She slowly opened her eyes, her consciousness dragging itself back to reality like something pulling at her.  She lay in a hospital room, a man standing by her bed.  His…

The countdown had only one day left.  On the sixth night of seven, Emerie sat in the hallway outside the editing room, her form fainter than on the first day. …

or–in–chief’s door was suddenly shoved open.  Andrew stood there.  He wore sunglasses, his stubble unshaven, the gray–black jacket on him crumpled like it had been picked off the floor.  The…

Chapter 10  On his discharge day, Andrew refused any ride home.  The media had spun the sea–plunge incident as a brief psychotic break from extreme stress. His team scrambled to…

Chapter 9  Andrew sat on the embankment, clutching a whiskey bottle, gulping down one mouthful after another.  He couldn’t remember how many days it had been since he went home. …

Chapter 8  After returning from Heritage Coast, Andrew locked himself in the editing room at Initial Media Corporation.  He ignored all calls, abandoned projects, canceled every meeting. For three full…

The lights at Sunset Care Center burned all night.  At 3 a.m., the corridor lay silent except for faint paper rustling at the nurses‘ station.  Andrew sat in Emerie’s hospital…

 the same moment, the engagement banquet glowed with lights and buzzed with excitement.  Rebecca held Andrew’s arm, radiant in a custom haute couture gown.  The host grabbed the mic with…

Chapter 5  The night the engagement teaser dropped, “Andrew & Rebecca’s Engagement” dominated the charts for two straight  hours.  The studio group chat flooded with notifications as assistant leila excitedly…

Emerie sat in the lounge, a blank engagement card before her.  The pen trembled in her hand. Five attempts, each ending when the nib barely touched the paper after tracing…