai, whose steady presence feels like the only grounded thing in the street.
Without another word of argument, I follow him to the passenger side and slide into the car.
Kai shuts the door, walks around to the driver's side, and starts the engine.
As he pulls out of the parking structure and onto the main avenue, my eyes dart to the sidewalk.
Standing right near the intersection under the streetlamps is Oliver—his hands shoved into his pockets, scanning every vehicle that slows down at the light with a searching stare.
A chill settles in my stomach as Kai shifts gears, accelerating into the flow of traffic and leaving the sidewalk far behind us.
The interior of the car is still and steady as Kai navigates through the evening city traffic.
I rest my head back against the leather headrest, my heart still hammering against my ribs.
My fingers tighten around my phone every time the screen lights up with a muted notification.
Kai keeps his eyes fixed on the road, his hands resting easily on the steering wheel.
He doesn't press me for details.
When the phone buzzes again, his gaze flickers briefly to my hands before returning to the windshield.
"Don't answer him," he says simply.
"I wasn't going to," I reply, setting the phone face down in my lap.
Streetlamps sweep over the dashboard in rhythmic, golden flashes.
The steady rhythm of Kai’s driving slowly grounds me, drawing the frantic edge out of my breathing.
"He wasn't supposed to be there," I murmur after a long while, looking out the passenger window as the familiar streets near our neighborhood begin to appear.
"At the office?" Kai asks.
I nod, staring at my reflection in the glass. "He... he thinks if he just makes enough noise, or makes a big enough scene, I'll bend to keep the peace. He's always been like that. But showing up at my work..." My voice trails off, a wave of residual exhaustion washing over me.
Kai doesn't offer unsolicited advice or make dramatic promises.
He just lets my words exist in the space between us, listening without judgment.
As we turn onto the avenue leading toward our complex, he slows the car down slightly.
"Do you want me to take you somewhere else?" Kai asks, glancing over at me.
The simple question gives me my breath back.
He isn't deciding my night for me; he's giving me the choice.
"No," I say, shaking my head. "I just want to go home."
"Alright."
He turns the car toward our complex's entrance, pausing briefly as the guard at the main gate checks our vehicle scan before lifting the security barrier.
As we descend the ramp into the underground parking garage and he maneuvers into his bay, the quiet of the lower level fills the cabin.
Kai unbuckles his seatbelt and looks over at me. "I'll walk you up."
I hesitate, my hand hovering over my seatbelt buckle.
Even knowing we live directly across the hall from each other, the thought of walking into the residential lobby alone after Oliver's text still makes a knot form in my stomach.
"Okay," I say. "Thank you."
We step out of the car and walk side by side toward the glass doors leading into the main residential lobby.
My eyes instantly scan the perimeter—the visitor lounge, the potted palms near the entrance—bracing myself for Oliver’s presence.
Kai notices the way my eyes dart around the room.
He stops just inside the lobby doors, standing beside me.
"He's not here," he says.
I look up at him. "How do you know?"
He subtly points toward the gate outside, where the complex guard is actively screening approaching pedestrians, then gestures toward the lobby front desk.
"Security at the main gate wouldn't let anyone without a resident key pass through," he says. "And the lobby desk is clear. He can't get anywhere near here, Annie."
A long breath escapes my chest—a release of tension I didn't realize I was holding.
We take the elevator up to our floor in easy, quiet steps.
When the doors slide open, we walk side by side down the carpeted hallway toward our units facing directly across from one another.
I step up to my door and pause, resting my fingers against the keypad frame before turning around to face him across the narrow corridor.
"Thank you, Kai," I say. "For bringing me back. And for... everything."
He rests one hand in his coat pocket, keycard in the other.
"Get some rest, Annie," he says gently. "And if you hear anything, or if you need help with anything tonight—call me. Or just knock on my door. I'm right here."
"I will," I say softly. "See you tomorrow."
He gives me a subtle nod before tapping his keycard and stepping into his apartment.
I punch in my door code and step inside mine, shutting the door behind me and leaning my back against the hard wood.
In the quiet of my hallway, a stark realization washes over me.
With Oliver, every interaction had felt like a constant mental calculation—figuring out what to say, how to react, and how to bend just to keep him from exploding or making a scene.
But during the entire drive home with Kai, I realized I hadn't had to calculate a single thing.
Comments