Seven Years, A Shattered Promise

e wreckage of the kitchen. I hadn't slept. I just sat on the floo

. Every object held a memory, a gho

of mine that she used to sleep in. A stack of technical manuals with my notes scri

a ghost, but my pre

cabin upstate. We were huddled by a fire, my arm around her. She was looking at me, not the camer

that night, her head on my chest. "

n the silent apart

board boxes. My clothes, my books, my laptop. I w

Mark, my only real f

re you? The whole o

in, Mark," I sai

w the news. I'm sorry.

ave no

he integration code for the new acquisition is failing. The guys are pan

ly one who understood that code

y problem any

ystem-wide crash. It could tank the stock on their

wasn't ready to se

or logs," I said. "I'll

an, Alex," he sa

nes of corrupted code. It was a mess. A rookie mistake h

rted to type

still he

s of other employees were on the line. People I knew,

to Mark with a single line: Run th

r necklace, a custom-made piece with two interlocking rings. One for A, one for C. A third-anniver

shut and shoved

door. I had scrubbed the soup from the wall, cleaned up the broken bowl. I

eave, my phone rang

Alex. System is stable.

," I

knows you fixed it. She's coming down to the serve

e, Mark. Thanks

e was urgent. "She's not a

lanned to leave quietly. A dignified ex

called the elevator. As the doors

, and two se

and furious, lo

voice dripping with venom. "I