Life Is But A Brief Spring For Mortals Chapter 2

By the time the truck pulled up to the hotel in town, the sky was pitch black.

"My team is camping about three miles up the road." Julian rolled down his window.

"I'll come pick you up first thing in the morning."

I nodded, pushed the door open, and stepped out.

The hotel lobby was brightly lit.

I walked up to the front desk and gave them Elias's name.

The receptionist clicked away at her keyboard, then slid a room key across the marble counter.

"Mr. Griffin canceled the king suite and booked two standard rooms instead."

I took the key without a word.

The elevator stopped on the third floor.

I walked down the carpeted hallway, found the room, and swiped the card. The heavy door clicked open.

The heater was blasting inside.

Chloe was sitting on the sofa by the window.

She was wearing my expensive silk pajamas.

In her hand was my luxury face cream, and she was generously applying it to her cheeks.

Hearing the door open, she snapped her head around. A flash of guilt crossed her face.

"Sienna! You made it!"

She stood up, awkwardly tugging at the hem of the silk pajamas.

Right at that moment, the bathroom door swung open.

Elias walked out, aggressively towel-drying his hair.

Seeing me, his hands froze.

"What took you so long?" His tone was thick with accusation.

I didn't answer. My eyes remained fixed on Chloe.

I had bought those pajamas just last month.

I had purchased that face cream specifically for the harsh mountain weather on this trip.

Elias followed my gaze and frowned irritably.

"Chloe's suitcase is jammed all the way in the back of the trunk. I didn't feel like digging it out."

"Her skin is really sensitive, and she can't use the cheap hotel lotion, so I told her she could use yours."

He stepped toward me, reaching out to grab my hand.

"It's just a piece of clothing. You're not going to throw a fit over this too, are you?"

I sidestepped his hand, walking straight toward the sofa.

I picked up the jar of face cream from the coffee table, grabbed the half-used facial cleanser sitting next to it, and dropped them both straight into the trash can.

"Sienna!" Elias's voice instantly spiked in anger.

Chloe looked terrified. Her eyes immediately welled with tears as she took two steps backward.

"Elias, don't yell at Sienna. It's all my fault."

"I'll take the clothes off and give them back to her right now."

She reached for the buttons of the silk top, massive tears rolling down her cheeks.

Elias aggressively pulled her behind him, shielding her.

"Are you done throwing this tantrum?!" He glared at me with absolute fury.

"I know I shouldn't have left you at the rest stop, but there was an emergency!"

"Why do you have to come in here and act like a bitch?!"

I looked at his furious, twisted face, and realized he looked entirely like a stranger.

In the past, if I even got a paper cut, he would panic and run out in the middle of the night to find a pharmacy.

Now, my lips had literally turned purple from hypothermia, but all he cared about was whether Chloe was crying.

"Take them off." I looked directly at Chloe, my voice incredibly soft.

Chloe flinched, digging her fingers into Elias's arm.

"Sienna, you are taking this way too far!" Elias gritted his teeth.

"I'm going to say it one more time. Take them off." I didn't raise my voice by a single decibel.

Chloe sobbed, turned around, and ran into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she walked out wearing her own oversized sweater.

The silk pajamas were left neatly folded at the foot of the bed.

I walked over, pinched the fabric between two fingers, and dropped it into the trash can.

"You are completely unreasonable." Elias let out a harsh, bitter laugh.

He grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her toward the door.

"We're going to my room. We won't stay here and ruin your night."

The heavy door slammed shut.

The room fell into absolute, deafening silence.

I walked into the bathroom and splashed freezing water on my face.

Looking up, the woman in the mirror was pale and exhausted.

It was almost funny. In the five years I had been with Elias, this face had rarely looked genuinely happy.

I dried my face, pulled out my phone, and opened my email.

I scrolled until I found the email that had been sitting in my inbox for a week.

It was an official transfer order from the corporate headquarters in London. They wanted me to lead a massive new project.

A week ago, because I had promised Elias I would take this road trip with him, I had drafted an email declining the offer.

Now, I clicked "Reply."

"I accept the transfer. I can report to the London office in three days."

The soft whoosh of the email sending echoed loudly in the quiet room.

After doing that, I crawled under the heavy duvet.

The headache from the altitude was still pounding relentlessly against my skull.

But mentally, I felt lighter than I had in years.

From the next room over, I could hear Elias and Chloe's muffled laughter through the wall.

They probably assumed that by tomorrow morning, I would come crawling back and apologize, just like I always did.

What a shame. There wasn't going to be a tomorrow.