James’s revelation that he cheated pretty much ruins the entire city of San Francisco for me. It was bad enough before, since almost all my memories of this place are with James. But it’s way worse now, with the added knowledge that James was sleeping with someone else for who knows how long in our relationship. And he probably went to the same places with her, too.

I love Kiara and Val, but I can’t get over the fact that the entire reason why I moved here in the first place was for a job I got with James. I need a big change in my life. Fast. I need to go somewhere else, to live a life that’ll make me happy.

I don’t expect the NYC job to be still available, nor am I really interested in it, but for the next few weeks, I routinely check in with Evelyn to see if there are any other positions I can apply for. One that’s ideally on the West Coast so I’d still be close to my friends and family.

“A job is available down in Irvine, in Orange County,” Evelyn says one day, making me perk up.

I’m from Irvine, and my parents still live in the house I grew up in. The area is quieter and more suburban than San Francisco, and as a teenager, it seemed like the most boring place on Earth. But now, the very prospect of moving back to my hometown, of being closer to my parents and all the familiar restaurants and stores of my childhood, is comforting.

And thankfully, now that I’m an adult, I can drive up to LA whenever I get sick of suburbia. Or at least, I should be able to, in theory. It’s been several years since I last got behind the wheel, but hopefully it’ll all come back to me. I’ll worry about driving and other logistics later, after I actually get the job.

“Great!” I say excitedly. “I’ll apply for the position—”

“This office is more visual media based than text, though,” Evelyn cuts in. “So you’ll be working as a multimedia journalist, rather than a staff writer. The job doesn’t quite match your qualifications, but maybe ‘Modern Love in Focus’ will give you an edge, since you conducted the interviews and Citrine liked it so much. I’ll put in a good word.”

“That’s fine,” I say. “Thank you, Evelyn.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Because I don’t want to blindside them if I do get the job, I stop by my friends’ apartment after work to broach the possibility.

When I finish telling them everything, from my discovery about James to this new job, Kiara and Val stare back at me with wide eyes. They both look devastated for me, and Kiara cries.