Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Murray's head was pounding, and his temper was fraying at the edges. Without a word, he silenced his phone and slammed it down on the desk. "Continue," he said, his voice cold as ice. The others in the meeting didn't dare make eye contact, each focusing intently on their own thoughts.

After the meeting, back in his office, Murray picked up his phone again and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh at what he saw.

Millie had gone on a shopping spree with his credit card, and he was getting all the notifications. The messages kept coming, one after another, until he was about to put the phone down in frustration. That's when Millie sent a message. "Murray, I bought all these. Do you like them? I even got you a tie and a jacket."

He barely glanced at it before he blocked her number, scoffing at the audacity.

Rubbing his temples, Murray walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out at the bustling streets below, his thoughts drifting back to Roseanne.

Lately, she was all he could think about, even appearing in his dreams.

He had given Roseanne a credit card too, for her essential needs and the occasional gift for Beverley, but she hardly used it for personal luxuries, preferring to pay with her own earnings from coding projects. He knew she didn't make much, but she never cared for brand names anyway.

for her were rarely used, reserved only for special occasions.

a constant, bitter reminder of what he had lost —

...

At the mall.

another message, only to be

Taking a deep breath to calm down, she turned to her nannies and ordered, "I want that coconut water from

the bags," one nanny suggested to

said both of you.

what about

"Carry it."

of mutual exasperation and concealed anger. This was unnecessary

didn't care. She needed to vent the frustration she felt from