in three years, Noa

s simple, cold, and

indie game blurred. It was always like this, a sudden, sharp cut with no explanation. It always happened when he w

g series of her apologies and his eventual, reluctant forgiveness. She was always the one to mend things, to swallow her pride, to

his friends. "Huge party at Noah's tonight! You coming?" Ava's heart

"I don't think I'm invi

be silly. He's just being dramatic. Scarlett'

was a custom-made game controller, the shell painted with a scene from her own game, a project she had poured her soul

go. She had

rted, the kind that flooded streets and made the city grind to a halt. Ava didn

the cardboard growing slightly damp from the rain on her coat. She rehearsed he

gold, and the doorman looked at her damp clothes with disdain. She finally made it to the penthouse,

ampagne flutes and laughed at jokes she couldn't hear. She felt small

one hand, his other arm casually draped around Scarlett's shoulders. He was laughing, hi

few feet away, he finally turned and his eyes landed on her. Th

" he asked, his voice loud eno

and down with a small

stammered, holding out the

eared at his side. "See? Told you she'd co

rned back to Ava, his eyes cold. "It was a bet, Ava. I bet Mark a thousand dollars that if

zen, her hand still outstretched with the gift. The music seemed to

m controller with a bored expression. "Cute," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Then, without a second

watched as someone bumped the table, and the controller slid off,

m. A profound numbness washed ov

d through the crowd, past the curious and mocking faces, and stepp

water soaked her clothes and hair, but she barely felt it. She just ke

. He had seen the whole thing unfold through the glass doors. He saw the bet, th

n Noah for years, they were rivals in the tech world. He knew

appeared into the rainy darkness. He had admired her from afar for a long time, impressed by her talent