I felt so sick I wanted to throw up. He ditched me, his current girlfriend, to celebrate his ex’s birthday on our anniversary! He looked so pleased with himself too!

I fumed so badly that I switched places with my junior and drove the car at maximum speed.

I wasn't sure of what I was doing nor where I’d be taking this car. At that moment, I just wanted to go far away and remove Calvin from my life. If it wasn't for my junior screaming at me, I wouldn't realize that we had already stopped.

When I looked up I saw the 42nd division’s emblem. We arrived safely at the station. Seeing that was like a beacon of light. I knew how to get my life straight.

I got out of the car, ignoring the complaints about my reckless driving, and stormed inside the building.

A lot of people checked on me and congratulated me on my recovery, but I couldn't pay attention to their concerns. I was laser-focused on one thing, as I headed toward my unit and barged into the captain's office.

“Paul! The offer from the higher up. Is that still open?” I didn't beat around the bush.

I know what Calvin wanted most. Getting that first would be a great shot at his ego.

He didn't expect I’d simply take his crap lying down, did he?

“That’s a surprisingly unique way to greet your captain, Hunter.” Paul dropped what he was doing and faced me with his inquisitive gaze. “You’ve been holding out on it for a year. What made you change your mind?”

Right now, a lot. I didn’t know what to tell him, but Paul knew me too well.

“You’re not acting on impulse because of Calvin again, are you?”

Right off the bat, I knew he had seen Cathy’s post. My relationship with Calvin had always been an open secret. And if the captain knew then, everyone did too. Now it made sense why I passed by so many hunters earlier.

I sighed and showed him my brightest smile.

“Not at all, Captain. I just felt silly drawing it out for this long.”

I didn’t lie about feeling silly, but I wasn't being truthful either.

When the offer came last year, Calvin and I had also broken up.

To me, it was like a breath of fresh air. I was ready to pack up and leave, but Calvin later apologized. He seemed so sincere that I foolishly forgave him and took him back.

As one of the most promising female hunters, I had the brightest future ahead of me, and I gave up that one opportunity all hunters would’ve fought for, a position among the elite corps, for him.

Calvin had a lot of pride in himself. He quickly rose to fame the first year he joined our division. At that time, I was also killing it in the field. So great at what I’m doing I earned the name Flaming Rose. But I bloomed too much in battle that I overshadowed the others.

Calvin would’ve lost it if he knew the elite corps reached out to me and not him. He already didn’t take it well that I got my second star first when we started about the same time. That was also what caused our fight and led to our breakup.

Paul gauged me for a while before giving me a skeptical nod.

“Alright, I’ll give them a call. In the meantime, I’m putting you on leave. Get it together.”

He handed me the paperwork that I excitedly held.

Then, from the back of my mind, a small voice had me thinking, and I couldn’t resist asking, “You think there might be a chance they're gonna retract it after my slip-up?”

“Are you kidding me? I was told to leave it open until you come demanding it,” Paul exclaimed, then his expression softened.

“Think better for yourself this time, Rose.”

I came to the station with convoluted thoughts and left with a lot more. But the good thing about it was, I’m definitely getting that promotion.

I went back to my apartment to pick up my stuff. Aside from it getting destroyed and inhabitable, I want to cut my ties with that bloody place. I'm moving out.

As I pushed the door open, my heart almost stopped from shock. Calvin was there, looking around at the rubble and everything.

Of course, running into him was inevitable, but I didn't expect to see him this soon.

He looked so disgusted at seeing the aftermath of the monster attack.

“If you can't handle even a weak monster then quit hunting. Look at this mess. What are you even doing?” He blabbed his mouth without a care.

I looked at the floor and apart from the debris, I could see bits of mashed cake with mold growing on it and they stink.

“Take a guess.” I flatly answered him, meeting his gaze with a bitter-cold smile.

Calvin looked away and shifted uncomfortably. He knew he was at fault but his ego was so high he'd rather take a jab on me than admit it.

Seriously, how did I miss such a huge red flag?

He was so pumped up to save his ass that he couldn’t even ask me a polite ‘how are you?’

I heard from our colleagues that our entire division was also called out to assist dispatch during the monster wave. I guess he was too busy partying with his ex to give a sliver of care for my life. I took that day off for our damn anniversary. Maybe things would've turned out differently if I took a page from his book.

Calvin cleared his throat. The dead silence must be choking him.

“Got the day off?” he asked, changing the subject.

“By the way, Commander Harris is back. He invited us to his 20th year in service party.” He rattled off, careful not to mention Cathy or my brush with death. Every word that came out of his mouth was like salt rubbing into my wound.

“Enough.” I cut him off mid-sentence. “We’re done, Calvin.”

His face darkened.

“What do you mean?”

I walked to the bedroom and didn't answer. I wanted to quickly get this over with, but he didn't seem to. I thought he would jump over the moon now that he’d be free from me. Instead, he yanked my arm, forcing me to face him.

I was ready to swing a punch right to his face, but he quickly mellowed down. A sigh escaped his mouth, and suddenly, he looked so pitiful.

“Let’s take a walk and talk this through.” He sounded pretty convincing, but I knew it was only an act.

“No.” I yanked my arm free and stood my ground.

He always did this. Whenever we argued he’d tell me to go for a walk and then pacify me into guilt. In the past, I’d gladly take that offer because I thought I was in the wrong, and I didn't want to lose him. Well, not anymore.

Calvin’s temper blew up.

“Are you serious?” He scoffed as if I was the one throwing a tantrum.

“Fine. If that's what you want, we're over. Don’t come back crawling this time.” He sneered, flapping his jacket, and stormed out.

I realized he had never been worthy of my devotion as I watched him leave. How did I fall for such a guy?

When the door slammed behind him, something rolled off. I picked it up, and I couldn’t stop my bitter laugh from coming out.

It was a promise ring that he gave to Cathy as a gift. I’ve seen pictures of them before and she seemed to treasure it, but she returned the ring after their breakup. I thought he had thrown it away because he wouldn’t stop bitching about not standing to see it, but he kept it all along.

I had this coming but I ignored it. I should’ve known five years ago when he first called out her name in his sleep.

I threw the ring as hard as I could, then went on with my new life.

I never heard from Calvin himself after that day. I learned he had taken two weeks off work and went off the grid. Yet, somehow, I kept getting updates of his whereabouts via Cathy’s posts on her timeline. He looked like he was having the best time of his life lounging on a beach with her on some island.

Honestly, I couldn’t care less about what he was doing, but in merely five days after we had broken up, he took his ex for a vacation. The one we planned for years but never made it out of the drawing board.

What a jerk!

Moving on was really tough when you were working in the same field with your ex and that chick he couldn’t forget about.

Another week went by, and I settled into my temporary room in the hunters' dormitory.

I got a call from Paul that the higher-ups took my overdue response positively and were told to show up for the integration assessment tomorrow. I was so happy I barely got any sleep.

I headed to the main headquarters in sector 12 first thing in the morning. From the minute I walked in I was ushered into the testing center where they checked my overall condition. I underwent a series of tests to measure my capabilities as a hunter with application through a fight simulation. I’m confident I nailed that part. However, the interview somehow gave me mixed feelings.

After the physical test, I was told to wait in a room with nothing, but white walls and one set of tables, almost like a prison interrogation room.

I sat there, waiting for ten minutes when an invisible door opened and a dashing man walked in. I didn’t know if it was because of some jittery nerves but I’m feeling overly conscious in his presence. He had this uncanny familiar feeling, especially in how his gaze almost bore holes in me the entire interview.

Well, it could be because he was one of the elite hunters.

“The review board was happy with your initial results. Before we end this discussion…”

I think he was supposed to say something important, but my Codewatch rang and interrupted him.

“Sorry, I forgot to put it on silent.” I felt my cheeks burn from embarrassment. When I checked it out, I suddenly had an urge to strangle someone. It was Calvin!

“Don’t be. It must be important.” He said, permitting me to answer.

I ran to a corner and kept my voice as low as possible.

“What?”

“Where are you? Commander Harris is expecting us at his dinner party tonight. I’m coming to pick you up,” he casually said.

“Excuse you! What makes you think I’m coming with you? Hell no.”

I quickly hung up and blocked him.

His audacity got a bit under my skin and I forgot I was still with someone.

“Your boyfriend?” The assessor asked with a smile. His tone was now more casual.

However, there was something in his eyes that made him look insincere.

I didn’t want to dwell too much on it, so I simply replied, “No.”

An awkward air suddenly floated around us and I pulled whatever came to mind to disperse it.

“I take it I passed your assessment. How long will it take to complete the integration process?”

“You seem eager to leave. Why?”

I didn’t know how to respond to him. He seemed overly interested in my personal life, and I took it quite personally. It must have shown on my face.

“Don’t misunderstand, Miss Foster. It’s all part of the protocol. You’re soon going to undergo a three-month-long closed reinforcement training. We needed to know if there’s anything that could distract you,” he said, smiling as he stood up to organize his documents.

As he passed by me, I caught a glimpse of his ID.

“Liam Ross.”

The name looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

With only a few hours left before the Commander’s party, I hurriedly left the headquarters and caught a cab to another sector. I’ve done a lot today that I’m almost spent, but I couldn’t miss my most respected mentor’s special event.

At the venue, I walked as fast as I could, hoping I made it on time, but as I opened the door to the private room, I didn’t know I would be in for a surprise.

My eyes locked with Liam Ross’s intense gaze from the far corner of the room. Then, there was Cathy, clinging to Calvin’s side at the next table.

“Hi, Ava! I happened to tag along with Calvin. Since we all knew each other, you wouldn’t mind us sitting together, would you?”

I ignored Cathy. Much as I wanted it to be deliberate I just couldn’t break my gaze away from Liam. I had this nagging feeling inside that seemed to pull me toward him. Have we not met before?