A woman discovers her boyfriend has given away her seat to another woman, a small betrayal that cracks open bigger questions about their relationship. As she confronts the slight and the people behind it, she must decide whether to fight for a love that has already started to shift or walk away with her dignity intact.
The car moved smoothly along the winding mountain road. Inside, the air felt unbearable. Claire, I'm a little car sick, so I have to sit up front. You don't mind, right?
Mia's fragile. Be nicer to her. And don't keep glaring over every little thing. Sure. My giving in caught Julian off guard for a second.
Then he stopped paying attention to me when Mia held a half-eaten magaroon up to his It's too sweet, Julian. Eat it for me. That familiar sour knot rose in my stomach.
I thought if I kept putting up with it, he'd pull back. Instead, they just kept pushing further. I grabbed an ice-cold sparkling water and twisted hard at the cap. Julian, my wrist hurts.
I can't open it. You know I've always been the weakest. Watching them made me sick. I laughed at myself and started to put the bottle back.
Then a long, lean hand reached over from beside me and took the sparkling water from my hand.