CH.14

The next few weeks passed by in the same dreadful pattern - Karl leaving early each morning for work and not returning until well into the night, while I spent endless vacant days alone, cooped up inside binge-watching TV shows and chatting with loved ones to fend off the creeping loneliness and despair.

"Lavinia...I think I'm in love," Rosie's dreamy, wistful voice made me gape in shock through the phone line.

Rosie had been my closest friend since childhood, and her falling in love with someone was essentially a modern miracle, given her track record of rapidly cycling through flings and casual boyfriends.

"What?!" I yelped, unable to stifle my knee-jerk response. This was precisely why I often hesitated before answering Rosie's calls - never knowing what shocking revelation might tumble out next.

"Yeah...I really think I am, Lavi. Oh god, it's such a weird, intense feeling but so wonderfully giddy and intoxicating too," she gushed unabashedly. "Every time I see him, I get these int