‘It is a lovely neighbourhood, I agree. Right! Well, see you around, Kiana!’ Liam quickly turns and makes his way out of Josie’s. It was probably quite apparent from my face that I didn’t wish to talk any further.

‘Yeah, and congratulations on your baby!’ I almost shout.

Liam stares at me for a moment and then replies, ‘Thanks.’

After they leave, I’m unable to concentrate on my book or my coffee again. While I consciously force my gaze to stay on the page open in front of me, I can’t help but get swept up in the deluge of memories that take over my mind. Why did Liam, of all people, have to come and ruin such a special day for me? Ugh!

I met Liam in my second year at the university. We bumped into each other at the library and instantly bonded over books. He was an aspiring data scientist and wanted to turn the world around with some breakthrough research. I’d always been interested in Artificial Intelligence, so I enjoyed talking to him. We had so much in common. Six months after that chance encounter at the library, we went on our first date. Everything moved superfast after that, and before I realized what was happening, we had moved in together. New York is so expensive that this move gave us a chance to manage our life and finances together. We were each other’s pillars of strength.

Then, when I landed the job at Beta, I began dreaming about us moving to Chicago together. But that didn’t happen; instead, we broke up. It’s frustrating now to know that Liam did finally move to the city, but with another woman.

At that time, our apartment was a small but cosy studio hidden away in an old Brooklyn brownstone. The apartment had been somewhat neglected by its owner, and we got a pretty cheap deal on the rent. The living area had a worn-out, sagging sofa and a coffee table that was always cluttered with old magazines. The kitchenette, with its chipped countertops and flickering fluorescent light, lacked charm. In the bedroom, the faded curtains barely blocked out the streetlights that cast eerie shadows across the cramped space. But we had done our best to keep the dead place alive by covering up as much of its shortcomings as we could, and the only special thing about that shady apartment was coming back home to Liam. He was my family for a short while. And I used to believe that our love would keep us together in that not-so-dreamy place.

Now, as I sit with the coffee and resign myself to remembering everything with painful clarity, that whole fateful evening plays out in front of my eyes.