Riley returns home, only to find the house completely empty, again.
A heavy feeling of suffocation presses down on him. He clutches at his chest, feeling his shirt twist under his fingers. Then he rushes from room to room, desperately searching for any sign that Amanda has come back.
But Amanda, he knows, always tidies up meticulously, never leaving anything out of place. It’s a habit she keeps, probably to match his own preference for a spotless home.
Now, though, that very habit backfires. He can’t even tell if Amanda’s been here or not, because the house looks exactly as she would leave it—flawless and untouched.
Riley finally stops, his footsteps echoing in the stillness. He pulls out his phone, scrolling through his unread messages. When he finds nothing, he checks his work phone too. But there’s nothing there either. Not a single message from Amanda.
No, he tells himself, that can’t be. He reassures h
After sending the message to Shawn, Amanda gets back to editing the website.Having a photographic memory is both a blessing and a curse. Amanda has never forgotten the pain Riley caused her.But that day, in the stairwell, she faced Riley head-on and said everything she’d been holding back. It felt like cutting loose a weight she’d been dragging around for years. From that moment on, life feels lighter, clearer, like an open road stretching out ahead.Over the next few days, Amanda sticks to her routine. She goes to work, finishes her tasks, and smoothly handles the handover process.Friday night comes. It’s her farewell dinner with her coworkers.She’s also arranged to meet Shawn afterward to deliver the incense she promised. She’s excited to have him test a new product she’s been working on.After dinner, a heavy rainstorm rolls in.Amanda stands outside the restaurant, weighed
But inside the car, the atmosphere isn’t what her coworkers might imagine. It’s not filled with laughter or easy conversation.Amanda gazes out the window, watching the rain streak across the glass. She basks in the first quiet moment of peace since leaving her job.Shawn, for his part, drives silently, making no effort to start a conversation.“Are you going tomorrow?” Shawn suddenly breaks the silence.“What?” Amanda startles, pulled from her wandering thoughts. Her mind had drifted far away, somewhere in the open fields of her imagination.“Riley should’ve texted you. We’ve got a gathering tomorrow—Riley, Rex, Faye, and me. Riley said he’d bring you along. Have you decided? Are you going?”Amanda remembers the text.Riley had sent it earlier that day, in his usual curt tone. He mentioned taking her to meet his friends, but gave no specifics&md
On Friday evening, Riley takes his time getting ready. He has carefully chosen his outfit, aiming to make a good impression.Thanks to Heath, he knows the time and location of Amanda’s dinner with her colleagues. His plan is simple: wait until the dinner ends and pick her up. That way, they can return to the villa together and head to the gathering with Rex and the others the next day.He parks his car a short distance from the restaurant, close enough to keep an eye on the entrance but far enough not to draw attention.Riley leans back in his seat, hands resting lightly on the steering wheel. He expects Amanda to leave soon, and the thought of her coming home lifts his spirits.But then he notices something he never anticipated—a black Maybach pulling up a little farther down the street. Riley narrows his eyes. He knows that car.It’s Shawn’s.What is Shawn doing here? Riley watches closely. The car remai
“You look like hell, man. What happened to you?” Rex asks, frowning.Today is supposed to be the day Riley finally introduces Amanda to his friends as his wife. But Riley shows up alone, his demeanor worse than Rex has ever seen.Riley had spent the entire night outside Amanda’s apartment. He only left in the morning, driving straight to the villa for a quick wash and a couple of hours of restless sleep before heading to meet his friends.His mood is abysmal.Even Shawn and Faye notice something is off, though Shawn, as usual, doesn’t pry. Faye, on the other hand, seems uneasy, shrinking back slightly at Riley’s dark aura.That leaves Rex to break the suffocating silence.“Come on. Don’t be like this. It’s been forever since Faye and Shawn came back. Cheer up, mate.”Riley glances up briefly, his tired eyes meeting Shawn’s and Faye’s, but he doesn’t sa
Faye stares at the bottle of Baileys on the table. It hasn’t been touched. The three men obviously aren’t fans of sweet liqueurs.But they don’t know that Faye isn’t either.She doesn’t drink often, but when she does, it’s usually a Gimlet.She loves the sharp sourness, the way it starts on her tongue, spreads across her palate, and hits her stomach like a punch.Sometimes, when she’s home alone, away from anyone’s gaze, she savors it slowly, letting that bite linger.All three of them know Amanda—Riley, Rex, and Amanda work at the same company, and Shawn’s sister Lily is Amanda’s close friend. On paper, they should know her better than Faye.But none of them seem to notice that Amanda likes Baileys. With milk, oolong tea, coconut water—Amanda is game for any pairing. Sometimes, she just pours it over ice.These men don’t know her half as well as
Riley’s gaze drifts across the living room, lingering on the leftover decorations Lily had put up. He doesn’t say a word.“So, Riley,” Shawn begins, leaning back against the counter.“Let’s talk about Amanda. Now that we all know she’s your wife, what’s going on? I need you to tell us the whole thing. If you don’t, we can’t help. Or, if you’d prefer not to talk to us, I can call Mrs. Hopkins, your therapist.”Riley stays silent.This is hard for him—they all know that. His childhood had left scars that made it almost impossible to open up, even more so when it came to personal shame.“Anyway,” Shawn continues, “Rex has told you countless times that he thinks you should get a divorce. I’ll be honest—I think so too.”Riley’s head snaps up, his displeasure obvious. His glare says he’s one word away from punch
Rex already knows what Shawn is getting at.He remembers that day clearly—when Faye fell ill, Riley had asked him to accompany her to the hospital.In fact, every time Faye is unwell, Riley and Rex go together.Rex also works at Griffin Enterprises, and Riley isn’t just a friend; he is his boss. Refusing Riley’s requests is never an option.But Rex has always found it strange. He knows Riley feels guilty toward Faye because of their mother’s death, but he can never quite understand Riley’s feelings for her.Is it love? It doesn’t seem like it. If Riley truly loves Faye, why can’t he bear to be alone with her? Why does he always drag Rex along as a third wheel?But if it isn’t love, why does Riley drop everything whenever Faye needs him?Once, Rex had even asked, “Don’t you think your wife might get angry that you accompany another woman for so many times?”
Talking over their vacation plans and serendipity with Lily is a great weight off Amanda’s shoulders. The apartment’s cozy glow and the comforting aroma of vanilla candles make her forget about the rain outside.“Alright,” Lily says, grabbing glasses from the kitchen, “to Amanda! To freedom, cinnamon rolls, and the best trip ever!”They clink their glasses, and Amanda laughs as the cider fizzes and tickles her nose. “To all of that,” she agrees, her grin growing wider. She has almost forgotten what it feels like to laugh so freely.Amanda rarely drinks anything other than Baileys, but cider is a nice try.“And to bravery. It’s not easy to leave something behind, even when you know it’s the right thing to do.”Amanda feels a lump rise in her throat at Lily’s words. She hasn’t realized how much she needs to hear them. “Thank you,” she says softly, her voice steady but her eyes shining.“Enough with the tears,” Lily says, setting down her glass and grabbing Amanda’s hand. “We have a night
Riley seems to see Amanda again, standing in front of him in a white dress, smiling at him.The memory fades, and Riley blinks, the present rushing back to him. His gaze shifts back to the box of incense on the desk, and a sudden thought strikes him.Why are these still here? he thinks.He presses his palms to his temples, as if trying to force the answer out of his own mind. It doesn’t take long for the memory to resurface—a detail he had buried so deeply it almost feels foreign.Amanda had given him these.It was early in her days as his secretary. At that time, she didn’t marry to him.He had been going through a rough patch, struggling with sleepless nights and the weight of his strained relationship with his father. His temper had been short, and the tension in the office had been palpable.One afternoon, Amanda had spoke to him directly, “You haven't been sleeping well lately.”Her bluntness had startled him at the time, but he’d admitted, grudgingly, that his sleep had been
He flips another page. This one lists his favourite foods:“Simple tastes. Grilled salmon and salad. Always skips dessert but secretly loves lemon tarts. Prefers red wine over white—Merlot especially.”He chuckles under his breath, the sound surprising even himself.She had always been spot-on with his quirks, even the ones he never admitted.How many times had she left a lemon tart on the counter, claiming it was “leftovers” from her baking, just so he wouldn’t feel guilty eating it?Further in, a recipe catches his eye:“Cinnamon coffee—Riley’s favourite.”Beneath it, Amanda had carefully outlined the steps: • Freshly ground beans, dark roast. • Two teaspoons of cinnamon powder. Must be fresh, not the old jar in the pantry! • Brew
Still, life doesn’t pause for reflection, and Riley forces himself to carry on.Determined to find a solution, he resolves to speak with Shawn and Rex, hoping their perspectives might offer clarity.But before he can arrange a time, his butler, Mr. Harris, calls to inform him that the villa’s cleaning has been completed.It has been a while since Riley last set foot in the villa.Ever since Amanda moved out, he’s only been back a handful of times.The place feels empty, too vast for one person, and its silence is oppressive.Riley has avoided it whenever possible, preferring the comfort of his more modest city apartment.Now, with the villa cleaned, he decides it’s time to return.Mr. Harris mentions something peculiar before ending the call.The janitors had discovered a few items in the rubbish bin that didn’t look like trash. Uncertain about what
Riley bites his lip gently. He’s thinking about how to explain their relationship.He thinks about the photo Amanda has posted to insta—that mysterious man.He also remembers what Rex and Shawn has said to him.Riley takes a deep breath. His fingers clutch at his pants.“I wonder if... you can give me a moment,” he begins. “to talk about Faye.”Amanda sits upright and gently pushes her hair back off her forehead. And then she nods to Riley to show she’s listening.“Sure.” She answers.He exhales slowly, trying to find the right way to say it. “Do you know how my mum passed away?”Amanda freezes for a moment, giving Riley a sad look.She shakes her head slowly.It suddenly hit Riley that Amanda had asked him about his mom a few years ago but he didn’t tell her.He lowers his eyelids, his gaze dropping to the floor. “It was a air cr
Riley feels the weight of her words settle into his chest.He looks down at the roses he has brought, now resting on the table between them.They seem ridiculous, almost insulting, in the face of everything Amanda has endured.“Is there nothing I can do?” he asks softly, his voice barely audible.Amanda stands, smoothing her hands over her dress.“You can let me go,” she said gently. “That’s what you can do, Riley. Let me live the life I’ve built for myself.”Riley lowers his head and doesn’t speak for a long time.Amanda ignores him and walks into the room.A few minutes later, she walks out of the room, a necklace in her hand.She hands Riley the necklace and says, “Give it back to you. It’s yours.”Riley looks up, surprised, at the necklace in Amanda's hand. “This—”“Maybe you don't rem
“Why? You don't want to be beholden to me?”“No, of course it's not because of this. Just because it's not working for us anymore.”Riley gives a puzzled look. “What does that mean?”“I’ve already took Kara to Dr. Hayes a long time ago.” Amanda explains.Riley stares at Amanda, her words settling heavily between them like a stone dropped in still water.“You already saw Dr. Hayes?” Riley repeats her words again, his voice barely above a whisper.Amanda nods, her fingers lightly resting on the edge of the table. “Yes, about a half year ago? Kara had her first appointment shortly after I called you.”Riley’s brow furrows as fragments of memory begin piecing themselves together.He remembers that phone call vividly now.He had been in a hotel room on a business trip, rushing to prepare for a major client meeting. At the tim
He looks down, his voice breaking slightly. “You left, and I thought I’d get used to it. But I haven’t. I can’t. Every moment you’re gone, I think about you. About us. And I realized… I love you, Amanda. I always have. I was just too blind, too stupid to see it.”Riley looks back at her, his eyes pleading. “I know I’ve been awful. I know I don’t deserve another chance. But I want to change. I will change. Please… don’t divorce me. Let me try to make this right.”“Please give me a chance to make it up to you.”Amanda looks away, her gaze flicking to the roses, then back to Riley’s face.“And I hope you can meet some of my friends—Rex, Shawn, even Faye. I want you to be part of every part of my life.”He pauses, running a hand through his hair, clearly struggling to find the right words. “I know I’ve got a lot to
Amanda stays a whole day in Kara’s house.The sun is setting as she steps out, the soft glow casting warm hues across the quiet street.The day has been long but strangely soothing—a much-needed pause after everything that’s happened lately.She tightens her scarf against the crisp evening air, feeling the faint scent of the incense still lingering on her coat.Sliding into the driver’s seat, Amanda takes a moment before starting the car.The leather of the steering wheel is cold against her fingers.She glances back at Kara’s house.Through the window, she catches a glimpse of her friend, curled up on the sofa, the faint glow of the lit incense stick flickering in the dim room.Amanda smiles softly to herself.It looks like she comes at the right time today.As the engine hums to life, Amanda adjusts the rear-view mirror.The drive bac
Kara’s parents look stunned, their faces a mix of anger and disbelief.Amanda doesn’t waver, meeting their gazes head-on.Kara breaks the silence, her voice quiet but firm. “She’s right. You’ve done enough damage. I’ve had enough.”She stands, moving to Amanda’s side, her posture strong despite the tremor in her hands.“Get out.”Her mother sputters. “Kara, we’re trying to help—”“No,” Kara says, cutting her off. “You’re not. You never have. Now leave.”Her father looks like he’s about to argue, but something in Kara’s expression stops him. He grabs his coat and heads for the door, her mother trailing behind him.As the door slams shut, Kara sinks onto the sofa, her face pale but determined. Amanda sits beside her, placing a steady hand on her shoulder.“You didn’t ha