Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Early morning, Murray was resting in the VIP lounge at the airport, mindlessly scrolling through his social media.

With half an hour left before his flight, time seemed to crawl at an agonizingly slow pace, wishing he could teleport onto the plane.

Suddenly, he froze, straightening up as something caught his eye. A post from Corley from the day before showed a beautiful beach scene with the perfect blend of blue skies, turquoise waters, and the golden hue of sunset.

The caption read, [The weather on Maldor Beach is nice, but the best part is meeting someone special.]

Comment from A read, [Is Corley hunting for romance on his vacation?]

Corley's reply: [I'm not casting a wide net. I'm fishing with precision.]

Comment from B: [Sounds like Mr. Sullivan's caught something interesting?]

Corley's reply: [Grinning with teeth.]

As Murray scrolled further, his mood darkened. With too many mutual friends, the update had caused many speculative comments about Corley's love life.

fake news while he sneaked off to

passengers headed to Maldor Beach to board, prompting Murray to

he bumped into Millie, who was about to enter. Their eyes locked, and her initial

got embraced tightly, standing frozen

the Maldor Beach, and you took it to heart." She straightened up, waving her boarding pass. "I've heard about their amazing overwater bungalows, where you can fall asleep to the sound of the waves and wake up to the sunrise. Not to mention the stunning

twitch in his brow, Murray muttered an excuse about visiting the restroom and quickly walked

secluded corner, he called his

phone, wondering

fumed, "Maurice, if you don't want your job,

in.

recall correctly, I only asked

,٧٢

it to

have caused the mix-up. Yet, he didn't try to excuse himself. Instead he apologized, "I'm

softened

...