Updated Mar 21, 2026 • ~7 min read
SUMMER
I’m promoted to gallery coordinator.
Janet calls me into her office.
“You’ve been doing great work. I want to give you more responsibility. More pay.”
“Really?”
“Really. You’ve brought in three new artists. Customer feedback is excellent. You deserve it.”
Twelve dollars an hour.
It’s not much.
But it’s mine.
Earned. Not handed to me by my parents.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Thank you. Now go coordinate the Berkowitz exhibition opening.”
I leave her office.
Text Rose: Got promoted!
ROSE: Proud of you!
It’s a small victory.
But it feels huge.
JAX – THREE MONTHS LATER
The shop is busier than ever.
We hired two new artists. Expanded to the space next door.
Marco’s handling the business side. I’m focused on art.
It’s good. Distracting.
I barely think about Summer anymore.
Barely.
Felix notices. “You’re smiling again.”
“Am I?”
“Yep. First time in months.”
“Business is good.”
“It’s not about business. You’re healing.”
Maybe I am.
I’m dating again. Casually. Nothing serious.
A girl named Cleo. She’s a photographer. Cool. Honest.
We’ve been out three times.
It’s… fine.
Not fireworks.
But fine is okay.
THEO – THREE MONTHS LATER
I’m seeing someone new.
Her name is Harper. She’s a consultant. We met at a conference.
She’s smart. Driven. Transparent.
No games. No lies.
Adrian approves. “She’s good for you.”
She is.
But there’s no spark.
Dr. Morrison says that’s normal. “You’re protecting yourself. It’ll take time to trust again.”
I’m trying.
SUMMER – ROSE’S GALLERY OPENING, THREE MONTHS LATER
Rose’s opening is tonight.
She insisted I come.
I’m terrified.
“What if Jax is there?”
“Then you’ll see him. Briefly. And survive.”
“What about Mom and Dad?”
“They RSVPed no. Too embarrassed to show their faces after ‘the scandal.'”
The scandal.
That’s what everyone calls it.
The Summer Chen scandal.
It followed me for weeks. Social media. Gossip columns.
Eventually, something else became news and I faded into obscurity.
“Okay,” I say. “I’ll come. For you.”
“Good. Wear the blue dress.”
SUMMER – THE GALLERY, 8 PM
The opening is packed.
Rose’s art is incredible. Bold. Emotional. Real.
Everything I wish I could be.
I’m standing near a painting when I feel eyes on me.
I turn.
Theo.
He’s with a beautiful blonde. They’re holding hands.
Our eyes meet.
He nods. Polite. Distant.
I nod back.
He turns away.
That’s it.
No confrontation. No drama.
Just… acknowledgment that we once knew each other.
It hurts less than I expected.
THEO
Summer’s here.
She looks different.
Thinner. Quieter. But there’s something else.
She looks… real.
Not the polished, perfect version she presented to me.
Actually real.
Harper notices my stare. “You okay?”
“Yeah. That’s Summer.”
“Oh.” She squeezes my hand. “Want to leave?”
“No. We’re here for Rose. Summer being here doesn’t change that.”
“You’re handling this really well.”
Am I?
Or am I just numb?
SUMMER – 9 PM
I’m outside. Getting air.
The door opens behind me.
I turn.
Jax.
My heart stops.
He freezes.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey.”
Silence.
This is the first time we’ve seen each other in three months.
“Rose’s art is incredible,” he says finally.
“Yeah. She’s talented.”
“You look good.”
“Thanks. So do you.”
More silence.
“I should—” we both say at the same time.
Nervous laugh.
“You go,” he says.
“I was just going to say I should head back inside.”
“Right. Yeah. Me too.”
But neither of us moves.
“Jax—”
“Don’t.”
“I just want to say I’m sorry. For everything. You deserved better.”
He looks at me. Really looks.
“You’re right. I did.”
The words sting.
But I deserve them.
“I’m glad you’re doing well,” I say.
“You too.”
He goes inside.
I stay out.
Cry a little.
Then pull myself together.
Go back in.
JAX
Seeing her wrecked me.
She looked sad. Genuinely sorry.
Part of me wanted to forgive her.
The other part remembered the lies. The betrayal.
Felix finds me. “Was that her?”
“Yeah.”
“You okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you still love her?”
Do I?
“I don’t know that either.”
SUMMER – MIDNIGHT
The opening’s winding down.
Rose is glowing. Sales were incredible.
“Thank you for coming,” she says.
“Of course. I’m so proud of you.”
“I saw you talking to Jax.”
“Barely. It was awkward.”
“But you survived.”
“Barely.”
She laughs. “Progress. Now go home. Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a new day.”
I hug her.
Leave.
On the subway, I think about Jax.
How he looked at me.
Like I was a stranger.
Which I guess I am now.
The girl he loved doesn’t exist anymore.
She was a lie.
The real me is just… me.
Flawed. Broken. Trying.
I don’t know if that’s enough.
But it’s all I have.
THEO – THE NEXT DAY
Therapy session.
“I saw Summer last night.”
“How did that feel?”
“Strange. Like seeing a ghost.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No. Just acknowledged each other.”
“How did she seem?”
“Different. Smaller. Sadder.”
“Do you feel vindicated?”
I consider this.
“No. I feel… nothing.”
“That’s progress.”
Is it?
Or is numbness just another kind of damage?
JAX – ONE WEEK LATER
I can’t stop thinking about her.
About how she looked at the gallery.
How she apologized.
How she seemed genuinely sorry.
Marco notices. “You’re brooding again.”
“I saw Summer at Rose’s opening.”
“And?”
“And she apologized.”
“What did you say?”
“That she was right. She did owe me better.”
“Very mature.”
“I’m serious. I don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to reach out. Talk. Figure out if there’s anything left.”
“And the other part?”
“Wants to protect myself. Not get hurt again.”
“So which part wins?”
“I don’t know.”
That’s the truth.
I genuinely don’t know.
SUMMER – TWO WEEKS LATER
I’m at the gallery.
A delivery arrives.
Flowers.
For me.
The card says: Congrats on the promotion. You’ve earned it. – Anonymous
My heart races.
Jax?
Theo?
Someone else?
I text Rose: Did you send me flowers?
ROSE: No. Why?
Someone sent anonymous flowers to my work.
ROSE: Secret admirer?
Maybe.
Or maybe someone from my past.
Reaching out.
I don’t know which possibility scares me more.
JAX – SAME DAY
Felix is watching me work.
“Did you send Summer flowers?”
I freeze. “What?”
“You’ve been weird since the gallery opening. And you were asking about where she works yesterday.”
“I didn’t send flowers.”
“Good. Because that would be stupid.”
“Why stupid?”
“Because she lied to you for two years. You’re finally moving on. Don’t go backwards.”
He’s right.
I know he’s right.
So why am I disappointed I didn’t send them?
THEO – SAME DAY
Harper and I are having dinner.
“I have a confession,” she says.
My stomach drops. “What?”
“I sent your ex flowers.”
“What? Why?”
“I looked her up. Read about the scandal. And I felt bad for her. She made mistakes, sure. But the internet crucified her. I just wanted her to know someone was rooting for her.”
I stare at her.
“You sent my ex-fiancée flowers.”
“Anonymously. Is that weird?”
“Very.”
“I’m sorry. Should I not have?”
I consider this.
“No. It was… kind. Weird. But kind.”
She smiles. “Good. Because I already sent them.”
I laugh.
Harper is strange.
But good strange.
SUMMER – THAT NIGHT
I’m staring at the flowers.
Trying to figure out who sent them.
Part of me hopes it was Jax.
A sign that maybe, eventually, he could forgive me.
But it probably wasn’t.
Probably just someone being nice.
I text a photo to Melody: Thoughts?
MELODY: Someone’s thinking about you.
SUMMER: But who?
MELODY: Does it matter?
Maybe not.
Maybe the point is that someone, somewhere, thinks I deserve kindness.
Even after everything.
That’s something.
Small.
But something.
I put the flowers in water.
Go to bed.
And for the first time in months…
I sleep without nightmares.
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