Payn

car, and Kloe, predictably, started to shiver. Her fashionable, thin ski jacket was clearly

he whimpered, her voi

aped it around her shoulders. "I told you that jacket wasn't warm enough," he said, b

nzalo! And it'll look amazing in photos. You know how important my aesthetic is for my brand." She the

al, Kloe," Go

uisite leather handbag from her luggage. "Gonzalo, darling, you for

on from a brand I recognized. Gonzalo had just bought Kloe an $

angerously soft, "where did y

le. "Amy! It's just... a small gift. Fo

lars is not a small gift. It's more than you'v

s my money, Amy!

my money. The money I earn as a software engineer, the money I earn as a U.S. Army Reserve Captai

his face contorted in rage. "It

d a pitch I didn't recognize. "You have some nerve, Gonzalo! I begged you for a decent ski jacket for myse

ing do. He had always been so careful with "our" money when it came to me. Always

l better, you can have it. I'm sure I can find another bag." She started to unc

p your secondhand goods, Kloe. I don't want

t Gonzalo, her eyes welling up with fa

y, that's enough! You're rui

y, Gonzalo. Don't let her upset you." She leaned in, blowing

Kloe, a tenderness in his eyes that made my blood run

nds. "I don't want you to get sick. I know you're so worried about me, but you need to

away. "No, Kloe. You need i

her voice full of false concern. "I

as concern. Finally, Gonzalo, exasperated, pulled his coat back

d almost hear them. "But I don't want you to suffer because of me." She look

ance ski jacket, the one I had bought myself with my own money, the one I had s

s voice flat, "tak

. Had I heard h

ed, his voice firm. "You're not as

onzalo, I'm just warm-blooded. That doesn't me

me, his eyes blazing. "

nstinctively recoiled, trying to pull away.

were on an icy patch of pavement near the ski lifts. My feet slipped. I lost my balance. We both went down. My head hit the grou

ripped from my body. I saw Kloe, her face a mask of false co

sked, her voice trembling, though

n. "Always so dramatic." He helped Kloe to her feet, adjusting my jacket on her shoulders. "You go on ahead,

e just turned his back on me, on his wife, and started walkin