Chapter 15 The Empty Space #2
At twelve thirty-seven, Ling looked at the time.
She waited.
Twelve forty.
Twelve forty-five.
Nobody appeared.
Of course nobody appeared.
She had no right to expect anyone.
Still, she stared at the door.
Nothing.
Ling picked up her phone.
She opened her messages.
Orm's conversation was near the top.
She stared at her name.
Then locked the phone.
She tried to eat.
The food tasted like nothing.
?
Orm was having lunch at almost exactly the same time.
She sat at home with a bowl of noodles she had barely touched.
Her phone lay beside her.
She had been looking at Ling's name for several minutes.
She opened the conversation.
The last exchange was painfully ordinary.
Goodnight.
That was all.
Once, they had exchanged dozens of messages in a single evening.
Now one word felt like a conversation.
Orm put her phone down.
Then picked it up.
She typed:
Have you eaten?
She stared at the words.
Deleted them.
Typed:
Don't skip lunch.
Deleted that too.
Then:
Your new project looks boring.
She laughed.
"That's terrible."
She deleted it.
She finally put the phone away.
Her appetite was gone.
She leaned back.
She had wanted the campaign to end.
She remembered that.
She had wanted to stop pretending.
She had wanted to know whether there was something real between them.
Now she had her answer.
There was something real.
And somehow that was harder.
Because there was no longer a script.
No client.
No schedule.
No reason to see Ling.
Love had removed the excuse that had brought them together every day.
Now they had to choose each other.
Every day.
Orm wasn't sure she knew how.
?
By three in the afternoon, Ling was buried in meetings.
By five, she had signed more documents than she could remember.
By seven, half of Veyra had gone home.
Ling remained.
She told herself she was finishing work.
She knew better.
She was delaying going home.
Home was quiet.
Veyra was quiet too, but at least here there was noise.
Printers.
Phones.
Footsteps.
People talking.
The familiar hum of work.
At home, there was only silence.
At eight, P'Cherry walked past her office.
She stopped.
"You're still here?"
Ling looked up.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Work."
P'Cherry stared at her.
"You're lying."
Ling raised an eyebrow.
"You've become very bold."
"I learned from Orm."
Ling's expression softened.
P'Cherry saw it.
"Ah."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
P'Cherry laughed.
"You miss her."
Ling sighed.
"Apparently everyone knows."
"Everyone knew before you did."
Ling smiled despite herself.
P'Cherry leaned against the door.
"She changed you."
Ling looked down.
"Did I change her?"
"Of course."
P'Cherry smiled.
"She used to walk around here like she was waiting for someone to tell her she didn't belong."
Ling's expression tightened.
"I remember."
"Now?"
"Now she knows she belongs."
P'Cherry nodded.
"Because of you."
Ling looked at her.
P'Cherry shrugged.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not giving you relationship advice."
"Good."
"I'm giving you common sense."
"Which is?"
P'Cherry smiled.
"Don't confuse missing someone with needing to move on."
Then she walked away.
Ling sat quietly.
That sentence stayed with her.
?
At nine thirty, Ling finally left the office.
She passed the same desk again.
Orm's old desk.
She stopped.
There was a small mark on the edge.
She remembered Orm putting a sticker there.
Ling had threatened to remove it.
Orm had told her not to.
"It gives the desk personality."
"It's a desk."
"Exactly. It needs personality."
Ling had rolled her eyes.
She had never removed the sticker.
She touched the edge now.
The sticker was gone.
Someone had cleaned the desk.
The absence felt strangely personal.
Ling walked away.
?
Her apartment was silent.
She turned on the lights.
Nothing.
She placed her bag down.
Nothing.
She changed clothes.
Nothing.
She opened the refrigerator.
Nothing.
She made coffee.
Nothing.
She sat on the sofa.
Nothing.
She picked up her phone.
Nothing.
Ling stared at the screen.
Then, suddenly, she laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because she finally understood.
She hadn't been missing the campaign.
She hadn't been missing the routine.
She hadn't been missing the photographs.
She had been missing the person who had filled all those ordinary moments with meaning.
Orm had become woven into the smallest parts of her life.
The coffee.
The meetings.
The messages.
The arguments.
The food.
The laughter.
The silence.
Even annoyance.
Especially annoyance.
Without her, everything still functioned.
But nothing felt alive.
Ling leaned back and closed her eyes.
She remembered Orm's face.
The first time she had seen her in the interview room.
The nervousness she had tried to hide.
The stubbornness.
The way she had challenged Ling's criticism.
The way she had looked at Ling after their first kiss.
The way she had said I love you.
The way she had walked away.
Ling opened her eyes.
"No."
She stood.
She couldn't keep doing this.
?
Across the city, Orm was lying in bed.
It was nearly midnight.
Her phone buzzed.
She reached for it immediately.
A message from Ling.
Are you awake?
Orm stared.
She smiled.
Then typed:
Unfortunately.
Ling replied:
Why?
Orm:
Because I have an annoying executive director living rent-free in my head.
Ling:
Sounds serious.
Orm:
Very. I may need medical attention.
Ling:
I can recommend someone.
Orm:
Is she qualified?
Ling:
No.
Orm laughed.
Then another message arrived.
But she misses you.
Orm's smile disappeared.
She stared at the screen.
Her heart beat faster.
She typed:
Does she?
Ling:
Very much.
Orm swallowed.
She didn't know what to say.
Finally:
I miss her too.
Ling:
I know.
Orm:
How?
Ling:
Because I know you.
Orm stared at the message.
Something inside her softened.
They stayed awake for another hour.
They talked about nothing.
About Fluke.
About Bow.
About P'Cherry.
About a ridiculous advertisement Orm had seen online.
About coffee.
About food.
About the weather.
About anything except the thing that mattered.
But neither wanted to end the conversation.
Eventually, Orm typed:
Goodnight.
Ling replied:
Goodnight.
Orm put her phone down.
For the first time in days, she smiled before falling asleep.
?
The next morning, Ling arrived at Veyra early.
But this time, she wasn't running away from home.
She had made a decision.
She walked into the building.
She went straight to her office.
She placed her bag down.
Then she picked up her phone.
She called Orm.
It rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then-
"Hello?"
Orm's sleepy voice came through.
Ling smiled.
"Did I wake you?"
"Yes."
"Sorry."
"You're not."
"No."
Orm laughed softly.
"What do you want?"
"I want to see you."
Silence.
Ling's heart pounded.
"Today?"
"Now."
"Why?"
"Because I finally understand something."
"What?"
Ling looked at the empty chair.
"I don't miss my fake girlfriend."
Orm was quiet.
Ling continued.
"I miss you."
Orm's breath caught.
"Ling..."
"I don't want to pretend anymore."
"We're not pretending."
"I know."
"Then what are you asking?"
Ling smiled.
"For breakfast."
Orm laughed.
"You're unbelievable."
"I've been told."
"Give me twenty minutes."
"I'll give you thirty."
"Why?"
"Because you'll complain that twenty isn't enough."
Orm smiled.
"You know me too well."
"That's the problem."
?
Twenty-eight minutes later, Orm walked into Veyra.
Ling saw her from across the lobby.
For a second, everything stopped.
Orm was wearing simple clothes.
Nothing dramatic.
No campaign styling.
No makeup designed for photographs.
Just Orm.
The same woman who had once walked into Veyra as a new employee, trying desperately not to look nervous.
The same woman who had somehow become the centre of Ling's world.
Orm approached.
"You really came down here?"
Ling nodded.
"I wanted to see you."
"You could've waited in your office."
"I didn't want to."
Orm smiled.
"You've become clingy."
"Maybe."
"I thought you hated clingy."
"I changed my mind."
Orm laughed.
Ling held out her hand.
Orm looked at it.
Then took it.
No cameras.
No clients.
No campaign.
Just them.
?
They went to a small café nearby.
Orm ordered breakfast.
Ling ordered coffee.
Orm stared at the cup.
"What?"
"You remembered."
"Of course."
"You used to complain about my coffee."
"It was terrible."
"You drank it anyway."
Ling smiled.
"I had reasons."
Orm raised an eyebrow.
"What reasons?"
Ling looked at her.
"I liked drinking things you gave me."
Orm went quiet.
Then she looked down at her food.
"That's unfair."
"Why?"
"Because I'm trying to eat."
Ling laughed.
It was the kind of laugh that came easily.
Orm looked at her.
There it was.
That laugh.
The one she had discovered by accident.
The one she had come to treasure.
Orm smiled.
"I missed that."
Ling's expression softened.
"What?"
"You laughing."
Ling reached across the table.
Her fingers touched Orm's.
"I missed making you laugh."
"You still do."
"Good."
They sat quietly for a moment.
Then Orm asked,
"What happens now?"
Ling didn't pretend not to understand.
"Now?"
"Yes."
Ling squeezed her hand.
"Now we figure it out."
"That's not very reassuring."
"I don't have a better answer."
Orm smiled.
"At least you're honest."
"I've learned."
"From me?"
"Mostly."
Orm laughed.
"You're welcome."
?
Back at Veyra, everyone noticed.
Of course they did.
Fluke saw them first.
He nearly walked into a wall.
Bow covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
P'Cherry looked at Khun Dew.
Khun Dew simply smiled.
Fluke whispered,
"They're back."
P'Cherry whispered,
"They were never really gone."
Khun Dew nodded.
"Exactly."
Fluke grinned.
"I should say something."
P'Cherry grabbed his arm.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you enjoy danger too much."