Chapter 108 Chapter 108
Chapter 108 Chapter 108
I sat at the dining table with my hands folded tightly in my lap, so tightly my knuckles felt cold. The table was already set with roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and a bowl of salad, the usual meal the chef made when Scott wanted something simple. Yet nothing about tonight felt simple. It felt heavy. Tense. Awkward in ways that stabbed quietly under my skin.
Michael had left, thankfully, and now only Scott, Ace, Courtney, and I sat around the long table. The seats felt wider than usual, the room quieter, even though Courtney’s voice carried its usual cheer.
“So my last semester was really interesting,” she said excitedly, cutting a piece of chicken as she spoke. “We had this weekend retreat at a cliffside villa. Like, a literal cliff. And one of my classmates almost fell off because she was taking pictures!”
Scott laughed, amused, genuinely invested. “A cliff? That sounds dangerous. Why would they pick a place like that for students?”
“Oh, trust me!” Courtney said, rolling her eyes playfully. “Everyone thinks girls’ schools are soft. My school practically raises assassins.” She grinned. “But I loved it. And honestly, it made the classes feel less stressful.”
I smiled lightly, keeping my attention on my food even though I could barely swallow. My appetite had gone the moment Courtney walked into the house hours ago. Even now, seeing her so close to Scott, and especially Ace, made my chest squeeze tightly.
Courtney shifted her attention to me. “Sabrina, right? You’ve been super quiet. Are you okay?”
I forced a smile. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m just enjoying listening to you talk about school. Sounds exciting.”
She beamed. “It is! And I’m hoping next term is even better.”
Scott nodded, slicing into his chicken. “Your school sounds impressive. I’ve heard about institutions like that. Strict, elite, and very structured.”
“Oh, it is,” Courtney said proudly. “We do everything by schedule. Well—” she looked at Ace with a shy grin “—everything except studying when I’m texting him all night.”
Ace didn’t look back at her. He only stabbed at his food with a fork, eyes lowered, and his lips tight.
Courtney didn’t seem to notice. I did. Every tiny detail. Every silence. Every heavy breath Ace took.
She nudged him with her elbow, laughing. “Right, Ace? You remember the night I stayed up till 4 a.m. just to FaceTime you?”
Ace didn’t look up. “Mm.”
Just a hum. Nothing else. As if he was being forced to speak.
Courtney blinked, confused, but she brushed it off and continued talking. “Anyway, when I got back today, I was so excited to see him—”
“Courtney,” Ace cut in sharply, though not loudly. “Can you… eat first?”
Her brows slowly knitted together. “Oh. Um… sure.”
Scott noticed then. I saw it in the shift of his expression. It was subtle but definite. His eyes moved to Ace, studying him.
“Son,” Scott said lightly, “you seem quiet. Everything okay?”
It was a simple question. Innocent. Casual. But Ace stiffened instantly, jaw tensing, shoulders rising. He shoved his plate slightly away from him.
That was all it took.
Ace’s chair scraped loudly as he stood up. “I’m not okay,” he snapped loudly, the words cutting through the dining room with a force that made me flinch. “Everyone here is pissing me off!”
Courtney froze. Scott’s brows shot up. My spoon stopped halfway to my mouth.
“Ace—” Scott started.
But Ace was already pushing back from the table, voice rising. “I’m done. I’m not doing this right now.”
Courtney stood quickly. “Ace, wait! What’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer her. He didn’t look at her. He didn’t look at me either even though I knew... I felt that I was the real reason behind his anger.
Ace turned and stormed away from the table.
Courtney hurried after him, calling his name as she left her chair behind. “Ace! Ace! Talk to me!”
Their voices faded into the hallway.
Scott exhaled loudly, shaking his head. “Good grief,” he muttered. “What just happened?”
He looked at me then, bewildered, searching my face for answers I couldn’t give.
I swallowed, forcing myself to keep my expression calm, neutral, and empty. “I’m… not sure.”
Scott scoffed quietly. “He’s probably showing off for Courtney. That boy... he’s always dramatic when she’s around.”
I nodded, though everything inside me felt like breaking into sharp, painful pieces.
Scott stared down the hallway where Ace and Courtney had disappeared, then turned back to me with a tired sigh. “Sabrina… could you check on him?”
My heart tightened. “Me?”
“Yes.” He nodded firmly, leaning back in his chair. “I think he’ll talk to you. You two are close. He listens to you.”
I swallowed hard, trying not to let my panic show. “Scott, I don’t think—”
“Please.” He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Just talk to him. Calm him down. I know his girlfriend is here but I don’t think she can get to him as you would.” He waved a hand vaguely. “He needs someone who won’t escalate things.”
I didn’t want to go. For obvious reasons. For selfish reasons. For reasons I couldn’t say out loud.
But Scott looked exhausted, troubled, and sincerely worried about his son.
So I nodded. “Okay. I’ll find him.”
Scott gave a relieved smile and squeezed my shoulder before returning to his plate. “Thank you. Really.”
I rose from my seat and walked slowly out of the dining room, my steps almost silent against the floor. The moment I turned around the corner, I heard voices coming from farther down the hallway.
Courtney’s voice.
I took a step toward them.
Then another.
As I got closer, I froze behind the corner of a hallway arch, my breath caught in my chest. Courtney’s words were trembling and desperate.
“Ace, what are you even saying right now?”
Ace’s voice was low and tired. “I’m saying I’m done, Courtney.”
My heart stopped.
Courtney sputtered with disbelief. “Done? What? Done with… the conversation?”
“No,” Ace said firmly. “Done with us.”
There was silence. A deep, suffocating one.
I stayed hidden in the shadowed corner, pressing my back against the wall, unable to move or breathe. I wasn’t supposed to listen. I knew that. But my feet wouldn’t take me away.
Courtney finally spoke, voice cracking. “You’re… breaking up with me?”
“Yes.”
“Ace, that’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
Her breath hitched audibly. “Why? Why would you even—? What did I do wrong?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then why?” Her voice rose, panicked and trembling. “Why are you doing this? Why now? We just saw each other today. I was excited to come here. To see you. I missed you.”
“I know.”
“Then why aren’t you saying something? Why aren’t you explaining anything?”
“I don’t have an explanation that will make this feel better.”
Courtney’s voice sharpened. “Ace, look at me.”
He didn’t answer.
“Look at me!” she yelled.
A beat.
Then Ace’s voice again, quiet but direct. “I have. And I’m telling you... this isn’t working.”
“You’re lying!” she gasped.
“I’m not.”
“You are!” Her voice broke. “There is nothing wrong with us! We’re fine! We’re good, Ace!”
“No,” he said. “We’re not.”
Courtney made a shaking noise, half-choked breath, half-sob. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand at all.”
“You don’t have to,” Ace murmured.
“But I want to!” she cried. “Tell me what I did wrong. Tell me why you want to throw us away.”
He stayed silent. For too long.
Then finally, he answered.
“I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
Courtney’s breath came out in a broken little gasp. “After everything?” She sniffled. “After all these months? After everything we’ve talked about? After I’ve been trying so hard with you?”
“Courtney—”
“I asked you for one thing, Ace!” she shouted suddenly. “One thing! To not shut me out! And that’s exactly what you’re doing!”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not! Because if you were, you would explain something to me instead of talking like I’m some stranger on the street!”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“The truth!” she cried. “I want the truth!”
Ace exhaled, long and heavy. “Courtney… I don’t love you.”
My breath caught hard in my throat.
Courtney made a sound like she had been punched. “What?”
“I don’t love you,” he repeated, softer this time. “Not the way you want me to.”
“You…” She let out a trembling laugh. Pained and hysterical. “So that’s it? That’s your whole explanation? After I—”
She stopped abruptly.
Then her voice dropped, shaky and wounded. “Is there someone else?”
My chest seized.
Ace didn’t answer immediately.
Courtney’s voice cracked even more. “Ace… is there someone else?”
He inhaled sharply. “Courtney—”
“That’s a yes.” Her breath hitched again. “Oh my God. There’s someone else.”
“No,” Ace said quickly. “It’s not like that.”
“Oh, so there is someone.” Courtney’s voice shook harder. “You won’t say it, but I can hear it. I can hear it in your voice.”
“Courtney—”
“Who is she?” she demanded. “Tell me who she is!”
“Nobody,” Ace said firmly. “It’s not about someone else. It’s about us. We’re not working.”
“You’re lying,” she whispered. “You’re lying to my face.”
“I’m not.”
“You are, Ace!” she screamed. “You absolutely are!”
Then there was a sound. A sharp, stinging one.
A slap.
It echoed down the hallway.
Ace sucked in a breath.
Courtney sobbed violently. “I hate you!”
“Courtney—”
“Don’t touch me!” she snapped, followed by hurried footsteps.
I peeked just slightly around the corner.
Courtney rushed past, wiping tears from her face, her cheek red, her breathing scattered. Her steps were uneven, stumbling from how hard she was crying. She didn’t see me.
But she shouted the moment she passed the living room entrance where Scott still sat.
“Call my dad!” she screamed. “I want to go home! Now!”
Scott shot up from the table, stunned. “Courtney?! What happened?!”
She kept crying as she ran toward the front doors, her voice breaking again.
“Call him! Call him right now!”
Scott hurried after her, calling her name as the echo faded toward the foyer.
I stayed frozen in place.
My heart thundering so loudly I was scared Ace would hear it from where he stood alone, somewhere just a few steps around the corner.