EX ON THE CRUISE

Robert leaned back in his chair, holding the phone in one hand while running the other through his hair. "Yes, Sophia, you were talking about something earlier today. Something about your ex?"

Sophia shifted slightly on the screen, her voice coming through the phone with a tinge of hesitation. "Oh, that. My ex-boyfriend is going to be attending the cruise."

Robert frowned. "And you don’t want him to?"

"It’s not exactly that I don’t want him to," she sighed, "but it’s complicated."

"Wait a minute, what’s his name?" Robert asked, curiosity piqued. "Do I know him? Was he a classmate of ours back in high school?"

"His name’s Charles Brown," Sophia replied, almost like she was bracing herself.

Robert’s brows shot up. Charles Brown? The name tugged at something familiar in the back of his mind. "Hold up. Charles Brown? That sounds way too familiar." Without wasting a second, Robert grabbed his MacBook off a nearby table, still on FaceTime with Sophia. "Give me a minute."

He quickly typed the name into G****e, scrolling through results. And then it hit him.

"Wait, Sophie—this is your ex?!" Robert’s eyes widened as he clicked on a few links, scanning the headlines and images. Charles Brown, the cocky, smirking bastard who had made quite a name for himself recently. There were a few articles on him, but Robert remembered his face from somewhere else too.

Sophia nodded, sounding a little uncomfortable. "Yeah. You know him?"

"How the hell could I not?" Robert muttered, more to himself than to her. The look on his face told Sophia everything—Charles was definitely not in Robert’s good books.

Robert leaned forward, his expression darkening as he started explaining. "We’ve crossed paths. A few years back at a business event. He was already a piece of work then, showing up like he owned the place. Tried to pull some big stunt to impress a few executives, talking up some deal he clearly couldn’t back. Thought he could just waltz in, charm everyone, and walk out like some hotshot. Almost got away with it, too—until I and some other smart ones called him out in front of everyone."

Robert laughed bitterly. "I remember the look on his face. Dude was pissed when I shut him down. Thought he was slick, but turns out he’s just a snake in a suit." He shook his head. "So, you dated him?"

Sophia gave a small nod, her expression thoughtful. "For a while, yeah. A few years. It didn’t end well."

"No shit," Robert muttered, leaning back in his chair, trying to wrap his head around it. Charles Brown, of all people. "How long were you with him?"

"During college years," Sophia answered, her tone soft.

Robert let out a low whistle." That's a while lot of time to spend with with that prick? Damn, Soph, I don’t know how you managed that." He could barely tolerate the guy for a few hours, and here Sophia was, dating him for years.

There was silence for a moment, and Robert could feel the weight of what she’d been through hanging in the air. "But he’s your ex now," Robert said, trying to shake off the irritation bubbling up inside him. "And you’re better off. Trust me."

"Yeah, I know," Sophia sighed, running her hand through her hair. "But then he's going to be at the cruise. I have so many awkward memories with him that if I started getting into, we probably wouldn’t finish by dawn. The guy is a fucking snake, Robert. We’re definitely going to cross paths, and I don’t want to look like the loser. You know, the girl who’s still single after he used me to get everything he wanted. Now, he's rich and successful, probably has a bunch of mistresses and hoes who would do anything to be by his side... and I have nothing."

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Sophie," Robert interrupted, raising a brow. "First off, you’re single?" He sounded genuinely surprised, as if the idea of her not being snatched up already was impossible. "I mean, do men not have eyes anymore? How is that even possible?" he muttered more to himself, but Sophia caught it.

She let out a small, humorless laugh. "Well, hell yes. But even if I was in a relationship, it wouldn’t change anything. The ticket is for me alone. So, yeah, I’ll be going single."

"What do you mean he used you?" Robert asked, the curiosity slipping into his voice. "I mean..."

Sophia’s smile faded for a brief second, replaced with something soft and sad, before she masked it with a light laugh. "Probably not a story for today."

Robert wanted to press, but he could see the way her expression had shifted. She clearly didn’t want to dive into that, at least not now. He didn’t want to force her into talking about it, even though every part of him was itching to know more. Maybe this just wasn’t the right time.

The air grew still, both of them falling into a quiet lull, lost in their own thoughts for a solid minute. The tension that had been there before melted slightly, replaced by a strange sort of calm.

Then, out of nowhere, the look in their eyes both brightened as if they'd just realized something at the same time. But it was Sophia who spoke first.

"I think I have an idea, Robert."