When fate plays its hand

“You didn’t even come after me? Bryan, do you even care about me?” Elizabeth said.

After a long pause, he finally responded, …Where are you?”

She replied, “At the coffee shop by the campus gate. You’ve got five minutes to get here.”

He responded with a hum.

By the time he reached the coffee shop, 15 minutes had passed since their call.

Elizabeth crossed her arms. “What’s wrong with you? I said five minutes, and now it’s way past that. Why are you so late? You know how much I hate waiting!”

“Mhm. Sorry.” Bryan lowered his gaze.

His submissive attitude only made Elizabeth more irritated. Regarding family background, skills, and looks, he was incomparable to Paul.

Upon realizing she still needed Bryan’s help, she suppressed her anger and forced a smile. Would you mind speaking with Dr. Jefferson and convincing him to retract his decision to fire me?”

He looked up at her, and his gaze hardened as though he was seeing her for the first time.

Elizabeth felt uneasy for reasons she couldn’t explain. After two seconds of eye contact, she quickly looked away. “So, are you helping or not? If not, forget about it…”

In the past, whenever she said something like this, Bryan would immediately agree to help, no matter how difficult the task. But this time, the silence stretched on far too long.

“Okay.”

Finally, he agreed, and Elizabeth let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Suddenly, he added, “But you must tell me what happened. Why did Dr. Jefferson fire you?”

“What’s there to even talk about…”

“What if I insist on hearing it from you?” he pressed.

Elizabeth frowned. When she faced Bryan’s sudden assertiveness, she felt her authority was being questioned. Her expression immediately darkened. “What do you mean by that? Are you threatening me? Ha! You don’t even care about me if you can’t handle something as simple as that.”

He didn’t respond to the barrage of blame and criticism. Instead, he merely lowered his eyes. to conceal his expression.

She sneered and continued, “Why are you asking so many questions? Just do what I ask. Do

you

still want to be with me? If not, let’s break up. After all, you- novelbin

“Okay,” he interrupted.

Elizabeth froze. After a few seconds, she stammered, “…What did you just say?”

Bryan slowly raised his head and called her name one last time. “Lizzy.”

Her heart missed a beat. “You…”

“Yes. Let’s break up.”

Elizabeth was stunned. “What… What do you mean?”

“This is what you wanted, right? Fine, I agreed:”

“Bryan! You’re looking down on me because I got fired, right? I didn’t expect you’d be so superficial!”

“Heh…

“What are you laughing at?” Elizabeth barked.

-Bryan spoke deliberately. “So, you think I’m that dumb, huh? Dumb enough that you don’t

even bother to hide it or pretend. You just use me like a tool, then toss me aside when you’re done.”

ו”י

He continued, “I ask you for a reason, and you can’t say it. Everyone else knows, but they won’t point it out. That doesn’t mean I can’t figure it out.”

Elizabeth froze.

Bryan attempted a smile, but it looked worse than he hadn’t tried. “I should’ve known earlier that the person in your heart was never really me. I kept thinking that maybe things would change if I worked harder, and perhaps someday I’d be the one.

“But now, I see… some hearts just can’t be opened. So, Lizzy… I’m letting you go. You’re free now.”

With that, he stood and walked away. Before leaving, he stopped by the counter to pay the bill. Elizabeth watched his retreating figure. Her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. After a long silence, she slumped back in her chair and muttered absentmindedly, “How did this happen…”

She had thought she had Bryan wrapped around her finger and that he was someone she could control–yet now, he was slipping away.