The conference room felt colder than usual, the kind of cold that settled into Lily's bones and refused to leave.
She sat straight-backed, hands folded tightly in her lap, eyes fixed on the projected slides as upper management reviewed their work. Beside her, Ethan looked infuriatingly calm, relaxed even—like this presentation was nothing more than another routine win.
"And this section here," the director said, tapping the screen. "It needs reworking."
Lily inhaled, ready to explain the rationale,
"I'll take care of it," Ethan said smoothly. "I had some concerns about the direction anyway."
Her head snapped toward him.Concerns?
That was the first she was hearing of it.
She masked her shock with a polite smile. "Actually, that section was my responsibility. And it works as intended."
The director's gaze shifted between them. "Is there a disagreement?"
Ethan hesitated. Just long enough.
"We'll handle it internally," he said.
Lily felt heat flood her chest. Internally?
The meeting continued, voices blending into background noise, but Lily barely heard a thing. Her chest felt tight, her thoughts sharp and restless.
The moment they stepped into the hallway, she turned on him.
"You went behind my back."
Ethan frowned. "That's not what I did."
"You questioned my work in front of them."
"I questioned the approach," he shot back. "There's a difference."
"To you," Lily said coldly.
They stopped walking. Their voices stayed low, but the tension was loud enough to draw glances from passing coworkers.
"You don't get to take control every time you think you know better," she said.
"And you don't get to shut down every idea just because it comes from me," Ethan replied.
Silence fell between them—thick, uncomfortable, charged.
For a brief moment, Lily thought he might soften. Say something honest. Something real.
Instead, he exhaled sharply. "We can't keep doing this."
Her laugh came out bitter. "Funny. I was thinking the same thing."
She walked away before he could say more, before her composure cracked completely.
Her heart raced for reasons she refused to examine.
Behind her, Ethan stayed where he was, jaw clenched.
This wasn't supposed to matter.
She wasn't supposed to matter.
Yet every argument with Lily felt personal. Every clash lingered longer than it should have.
And that realization unsettled him far more than any looming deadline ever could.