CHAPTER ONE

THE BIRTHDAY THAT BROKE US

Imogen’s POV

I kept juggling the key which was already stuck in the lock on the third floor of Edan’s building.

Pushing the door open with my shoulder, there were gold and white balloons which were sagging a little against the ceiling fan with a banner stretching across the kitchen archway. The letters read; “Happy Birthday Edan.”

I had carefully cut out the letters myself at two am in the morning because the print shop almost disappointed me by not printing out the orders and I refused to let that ruin the surprise I had planned out for my boyfriend.

“Edan” I called out whilst smiling because I couldn’t help giggling about the whole event.

Just then, I started hearing sounds of soft laughter coming from his room. It was low and loose just like he would be if he had too much to drink.

I rolled my eyes fondly as I kicked the door shut behind me.

“You’re supposed to be at the bar until nine because I paid Keon fifty bucks to keep you there.” I said but no answer was forthcoming.

I had to set the cupcakes on the counter coupled with the chocolate-salted caramel which was his favorite. The apartment was smelling of his cologne which he always over-sprays after shower.

Everywhere was looking exactly the way I had left it that morning after I had earlier snuck out of the office in order to finish the decorations. The only difference was the soft yellow light spilling from under his bedroom door and the low murmur of voices.

I was surprised at the sound of the voices because he never mentioned anything to me about bringing in visitors as he already agreed that he had no plans for his birthday.

I walked down the short hallway as the floorboards were creaking under my sneakers the way they always did. I was about to knock on the door but I stopped abruptly when I heard another floating laughter, it was softer like that of a lady.

Without wasting any time I pushed the door open, the room was dim as the only light there was coming from the small lamp on the nightstand.

Edan on the other hand was on the bed, half-sitting against the headboard with his shirt open and his hair was a mess. To my greatest surprise, a lady was sitting next to him, naked and clutching the duvet to her chest probably to look modest. I looked at her fast intently, only to see that it was Bella.

Bella has always been a bully who made my four years in school really tough and hurtful for me. She made sure that every hallway felt like a trap. I could vividly remember how spill her juice on my homework in highschool and claimed that it was accidental.

She also started the rumor in college that I slept with the professor for a better grade.

For a second I was standing perplexed as my brain was still trying to rearrange the scene before me into what it wasn’t, I had to think that maybe I just walked into the wrong apartment or Edan was trying to pull a prank on me.

But I noticed that Bella’s mouth was curved into the same small satisfying smile she used to wear when a teacher believed her over me.

“Imogen, you are early. We were not expecting you this early.” she said, like we were old friends trying to catch up.

Edan blinked at me unfocused as his eyes were glassy like the way they usually get after he has had three drinks or more.

What hurt me the most was that he didn’t scramble to even fake a composure, rather he was staring at me like I was the one who didn’t belong here.

“Babe? What are you doing here?” His words landed like a slap.

I opened my mouth to maybe yell but nothing came out. My pulse was so loud I could hear it in my ears. The cupcakes were still sitting on the kitchen counter and that banner was still hanging by the archway.

Bella shifted, letting the sheet slip just enough to make it clear she wasn’t wearing anything underneath

“We were celebrating his birthday and you know how it is,” Bella said lightly, shifting and letting the duvet slip just enough to make it clear to me that she wasn’t wearing anything.

“Get out of this house right now.” I yelled as my voice didn’t sound like mine as it was too quiet.

“Imogen, wait, it’s not what you think it is. I can explain this.” Edan frowned, looking confused, like the room was tilting for him too.

“Don’t you dare say it’s not what it looks like. It looks exactly like what it is.” I held up a hand with my fingers shaking.

“I think you are overreacting, we were just…”

He pushed himself up higher against the headboard, his movement was clumsy as he was almost tipping sideways.

“Just what?. Just naked in bed together on your birthday while I was out buying cupcakes and hanging balloons for you?” The volume of my voice finally cracked in a sober way.

I saw Bella laughing under her breath in a delighted manner. The same sound of laughter that used to follow me down the hallway after every rumor she started.

Edan rubbed his face with both hands. When he looked at me again, his expression was still too calm like the guilt has not reached him yet.

“You’re being dramatic, it’s not that serious,” he said. The words came out slurred at the edges.

My mind immediately flashed back to four years of late-night phone calls, of him showing up at my dorm with coffee after every exam, him telling me Bella was just jealous and that I was the only one who mattered. And now he was sitting there, half-dressed and telling me that the scenario in front of me was not that serious.

My stomach twisted as I could feel that my legs were disconnected from the rest of me. I turned and walked back down the hallway, passing the sagging balloons, the banner with the letters I had earlier cut out by hand. The cupcakes were sitting on the counter like an accusation.

Behind me I could hear the bed creak with Edan’s thick voice.

“Imogen. Come on. Don’t be like this.” He said but I didn’t answer.

I pulled the front door open as the hallway outside was empty and too bright.

Just before the door closed, I heard Bella’s voice floating after me.

“Happy birthday to him, by the way.” She mocked and the door latch clicked shut.

I was standing in the hallway for three full seconds, staring at the scuffed paint on the opposite wall before I started walking down the stairs, thinking about how August has been unfair to me.

My phone started buzzing in my pocket interrupting my thoughts, I didn’t look because I already knew who the caller was.

And I already knew I was never answering him again.

CHAPTER TWO

THE ELEVATOR

Imogen’s POV

The elevator doors opened on the fourteenth floor and I stepped in without looking up from my phone. My thumb was already scrolling through the Belvane Health brief which I have been memorizing throughout this week before the doors started closing behind me.

Just then a hand shot between the doors, when I looked up it was Edan Cross, my ex-boyfriend from two years ago standing in the gap, with one of his palms laying flat against the metal and staring at me like I had materialized out of the thin air. His hair was shorter than I remembered.

The black hoodie he was wearing was the kind of expensive casual outfits that TikTok stars always put on in order to pretend they had nothing serious going on for them. It has been two years since our break up, I have moved on working with one of the top media company as their marketing strategist and the last information I heard of him was that he is a well known media personality and a prominent TikTok star whom have used his platform help a lot company. So I had no clue what he would be doing as it seems like it was not just a mere coincidence.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as the doors tried to close again as he was shoving them back open with his shoulder.

“I work here,” My voice came out flat and controlled, the same as the voice I had used four years ago in that hallway, right before I walked away.

“ How is that possible?. He blinked as confusion was written all over his face that it almost looked genuine. “

“Yes I have been working with the Bright Media marketing department since January.”

“Since January!. Then you must be the new hire that Greg keeps talking about. Were you the one who landed the Belvane pitch?.” He said it like the words were in a foreign language as his eyes narrowed with recognition

“I’m the one who built the Belvane pitch.” I corrected arrogantly.

The elevator doors closed, we were standing three feet apart in a box that suddenly felt too small. The fluorescent light was buzzing overhead and the cable was humming.

Just then Edan pressed the button for the top floor and I also pressed the button for the top floor making our fingers collide on the panel.

“Don’t do that” I warned.

“I live here,so you don’t tell me what to do.” he said, which was absurd, because he didn’t, and we both knew that.

“Then get out.” I shouted.

“You get out.” He shouted back.

We were standing there irrespective of the fact that we were two grown adults with our fingers hovering over the same button as neither of us was willing to move first.

The elevator didn’t move either. Rather, it just sat there, humming, like it was waiting for one of us to blink.

I blinked.

Instead I kept gazing at him, still taking notice of how his muscle was jumping the way it used to whenever he was trying to say something stupid. Though it was four years since our break up, I could still remember his characteristics and I don’t know why I still kept track of them.

“Move your hand from the buttons,” I said.

“Then you need to move yours first.” He replied.

Just then the doors opened on the twelfth floor, a woman in a navy suit stepped in, took an inquisitive look at us, before stepping right back out as the doors closed again.

“This is ridiculous,” I said.

“You’re the one who keeps causing a nuisance…..”

“You better not finish that sentence.” I cut him off.

He didn’t really finish the sentence as he kept looking at me, and for a traitorous second, I could see the boy who had brought me coffee after every exam and at the same time, he was just the man who had told me it wasn’t that serious like my feelings were not valid.

The elevator started moving up, towards the top floor leading to the conference room where Greg Bush, the CEO of Bright Media, had organized an all-hands meeting for a nine a.m. prompt.

“Great, we’re going to be late.” I muttered after I checked my wrist watch and it was eight fifty-seven.

“For what exactly?.” He asked but I didn’t answer because I don’t have to consider the fact that both of us were on the losing end after all.

The elevator dinged on the fifteenth floor, and the doors opened onto a sea of faces revealing the entire marketing department who were standing in the lobby outside the conference room.

I saw my boss Greg Bush standing at the front, holding a tablet. He was talking but stopped mid-sentence when he saw us.

“Ah, there are both of you.” He said leaving me confused.

Edan stepped out first and I followed. I saw the crowd parting around us like we were contagious.

“Imogen, Edan. I was just telling everyone the good news. Bright Media is merging with Cole & Associates and it would be effective immediately.” Greg said, pausing to look between us as the entire room was already dead silent.

“The merger means that we are combining our strongest assets. Imogen, your Belvane Health pitch is the crown jewel and Edan, your platform reach is the engine to our outlined goal. Together, you’ll co-lead the campaign for the Belvane device launch.” Greg continued.

Edan went very still and I felt the blood drain from my face.

“The cancer treatment device, the one that could change the fate of the vulnerable patients. Yeah the both of you are to handle it squarely starting today.” Greg concluded, smiling like he had just handed us a trophy.

Nobody in the room moved or breathed, Edan turned to look at me and I turned to look at him.

It has been four years of silence, and the only thing standing between us now was a medical device, a merger, and a room full of people who had no idea that we used to share a bed.

“No, I’m not doing this.” I said.

“I’m sorry?” Greg’s smile faltered.

“I said no.” I repeated.

I saw Edan’s mouth open and close repeatedly with no words coming out.

“Imogen, this isn’t optional for you because the board has already approved it this morning and the contracts are signed.” Greg said carefully.

I looked at Edan and he returned his gaze at me under the fluorescent lights buzzing above us. The crowd were intently watching us.

And somewhere in the back of the room, a phone camera clicked.

CHAPTER THREE

FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND REASONS

Imogen’s POV

“Imogen, Edan. To the conference room now.” Greg ordered turning on his heel and walking away with his tablet tucked under his arm, expecting obedience the way men like him always did.

I didn’t move, neither did Edan. We were standing three feet apart in the middle of the lobby while the other forty people were pretending to check their phones even though they weren’t good at pretending.

“Imogen, it’s five minutes gone since I called you.” Greg called out from the doorway after waiting for a while.

I made the first move before Edan followed behind, we avoided each other’s eyes but I could feel the pressure behind me the way one feels a storm you can’t see yet till the first crack of thunder.

The conference room has glass on its three sides that everyone outside could watch though Greg closed the blinds anyway, which somehow made it worse, because now it looked like a secret, and secrets in an office are never good news.

“Both of you should please sit,” he said.

We sat at the opposite ends of the long table as the wood between us could actually act as a canyon.

Greg brought out a contract with two signatures already on it, one belonging to him, and the other from someone from Belvane Health’s legal team.

The header on the paper read;

“ CAMPAIGN LEAD COMPENSATION AGREEMENT.”

“Five hundred thousand pounds each will be split between you as co-leads. Though it will be paid in tranches which includes thirty percent on signing, forty percent on launch and thirty percent on performance metrics. The Belvane device is the biggest medical launch in the country this year. The board wants your faces, names and your combined reach in order to achieve this.” Greg explained tapping the paper on the table.

“Five hundred thousand.” Edan leaned forward.

The mentioned number was hanging in the air like a held breath. I did the math in my head before I could stop myself. I immediately calculated my mother’s treatment at the specialist hospital in Geneva as her oncologist had mentioned in a voice that meant if money were no object. Five hundred thousand pounds wasn’t just a number rather it was an open door.

“This is a joke right?,” I asked.

“It’s the opposite of a joke. It’s the most generous compensation package Bright Media has ever offered.” Greg blinked.

“Anyways I don’t care what it is. I’m not working with him.” I said pushing the papers back towards him.

“Imogen, you need to reconsider….” Mr Greg muttered.

“It’s been four years and you want me to stand next to him for six months, smile for cameras, and pretend like none of it happened just because you are offering me money.” I lowered my voice as the words came out harder than I meant them to.

“Not exactly Imogen, it’s for your career, for the company and for the device that could save the patients who are in dire need of it.” Greg said without any knowledge of my mother’s health.

Edan without uttering any other word was watching me the way one would watch a lit fuse in a careful manner and waiting for the right explosion. When I finally looked at him, his expression was unreadable like he had so much going on in his mind.

“Edan, a penny for your thoughts.” Greg asked.

“For me, I’m in,” Edan replied.

“You’re in?” I asked him.

“Five hundred thousand pounds to launch a device that treats cancer. And it’s so funny to think that I’m going to walk away from that because of this….” He gestured between us and there was something unrecognizable in his voice which was not the usual tone that I had known over time/

“This is what you call it.” I repeated.

“What would you call it?” He asked nonchalantly.

“It is called betrayal.” I fired.

The word was sitting on the table between us with Greg looking from me to Edan and back again, and for the first time I saw a flicker which was not exactly confusion but the dawning awareness that there was a story behind this whole chaos which he hasn’t been told across his face.

“With this I could tell that there is a history behind all this but I don’t need to know the details. What I need is for both of you to understand that this merger is not a suggestion. The contracts are already signed. Belvane has already announced the campaign publicly and your names are on the press release that goes out tomorrow morning.” Greg informed us slowly, folding his hands.

“Pull them to end the contract because I’m not intrested.” My voice echoed through the room.

“Its too late, I can’t pull them. The board approved this at seven a.m and the announcement is scheduled for six a.m. tomorrow. If you refuse, the board will find someone else to fill your position and your seat, Imogen, is the one that built the pitch. So if you walk away, you lose everything you’ve worked for here.” Greg explained almost getting out of patience.

“What if I lose it?.” I asked.

“Then you will lose the Belvane account entirely, the pitch dies with you, there will be no device to launch and that will bridge the treatment pipeline. So think about what that entails.” Greg’s voice softened slightly.

I had to take a moment to think it through, I thought about my mother in a hospital bed, about the specialist’s voice, about the numbers on the paper. I also thought about standing in a hallway four years ago with cupcakes in my hand and a banner behind me.

“I’m not doing this, you people should find someone else.” I uttered finally.

“There is no one else. Edan, please talk to her.” Greg looked at Edan.

Edan looked at me and for one dangerous second, I could see the boy who had always assured me that I am the only one that matters to him but still the same one who had sat on that bed and told me nonchalantly that the scene before me was not that serious.

“Imogen. Take the money, the campaign, you can also hate me for it if you have to. But don’t walk away from this.” He said quietly.

“Don’t you dare tell me what to do.” I shit at him.

“I’m not telling you. I’m asking. You built this pitch and don’t let me be the reason it dies. ” His voice stayed low and controlled, just the way it used to get when he was trying not to raise it.

Outside the glass walls, I could see people lingering near the blinds, their phones were out and it was obvious that someone was definitely filming through the gap where the blinds didn’t quite meet.

Greg noticed just in time, stood up and opened the door just enough for his voice to carry the order.

“Everyone should please get back to work. Now.” He ordered.

They all responded immediately by scattering to their different directions leaving only curiosity behind which I could feel pressing against the glass.

“This is non-negotiable. You both will sign the document by the end of today or the board will start looking for your replacements.” Greg continued the moment the door was closed again.

Just then, Edan’s chair scraped back, he stood up and for a moment I thought he was going to leave. Instead he walked around the table until he was standing close enough that I could smell the faint trace of the same cologne he had worn four years ago.

“Sign it because if you don’t and walk away then you will forever regret not taking this opportunity.” He said softly but audible enough.

My phone started buzzing in a continuous stream, I noticed that Greg’s phone lit up on the table as well as Edan’s screen glowed in his hand. Mr Greg was the first to pick him up and his face changed.

“What is the matter?” I asked.

He didn’t answer but turned the phone so we could see. The press release had gone out early with its headline reading;

“BREAKING NEWS: Bright Media announces merger and dual campaign leads for Belvane Health’s revolutionary cancer treatment device with Imogen Cole and Edan Cross.”

Scrolling down the headline, comments were already flooding in with our old photos from four years ago already resurfacing.

And somewhere in the replies, a username I hadn’t seen in years which left me dumbfounded had already typed three words:

“Miss me yet?”