Chapter 2: The Choice
820 Words
“Tamara!”
Daniel’s voice followed her down the hallway.
She didn’t stop.
The elevator couldn’t arrive fast enough.
The ballroom doors closed behind her, muting the music, the applause, and the life she had just walked away from.
“Tamara, please.”
His footsteps echoed against the marble floor.
Still, she kept walking.
Because if she stopped now, she wasn’t entirely sure what would happen.
She might scream.
She might cry.
She might do something stupid.
And Tamara Joseph had already wasted enough tears on Daniel Carter.
The elevator doors opened.
She stepped inside.
A hand caught the door before it could close.
Of course.
Daniel.
Breathing hard.
Looking desperate.
The irony almost made her laugh.
Three weeks ago, she would have given anything to see that look in his eyes.
Now it only made her tired.
The elevator doors slid shut.
Silence settled between them.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Daniel stared at her reflection in the mirrored wall.
Tamara stared straight ahead.
Neither spoke.
Not until the elevator reached the lobby.
The doors opened.
Tamara stepped out.
Daniel followed.
“Would you stop walking away from me?”
That did it.
Tamara stopped.
Slowly turned around.
And smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
Dangerously.
“Walking away from you?”
Daniel froze.
“You proposed to another woman.”
Her smile widened.
“And somehow I’m the one walking away?”
His face tightened.
“Tamara, it’s complicated.”
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The sentence people use when they know they’re wrong.”
A few hotel guests glanced in their direction.
Tamara didn’t care.
For once in her life, she didn’t care who was watching.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Can we talk somewhere private?”
“No.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Tamara—”
“No.”
Each answer landed harder than the last.
Because for the first time in eight years, she wasn’t making things easier for him.
Daniel ran a hand through his hair.
A nervous habit.
One she knew far too well.
“You’re not listening.”
Tamara laughed softly.
The sound held no humor.
“Oh, I’ve been listening for eight years.”
His jaw clenched.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
Silence.
Daniel looked away first.
That told her everything.
Still.
She waited.
Eventually, he spoke.
“My company is failing.”
The words hung between them.
Tamara blinked.
Of all the things she expected…
That wasn’t one of them.
Daniel swallowed.
“We’ve been losing money for months.”
He looked exhausted suddenly.
Older.
Not broken.
But close.
“The investors were pulling out.”
Tamara crossed her arms.
“And?”
“The woman tonight…”
His voice faltered.
“Her father owns one of the largest investment groups in the country.”
There it was.
The truth.
Ugly.
Pathetic.
And somehow worse than cheating.
Daniel hadn’t chosen love.
He had chosen survival.
Tamara felt something inside her finally settle.
Not heal.
Not disappear.
Just settle.
Like a puzzle piece clicking into place.
“You sold me.”
Daniel flinched.
“No.”
“You did.”
“That’s not fair.”
She laughed again.
This time the sound was sharp.
“Fair?”
Her eyes locked onto his.
“You want to talk about fair?”
The anger she had been holding back finally surfaced.
Not loud.
Not explosive.
Worse.
Controlled.
“Fair would’ve been telling me the truth.”
Daniel looked away.
“Fair would’ve been ending things before proposing to someone else.”
Silence.
“Fair would’ve been remembering that I was a person.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
The lobby suddenly felt too quiet.
Too still.
Daniel’s voice came out barely above a whisper.
“I never stopped loving you.”
Tamara closed her eyes.
Just for a second.
Because that sentence…
That sentence hurt more than anything else.
When she opened them again, the softness was gone.
“If that’s your version of love…”
She stepped back.
“I’d hate to see what betrayal looks like.”
Daniel looked as though she had slapped him.
Good.
Some wounds deserved to be felt.
Her phone suddenly rang.
The sound shattered the moment.
Mom.
A knot formed in Tamara’s stomach.
Her mother never called this late.
Never.
She answered immediately.
“Mom?”
The silence on the other end lasted only a second.
But it was enough.
Enough for fear to settle deep in her chest.
“Tamara…”
Her mother’s voice trembled.
And suddenly Daniel no longer mattered.
Not the proposal.
Not the betrayal.
Not the heartbreak.
Nothing.
Because something was wrong.
Very wrong.
“What happened?”
Her mother’s next words changed everything.
“The bank came today.”
Tamara’s breath caught.
And for the first time that night…
She realized her broken heart wasn’t the biggest problem waiting for her.
Not even close.
- Writer
