Chapter 2

The coffee I' d been about to order turned bitter in my thoughts.

I walked away from the cafe, their voices echoing.

Chloe and Liam.

They continued their charade, of course.

Chloe was still the struggling victim, Liam her supportive, down-on-his-luck friend.

But now, when I looked at them, I saw them through a different lens.

A cold, clear lens.

The love I felt had curdled into something else, a grim resolve.

I started noticing things.

Liam, supposedly so strained financially he needed my help for "tuition," was wearing new designer sneakers.

The kind that cost a month's rent for some.

He flashed a new, high-end smartphone.

Small things, but they screamed louder than any words.

Chloe would ask for more money for his "vocational program fees," her expression earnest.

Liam' s Affinity Gauge, when I focused on it, was a chilling -100.

Pure, unadulterated negativity.

Then, one afternoon, I saw them.

Outside a small, expensive boutique.

Not "just friends."

Liam' s arm was around Chloe' s waist, his lips close to her ear.

They shared a look, intimate and knowing.

It wasn't friendship.

It was a betrayal, played out in broad daylight.

My decision to step back, to observe, solidified.

I wouldn't be their fool any longer.

The demands escalated.

They came to my apartment one evening.

Chloe' s face was pale, her eyes wide with feigned panic.

"Ethan, it's Mrs. Gable! There's been a medical emergency. She needs a large payment, right now, for a procedure."

Liam stood beside her, looking suitably grave.

They expected me to write another check, to solve another fabricated crisis.

I stayed calm.

"Chloe," I said, my voice even, "I've been thinking. I can't interfere with the Sterlings anymore. It's their family matter."

Her eyes flickered.

"And I won't be providing large sums of cash anymore. If you need help finding a job, I can offer that. Liam, I can help you with your resume, connect you with some people for career advice."

I paused, then added, "I'll also let Mr. Henderson, the head of your vocational program, know that you're not under my family's patronage. He' s an old family acquaintance, just so there' s no misunderstanding about your funding."

The air in the room changed.

Chloe' s composure cracked.

Liam looked like he' d been punched.

His Affinity Gauge, I noted with a detached sort of interest, plummeted.

From -100 to a visceral -200.

They were shaken.

Good.