---- Chapter 6 The hope was short-lived. Ava woke up in the middle of the night, not from pain, but from the cold. The space next to her in the bed was empty. For a moment, she thought he might be in the bathroom or the kitchen. Then she heard it. His voice, a low murmur, coming from the living room. He was on the phone. "..No, I'm not with her. I'm at my place... Of course | miss you... I'll be over as soon as | can." Ava's heart, which had started to tentatively mend, shattered all over again. She recognized the sweet, placating tone in his voice. It was the one he used with Scarlett. He walked back into the bedroom a minute later, grabbing his jacket from the chair where he'd thrown it. He was trying to be quiet, but he wasn't quiet enough. "Where are you going?" Ava asked, her voice small in the darkness. He jumped, startled. He hadn't realized she was awake. have to go. An early meeting | forgot about." The lie was so blatant, so insulting, it stole her breath. "A ---- meeting? At three in the morning?" He sighed, the soft, caring facade from earlier completely gone, replaced by his usual impatience. "Ava, don't start. | have to go." "You're going to see her, aren't you?" The question was a desperate plea for him to lie again, to give her something, anything, to hold onto. He didn't bother. He just looked at her with cold eyes. "It's none of your business." The acid of betrayal rose in her throat. "None of my business? | was in the hospital tonight, Noah! You said you were scared, that you couldn't lose me. Was that a lie too?" "Look, I'm sorry you were sick, okay?" he said, his voice rising. "But it's not my fault you have some stupid allergy. | have things to do, a life to live. | can't be your babysitter 24/7." He turned and walked toward the door. Each footstep was a hammer blow to her chest. "So that's it?" she cried, sitting up in bed. "You just leave? After everything?" He stopped at the door, but he didn't turn around. "We're not good for each other, Ava. | told you it was over. You're the one who can't let go." And then he was gone. The door clicked shut, leaving her in a ---- silence that was louder than any screaming match. The tears started again, hot and silent, rolling down her cheeks and soaking into the pillow where his head had just been. He hadn't just left her; he had abandoned her at her most vulnerable, proving once and for all that his words of comfort were just another tool of manipulation. The next day brought more pain. She received an official email from the awards committee. Because she had not been present to accept her award, she had been disqualified. The rules stated the winner must be present. The trophy, the funding, the recognition-it was all gone. It had been given to the runner-up. She had sacrificed her greatest professional achievement for a man who had left her a few hours later to be with another woman. The irony was so bitter it made her want to be sick. Her phone buzzed with a news alert. It was a link to a society gossip column. The headline read: "Tech Mogul Noah Vance and Socialite Scarlett Everly Reignite Old Flame." There was a photo. It was of Noah and Scarlett, taken just an hour ago, leaving a high-end restaurant. They were holding hands, smiling for the camera. Noah looked happy, carefree. He looked like a man who hadn't just left his girlfriend's sickbed to be with his ex. Ava stared at the photo, a hollow feeling spreading through her. She felt like a fool. A complete and utter fool. Every promise, every moment of perceived tenderness, was a lie. ---- She knew what she had to do. Or rather, what she shouldn't do. She shouldn't call him. She shouldn't text him. She shouldn't apologize for a fight he had started. But as she put her phone down, a part of her, the weak, hopeful, stupid part, still wanted to. She knew there was another party tonight, a celebration for a deal Noah had closed. She knew she shouldn't go. 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