Two Sides of Us

Chapter 9: Emily

I returned to New York with Paulo picking me up from the airport. The cold December air nipped at my cheeks as I stepped outside, my breath visible in the crisp air. Paulo was waiting by his car, a warm smile on his face that made the whole airport experience feel a little less draining.

"Welcome back," he said, opening the trunk for my bags.

"Thanks," I replied, sliding into the passenger seat. "How was everything while I was gone?"

"Quiet," Paulo shrugged. "Sydney's been bouncing off the walls, though, waiting for me to call and say you made it home."

I chuckled, already imagining her enthusiastic welcome. "Well, I'm glad to be back."

The drive home was mostly silent, the city passing by in a blur of lights and holiday decorations. I stared out the window, my thoughts drifting back to the hospital and that night with Andrew. It had been wonderful—unexpectedly so—but now, everything felt complicated. Too complicated.

The Christmas season at work was quieter than I expected. With most people on leave, the office had an eerie calm about it. Those who were around asked if I was okay, to which I firmly responded that I was fine. But of course, everyone knew what had happened, and that made Rachel even more livid.

Rachel hadn't apologized. Not once. Instead, she started dropping work on my desk with a tight-lipped expression and stopped talking the moment I entered the room. It was like navigating a minefield every day, avoiding eye contact with her and trying to stay under the radar. I avoided Andrew too, as much as I could. That night in the hospital had been wonderful, but how could I talk to him now with Rachel always clinging to him?

Andrew and I were polite to each other when we passed in the halls. He would say hi, and I'd smile and nod, but that was it. Rachel was always there, attached to his hip like she couldn't let him out of her sight. But I could tell how nervous he was. There was a tension in the way he moved, the way his eyes darted around as if he was waiting for something to go wrong.

Two days before Christmas, I sat at my desk, buried in work for the new project—Project GreenWave, an initiative to integrate renewable energy sources into urban infrastructure. The project was massive, and the workload was enough to keep me from dwelling on... other things.

The door to my office creaked open, and Zoe walked in, carrying a tin of cookies. "Merry Christmas!" she said, placing the tin on my desk.

I smiled, grateful for the small gesture. "Thanks, Zoe. These look great."

She took a seat across from me, popping a cookie into her mouth. "There's a final meeting before the New Year," she said after a moment, chewing thoughtfully. "Rachel called it. It's in five minutes."

I rolled my eyes, half-jokingly. "It would be a Christmas miracle if that meeting went smoothly."

Zoe chuckled, nodding in agreement. We gathered our things and headed to the meeting room together. As we walked, people greeted each other with cheerful "Merry Christmases," and I felt a pang of longing for a simpler time when office life wasn't so entangled with personal drama.

The meeting room filled up slowly. I sat next to Zoe, trying to keep my mind on the project updates I needed to share. The room was bustling with holiday cheer, but I couldn't shake the tension coiled in my stomach.

Andrew walked in with Rachel by his side, her hand clinging to his arm. He looked around the room, his gaze briefly meeting mine before he sat down at the head of the table. Rachel took her place beside him, her smile tight as she surveyed the room.

As we all settled into our seats, the holiday spirit seemed to clash with the undercurrent of tension that had become the norm in these meetings. I couldn't help but feel uneasy as Rachel's presence loomed over the room. I sat between Zoe and Mark, who both offered me small, encouraging smiles as we prepared for what was supposed to be a routine update.