Under the moonlight, Elise, Braden, and Ruth sat on beach chairs on the balcony, reminiscing about childhood memories.
But soon, Ruth drifted off to sleep, lying on her side on the chair.
Tiny stars, like drops of rain, twinkled in the night sky, and Elise tilted her face up, gazing at the night view. Her mind replayed Mylee's feigned concern from earlier that afternoon in the meeting room.
Scrolling through her phone for a few minutes, Elise spoke up, "I thought Mylee would make the female lead in the game a sharp, strong woman. I didn't expect her to choose a clumsy girl instead."
Braden glanced at his wine glass, then looked over at Elise. His indifferent expression was obvious. "She's mysterious. You'll never know what she's thinking."
Elise rested her elbows on her knees, her palms pressed against her face, as she turned to look at Braden. "Like what happened in the meeting room this afternoon?"
Braden leaned back and closed his eyes. "You burned your hand, so of course I took care of you first. Isn't that normal?"
Braden knew Elise was referring to Mylee questioning his smoking in the meeting room, but he didn't think it was worth mentioning.
"Thanks." Elise stopped the conversation, worried that continuing would accidentally lead to spilling the secrets about Ruth.
Braden opened his eyes, now filled with suspicion, his tone turning a shade colder. "Just don't get too close to her, that's all."
Elise noticed that every time Mylee came up in conversation, Baden's behavior would change. He became more serious, reserved, and the playful, occasionally sarcastic side of him would disappear.
Did this mean Mylee still had some influence over him?
But digging too deep wouldn't lead to anything good. So, Elise pushed the idea aside, along with the fact that Mylee and Braden had once dated. For now, she'd just focus on her scriptwriting.
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The next day, at 7 PM at H Technology, Braden had wrapped up most of his work for the day, with only a few tasks left to finish at home. As usual, he and Mylee were the only ones left in the office.
Even though he wasn't fond of being alone with her, it always ended up this way. She always managed to leave work at the same time as him.
Today seemed no different. Braden shut down his computer, clocked out, and left the office. After all, he couldn't be late for his friend Nathaniel's birthday party.
Once Braden got to the usual KTV room, he sank into the couch and loosened his tie. A few cold beers sat on the black table in front of him. He cracked one open, and as the cold, golden liquid went down, the weight of his thoughts and leftover sadness seemed to lift.
Nathanael nudged his elbow into Baden's arm, teasing, "Drinking so quickly—trouble in love?"
"It's just work stuff stressing me out. I'm not a love-struck fool like you," Braden replied, crushing the beer can in his hand like a flattened piece of aluminum.
"I remember you really took care of the underclassman, though. Back when she got cheated on in high school, you helped her see that jerk's true colors, didn't you?" Nathanael added with a grumble, pouting, "And made me dress up as a girl."
"Our families have been friends forever. When she's in trouble, helping her out is no big deal." Braden rubbed his temples, the mounting pressure weighing on him like a nightmare lurking in the back of his mind.
On the way to the birthday party, Mylee had texted him, asking if he could pretend to be her boyfriend again. Out of respect for their work relationship, Braden didn't want to outright refuse, worried about hurting her pride. But by not rejecting her outright, he ended up in situations like this—seeing her constantly posting black screen pictures on social media, updating her negative posts every other minute.
"So, what's really bugging you?" Nathanael cracked open another beer, grinning mischievously. "You don't mind her coming tonight, do you?"
Braden opened another bottle of beer. Hearing that, his brows furrowed, and he set the beer back down on the table. "You're not talking about Elise, are you?"
"Yeah, she said she didn't have much going on tonight, so she could join us." Nathanael hinted. Just then, the door swung open, and Elise rushed in.
"I was a bit busy today, so I'm late," Elise said as she sat down right next to Braden.
She was closer to Braden, so it made sense for her to sit next to him.
"Why didn't I hear you were coming?" Braden powered off his phone, his eyes focusing on Elise.
"I was going to have dinner with my parents, but since it's their anniversary, I didn't want to interrupt. Then Nathanael asked if I wanted to come and sing." Elise opened the menu, then called the front desk to order a few cups of tea.
"We'll probably finish singing around one or two in the morning. I didn't drive, so if you didn't either, we could share a ride." Braden took a swig of beer, drinking heartily.
"You're always telling me not to drink too much, but we've just started, and you've already downed two bottles?" Elise couldn't help but tease. "Could it be—love troubles?"
"What do you think?" Braden retorted, a sudden curiosity rising within him, eager to see how she'd respond.
Elise's eyes lit up in realization. Judging by his reaction, it had to be about Mylee!
Right? Love always has a way of creeping up when you least expect it.
A knock sounded on the door, and Nathanael stepped forward to open it, bringing the tea and snacks the server had delivered to the table.
"All the food is here. Enjoy your meal," the server nodded, closing the door behind him as he left.
Once the server was gone, Elise resumed her casual chat with Braden.
"I mean, right? Right!" Elise playfully patted Braden on the shoulder. "At least it's not as bad as getting dumped the day before your wedding, like I was."
"Do I look like the kind of guy who would be heartbroken to death over love?" Braden couldn't help but laugh, any trace of irritation disappearing without a trace.
"It's okay to admit it, you know. I've been through it, and I promise I wouldn't laugh at you," Elise's eyes reflected genuine sympathy.
"Are you misunderstanding something?" Baden's smile faded, his gaze turning distant and serious. "That's even more ridiculous than saying I'm in love with you."
Nathanael, biting into a wet napkin, mock-growled, "Finally! The love you've been hiding since you were eighteen is about to explode, huh?"
"Are you out of your mind?" Braden flatly denied, glancing down at his watch. "Didn't you say you invited a few of our high school friends? Where are they?"
Elise also noticed that, aside from the three of them, the large private room was completely empty. The space, meant for at least ten people, felt unnecessarily big and eerily quiet.
"Well, it turns out everyone's either married or... broken up," Nathanael said awkwardly. "Especially our class couple—they had an ugly split. Anyway, for various reasons, the only ones who could come are you and another guy and girl, so I invited Elise."
"Another guy and girl?" Baden's curiosity was piqued. "Who are they?"
"It's Xavier Gross and Mayra Burch from our class." Nathanael scrolled through his Facebook photos, waving his phone in front of Braden.
