Maybe

Chapter 56 Avoiding?

The next morning, as I was leaving for work, I opened my door to find a bouquet of flowers resting neatly on the doorstep. At first, I froze, staring at the arrangement. They were beautiful—roses and lilies tied together with a glossy ribbon. 

But my stomach churned when I noticed the lilies. I was allergic to them. 

I knelt down, picking up the bouquet cautiously as if it might explode in my hands. The sweet, overwhelming fragrance already made my nose itch. 

"Who the hell thought this was a good idea?" I muttered, walking straight to the trash chute in the hallway. 

These weren’t from Ethan. I knew that instinctively. He wouldn’t send me flowers that I'm allergic to. 

I tossed them down the chute without hesitation, brushing my hands off as if trying to rid myself of the encounter. 

Something about it felt...off. 

As I locked my door and headed down the hallway, my thoughts kept circling back to the bouquet. Who sent them?

As I was walking out of my building later that day, I saw Ethan standing by the entrance, deep in conversation with someone. The man he was talking to looked polished, probably a client, judging by the way Ethan had his hands tucked into his pockets and his posture was stiff but professional. 

For a moment, I paused mid-step, my instinct pulling me to stay and observe. But then I shook my head, deciding against it. 

It wasn’t my place to interrupt, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I even wanted him to see me. 

I adjusted the strap of my bag and turned to leave, walking briskly in the opposite direction. 

Even though I didn’t look back, I wanted to glance at him, even once.

The day started with a headache and only got worse from there. The day at work was a nightmare. It started out fine—emails, calls, and reports. The usual routine. But things took a sharp turn when Kelly, the self-proclaimed queen of the office, decided to test my patience.

She was draped in her usual overly glamorous outfit, batting her lashes at the manager while tossing around passive-aggressive comments.

“Looks can open doors, sweetie,” she sneered at me in passing, loud enough for the team to hear.

I clenched my jaw, trying to ignore her. But later, during a team discussion, she interrupted me one too many times with baseless opinions.

“Honestly, if you focused on being pleasant instead of always trying to be right, people might actually listen to you,” she quipped.

That was it.

I shot back, “And maybe if you focused on work instead of your reflection, you’d actually know what you’re talking about.”

The room went silent.

She blinked, stunned, before giving a fake laugh. “No need to be jealous, sweetheart.”

I rolled my eyes and continued with the discussion, but the tension lingered.

By the end of the day, I was utterly drained. My fingers itched to send in a complaint, but I knew she wasn’t worth the effort.

When I finally got home, I kicked off my shoes and collapsed onto the couch. The silence of my apartment was a blessing. I tossed my bag aside and let out a long sigh, replaying the day in my head.

I wondered briefly if Ethan had seen me storm into the building. Then I brushed the thought away, reminding myself I needed to focus on unwinding—not him.