8
Isaac stopped bothering me after that day.
But Logan? He had his own new set of problems.
“Mia, do you think that woman, Lola, has something seriously wrong with her?” he complained, throwing himself dramatically onto my couch. “Why does she keep randomly showing up wherever I am?”
“And calling it a coincidence? Who accidentally bumps into someone at a construction site of all places?”
I knew exactly what Lola was up to.
She’d sniffed out someone better than Isaac and was now trying to climb the ladder to Logan.
Logan continued to grumble. “This has to qualify as harassment, right? Ugh, my poor heart is so traumatized. Mia, I need hugs and kisses to m
recover!”
He leaned toward me like a needy puppy, his grin absolutely shameless.
I smacked his head back with my palm. “Don’t push your luck. I haven’t even agreed to date you yet!”
His exaggerated look of heartbreak made me burst out laughing, ruining my attempt to look stern.
I thought Lola would give up after a few days, but I underestimated her determination.
She went as far as showing up outside my office building.
“Mia, what did you say to Isaac?” she snapped, her face twisted in anger. “Why is he suddenly so cold to me lately?”
I raised an eyebrow, barely sparing her a glance. “How is that my problem?”
Uh–oh. I was starting to sound more and more like Logan.
Lola’s voice rose sharply. “Don’t get too cocky just because you’re cozying up to Logan! Let me tell you something–I stole one man from you, and I’ll steal the second one too!”
Her delicate features were now twisted by jealousy and rage, making her almost unrecognizable.
3:09 PM
<
“Lola, what the hell are you doing here?”
None of us expected Isaac to suddenly show up.
For a split second, panic flashed across Lola’s face, but she quickly recovered, switching to her usual pitiful act.
“Isaac,” she said, her voice trembling as if she were on the verge of tears, “Mia asked me to meet her here. She threatened me! She said if I didn’t stay away from you, she’d make my life hell.”
“I’m so scared, Isaac… I don’t know what to do…”
But for the first time, Isaac didn’t blindly believe her.
“Is that so?” he said, his voice cold enough to send a chill down my spine.
Lola instinctively stepped back, caught off guard by his sudden change o
“Of… of course!” she stammered. “Isaac, don’t you believe me? I’ve sacrificed everything
do!”
you. No one in this world loves you more than I
Her tone grew more confident as she spoke, clearly banking on this tactic that had worked on him countless times before.
But this time, Isaac didn’t fall for it.
Before she could say another word, he slapped her so hard she fell to the ground.
“Lola,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt, “do you think I’m an idiot? How long did you think you could keep lying to me?”
He pulled a folder from under his arm and threw a stack of papers in her face.
“That $300,000? Was it really yours?”
Lola’s anger turned to panic as she glanced at the documents. Her face went pale.
“Isaac, let me explain-”
“Explain what?” he cut her off, his tone sharp and impatient, the same way he used to speak to me. “There’s nothing left to explain, you lying piece of trash.”
He kicked her hard in the stomach, hard enough that she passed out on the spot.
For a moment, I hesitated, then pulled out my phone and called 911.
Honestly, I was worried she’d die right there in front of me.
If she wanted to die, could she at least do it somewhere far away? What bad luck.
As Isaac’s rage began to subside, he turned to me, his voice soft and pleading.
“Mia, I had no idea… I didn’t know what really happened back then.”
“It was all her fault. She stole your letter. She took the card you left for me. She’s the one who tricked me.”
The more he spoke, the more I realized how foolish I’d been years ago.
I’d cared so much about his pride that I’d even written the PIN for the card on the envelope. That’s how Lola had been able to take advantage of it so easily.
“Give me another chance,” Isaac begged, gripping my arm tightly. “Let me make it up to you, please?”
I tried to shake him off, but his grip was too strong.
Sighing, I stopped struggling and looked him in the eye.
3:09 PM
<
“Isaac, you’ve had so many chances to find out the truth over the years. But you never believed a single word I said.”
“When you were flaunting your relationship with another woman right in front of me, did you ever think about this moment?”
Isaac’s panic grew as he scrambled to explain himself.
“Mia, I swear, nothing ever really happened between me and Lola! I only did all of that to make you jealous!”
He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and dropped to his knees in front of me.
“It was stupid of me to give you a fake ring back then. I was an idiot.”
“Mia, please, just give me one more chance. Let me fix everything.”
He opened the box, revealing a massive diamond ring that sparkled under the sunlight.
I took a step back, my voice calm but cold.
“It’s too late, Isaac.”
“There’s a saying,” I continued, “and as cliché as it sounds, it’s true: love that arrives too late is worth less than
“We’re done. For good.”
Isaac shook his head in disbelief.
dirt.”
“No. No, that’s not possible. You’re just angry with me, aren’t you? You’ve loved me since college. You can’t just stop loving me!”
“Is it someone else? Is it Logan? Tell me!”
His voice grew louder, more hysterical, as he stepped closer and closer, forcing me to back up against the wall.
This time, I was genuinely scared.
Isaac had lost it.
Just as I thought there was nowhere else to run, something darted past me.
The next second, Isaac crumpled to the ground with a loud thud.
Logan stood a few feet away, his leg still raised from the kick he’d delivered.
He pointed at Isaac and said, with a mix of childish arrogance and protectiveness, “Touch my girl again, and I’ll make sure you really regret it.”
Then, with a smirk, he added the most absurdly dramatic line I’d ever heard:
“Winter’s coming, Isaac. And so is the end of your company.”
