an, the smell of garlic and but

eal. A thick-cut ribeye, a bottle of decent

three years, had finally secured the multi-mi

g two, sometimes three, menial jobs to keep a

n him. I bel

e I hadn't seen in years, my grandfather's, stared out at me. The sight was like a key turning a rusted lock in

ance, the s

d his shock, then his joy. We were finally

ck made me smile. I turned the

dn't walk

d wore a white designer dress that probably cost more than our rent for six mont

He looked at her, his

his?" I asked,

is gaze on me. It w

aid, his tone flat. "Her f

dropped

fiancée. I'm

aking sense. The smell of the bu

? Fiancée? Liam, we've been

gly sound. "Three years i

lusional, Ava. That was a transaction. You need

orn-out sofa I' d found on the curb, at t

e an embarrassment. A simple, poor woma

any physical blow. I felt the

ed, the fight draining out of

al life is starting. I need you to pack your things and be

was a piece of trash he

e ye

over his presentations, the times I' d given him my las

lumpy bed. "When my company takes off, I'll buy you a ma

s all

re life for the past three yea