IFHY .. nct

THIRTY

tilly blinked, unaware of the fact that she was staring at the lady in front of her. she opened her mouth to speak before closing it and dropping her eyes back to the schedule. "uh... yeah, i, um... l-let me get him for you."

before the woman could say anything else, tilly hurried around the corner, pressing her back against the wall and letting herself breathe.

there were two explanations here. either this woman was a liar, or tilly was a mistress. she'd unknowingly been the other woman before, and the experience shook her.

pulling herself together, tilly pinched some color back into her cheeks and turned in the direction of her co-workers. she must have looked worse than she expected, because jaehyun's brows furrowed when he noticed her.

"tilly? you're looking a little green..."

tilly forced a smile and waved the statement away. "i'm all good. yeah. hey, um, johnny, someone's here for you."

johnny's expression changed as he eyed her, and he nodded before following her to the front of the store. before they turned the corner, he placed a hand on her elbow to stop her, surprised when tilly flinched a bit.

"okay, something's wrong. who's here? do you... did they...?"

when tilly realized where his mind was going, she immediately placed her hand over his and shook her head. "no, it's not that. it's—"

before she could continue, the woman who claimed to be johnny's wife appeared to the side of the pair. when her eyes fell on their hands, they widened.

johnny's hand suddenly disappeared from tilly's arm, as if her skin had somehow burned him. the reaction forced tilly to take a step back, staring at her boss as he looked at this woman. his wife. "ellis," he said. that's all he said.

tilly was suddenly filled with too many emotions. she was angry that he did this to her, heartbroken that this was happening. most of all, she was disappointed, both in herself and in johnny.

figuring it wasn't her place to say anything, tilly spun on her heel and marched in the direction of the break room, her orange hair flying behind her.

she didn't get too far before she felt johnny's grip return on her arm. she twisted around to face him, silently grateful they weren't doing this in front of the others.

johnny scanned her features, searching through the hurt and anger in her eyes before quietly asking, "what did she say to you?"

tilly shook her head. "i'm not doing this again. i can't."

"look, whatever she said, it's not true." he tried, but a tilly scoffed out a laugh. that sounded a lot like what someone with a wife would say.

"if she's not your wife, then who is that, johnny?" the rage was slowly bleeding into something else. hopefulness? tilly wasn't sure, but she wanted him to say that he wasn't married. she wanted him to say that this was only the mother of his children, and that he'd been telling the truth when he said it was officially over.

but he didn't. and the hope melted away as tilly pulled her arm away. "you're still married?"

that must have brought him back to reality, because johnny blinked. "what?"

"she said she's your wife!"

"she's..!" he rubbed his eyes and sighed deeply. "she's my children's mother. my ex."

but it was too late. the thoughts had already invaded tilly's mind. she'd been hurt this way before, and she wasn't going to be hurt again. "how do i know you're not lying to me?"

johnny was quiet for a moment before cupping her face in his hands and bringing her gaze up to meet his. "i am not lying to you," he said, keeping his voice steady as he held eye contact.

tilly didn't want it to, but her entire stomach erupted with butterflies that sent her heart racing. it's not fair, she wanted to say, but how could she when there was a chance that she was the other woman?

before tilly could reply, ellis poked her head in from the lobby, flustered. "i'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, "i didn't realize you two are together!"

"what do you want, ellis?" johnny's hands slipped from tilly's face as he turned toward ellis.

stumbling over her words, ellis's gaze slightly hardened. "i only said i was your wife because it's easier than trying to explain out situation, and you know how i feel about the term 'baby mama'."

tilly blinked between the couple—the ex's. guilt settled in her bones. she'd doubted johnny so quickly, without giving him a chance to explain, and she was wrong. she'd assumed, and she was wrong.

unsure what else to do or say, tilly quietly excused herself and hurried for the break room, where she found jaehyun eating one of ten's snacks he kept "hidden". when he saw her, his hand froze over his mouth in mid-drop, causing the girl with orange hair to laugh over her sniffle.

"i won't ask what's up with you if you don't tell ten about this," he offered in a hushed tone, and tilly nodded her head with a smile. "deal."

•
a little short but how do you guys feel? is ellis going to fight for her ex? will tilly break off her relationship and explore other options? 🤔