For her first four months back home, Celeste drowned, floundering in medical trauma and familial expectations. She only survived because of Min-joon, her best friend in Seoul, who, as a bi man also from a deeply traditional family, could understand her struggles of taking care of someone who never fully accepted who she is.

But nothing could mitigate the intense pain and betrayal Celeste felt when she’d finally managed to pull herself back to the surface, only to discover that Gemma had moved on with someone else just a few months after she'd left. Like Celeste had never existed.

Since then, Celeste had refused to do relationships, a rule that Gretchen Sanders had blatantly ignored. But Celeste can’t exactly blame Gretchen. It’s only natural for someone to think they would be the exception, that they would be the one to change someone else and achieve that pipe dream happily ever after.

After all, Celeste once thought she was special, too.

6: Gemma

Absolutely not.” Evelyn’s response comes quick and without a moment of hesitation. “All the paperwork just got finalized, and we’re already behind schedule. Plus, she’s perfect for the project, so I’m not sure why choosing someone else is even necessary. I had a lunch meeting with her yesterday, and she was absolutely lovely.”

I tightly clutch my thermos of coffee, trying to find the right words to explain the situation to Evelyn.

“What if I have a… personal reason why I can’t work with her?” I ask, keeping my voice as steady as I can. “She and I have history, and not a good one at that.”

Peering at me over the edge of her glasses in a way that reminds me of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Evelyn purses her lips. “What kind of history?” she asks, slowly drawing out every word.

I sigh. So much for keeping my personal life away from my professional one.

“We dated,” I say. “In college. Things didn’t end well, and honestly, if I knew she was attached to this project, I would have asked to not be assigned to it.”

I drink from my thermos as Evelyn raises her eyebrows. “That bad? So you still have feelings for her.”

I splutter, choking on a mouthful of coffee.

“Um, no, of course I don’t. It’s been almost ten years since we dated. I’ve been engaged to and broken up with a whole other person since the last time we saw each other.”

“Well, I’m assuming working with Ms. Min won’t be a problem, then?” Evelyn asks, turning her attention back to her desktop. If it weren’t for the slight, amused quirk of her lips, I’d think she’s being dismissive.