LOGINThe office has never felt this quiet.It has been a week since Ellie left, but her absence still fills every corner. I walk in every morning and feel it. The air is heavier. The light from the windows looks duller. Even the sound of the elevator seems slower, as if the whole building is mourning with me.People still greet me, still say good morning, but I barely respond. I hear their voices, but the words don’t reach me. I spend hours staring at reports, pretending to work, but my mind is somewhere else. Every document, every file, every meeting reminds me of her.Her laughter used to echo here. Her calm voice used to balance the noise of the day. Now, it’s gone, and everything feels wrong.Clara still
New York feels like another planet.The air is colder, the people move faster, and even the silence has a sound. I have only been here for a week, but it already feels like I have been living a different life for months. Every morning, I wake up before sunrise and watch the city lights fade as the sky turns pale. It should feel exciting. It should feel like a new beginning. But it doesn’t. It only feels quiet.Sometimes I wonder if peace can also hurt.My apartment is small but neat. The bed faces a tall window that shows part of the city skyline. At night, the lights from other buildings keep me company. I like to imagine that behind every glowing window, someone else is also trying to figure out how to start over.Work starts at eight. I leave early every day because I don’t want to be late, even though the office is only a few blocks away. I walk instead of taking a cab. The air bites my skin, but it helps clear my head. The streets are busy with people holding coffee cups, talking
The morning felt longer than usual.Maybe because I knew she was leaving.The office buzzed quietly, people moving about, papers shuffling, voices mixing into one low hum. I tried to keep my focus on the documents in front of me, but my eyes kept drifting to the glass door. Every sound, every soft footstep, made me look up.But it was never her.Ellie had not been to my office since yesterday. She was packing her things, getting ready for the transfer. I had signed the approval letter myself. I told myself it was for the best. That it was the right thing to do. But the truth was, it felt like signing away something I wasn’t ready to lose.I picked up my pen and forced myself to read the report again. Numbers. Projections. Deadlines. Everything that used to make sense now felt empty.She was the one person who had made this place feel alive. Her quiet presence, her soft voice when she said “good morning,” the way she tried to avoid my eyes but failed every time. I could almost hear her
The office felt heavier than usual this morning. The walls looked the same, the desks still lined in neat rows, but something inside me had changed.Adrian had not spoken to me in more than two weeks. He passed me in the hallway as if I were air. He joined meetings and never once looked in my direction. His silence had turned into a wall, and each day it grew higher.At first, I told myself I could handle it. I tried to lose myself in work, in reports, in emails. I tried to make it seem normal. But every hour that passed made me realize I was pretending. The more I tried to stay strong, the more it hurt.That morning I sat at my desk and stared at my computer screen for a long time. The numbers blurred until they stopped meaning anything. I felt tired, inside and out. It was not just about him anymore. It was about peace, and how far away it felt.So I opened a new document and started typing a letter. My hands shook a little.To the Human Resources Department,I am requesting a trans
I didn’t sleep that night.The city lights blinked through my window, but all I could see was Ellie’s face when I walked away. The look in her eyes — shock, confusion, hurt.I told myself I didn’t care. I told myself it was better this way.But lying there, staring at the ceiling, I knew I was lying to myself again.I turned off my phone, ignored every message, and shut out the world.No one deserved to know what was happening inside my head, not Clara, not Ellie, not anyone.When morning came, I dressed for work like nothing had happened.Suit. Tie. Watch. Mask.By the time I stepped into the office, the mask was fully on.“Good morning, sir,” Mia greeted.I gave a small nod and walked straight into my office.Ellie’s desk was empty. For a moment, I thought she wouldn’t show up.A small part of me wished she wouldn’t.But she did.Ten minutes later, I heard her footsteps, soft and familiar. She stopped at my door like she usually did, waiting for permission to come in.I didn’t say an
It’s been a week since Adrian stopped talking to me.Seven long days of walking through the same halls, sitting through the same meetings, breathing the same air and pretending not to notice him.He doesn’t look at me.Not once.Not even when I speak during meetings. He keeps his eyes on the screen, his tone polite, his face unreadable. Like we never shared anything. Like I don’t exist.People have started to notice.Whispers float around the office like dust…quiet, and impossible to ignore.Did something happen between them?Why doesn’t Mr. Adrian talk to her anymore?Maybe she made him mad.I tell myself it doesn’t matter. That I deserve the silence. But some nights, when I can’t sleep, I replay that last look on his face, the anger, the hurt and it cuts deeper than I expect.By Thursday, the office buzzes with talk about the big presentation and the company gala that will follow. It’s for the new partnership deal with an international firm. Everyone’s excited. Everyone but me.At







