MY EX-BOYFRIEND WANTS ME BACK

The Google map showed a few minutes before we arrived at the Langfords'. I sat in the back seat, my old suitcase stood beside me, a smaller one on my lap. For once, the noise in my head felt quiet, the Job had brought in so much peace. I stared out the window and let a small smile creep onto my face. The kind I hadn't felt in months. This was it.. a new job. Good money. A proper place to live in.  And most importantly, hope for Mia. I'd called Aunt Linda this morning before leaving Sara's apartment. Her voice had cracked when I told her the news. "You got it? Really, Sammy?" "Yes, Auntie. Live-in position. Full salary from day one. I'll send money as soon as I get paid."  "Mia's gonna be well again. She's gonna be okay." She'd started crying then, soft happy tears. Aunt Linda is one happy and strong woman I know, the only family Mia and I have. I could still hear Mia's weak little voice from last week's video call. "Sammy, I want to run again?" Eight years old and fighting harder than anyone I knew. I had to make them proud. I had to keep her alive, my parents won't be happy if I don't fight, or so I told myself. My fingers found the gold engagement ring on my right hand. I had slid it back on when I picked it from one of my bags earlier today.. Marcus's ring.  The only expensive thing I owned. Diamonds glinted around the band, catching every light. I had made up my mind to sell it off, for Mia's surgery. I twisted it slowly, remembering the night he slid it on my finger.  One day before he left for his "business trip." He had dragged me to the rooftop, a candlelit dinner waited, my lips parted in shock.  He'd gotten down on one knee, eyes shining. "Marry me when I get back, Sam. This ring is my promise. I'll always come back to you." His green eyes firm with so much conviction. I'd cried. Believed every word. Then the calls got shorter. His voice grew colder. Irritated sighs when I asked simple questions. Until one day, nothing. Three months of silence. Enough. My throat tightened. I swallowed a hard lump. I tapped on my phone, opened the gallery, and started deleting.  Every picture of us, the one we took at the beach, the Christmas we spent at his mom's, his arm around my waist at parties. Gone. Deleted from Instagram. Deleted from Facebook. Deleted from everywhere. One by one, they vanished. I paused on the last photo.  Mia and I last summer, arms tight around each other, both laughing at the camera.  Her little face pressed to mine, eyes bright even though she was already getting sick then. I kept that one. The taxi slowed. "We're here, miss." I looked up and my breath caught. The Langford penthouse stood before me, daring. It was a palace. I felt tiny standing around it. I squished some notes into the driver's hand, grabbed my bags, and moved past the low iron gate that also formed a fence around the entire building.  My suitcase wheels, the only available sound to my ears. Relief washed over me. This was safety. I get to live in a clean environment, an environment that feels alive. The environment already whispered peace to my ears. I stopped at the massive wooden door.  Dark oak, carved with fancy patterns, and pressed the doorbell. A deep chime echoed inside, my eyes still darting around the entire space, it was much for just a glance after all.  I smoothed my hair, straightened my simple blouse, and waited. Heart beating a little fast, but excited fast. The door swung open. And my world stopped. Marcus stood there. In my face! Bare chest. Low-slung gray boxers hugging his hips. The clear outline of his cock pressed against the fabric, like it would tear it any moment.  Beads of water still clung to his shoulders like he'd just stepped out of the shower. His dark hair was messy, damp. That same lazy smile started to form on his lips. Then his eyes met mine. The smile vanished like he had seen a ghost. My stomach dropped to the ground. I blinked hard. Rubbed my eyes with two fingers. Looked again. Still him. Still Marcus. Here. In my new boss's house!  Half-naked, I had never seen him in such a brief, not this tight, this one carved out the tip of his dick, the type that's meant for gigolos. "S-Sam?" His voice low, shock all over his face. My mouth opened. I wanted to scream out his name. I wanted to ask if we were in Texas. But nothing came out. That confirmed it was actually him,  My veins thumping against my skin. My suitcase handle slipped from my fingers. Every promise. Every tear. Every night I waited for a call that never came. It all slammed back into me at once. "What... what are you doing here?" He stretched his arm like he wanted to touch my arm, then stopped himself. I found my voice. It came out small and sharp. "I work here." I found my voice. It came out small and sharp, my eyes fixed on him, at his bare body. His eyes grew darker. Real panic flashed across his face. "No. That's not-you can't-" "I'm Victoria Langford's new personal assistant." My words shook, but I forced them out. "Live-in. Starting today." He went pale. I was the last person he expected to see around, I didn't belong in that vicinity after all. I could hear soft footsteps gliding on marble floors. A woman's voice called from inside, light and cheerful. "Babe? Who's at the door?" Marcus flinched like he'd been slapped. I stared at him, chest heaving, his nipples still hard like I last remembered, but that doesn't matter right now. He was here. With her. Living here. My boss's boyfriend! A live-in boyfriend! The man who'd promised to marry me, who said he was embarking on a business trip? The man who'd ghosted me. The man whose ring I was about to sell to save my sister's life. Everything I'd deleted a few minutes ago came rushing back. Only now it felt like a cruel joke. Marcus stepped forward, voice low and urgent. "Sam, listen-this isn't what-" "Don't." I cut him off, voice hard now. "Don't you dare." My hands clenched into fists. The footsteps got closer, Victoria Langford stood before me, her skin shone enough to blind me. She threw a hand over his shoulders. Over my man's shoulder! No, over my ex's shoulder! I swallowed a lump, then spread my lips in a convincing smile. I grabbed my suitcase handle again, knuckles white around it. Whatever came next, I wasn't running. I just have to choose between my man and this Job!