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

aimlessly, he found himself back

he got scolded for his sloppy

Think you're something special

getting quite the lineup of fancy cars lately, huh? Wasn't there a Porsche here not

"Yeah, a Porsche!"

"Exactly, what's the deal?"

...

sharp, Roseanne came downstairs to take out

his windshield, Murray watched

dress today, her hair had grown longer, gently cascading down her back, and she wore flip-flops, looking effortlessly

"Mr. Sherwood, fancy seeing you

"Move!"

grew impatient. Owen stood his ground, watching Roseanne

of the Reynolds, I won't take

"Does Mr. Sherwood have a habit of stalking and

what if I do?! None of your

is

civic duty? You don't have any other motives?"

expression remained unchanged,

do you think you are? How long have you known her compared to how long I've known

length of time

El.ne

can't make it work,

meant