The Fashion of Love | Adult F/M Romance [COMPLETE]

ch. 6 - February

FEBRUARY

Valentine's Day made her nauseous this year. The flowers, the pink and the red, and hearts made her own heart beat a shutter-quick tattoo that couldn't be blamed on the transplant or stress at work. This was all agitation. Anthony had tried a ploy to slip back into her good graces. His warmest most ingratiating smile, his fingers in her hair as he kissed her like the only woman in the world. The words had been right and the gestures were more than heartfelt on the surface, but Sora hadn't lived in Hana's shadow her entire life by being taken for a fool. Once, yes; twice, by mistake, yet never a third time. Sora could learn. Thus, it came as no surprise to her to discover her former husband canoodling with her sister at Misra not long after he'd been chasing her.

In the middle of Misra headquarters, Anthony had Hana wrapped in his arms while, smirking, he whispered in her ear. Hana was giggling, a tiny adoring smile on her face. They looked like an ad for middle-aged dating website. They made it look like the American dream.

Sora had come to see Ravi first and foremost, and given some minor thought to stopping to see her big sister. They were trying to get along better, to put the last few years behind them and move forward with love. Moments like these made moving on seem like an impossible prospect.

On noticing Sora rooted to the floor in front of the elevator, Hana shook Anthony off to embrace Sora in greeting. Sora hugged her because Hana hugged first, as though nothing was amiss. Who was Sora to make a scene anymore? She was the wallflower, the follower to Hana's lifelong leader. Hana hugged Sora, Sora hugged back. A tale as old as time.

When Sora and Anthony stumbled face to face, Sora said not a word. Anthony had to good sense keep his smug mouth shut. Sora was proud she didn't run to Ravi's office fast as her Manolo Blahniks could carry her when that morbid scene came to an end. Seeing further evidence that her dream life was just a nightmare in the making all along didn't make a coward out of her.

Nevermind the fact that she took the stairs in lieu of spending a painful two minutes in the elevator with the two people she used to love most in the world. She'd suffocate alone with them; she was suffocating anyway.

Her dignity intact, Sora stormed into Ravi's office and immediately launched herself into one of Ravi's cushy office chairs, distracting him from his latest sketch. Yes, she'd ignored his assistant to get here; no, she hadn't knocked-and, no, she didn't care.

Smirking at her annoyed expression, Ravi made another broad stroke across the page in alizarin red. "By all means, help yourself."

"Ha," Sora replied humorlessly. "And thank you, I think I will."

Ravi flipped his sketchpad shut and tossed it aside. "Should I start building these little visits into my schedule?"

"As often as you interrupt my workday just to shoot the breeze, you're getting cranky?"