Chapter 3

The next time Celeste contacted me, I had just finished the second round of treatment. My head was still foggy when the call came in, and it took a moment before her voice registered on the other end, cool and clipped.

"Company dinner. I'm sending you the address."

That was all she said before she hung up.

I stared at the dark screen for a long time, not quite able to process it. This was the first time in five years that she had reached out to me on her own.

Her company held a staff dinner every three months as a perk for the employees. Celeste always brought Kieran.

My pulse picked up, and I felt something close to excitement for the first time in a long while.

When I arrived at the restaurant, the server at the front barely glanced at me.

"Mr. Hartley? Ms. Kendrick is in the private room at the end of the hall."

The corridor was quiet. The sound of laughter only reached me when I got to the last room.

When I pushed the door open, every voice cut off at once, and every pair of eyes in the room locked on me. The urge to turn and leave hit me immediately.

I scanned the table and spotted Celeste right away, seated at the head. Kieran was beside her.

There was no seat saved for me.

I stood there for a while before finally taking the only empty chair, tucked away in the far corner.

"What are you sitting around for? Have a drink."

Kieran's comment loosened the strange tension in the room by a few degrees. A couple of employees knocked back their drinks and started getting bold.

"Ms. Kendrick, you and Mr. Vance are always together. What is it about him that you like?"

That single question set off a wave of gossip around the table. Someone even shot me a pointed look.

Celeste did not hold back, as if I were not even in the room. "Kieran and I have known each other for over ten years. Having him come on as my director makes me happy. As for what I like about him, I suppose it's that he's always been there."

Someone whistled the moment she finished, and the teasing started bouncing around the table.

They all knew Celeste was married. They all knew about the situation between us, and whether it was to suck up to her or simply because they found it entertaining, every question they lobbed felt like it was designed to humiliate me.

Celeste treated me like I was not there for the entire evening.

I understood now why she had asked me to come. She just wanted to watch me squirm.

I kept my head down and stared at my plate, my grip tightening around my utensils.

When the conversation turned to what Kieran liked to do, Celeste answered without a second of hesitation.

"He likes to travel. We've been to Nordvik, Altenbach, and the Faerholme coast together."

I already knew that. While they were off on their trips, I had been swallowing pills and scrolling through Celeste's photos like a fool.

"What about Mr. Hartley?"

The question landed on me out of nowhere. Every head in the room turned my way, and I looked up dazedly, locking eyes with Celeste.

One of the employees who had been stirring things up grinned at me. "You've been married to Ms. Kendrick for so long. You must know what she likes, right?"

I opened my mouth. The words caught in my throat. My mind felt like it was wrapped in fog. I tried to search for those memories, but it was as if they had all slipped away.

"I forgot."

Celeste's expression darkened instantly. She set her glass down on the table hard enough to make a sound, and the room went quiet.

It was Kieran who broke the silence, raising his glass in my direction with a casual tilt. "Not everyone can keep track of everything she likes. Don't give him a hard time. Here, have a drink. Don't kill the mood."

A few people who knew both of us exchanged glances, looking like they wanted to say something but held back.

"Isn't he allergic to alcohol?"

Kieran looked surprised and glanced over at Celeste. "Is that true?"

Celeste's brows furrowed, and she looked away. Her voice was hard and cold. "I forgot. Just drink it, Everett. Stop ruining everything."

I looked at her. My fingers were numb, and my head felt like it was splitting open. I picked up the glass and drained it in one go.

Almost the instant I swallowed, Celeste shot to her feet, her face white. "Are you out of your mind, Everett?"