This isn't weird.

Rusalka

Why, Millie thought miserably, did it have to happen like this?

All the monotonous days she'd spent in this lonely house, waiting and waiting through hours and hours of silence, only to have the damn place burst apart with all these people, all at once. Of course her long-dreaded reunion with Noah would fall right on top of her long-yearned for reunion with Ben. Of course it would. It was too unlikely not to happen. At this point, it was practically her own fault for not expecting it.

Ben. Poor Ben. He looked so injured to have what had been such a joyous reception cut short for... 'a bit of privacy' between her and her former fiance. How much did he know? Did he understand that she was here out of obligation to Rebecca, or was he under the impression that she wanted this time alone with Noah? Millie was furious at herself for looking away when he had looked to her for reassurance, but how could she possibly have explained it all to him just then?

While Noah poured the coffee, she stared into space, replaying the scene in her mind. This time, when Ben turned to her, she smiled back at him, squeezed his hand, and assured that it wouldn't be long; she just had to get this over with. In the next run, she stood up to Rebecca, insisted that she would have a moment alone with Ben first, and when she finally left his side to deal with this grueling conversation, he would wait for her with complete confidence that he, not Noah, was her priority.

"Fuck, that's good," she muttered, completely unaware until after she'd said it that the mug was in her hand, and she'd already taken her first sip. When she glanced up to see Noah's proud little grin across the table, she had half a mind to pour her coffee out on the ground out of spite, but she couldn't actually bring herself to waste it like that. It was even better than she remembered. Besides, such theatrics were liable to end up in his next novel. No, she was determined to handle this situation with maturity and grace. They would resolve this whole thing like adults, and this bizarre chapter of her life would be over once and for all. Quickly, she hoped. This couldn't drag on while Ben was so close—mere rooms away.

....With the most gorgeous woman who ever lived.

The thought made her skin crawl. It wasn't that she thought either of them would ever do anything, but surely after a few minutes with Rebecca, she would seem drab and forgettable by comparison.

The pads of her fingers drummed along the side of her mug, a habit her present company noted with wistful nostalgia. Noah was struggling not to fidget himself; beneath the table, his nails were digging into his knees to keep his restless fingers still. "So... What is this?" he asked, watching her sip her coffee with a faint, ironic smile. "Did you break into my house to seduce my wife?"

The joke flustered her, but she composed herself quickly. She was fairly certain he hadn't noticed enough to suspect anything, based on the split-second flicker of regret that crossed his face as soon as he finished speaking . She wondered briefly what the regret was for before she realized it: his use of the word wife. He didn't want to remind her that he was a married man.

As if it mattered.

"It's about you being an asshole," she replied.

"How so?" Noah asked. "Aside from the obvious, I mean."

"Summer was ours," she snapped. "You had no right to put it out into the world. You had no right to put me out into the world. You didn't even change the name."

"I'm sorry, Camil—Millie. I never meant for anyone else to see it—"

"And yet."

"I tried to contact you," he said. "I wanted to get your blessing. Really. And I tried again before it was released. I went searching. I didn't want you to be blindsided. I went to your last legal address, but the woman there was..." Noah winced. "Well, let's just say my reputation preceded me."