Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

"Murray, let me fix your tie for you."

"Heh... I'm wearing a black shirt today."

Millie paused, a look of confusion crossing her face. "I know."

Forget it.

Murray gave up, thinking to himself that sometimes it's best to leave things unsaid when you're not on the same page.

A black shirt with a mixed-color tie, huh....

Only her kind of aesthetic could come up with such a combination.

Murray brushed off her hands, "If you can't do it right, don't bother doing it at all."

Without waiting for Millie's reaction, he strode away.

...

As night fell, Murray wrapped up his work and left the office.

Settling into his car, he lit a cigarette and lingered without starting the engine.

Once the cigarette had burned down, he stamped out the butt and drove off.

He didn't feel like going back to his mansion, so he ended up driving along the river, making a couple of loops.

the drive, but he

found himself back at

usual, he got

Think you're something special with your

our little alley's getting quite the lineup of fancy cars lately, huh? Wasn't there a

"Yeah, a Porsche!"

"Exactly, what's the deal?"

...

eight sharp, Roseanne came downstairs to

behind his windshield, Murray

her hair had grown longer, gently cascading down her back, and she wore flip-flops, looking effortlessly chic and relaxed. Murray got out of the car, ready

Sherwood, fancy seeing you

"Move!"

after dumping the trash, Murray grew impatient. Owen stood his ground, watching Roseanne enter the building

you're one of

unbothered: "Does Mr. Sherwood have a habit of

if I do?! None of your damn

activities is every

chuckled, looking straight at Owen. "You're doing all this just out of civic duty? You don't have

unchanged, his response

have? Who do you think you are? How long have you known her compared to how long

length of time

El.ne

people spend a lifetime together and can't make it work, while

meant to