"Let's break up. I've fallen for someone else." Kaylen Lambert sent a message.
Braden read the message calmly, didn't bother replying, and simply deleted it.
He'd expected this ending. They were both too busy with work and rarely saw each other. If she liked someone else, so be it. At least she knew what she wanted.
Sitting alone in his office, he didn't feel sad, but with the entire company empty, he suddenly felt... a bit lonely.
"Every time I want to diet, my stomach immediately starts growling," Ruth posted, tagging Elise.
"It's more like gurgling!" Elise replied in the comments.
"Want to grab some late-night food then?" Ruth responded.
"Weren't you just saying you wanted to diet? Haha," Elise added a laughing emoji.
"Tomorrow's worries are for tomorrow!" Ruth replied with another laughing emoji.
Braden looked at their interaction and thought to himself that their way of talking was odd—no wonder they were so close. There probably wasn't another duo quite like them in the world.
Maybe he was just too bored. He opened his messages, clicked on his chat with Elise, and sent her a message, entirely emotionless.
"Want to grab some late-night food?" he asked.
"You're a taken man now, so no," she replied, adding a rejection sticker.
Her response amused him, so he decided to give her a call.
The phone rang for several seconds before she finally picked up.
She was a bit puzzled as to why he would call her.
"Not really up for late-night snacks? Didn't you say you were starving?" Braden asked, liking a slightly silly post as he spoke.
"No way! You have a girlfriend. I don't do late-night dinners with people who are taken," Elise blurted, feeling flustered. She'd never cross that line.
"Broke up. So, does that mean we can go grab some snacks now?" Baden's tone was so casual, like he was talking about someone else entirely.
"For real? You broke up?" Elise nearly squealed on the other end, clearly in disbelief.
"Hmm?" Braden merely glared in response.
"Alright, wait a sec. I'll let Ruth know… but where are you?" Elise finally agreed to the invite.
"Just meet me at the MRT station… but I was thinking, let's find a spot with a night view," Braden said, already browsing for scenic restaurants.
"Sounds good! The recently-single rule: you call the shots. I'll drive Ruth over to meet you. Don't be sad. Just hang on till we get there!" Elise told him earnestly.
"You're overthinking this. I'm not you," Braden replied coolly.
"Yeah, right. I bet you're not being honest," Elise said, hanging up.
True to her word, Elise drove over with Ruth, pulling up near the MRT station.
As soon as she saw Braden, she obediently got out of the driver's seat and moved to the back.
Braden raised an eyebrow, giving her a puzzled look. "What are you doing?"
"I…"
"Hmm?"
"I don't like driving mountain roads… I'm scared of the dark…" Elise whispered, a small smile forming as she added in a slightly pleading tone, "You drive, okay?"
Without a word, Braden opened the driver's side door, ready to take over as her chauffeur.
So much for the "recently-single rule." She was overthinking this.
As they got closer to the mountain road, the night grew darker, with a thick silence settling over everything.
Elise was starting to feel drowsy. She'd stayed up till three a.m. the night before, trying to clear a game level, and nearly showed up late for work that morning.
"Falling asleep?" Braden glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
"No… not at all…" Elise's sleepy eyes popped open, and she tried to focus on Braden in the driver's seat.
"Why are you scared of mountain roads?" Braden asked, curious. He hadn't known this about her.
"Because it's so dark! Don't you think? Super dark. It's creepy, like a ghost could pop up at any moment." Elise clutched Ruth, who was sound asleep.
Braden sighed. "Seeing your face, any ghost would be terrified."
That snapped Elise awake. She pouted, "Hey! What's that supposed to mean, 'terrified of my face'?"
Braden put on a mock-frustrated look. "Oh, come on—you don't know that expression? I'm saying you're stunning, like... drop-dead gorgeous!"
"As if! You've never actually complimented me. Quit messing around!" Elise looked anything but flattered—his attempt at praise was so cheesy, it made her want to roll her eyes.
Braden crossed his arms, looking completely serious. "If you don't believe me, check your phone! Didn't I text you a screenshot of that saying?"
Elise glanced at her powered-off phone, chuckling awkwardly. "My phone's dead…"
"Here, take mine. Open our chat history," Braden said, keeping his eyes on the road as he handed his phone back to her.
She took his phone, followed his instructions, and realized he was actually telling the truth.
"'Stunned by beauty,' meaning to be greatly impressed by someone's looks…" Elise read aloud, still a bit skeptical. "You actually praised me…"
"See? Why don't you believe me?" Braden smiled in satisfaction as he saw her finally buying it.
She didn't even notice it was a photoshopped image. She really was adorably clueless.
"I'm glad you can still laugh—I thought you might be really sad." Elise responded innocently. "Even if you cried today, I wouldn't tease you like usual." Elise responded calmly, "Yes, I can." "I'm glad you can still laugh—I thought you might be really sad." Elise responded innocently. "Even if you cried today, I wouldn't tease you like usual."
"Why would I cry?" Braden laughed. "What's there to cry about?"
"But doesn't breaking up make you sad? I always cry when I break up," she wondered aloud, thinking it was a normal reaction.
When feelings run deep, it's natural to feel sad, to cry—wasn't that human nature?
If you've loved and been happy, how can you not be sad when it's over?
"It's fine. Sure, she liked someone else, but honestly, I knew our relationship had faded," Braden explained thoughtfully. "Or maybe… I didn't care as much as I thought. Even after being betrayed, I didn't feel much."
"I think losing something after having it is truly heartbreaking."
"But I still wouldn't want to cry."
"If, someday, you do happen to cry, you can lean on my shoulder. As long as I don't have a boyfriend, of course."
"Little rascal, I'm older than you, remember? And that day will never come." Braden couldn't help but find her words amusingly strange.
"You're only two years older, stop pretending you're such an adult." Elise retorted, refusing to back down.
Braden seemed to remember something. "Weren't you the one clinging to me, begging me to be your big brother?"
"I don't call just anyone 'big brother,' you know." She muttered, frowning. "You're… different."
Braden pressed further. "What's different?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm just hungry!" Elise yawned, gazing out the window.
Braden glanced at the rearview mirror, his tone calm. "Why don't you get some rest? I'll wake you when we get there."
"Alright, I'm off to sleep," she added, "but feel free to wake me up if you're feeling down."
"Boring," he replied, though secretly, he liked the feeling of being cared for.
A few days later, Elise decided to temporarily block Braden after realizing that the phrase actually meant being so terrified that one's face went completely pale.
So, he'd been saying she looked like a ghost.
