“Why don’t you just go back to Janine and ask if you can live there?” Olivia asked. “You said you left on good terms, right?”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Addison insisted, dropping the bus tray on the sink. “I’ll figure out my living arrangements.”

“I don’t understand what happened,” Olivia sighed. “He threw you out?”

“No. I left by myself.”

“You should have kicked him out,” she said sternly. “He’s the one who can’t keep it in his pants!”

“Keep your voice down, Olivia!” Addison hissed. “Come on! I don’t want the entire restaurant knowing my business!” It was bad enough that Olivia knew the truth.

Her friend shrugged.

“Everyone should know that Marcus Williams is a pig,” she replied defensively, but she did lower her voice, much to Addison’s relief. “Maybe you should out him to the media. The press loves scandalous shit like that.”

“He is not a pig,” Addison said, again wishing she had not disclosed so much information to Olivia. “It is a lifestyle that involves consenting adults.”

It had been two weeks since she had walked out of the condo downtown, and the urge to run back to Marcus and beg for his forgiveness had not lessened. Then she would shake her head and remind herself that she had no reason to be forgiven. She did nothing wrong. And, in any case, neither did he. They had both been fully aware of what they were getting into, and Addison had simply chosen not to pursue it any further. It was her right.

Marcus had made no attempts to email or call her, and she still didn’t know if she should be relieved or worried about his silence.

On the Saturday following her walk-out, a note had arrived from a storage facility nearby with only a locker number and key.

“What is that?” Ramon asked, reading over her shoulder.

“I assume that all my meager belongings have been put in storage,” she sighed, shaking her head.

From rags to riches and back to rags, she thought almost wryly.

“Chin up, sister!” Ramon said. “We will find you another rich man.”

“Ramon!” Addison cried in annoyance.

“What?” he asked, a genuine look of confusion on his face. “I thought that was your type.”

“Oh, my god. Just get back to work,” she muttered. “You and Olivia, I swear…”

“We’re just trying to help, girl,” Ramon told her. “No need to be like that.”

Addison watched him go, her heart in her throat. She had spent too much time with Marcus’ other women. Maybe they had rubbed off on her, and she was being a bitch. A more likely scenario, however, was that she was tired and heartbroken, her mood sullied by the endless questions and unsolicited advice. All she wanted to do was go back to Olivia’s house, crawl under a blanket, and block everything out until she eventually died.

“The tables aren’t going to serve themselves, Addison!” John, the owner of the diner, snapped at her as he walked in through the fire door.

“I’m on it John,” Addison assured him brightly, spinning toward the front. Ah, shit. Anyone else wanna piss on me today?

“Hey,” John called. “I am still watching you and Olivia. You know that, yeah?” His Greek accent seemed to harshen the words, but Addison was not concerned. If there was one thing she had learned over the years was that John Stavros’ bark was much worse than his bite. No matter how mad he seemed to be.

“John, how many times do we need to tell you?” Olivia groaned. “The gas company called that night and told us to evacuate! How were we supposed to know it was a prank? Would you rather we stayed? What if it had been a real threat? You would be planning our funerals right now instead of giving me hell!”

John glowered at her and Addison, who shrugged innocently.

“Can I go now?” she asked. “The tables aren’t going to serve themselves.”

Her boss snorted and gestured for her to get out of his face.

As soon as Addison pushed the swinging doors open, she recognized two familiar faces walking through the doorway.

Oh, come on! she cursed to herself. God! This isn’t even funny anymore! There was nowhere to run, and Olivia was at the back of the restaurant, tending to her tables. I’m on my own for this one, she thought, inhaling sharply while she approached the newcomers.

“Florian! Rose!” Addison said cheerfully. “How lovely to see you again!”

Rose’s smile widened, and she stared at her in awe.

“Oh, Florian,” Rose murmured. “Is that Lily?”

Her husband shook his head and patted his wife’s hand reassuringly. “No, honey, that’s the lovely waitress who looks like Lily. Remember?”

“My name is Addison, Rose,” Addison offered. “Let me show you to a booth.”

“You were here the night of that horrible gas leak, weren’t you?” Florian asked, and she nodded, choking back a smile.

“You have a good memory, sir. Thankfully, it was a false alarm. A silly joke, apparently.”

“Oh, that is a relief,” Florian agreed as they were seated.

“But thank you for reminding me that you were here that night,” she said. “Your meal will be comped because of the inconvenience.” There was no such compensation for the customers that night, but the elderly couple didn’t need to know that. Addison wanted to pay for it as a thank you to the lovely couple for opening her eyes to what her life could be if she found the right man.

But did I walk away from the right man? No… I made the right choice. He was never going to commit to me, and I am better than that.

“Are you all right, dear?” Florian asked, studying her face. “You seem… sad.”

“I’m fine,” Addison assured him. “I’ll be back with some coffee for you!”

“That would be lovely, dear,” they chorused, and Addison’s heart paused.

That is what it’s supposed to be, she thought, finishing one another’s sentences and speaking in unison. That is a relationship, not sitting at home, waiting for him to finish with his other mistresses. Why is that so hard?

“You’re daydreaming,” Olivia told her once Addison went back to the kitchen, and Addison shook her head.

“I was just trying to remember what they ordered.”

“They haven’t ordered. They still have their menus,” Olivia replied, sighing. “If you’re going to lie, at least be good at it.” Addison’s face flushed crimson, and she turned away, lowering her jade eyes. “You can’t keep moping around like this, Addison. It’s not good for anyone. Go talk to Janine today, after your shift.”

Addison nodded. “Fine. If you want me out of your house that badly—”

“Okay, you know what?” Olivia began, turning her full attention to her. “Stop your self-pitying horseshit. If you actually had nowhere to go, you know you could stay with me forever, but you do and you're just stubborn. I have a two-bedroom apartment with four people in it right now! You may not feel cramped, but I’m getting claustrophobic. If you don’t talk to Janine tonight, I will.”

“Fine, I’ll go,” Addison muttered, yanking the coffee pot from the burner. It might not be such a bad idea, after all. If Marcus ever changed his mind and went looking for her, he would know where to find her.

At that moment, Addison had never felt more pathetic.

Forget about Marcus, she scolded herself. You need to move on with your life! God knows he’s probably not thinking about you anymore. He’s already got another one of his women living in the apartment, I bet.

She gulped back her sorrow and forced herself to focus on her job. It was the only thing she had going for her at the moment, and she did not want to lose it.

Janine gaped at her as if she was a ghost.

“Oh, wow! You are alive!” she gasped.

Addison’s brow furrowed.

“Of course I’m alive,” she replied in confusion. “Who told you I was dead?”

Her former roommate shook her head. “No one, I—you just left under such weird circumstances, and you never returned my texts…”

Addison tried to remember if Janine had texted her. I really did put everyone else on the backburner for Marcus, didn’t I? she thought, a combination of guilt and anger consuming her as she stepped into her old apartment.

“I’m here and alive,” she sighed, following Janine toward the living room. She couldn’t help but feel slightly resentful of how small the place seemed to be now that she had lived in such opulence, though she shoved the spoiled thought from her mind and smiled warily at Janine.

“Janine, I need a place to stay again,” she told her. “I was wondering if you would mind if I moved back in?”

Janine’s mouth parted slightly, and her lips became a ring of surprise. “I—I mean, you paid for the rest of the year, Addison, so I guess you can…”

There seemed to be some hesitance to Janine’s words, and Addison stared at her. “But?”

Janine quickly shook her head and lowered her gaze, a pink tinging her cheeks.

“Did you get a new roommate already?” Addison asked.

“I… kind of?” Janine muttered. “But not exactly.” Suddenly, there was a sharp bark from Addison’s old room, and she jumped at the sound.

“You got a dog?” Addison wailed, and Janine bit on her lower lip.

“I always wanted one, and you always said no!” she reminded Addison. “If I had known you were coming back—”

Addison interrupted her before she could keep apologizing. “It’s fine, Janine. You don’t have to explain it to me,” she said, trying to keep the disappointment from her tone. “And you’re right; the apartment is yours to do as you please.”

It wasn’t that Addison didn’t like dogs—it was just that she preferred a pet-free home. The idea of dog hair on their clothes and furniture did not appeal all that much to her, but the choice was not hers to make. Not when her finances were depleted, and not when she had no other options.

“Do you want to meet him?” Janine asked hopefully, and Addison realized that she was actually quite interested in seeing the face of the animal tearing up the inside of her bedroom.

“Sure,” she agreed, and Janine’s face exploded into an expression of relief and joy as she jumped from the sofa to release the hound.

As she moved, Addison’s phone chimed in her pocket, but she ignored it, preparing herself for the beast bounding from the back room and into her arms. In spite of herself, Addison squealed with giggles as the shaggy-haired animal knocked her down and licked her face excitedly, his full tail swinging from side to side.

“What kind of dog is this?” she gasped, trying to protect herself from the slobbering tongue in futility.

“He’s a terrier,” Janine answered. “A collie cross, I think. They called him Sunny at the shelter, but he reminds me more of a Roscoe for some reason.”

“Roscoe?” Addison chuckled as the animal finally let up. She examined his happy face and smiled.

“You don’t like it?” Janine asked.

“Roscoe is perfect,” she replied, scratching the beast behind his ears. He growled gleefully, falling onto his brown and grey back for her to rub his belly.

Again, her phone dinged inside her pocket, and Addison reluctantly fell back on her haunches to retrieve it.

Email notifications.

She tossed the device onto the sofa and continued petting Roscoe.

“I have my stuff in storage,” she told Janine. “But I can rent a truck and move it out this weekend if that’s okay with you.”

Janine shrugged and nodded. “Mi casa es literally tu casa,” she replied, grinning.

There was a slight silence as Addison continued to stare at the dog, scratching his belly.

It’s better this way, she thought. You were never meant to live like a princess in a castle. Waitresses from the wrong end of town do not meet princes and live happily ever after. That’s only for movies.

Yet she could not forget the way Marcus had looked at her, how he had made her feel with his simple caresses, the whispering of sweet nothings in her ears.

The cell chirped for the third time, and Addison could no longer ignore that someone was trying to get her attention. She snatched up her phone and peered at the screen, shaking her head in disbelief.

It was a text from Melissa.

Unlocking the device, she read it warily.

I sent you an email by accident. Pls delete it, the message read.

Addison wasn’t sure if she should respond, but Melissa didn’t give her a chance to consider as another text came through.

Let me know you got this text. It’s important. Do not read that email. It has company info. Marcus will be angrier than he already is with you.

The mention of her lover sent unbidden chills through her body, and her brow crunched.

Angrier than he already is? Addison wondered. What did I do to him? Why would he be angry? He had clearly established that Addison could walk out of their relationship whenever she wanted to—he had no reason to be angry with her.

Did you get my text? Melissa typed.

Okay, Addison responded simply. She waited for any more correspondence, but Melissa seemed satisfied with her reply, and no other communication came through.

“You all right?” Janine asked tentatively.

Addison looked up at her and nodded. “Yes,” she replied. “A former co-worker.”

Janine nodded, though the look on her face told Addison that she had a million questions, ones she was not yet prepared to answer. To Addison’s relief, her roommate said nothing.

“I’ll be at Olivia’s until I can arrange to bring my bed and stuff here,” she told Janine.

“You can stay here on the couch,” Janine offered. “I know that Olivia’s place is crowded.”

A spark of appreciation flashed through Addison, and she offered Janine a timid smile.

“You don’t mind?” she asked, and Janine shook her head.

“It’s been lonely without you here,” she admitted, and Addison was warmed by the words. While the two had never been exceptionally close, she had always liked Janine and respected the girl’s ability to keep to herself. Unlike Olivia, who had to always know everything.

Roscoe barked, as if approving the arrangement, and the girls laughed.

“I guess it’s settled, then,” Addison said. “I’ll text Olivia and let her know.” With one hand still stroking Roscoe’s bristly fur, she texted Olivia. Since she was only using her left hand, the motion was a little awkward, and she took longer than she would’ve had she been typing with both hands.

Janine says I can stay. We got a dog! I’m going to crash here.

As she slipped back to the main screen, she stared at the red email notifications and sighed, opening her inbox. The more recent email was titled, “DO NOT READ PREVIOUS EMAIL.” The original one read, “Take a look at this.”

Curiosity sparked through her, but Addison knew that whatever was written in the email that had sent Melissa into a panic was none of her business. The email’s content had nothing to do with her on any level. She was done with Williams Industries and with Marcus Williams.

Addison deleted both messages and turned back to Roscoe and Janine.

Step by step, I will delete the memory of Marcus Williams from my life, she promised herself. No matter how long it takes.

Marcus did not want her the way she wanted him, and she had to learn to accept that… no matter how much it hurt.