My best friend, Finn, lost everything to his ex-wife and had to move in with me. To cheer him up, I took him traveling, stayed up drinking with him, and even gave him an unlimited supplementary credit card. I just wanted to see him happy again. But my girlfriend, Ava, was unhappy. She complained constantly, thinking Finn was too spoiled. He insisted on being driven everywhere, refused to wear clothes twice, needed someone to shell his seafood, and would only eat the best parts of fruit. She snapped at me, asking if I was born to be his servant, adding that with that attitude, it was no wonder his wife left. I seriously told her I owed my success to Finn and asked her to be more patient for my sake. Later, I traveled to London for a business assessment. I video-chatted with Finn daily, seeing him slowly heal, start a new job, and rebuild his life. I finally felt at ease. Three months later, I returned home. The moment I walked in, I saw Finn lying on my sofa. Ava was skillfully shelling a king crab leg, placing the meat gently into his bowl. The tender look in her eyes was something I’d never seen before. 1 A dead silence fell over the room, broken only by the commentary of a soccer game on TV. Finn was the first to react. He scrambled up from the sofa and walked toward me, his face stiff. "Dean… when did you get back? You should have told us… I… I would have picked you up." Ava stood quietly behind him, saying nothing. Finn forced a smile. "You must be tired. Let me get you a glass of water." He turned and fumbled for a glass on the coffee table, knocking over the pitcher and sending water spilling across the floor. Ava frowned, grabbing a paper towel to clean it up. "Stop making a mess. You don't know how to do any of this." The words were a scolding, but the intimacy in her tone was unmistakable. The last shred of hope I was clinging to vanished. My hand tightened around the handle of my bag, the leather digging a deep red line into my palm. "When did this start?" Finn flinched, instinctively glancing back at Ava. But her expression was calm. She stepped forward, shielding him behind her. "It has nothing to do with him. It was me." Her voice was as flat as if she were commenting on the weather. Ava was a force in the business world—decisive, ruthless, never one for sentiment. Outsiders always said she was cold, unapproachable. I was the only one who ever saw her emotional side. I used to think I was her only exception. But now, she stood against me, her placid tone drawing a line that firmly shut me out. Finn grew anxious. "No… Dean, listen to me, we're not…" I just stared at him. His mouth opened and closed, but no coherent explanation came out. A cold laugh escaped my lips. "Can't even come up with a decent lie?" Finn's face went even paler. Ava took his wrist. "It's okay," she said, her voice low. "I'll handle this." She stepped toward me and took my luggage. "Dean, let's go talk outside." I stared at her face. It had only been three months, but she was a stranger to me. My chest felt tight, my voice sinking into a low growl. "Ava, this is my house. And you're asking me to leave?" She was silent for a moment, then her voice softened with a hint of a plea. "Dean, please. He caught a cold yesterday. Can you just let him rest?" I pressed a hand to my chest. There was no wound, but it felt like I'd been punched, hard. Ava picked up her coat from the back of a chair and spoke gently to Finn. "You get some sleep. Leave the rest to me. I'll bring you back those crab cakes from the Pier Street bistro when I'm done." I turned and walked out. If I stayed another second, I wasn't sure what I would do. In the hotel suite, Ava sat on a distant sofa. She poured herself a glass of water, took a few sips, and then spoke, her voice low. "It was my fault. Name your price." "I fell for him first. Don't blame him." I stared at her, enunciating each word. "Why?" Ava set down her glass and rubbed her temples. "Dean, you're smart, capable. You never panic. But Finn's not like you. He can't make it without me." I looked at her face, distorted by the light refracting through the glass, and the absurdity of it all hit me. Before, when Finn was just my best friend, Ava couldn't stand him. She called him a dramatic, spoiled brat who was completely out of touch with reality, a parasite who could only survive by clinging to others. Three months ago, when I had to leave for London, I had to practically beg her before she reluctantly agreed to lend him a hand if he needed it. She'd even shown a rare flash of petulance, punching me playfully on the shoulder. "Dean Grant, you haven't even married me yet and I'm already stuck cleaning up your messes. You'd better make this up to me when you get back." I had laughed and pulled her into my arms, promising her that as soon as the London project was over, we would get married. Now, just three short months later, everything had changed. Ava stood up, her expression a complex mixture of emotions. "I'm sorry. For the projects we worked on together, I'll give you an extra 20% of my profits. And if you ever need my help in the future, just ask." "I only have one condition. You're incredibly important to Finn. He doesn't want to lose you as a friend." I looked up at her, almost laughing in disbelief. Three months ago, I had used that exact same reasoning to ask her to take care of my best friend. Three months later, I was the one being asked. My voice was dangerously low. "Ava, do you two think I was just born to be treated like this? I will make sure everyone knows what you did. If you had the guts to do it, you'd better have the guts to own it." A flicker of something dark crossed her eyes. "Dean, don't be impulsive. You started with nothing. It wasn't easy getting to where you are. Don't throw it all away in a moment of anger." The warning in her voice was clear. I looked at her, a true stranger. People always said Ava was ruthless and unsentimental. I never believed them. Now I knew. The rumors were true. She had simply given all her sentiment to me, and now, she had taken it back to give to someone else. "I should go. He doesn't sleep well when I'm not there." "I'll take him with me tomorrow. I'm sorry you have to go through this tonight." The door clicked shut. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. Outside the window, the city lights glittered. I had rushed all the way home from across the world, only to be tossed into a cold, sterile hotel room while the two most important people in my life were in my home, in my bed. The irony was suffocating. The next day, I parked outside the dessert shop where Finn worked. He was in his uniform. His eyes lit up when he saw me, then he quickly looked down. He brought me a coffee and sat across from me, his smile stiff as he spoke hesitantly. "Dean, I know you're mad at me. I'm so sorry. All these years, thanks to you…" "Look, I have a job now. I'll pay you back everything I owe you…" I glanced at the watch on his wrist—it was worth tens of thousands of dollars—and let out a cold laugh. "Pay me back? With this job?" Finn froze. He had married right after college and became a stay-at-home husband. His ex-wife had been decent to him, putting up with his temperamental nature. Combined with my unconditional support, Finn's life had been a breeze. Until six months ago, when his wife cheated on him with her male assistant. Within two months, she had divided their assets and kicked him out. If I hadn't shown up, he probably would have been starving on the street. He wanted a fresh start, but he'd been out of the workforce for so long, he couldn't handle a normal job. Luckily, he had developed a passion for baking during his time as a homemaker and managed to get a job as a pastry chef at this shop. I didn't say anything. I just beckoned with my hand. The manager immediately came over, standing respectfully. "Mr. Grant, you're here." The color drained from Finn's face. His eyes went wide. I took off my sunglasses, my voice even. "After your divorce, you were a wreck. You said you wanted to work, to start over." "Finn, you're not stupid. Did it never occur to you? You were getting rejected everywhere, so how did you just happen to land a job at this specific shop? Why would they hire a pastry chef with zero professional experience?" "I treated you like a brother. Is this how you repay me?" Finn's hands started to shake, his voice cracking. "I didn't know… I really didn't know…" He suddenly grabbed my arm. "But she's good to me. She really cares about me. Dean, you're so strong. You can live without anyone. I can't." "You always said you'd share anything you have with me. I don't want anything else. I just want her. Please?" I stared at him. Twenty-five years of friendship, since we were three years old. In that single moment, it shattered into a million pieces. "Growing up, I would have given you anything you asked for." "But taking without asking, Finn? That's called stealing." When Ava arrived, she found Finn collapsed at my feet, sobbing uncontrollably. Her face changed instantly. She strode over, pulled him up, and sheltered him behind her. Her eyes, when they met mine, were terrifyingly cold. She spoke through gritted teeth. "Dean Grant, I told you to come after me. Don't you dare make this hard for him." "How much money has he spent of yours over the years? Just name a price. I'll pay you back in full." I looked at her and laughed. "You certainly have deep pockets. But unfortunately for you both, what you owe me is a debt you can never repay." Ava's face darkened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but Finn suddenly yelled, "Enough!" He was trembling, but he looked me straight in the eye. "Dean, you owe me this. Hate me, resent me, I don't care. I'm not letting her go. From now on, we're even." He tore off his work apron, took Ava's hand, and they walked away without a backward glance. I sat there by the window, watching two boys in school uniforms outside, sharing an ice cream, laughing. I reached up and touched my face. It was wet with tears. Finn and I had known each other since we were three. We were inseparable from elementary school through college. As long as I could remember, my parents were locked in a constant war. The only reason they never divorced was because neither of them wanted the burden of raising me. Every time they smashed the house to pieces, Finn would quietly let himself in, help me clean up the mess, and then drag me to his family's dinner table. The year we graduated high school, it was Finn who sold his watch to pay for my first year of college tuition. He sucked on a popsicle, acting like it was nothing. "Hey, I suck at school, but you're a genius. It'd be a waste for you not to go." "Don't look so down, Dean. I always knew you were special. When you make it big someday, just remember to buy me ten nice watches." Throughout my entire youth, Finn was the first person who ever stood up for me. He was the brother I cherished most. When I finally went back to my apartment, there was no trace of them. I stood in the empty space for a long time. When I bought this place, I had set aside a room just for him. Ava had complained about it, but I just smiled and said it was a promise. I was the best man at his wedding. When he tossed me the boutonnière, I told him that as long as I was around, he would always have a home to come back to. Now, I was the one who was homeless. Ava had left some of her things behind. Her certificate from a university competition, photos from our vacations, our matching toothbrushes in the bathroom, the blanket on the sofa, the book on the coffee table she hadn't finished. I closed my eyes, and all I could see were images of the two of them tangled together on that sofa. I stormed into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face, then stared at my reflection. Ava had been my senior in college, my teammate in an entrepreneurship competition. The day she asked me out, she was uncharacteristically shy. "Dean, you're the smartest, most reliable man I've ever met. Let me take care of you from now on." After graduation, I worked in Big Tech for a couple of years before striking out on my own. Ava helped me immensely. She was my partner in battle, my closest confidant. Because of her, I started to heal from the shadows of my childhood and consider the idea of building a family. I truly intended to spend the rest of my life with her. I looked at myself in the mirror and clenched my fists. They were the reason I had fought so hard, the finish line for all my ambitions. And then they stabbed me in the back. Why? I took out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in a long, long time.
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