The soft hum of the refrigerator was the only sound in the apartment. The living room lay cloaked in darkness, the ambient glow of the city outside barely illuminating the tall glass windows of the penthouse.
The silence was peaceful... until it wasn't.
Thud.
The unmistakable sound of someone bumping into furniture broke the quiet.
Evie's eyes flew open from where she laid in the bedroom. A yelp followed. It was soft and muffled, but familiar.
"Ow, dammit!" Tommy couldn't help but hiss as his shin bumped into a sharp corner of the wall. His hands were stretched out in front of him for guidance but he still missed a step.
Evie reached out and turned on the bedside lamp. Its warm light spilled into the room, casting long shadows across the floor. Her heart thudded as she saw Tommy, standing awkwardly near the door, one hand holding his leg where he'd clearly hit something.
He did a weird bunny hop before he let go of his leg.
"Sh*t," he muttered under his breath when he tried to walk it out.
"Tommy?" Evie blinked the sleep from her eyes. "Where have you been?"
He froze at her voice, then quickly tried to compose himself.
"Hey, babe," he said, forcing a smile. "I didn't mean to wake you. I just went out for a drive… needed to clear my head."
Evie sat up fully now, the sheets falling around her waist. Her tone was gentle, but her eyes were sharp. "Is everything okay? I tried to call you a few times… you wouldn't pick up. You even missed dinner."
Tommy stripped off his shirt casually as he walked toward the en suite bathroom. "Yeah, sorry about that. I must've lost track of time."
He disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.The click of the lock was subtle.
But to Evie, it was deafening. She slid out of bed and padded across the room, stopping in front of the closed door.
"You lost track of time?" she repeated, her voice slightly louder now. "How do you lose track of a couple of hours, huh?"
There was no response. The sound of the shower starting came next, water thundering against marble.
Evie stood there for a long moment, then sighed and returned to the bed. She paced for a few seconds, then she sat down on the bed, and then she stood up again. She hovered outside the bathroom until she heard the water shut off.
Tommy stepped out of the bathroom a few minutes later, a towel wrapped around his waist. Drops of water clung to his chest, trailing down his abs. He looked… calm.
Too calm.
"You're not answering my questions," she said pointedly.
"Evie," he began, voice low and measured, "can we not do this right now? Everything is fine."
Evie stared at him, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "What? You're acting strange and I'm worried. Everything's clearly not fine."
Tommy turned away from her and headed to the closet. The space offered some privacy as he mentally worked through his options. He knew that at this moment, the truth was the last thing that could come out of his mouth so he countered quickly.
"Strange?" he scoffed. "You're one to talk. You still haven't told me what happened when you met with my mum."
Evie's breath hitched. "What…? That has nothing to do with anything."
Tommy stepped out of the closet, now in a pair of grey pyjama pants. He raised a brow. "B*llsh*t. I could bet you a million dollars that's not the truth."
Evie laughed—sharp and hysterical. She stormed toward him and jabbed a finger into his chest.
"Oh my God. What is it with you Mackenzie's and tossing money around like it's confetti? A million dollars here, ten million there like it's nothing to you!"
Tommy's expression twisted with confusion. "Whoa! What is that supposed to mean? Tossing money around?"
His voice dropped a notch, dangerously quiet. "What the f*ck are you implying, Evie?"
Evie's voice cracked. "You want to know what happened when I went to see your mum?"
She took a deep breath, her hands trembling. "Fine. She offered to pay me off. Ten million dollars. That's what she thinks our love is worth."
Tommy's jaw slackened, and his eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"
"She said I wasn't suitable for you," Evie went on, her voice softer now. "That I'd never be. She slid that cheque across the table like it was a business transaction. And then she told me to make the right choice."
Tommy sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Why the hell didn't you say anything to me?"
Evie lowered herself beside him. "Because I didn't want you to be angry with her. I didn't want to drive a wedge between you two."
Tommy shook his head. "If my mum thinks you're a gold digger and is throwing money at you to leave me, then yeah... I'm going to be p*ss*d. But that's not on you. That's on her."
Silence stretched between them.
"She doesn't think I love you," she whispered. "She thinks I love your bank account."
Tommy turned sharply to face her. "And you think I believe that?"
"No, I didn't say that."
"Good, because I don't think that. Not even for a second."
Evie took a deep breath and nodded. There was a brief pause and then she looked at him, eyes searching. "Now that I've told you what happened with your mum, can you please be honest with me?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Where were you tonight? I know you didn't just lose track of time."
Tommy hesitated. His body stiffened slightly. Then he let out a sigh and smiled sheepishly. "I bumped into an old classmate. We went out for a smoke. I know you hate it when I smoke, so I didn't tell you. I'm sorry, baby. I should have called."
Evie nodded slowly, tucking one leg beneath her. "You never mentioned any classmate before."
Tommy shrugged. "We weren't exactly close. It was spontaneous."
Another neat lie.
Evie watched him carefully. She noticed the tiny things, like how he wouldn't meet her eyes, how his fingers fumbled clumsily with the drawstring at his waist and how he was over-explaining. Each word sounded a little too polished, too rehearsed.
Still, she said nothing. Not yet.
Instead she blinked, then giggled with relief and kissed his cheek. "That's it? God, babe. You had me worried for a moment. My mind was already picturing you with another woman."
Tommy stiffened. Just for a second. Then he laughed, but it sounded off.
"Of course not," he said quickly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
They lay back against the pillows, but the silence returned and it was less comforting now. Instead, it was filled with unspoken words.
***
The next morning dawned grey and wet, rain sliding down the glass walls of the penthouse in fat, lazy drops.
Tommy was already gone when Evie woke, his side of the bed cold. A note on the nightstand read:
"Early meeting. Love you. Back soon."
Evie traced her finger over the words. She should have felt reassured but she didn't.
Throughout the day, she distracted herself at the flower shop. She arranged bouquets, helped elderly women choose hydrangeas and smiled at the teenagers who came in for last-minute prom corsages.
But every time the bell above the door chimed, her heart jumped.
She kept glancing at her phone, half-expecting a call, a message, a sign.
Nothing.
By late afternoon, Evie stood at the counter, trimming lavender stems, when her assistant, Tara, popped her head in from the back room.
"Hey, Evie, have you seen the gossip sites today?"
Evie looked up, frowning. "No. Why?"
Tara grimaced, pulling out her phone. "You might want to. It's Mackenzie-related. Big time."
Evie's stomach dropped. She dried her hands hurriedly and took Tara's phone. On the screen was a headline in bold, gleaming letters:
TOMMY MACKENZIE SPOTTED WITH MYSTERY WOMAN — TROUBLE IN PARADISE?
Evie's breath hitched.
The photo accompanying it showed Tommy and Alexa sitting at a café table. Alexa's body leaned toward him, her manicured fingers resting casually near his. Tommy's expression wasn't exactly romantic, but the camera angle twisted everything so it looked intimate and secretive.
There was also some photos of them holding hands, with Alexa staring up at him sultrily. Evie's heart squeezed painfully in her chest.
Tommy had lied. Flat-out.
There hadn't been a spontaneous encounter with an old classmate. There had been a meeting with her... Alexa Donovan. A secret one. One he'd never intended to tell her about.
The room spun for a second and Evie gripped the edge of the counter, struggling to breathe.
She felt Tara's gaze on her, curious but cautious.
"Are you okay?" Tara asked.
Evie forced a shaky laugh. "Yeah," she lied. "I'm fine. Just... winded, that's all."
Tara didn't seem to accept that but eventually she went back to the storage room. Evie stared down at the phone, her throat closing in on itself.
She wasn't fine. She wasn't anywhere near fine.