rom Chloe, except for a curt reply to his ini

our little vacation yet?" and "The apar

empty apartment. It was starting to g

y, his takeout con

on the windowsill. Its purple flowers were droopi

dges, working insane hours. Chloe was an art student, all bright colors and sof

Mrs. Peterson, a librarian, with a gentle demeanor but sharp eyes that saw right through Ethan' s carefully constructed facade. They thought he wa

nonsense. He was giving Chloe a life

d another text: "Are you goi

he could second-gue

e he quickly suppressed with anger. She