Shattered Glass and Fresh Starts Chapter 1

This is the story of the day before my boyfriend was supposed to finish his three-year assignment at one of our remote manufacturing plants. I hadn't told him I was coming; I wanted to surprise him.

When I got to the apartment door, I heard him inside, having a dinner party with his colleagues.

"Come on, just let Chloe have one glass of wine. Don't be such a protective tightwad."

"Seriously, you guard her so closely, you might as well just lock her in a tower."

Then, I heard that familiar voice respond.

"Stop it, guys. She’s my star trainee. If she gets pissed off, I’m the one who suffers for it."

My heart did a painful somersault.

Just yesterday, he had grumbled to me over text: [This trainee is so incompetent. It’s exhausting to teach her! I’m so over it!]

But now he was calling her his "star."

I pushed down the instant flash of suspicion, punched the code into the keypad, and opened the door.

* * *

The second the door swung open, the laughter inside stopped dead.

Several pairs of eyes snapped toward me, filled with shock and defensiveness at my sudden appearance.

Blake casually removed his hand from the back of the girl’s chair. He forced a look of absolute delight onto his face at my arrival.

"Audrey! What are you doing here?"

Around the table, glances were exchanged, followed by a few forced, awkward laughs.

I didn't respond. I just looked directly into Blake’s deep, bright eyes and said, "Aren't you flying back to New York tomorrow? I came to pick you up."

The room fell silent. Even Blake's smile faded a little.

Then, the sharp sound of glass shattering broke the tension.

Someone shouted urgently: "Chloe!"

I felt Blake go instantly rigid in front of me. He threw my hand off in a second.

"I’ll go check on her."

Half the sentence was lost in the rush of air he left behind. In the blink of an eye, Blake had rushed to the girl’s side.

She stood there looking completely helpless, a shattered glass at her feet.

Her gaze was filled with suppressed grievance and vulnerability as she gazed adoringly up at Blake, who was checking her anxiously for injuries.

A few knowing looks floated my way, tinged with schadenfreude.

"It’s fine, it’s just a glass," Blake said, trying to comfort her. Someone else joked, "Hey, let it break! Breaking glass is good luck, right? Fresh start and all that."

"Besides, it’s just a glass. Your mentor adores you; are you really afraid he’s going to yell at you?"

The girl cast a timid glance at me. Blake followed her gaze, looking over.

Our eyes met in mid-air.

He froze for a second, as if finally remembering I was in the room.

He forced a casual chuckle. "I’m always giving her a hard time at work, so she’s a little scared of me. Breaking a glass nearly scared her to death."

"Come, let me introduce you. This is my trainee, Chloe Bennett."

Chloe Bennett. I knew her very well.

In Blake’s texts, she was the girl who was incompetent, clumsy, and always getting into trouble. He was always complaining that mentoring her was a massive headache.

I felt bad for him and asked if I should call the plant manager—a friend of my father’s—to switch trainees. Blake had refused, saying it was a learning experience and that he couldn’t let my father down.

It seemed there was another reason entirely. At the very least, his actual "headache" over Chloe wasn't one-thousandth of what he’d told me.

I ignored his cheerful introduction. I just looked at the pile of shards on the floor.

"It’s just a glass. Who cares that it broke?"

"Audrey, let’s not make a deal out of this."

Blake’s tone was solemn, as if he were trying to teach me a lesson in manners.

"I’m sorry, this is all my fault," Chloe said, moving to apologize by bending over to pick up the pieces. Blake stopped her immediately.

He started cleaning up the mess for her. But the moment his eyes fell on the shards, he froze.

The crystal fragments reflected the light beautifully.

That was the gift I had given Blake for Valentine’s Day last year. Custom-made, private reserve crystal. Only two in the world—his and mine. I was too proud to say "forever," so I used the gift to express it.

He looked up at me carefully, tentatively.

After several attempts to speak, he finally said, "Audrey, it was my fault. It had nothing to do with Chloe—"

"It’s fine, it’s just a glass," I interrupted him, my voice flat.

"If it breaks, you get a new one."

In the past, he had treasured every single gift I gave him, not allowing anyone to touch them.

Yet today, everyone at the party was using paper cups. Including Blake himself.

That single broken crystal glass was the smoking gun of his blatant favoritism toward Chloe.

It wasn't an illusion, and it wasn't baseless paranoia. Even before Blake had said that sentence, I was trying to rationalize his behavior. I was blaming my discomfort on oversensitivity.

But the facts were right there. I couldn't lie to myself.

At the dinner table, his colleagues tried too hard to obscure the truth.

They kept telling me stories about Blake’s strictness and hilarious mistakes Chloe had made under his supervision, trying to frame it as a strict-mentor/clumsy-apprentice dynamic.

But they couldn't hide the edge of hostility in their tone toward me.

It was as if my appearance had forcibly broken up the perfect couple in their eyes. They tried to run interference for Blake, but couldn't resist sticking up for Chloe.

My blatant coldness caused the party to end awkwardly.

After everyone left, Blake had me sit on the sofa in the living room.

He knelt down and carefully placed some cozy, pink slippers in front of me, taking off my heels. He made me hot tea and brought over some fruit.

Then he rolled up his sleeves to go clean up the mess in the dining room.

He was exactly like he used to be—attentive, detailed, taking care of my every need.

I looked at the steaming tea on the table and remembered college, how Blake always followed right behind me.

I had a bad temper back then. Proud, cold, and unapproachable. Blake was the warm, friendly guy who could talk to anyone.

He pursued me relentlessly for four years. He was like a servant who willingly accepted my dominance, ready to follow my commands at a moment's notice.

He wouldn't let other guys get near me, wouldn't let anyone else try to do me favors. For anything involving me, big or small, he refused to let anyone else handle it.

"You’re my Rapunzel, Audrey. I can only rest easy when you're tucked away safely in your tower."

I struggled in the memories, almost starting to let go of my reason.

Then came the click of the lock. The door opened.

Chloe Bennett had come back.

She nodded at me but didn't speak. She walked directly to the shoe rack, opened it, dug around, closed it, and finally, her gaze fell on my feet.

Her expression was timid, but her words carried a definite edge of provocation.

"Um, Audrey? Those are my slippers you're wearing..."

They were pink house shoes, very cute, but not my style. However, Blake was wearing a dark blue pair.

I had assumed Blake had specifically prepared a matching couple’s set for my visit.

Hearing her words, I lowered my eyes for a moment, then stood up and took the shoes off.

The moment my bare feet touched the hardwood floor, a wave of coldness surged through me, chilling me to the core.

I changed back into my own high heels and looked down at Chloe. I was practically laughing from rage.

I wasn't even planning on counting her in this, initially. But how could someone be so stupid as to go begging for a slap in the face?

"Audrey!"

Blake appeared from behind me. The sound of his rapid footsteps betrayed his anxiety.

He didn't hesitate for a second. He stood directly between me and Chloe, terrified I was going to do something to her.

"I didn't have time to tell you beforehand. I’m living in the factory dorms right now, so I let Chloe stay here temporarily."

"She was afraid you’d get the wrong idea and offered to stay in a hotel."

"But it’s very late now. There are probably no rooms left."

Before Chloe could explain anything, Blake had already found the perfect excuse for her.

I remained silent. I just scanned the room briefly, and I already saw many matching couple’s items. The place was filled with traces of two people living together.

Blake tried to offer another explanation: "Chloe's boyfriend comes over occasionally."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." Blake’s gaze didn't waver.

After a brief staredown, a sarcastic laugh escaped my lips.

"Fine. Whatever you say."

I looked around the fully renovated, two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment.

"So, how much rent are you collecting from her a month?"

Blake froze. "What rent?"

Once he understood my meaning, his brow furrowed in annoyance.

"She’s just a college grad who only started working a little while ago. How much money do you think she has?"

"Do you really have to pick a fight over a few thousand dollars?"

I had known Blake for so long, and yet this was the first time I had ever seen this aggressive, defensive side of him.

I looked at him silently, feeling completely estranged.

"She’s a young girl, living in an apartment rented in your name, and you're actively paying her rent."

"You’re so thoughtful toward her. Why didn't you spare a thought for her reputation?"

Blake’s favoritism toward Chloe was undisguised. That’s why his colleagues found it normal, and instead felt repulsed by my sudden appearance as the official girlfriend.

In their eyes, Blake and Chloe were the couple.

Realizing he had lost control of his temper, Blake tried to explain further.

But a sob came from behind him.

Chloe wiped away tears. "Ment... Blake, I should just go. Don't fight because of me."

Blake panicked, turning around to grab her tightly.

"Do you know what time it is? Where are you going to go!"

Chloe bit her lip in grievance, tears flowing down her face.

"You don't need to worry about me. I have my ways."

"If I don't worry about you, who will!"

Blake's eyes were filled with anxiety. He turned and shouted at me: "Audrey, I’ll find a time to explain everything to you properly, but this has nothing to do with Chloe."

"Don't take it out on her!"

"It’s the middle of the night. Where do you expect a girl like her to go?"

I let out a cold laugh.

I turned around without a second thought and grabbed my suitcase, which I hadn't even had time to open.

Watching this trashy, melodramatic exchange between the cheating scumbag and his mistress was infuriating, and my breeding wouldn't allow me to go crazy and scream.

I wasn't going to play Chloe’s games. I was genuinely leaving.

Behind me came Blake’s anxious shout: "Audrey, where are you going!"

"Wait for me!"