to the scratchy hospital sheets. The beeping of a machine next to me was a steady, annoyi

ssed in a sharp business suit that seemed out of place in the

backs, but nothing we can' t handle.

like a statue. I recognized her, but the name felt distant

ing softly on the linoleum. She didn' t loo

ery was a success. Liam wi

behind it. She didn' t ask how I was. She didn' t ment

ion. I was twenty-two again, fresh out of college, full of ambition and a belief that I could build anythin

idn't land with the

ss sacrifice. It' s good PR for the company. We' ll frame it as a story

nto a business opportunity. The twenty-two-year-old me, the one who hadn't been wo

he call button.

me papers?" I asked, my v

face. She probably thought I was going to w

ly from the effort. I didn't write a letter. I wrote two words at the

it out

" she asked, h

ks like," I said.

t be ridiculous, Ethan. Is this some new

t me with pity. They saw the devoted husband, the hero who gave a kidney to save his wi

her expression hardened. She leaned

? You' ve been trying to guilt m

public mask of the powerf

tle indie game division was a drain on resources. I' m promoting Liam to head of

mistakes, Ethan. When you' re ready to

man she was married to, the man she

d to her retreating back. My voice

' t turn

hnson burst into the room, his fa

hloe' s assistant called me. A ki

aw my face. He saw t

wrong?"

st friend. "I don' t remember. I do

d. "What are you

gaming company together. I remember meeting Chloe. And then..

me. Anoxia. Lack of oxygen to the brain during a complication in the s

ker, brilliant and captivating. She talked about the future, and I was

ghts at the office, coding, building the foundation of the small company she had acquired. I

d say, her mind already on a

ly I guess the old me hadn'

en Chloe having dinner with Liam. It looked too intimate to

ne else. The pain, the jealousy, the quiet desperation-they were just facts wi

the doorway, her f

snapped. She grabbed it from th

e? It' s the most pathetic thing you' ve e

arm dramatically. He looked pale

sympathy. "Don' t do this to Chloe. After everything

the first time I felt a flicker of the old me' s confu

. And he was using it to manipulate the woman who was,