Chapter 13 Say It
The message from Ariya stayed on Ling's phone long after the rooftop had emptied.
Ling had read it three times.
She had not replied.
She had told herself that there was nothing to worry about. Ariya was the past. The past belonged where it belonged, and Ling had spent years making peace with that.
But some memories did not disappear simply because you stopped speaking about them.
They waited.
Quietly.
Patiently.
And sometimes, all it took was one familiar face walking back into your life to remind you exactly why you had built the walls in the first place.
Ling slipped her phone into her pocket and looked at Orm.
Orm was still watching her.
"Is everything okay?"
Ling forced a smile.
"Yes."
Orm narrowed her eyes.
"You said that like someone who definitely isn't okay."
Ling almost laughed.
"You're getting very good at reading me."
"I've had practice."
That was true.
Too true.
In the beginning, Ling had been almost impossible for Orm to read. She had been all sharp edges and controlled expressions, every emotion carefully locked behind professionalism.
Now Orm could tell when Ling was tired.
When she was annoyed.
When she was worried.
When she was pretending to be fine.
And, most dangerously, when she was trying to hide something from her.
Ling looked away.
"I'll handle it."
Orm's expression softened.
"I know."
She didn't ask again.
That was what made Ling feel worse.
Orm trusted her enough to let her go.
And Ling suddenly wondered whether she deserved that trust.
?
The next morning, Ling arrived at Veyra earlier than usual.
She had barely slept.
Ariya's message had been sitting in the back of her mind all night, while another voice had been louder.
Orm.
The way she had looked at Ling on the rooftop.
The way her fingers had curled around Ling's.
The way she had smiled when Ling called her—
girlfriend.
Ling had written the word without thinking.
That terrified her more than she wanted to admit.
Because there had been no camera.
No campaign.
No client.
No marketing strategy.
No excuse.
She had called Orm her girlfriend because, somewhere inside her, that was what Orm had become.
And once Ling admitted that to herself, there was no comfortable way back.
She entered her office and put her bag down.
Five minutes later, there was a knock.
"Come in."
Fluke stepped inside carrying two coffees.
"You look terrible."
Ling stared at him.
"Good morning to you too."
"You're welcome."
He placed one coffee on her desk.
Ling glanced at it.
"What's this?"
"Peace offering."
"For what?"
"For whatever you're about to do."
Ling frowned.
"Why would you assume I'm about to do something?"
"Because you've been staring at the same email for ten minutes."
Ling looked at her laptop.
Fluke sighed.
"Is it Ariya?"
Ling's expression changed.
Fluke nodded slowly.
"Thought so."
"I can handle it."
"I didn't say you couldn't."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because you have a terrible habit of handling things alone."
Ling leaned back.
Fluke was one of the few people in Veyra who could speak to her like that without immediately regretting it.
They had known each other long enough for him to recognise when she was shutting down.
"She wants to talk about the past," Ling said.
Fluke nodded.
"And you're afraid."
Ling looked at him.
"I don't want the past affecting Orm."
"Then don't let it."
"It's not that simple."
"It rarely is."
Ling looked toward the window.
"I don't want Orm to think I'm choosing someone else."
Fluke was quiet.
Then he said,
"Have you told her what you're choosing?"
Ling looked at him.
"No."
"Then maybe that's the problem."
She frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"You keep expecting Orm to understand feelings you refuse to say out loud."
Ling didn't answer.
Fluke smiled sadly.
"You can't protect someone from uncertainty by creating more uncertainty."
Then he left.
Ling sat alone.
His words stayed with her.
?
Orm arrived at Veyra at nine.
She noticed immediately that something was wrong.
Ling was in the conference room with Ariya.
The glass walls gave them privacy, but not enough.
Orm could see them talking.
Ariya looked serious.
Ling looked tense.
Orm stopped.
She didn't mean to stare.
She did anyway.
A strange feeling crawled into her chest.
Not jealousy this time.
Something worse.
Fear.
She had spent days trying to convince herself that Ariya wasn't a threat.
Ling had told her she was the past.
Ling had told her Orm was her present.
But there was something about the way Ariya and Ling sat across from each other that made Orm realise there were parts of Ling's life she still didn't understand.
And she hated that.
Not because Ling owed her every detail.
She didn't.
But because Orm was beginning to realise how much she wanted to know.
She wanted to know everything.
The good.
The bad.
The ugly.
The things Ling was ashamed of.
The things that made her laugh.
The things that made her afraid.
She wanted all of it.
And that was exactly what scared her.
"You're doing it again."
Orm jumped.
Bow stood beside her.
"Doing what?"
"Staring."
"I'm looking."
"At the same thing for thirty seconds."
Orm sighed.
"It's Ling."
"I know."
"Ariya is with her."
"I know."
"I'm not jealous."
Bow smiled.
"I didn't say you were."
Orm glared.
Bow raised both hands.
"Okay."
She walked away.
Orm watched her go.
"Everyone in this company is annoying."
From behind her, Fluke said,
"You've been saying that for weeks."
Orm turned.
"You too."
"I know."
He smiled.
"But you're not jealous this time."
Orm looked toward the conference room.
"No."
Fluke studied her.
"You're scared."
Orm's expression fell.
He had hit the exact truth she hadn't wanted to admit.
"Yeah."
Fluke's smile disappeared.
"That's worse."
"I know."
?
The meeting lasted almost an hour.
When Ariya finally stepped out, she saw Orm.
She stopped.
For a moment, neither woman spoke.
Then Ariya smiled.
"Can we talk?"
Orm hesitated.
"About what?"
"Ling."
Orm's stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because you deserve to know something."
Orm crossed her arms.
"Know what?"
Ariya glanced toward the conference room.
"Ling doesn't talk about what happened between us."
"I know."
"And that's part of the problem."
Orm frowned.
"What happened?"
Ariya took a breath.
"We loved each other."
Orm looked down.
She had expected that.
Still, hearing it hurt.
"Then what happened?"
Ariya's expression became distant.
"We became very good at hurting each other."
Orm didn't know what to say.
Ariya continued.
"Ling thinks that because our relationship failed, love itself is dangerous."
Orm looked at her.
"Is that why she pushes people away?"
"Partly."
"Then why come back?"
Ariya smiled faintly.
"To make sure she understands that the past doesn't get to own her."
Orm stared.
Ariya stepped closer.
"You don't have to be afraid of me."
"I wasn't."
Ariya smiled.
"You were."
Orm almost laughed.
"Maybe a little."
"That's okay."
Ariya looked toward the conference room.
"She's different with you."
Orm swallowed.
"How?"
"She's softer."
The word stayed with her.
Ariya smiled.
"I've never seen her look at someone the way she looks at you."
Orm's heart tightened.
"Then why does she keep pushing me away?"
Ariya's smile disappeared.
"Because she loves you."
Orm froze.
Ariya seemed to realise what she had said.
But she didn't take it back.
"She just doesn't know how to survive loving someone without expecting to lose them."
Then she walked away.
Orm stood there.
For a moment, everything around her felt strangely quiet.
She loves you.
The words echoed in her mind.
She wanted to believe them.
She wanted to run into Ling's office and ask.
She wanted Ling to say it.
Not Ariya.
Not Fluke.
Not anyone else.
Ling.
?
That afternoon, everything went wrong.
Not dramatically.
Not at first.
It began with small things.
A missed message.
A changed schedule.
A meeting moved without Orm being informed.
Then Ling cancelled their campaign planning session.
No explanation.
Just a message from her assistant.
Khun Ling has asked that the meeting be postponed.
Orm stared at the screen.
Something inside her snapped.
She walked straight to the executive floor.
The receptionist looked up.
"Orm?"
"I need to see Ling."
"She's in a meeting."
"With Ariya?"
The receptionist hesitated.
That was enough.
Orm turned around.
Then stopped.
No.
She wasn't going to do this.
She wasn't going to become the jealous, insecure woman who stormed into Ling's office every time something frightened her.
She walked away.
But instead of returning to her desk, she went to the stairwell.
She needed somewhere quiet.
She sat on the steps and stared at her phone.
Nothing.
No message.
No explanation.
Her chest tightened.
She hated this.
She hated not knowing.
She hated that Ling could make her feel safe one moment and completely lost the next.
And most of all, she hated that she had started needing things from Ling that Ling had never promised to give.
She heard the stairwell door open.
She didn't look up.
"Go away."
Ling's voice came quietly.
"No."
Orm closed her eyes.
"Of course."
Ling walked down a few steps.
"What are you doing here?"
"Thinking."
"About?"
"Everything."
Ling sat beside her.
There was a careful distance between them.
Orm looked at it.
Then laughed bitterly.
"You're doing it again."
Ling frowned.
"Doing what?"
"Putting distance between us."
Ling looked away.
"Orm—"
"No."
Orm stood.
"I don't want another explanation about the campaign."
"I wasn't going to—"
"You always say that."
Ling stood too.
"Then tell me what you want."
"I want you to stop pretending."
Ling went still.
Orm's voice shook.
"You told me I was your present."
"I meant it."
"Then act like it."
"I am."
"No, you're not."
Ling's jaw tightened.