In the Unlikely Event

by L.J. Shen

It’s been eight years, and a lot has happened in them.” But not enough for me to spell out the words she wants to hear: I’m taken. You’re taken. It’s just a business transaction. I won’t try to steal you. I won’t try to sabotage your relationship. I won’t try to seek revenge. Those are all things I don’t say. Things I leave out. The things she should be demanding right now. Luckily, Aurora seems too flustered to read the unwritten fine print of this conversation. She’s forever the hotheaded redhead. “I see.” Her jaw squares, and so do her shoulders. “If that’s the way you want it to be, then I’ll respect that.” She nods, taking a step away from me. I want to throttle her. To tell her it is not, in fact, the way I want it to be, but she made it that way. She moved on, and I got stuck. Now I’m angry, and vengeful, and definitely in the mood to inflict some damage myself. “When do I start?” She parks her hands on her waist.