It has been a weird weekend for Cobie. Scratch that. It has been the weirdest eventful week she's ever had in her life. First, the accidental email, followed by Rose and Harry taking a break, the drunk call, and then the business trip that ended with a rigid interaction between her and Luke. It would take a good twenty pages if she wrote everything in her journal.

Harry contacted her again last night when she was already in her bed. The boy sober texted her this time, apologizing for the unnecessary phone call. Damn right was it unnecessary. She knows he needs a validation boost from others when he's going through a rough time, but digging the old story that doesn't even need to be discovered is low, even for him. They might have been attracted to each other at one point, yet none of them decided to make a move, and the moment was gone. End of story.

Cobie glances at the time on her laptop. It's still eight in the morning, on Sunday, but she's already busy talking to two guys who are apologizing for drunk messaging her. Sitting on her bed with pillows piling up behind her, the bedcover wildly sprawling, and a laptop in front of her, her fingers dance on the keyboard.

I knew you were high when you typed it. But I don't get why you needed to delete your last messages about that poor girl. And you shouldn't blame yourself for not doing things differently for her. You didn't even know if she wanted you to help her.

I'm sorry for her, though. It must've been hell.

Notyourgirl is typing...

"I was once in her position..." Cobie's fingers stop moving, and she rereads what she just typed. Instead of hitting the 'Enter' button, she deletes the line.

It was actually good to see the other side of you. Such a change from the daily update about your cat lol.

Ha. Ha. Well, I was just blabbering. It has nothing to do with us. So I thought I just deleted it

Okay.

Cobie's phone chimes a muffled notification sound. She looks around but her phone is nowhere to be seen. When it chimes again, she slips her hand under her throw pillows, where the sound came from. Another text from Harry.

I'm glad we're cool. I just got caught up with the argument with Rose, problems with my dissertation, and of course, my dad. He is at it again.

And I can't even remember fully what I said on the phone. But I know I pissed you off.

I'm sorry, Cobie.

I knew you were too drunk to think clearly. Don't worry. I hope things at home get better with your mom and dad.

Thank you.

And hey, Beth, Rey, Lee and I are going to go camping when I'm home in two weeks. Are you coming? Just like the old time :)

She can't deny she misses her uni friends, missing the crazy moments they used to share. But with the drama going on between Harry and her little sister right now, she's not sure if it's a good idea. On top of that, his drunk call makes her uncomfortable being around him at the moment. If he and Rose will still be quarreling for a long while, she will not be in the middle of it.

I'll see if I'm free.

The chatbox on her laptop screen is blinking again. She taps the 'Send' button on her message to Harry and throws her phone aside.

Hey gotta need to get ready. I need new pants for the job interview tomorrow

Okay. Aaah, I'm so excited for tomorrow.

I'm nowhere near excited. I'm fucking nervous and kinda pissed. How could they call me on Friday afternoon for a Monday morning appointment? It feels like I'm their last-minute choice, you know?

Right. It's like a guy called a girl on Thursday evening for a Friday hookup? Because the other girl canceled on him?

Fucking right. Now, I'm thinking to bail on this.

DON'T YOU DARE!!! Or I will never talk to you again. Now, move your ass and get what you need for tomorrow!

Fine. Whatever.

Later, notmygirl

Cobie smiles when BreadPitt sends her a waving-cat gif. Closing the chat window, she picks up her blue mug from her nightstand and takes a sip of her almost-cold coffee. It's when she catches the glimpse of a blonde girl from the corner of her eyes.

Rose is leaning against her bedroom door, eyeing her with a cup of yogurt in her hand. Her face is pale, and the puffiness in her eyes is evident that she's been crying a lot. But the way her sister forces herself to grin at her right now, Cobie knows that Rose prefers to not talk about her problem. She's looking for a distraction.

"Is he going to plan to see you at all?" Rose asks.

Cobie shrugs. "Dunno. At this point, it doesn't matter."

Rose walks to the chair behind her sister's study desk. Unlike Cobie, she won't want to touch the bed when she has food in hand, no matter how light the snack she's having. She used to criticize Cobie for doing those unspeakable things until she gave up. Apparently, Cobie is a hopeless case for her.

"Have you at least seen his face on a video chat?"

"Nope," Cobie replies, popping the p as she closes her laptop.

"Why not? It's so weird that you two have been talking for weeks but never done a face reveal?"

Cobie gulps the rest of her cold coffee, winces from the bitterness, and puts back her mug on her nightstand. After rearranging her pillows against the headboard, she leans back in a half-sitting position. "Because I know we're going to just talk until it gets boring. He lives a thousand miles away, how are we going to manage to meet up?"

"By buying a plane ticket?"

"Yeah right. And then what? He doesn't believe in long-distance crap, and neither do I. So" —Cobie shrugs— "no point, really. And I use a random chick's photo on my profile picture for him to daydream."

Rose smiles but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Why did you make an account there in the first place?"

"I was lonely, I guess."

"A sign to start dating again, no?"

"Maybe," Cobie replies while studying Rose's face. No matter how hard her sister tries to hold herself together, the sadness on her face is too obvious. Did she talk to Harry again last night? Does she want to talk about it now? Fuck it, Cobie needs to know.

"You cried a lot. Is everything okay?" When Rose only shrugs, she pushes, "Did you...talk to him again?"

"Yeah." Her sister nods. "We talked last night."

"And?"

"I think it's over now."

"Huh? Come again?"

"He told me that a lot is going on in his life, and he wants to focus on that first, and that I'm free to date someone else."

"Oh."

"It stings like a bitch, but I'm not surprised. I knew something serious was up. I'm just not important enough to be in it." Rose pauses, absorbed in her own thoughts. "Cobie, do you think there is someone else? Do you know who she might be?"

Cobie shakes her head, genuinely clueless about what's going on. There was a girl at the party with him, but Harry talked to her casually; there was no trace of intimacy.

"Has he told you something maybe? Did Harry talk to you lately?" Rose asks again, a glint of hope flashing in her eyes.

"Uh no. I...haven't really talked to him lately."

There is no way she will tell Rose about Harry drunk calling her in the middle of the night, pestering her about her past feelings for him. It would do nothing to this situation, and knowing Rose, she would overanalyze everything.

When her sister wipes the falling tears with the back of her hand, Cobie pats the spot next to her. "Come here."

Rose obliges. She puts down her yogurt on Cobie's desk and walks over to her sister's bed before curling next to her. Despite Rose's size, she looks like a beaten little kitten next to Cobie. She nuzzles her head in the crook of her big sister's neck, pulling up her knees and sighing. Cobie doesn't say any words for a while. She knows her sister only needs her presence for now.

"Why does it hurt so much, Cobie?"

"Sssh. It will get better. I promise." Cobie fastened her arms around her baby sister's shoulders.

"Do you think Harry will realize he made a mistake? Do you think he will want me back?"

Rose's questions pull Cobie to the day Peter broke up with her. How she believed that he would see the mistake he made, that he would see that the right girl was in front of him. She waited for days, weeks, even months.

"It doesn't matter if he realizes it tomorrow, next week, or next year. What matters now is that he lets you go and it's his loss. You need to keep moving forward. It's time to let him go too, Rose. The thing you two have is just...crazy. I don't think it's healthy."

Rose doesn't respond right away, probably trying to digest Cobie's words. But Cobie knows it's time to be more straightforward and tell her sister black when it's black. No more playing around with its gradation just to make her feel better.

"I've always wondered if he ever loved me, you know," Rose says. "He was sweet and he treated me like a princess, but there is something about him that I couldn't figure out. I should've seen this a long time ago. Maybe there has always been someone else."

Ignoring the tight knot in her stomach, Cobie replies, "Ssh, no point in looking back at what you should have done or shouldn't have. It's done and it's in the past now."

Silence takes over again, except when Rose heaves a heavy sigh and occasionally sniffles. After minutes of quietness, her sister mumbles, "How did you get over the breakup back then? You were way younger than I am now, and your situation was a lot worse."

Cobie presses her lips in a tight line as random scenes flash in her head. The night she let Peter do whatever he wanted with her body, followed by betrayal after betrayal, the public humiliation, the change in her body, the denial...

"By getting over it, I guess. Time did it eventually." The second lie has just left Cobie's mouth.

After a few days, Rose is still gloomy. It will probably take a while to get over her ex, but there is a silver lining in every dark cloud; Harry and Rose broke up for real this time, which gives Cobie peace of mind.

Their mom has been nothing but very supportive of her sister. She doesn't leave Rose's side, she cries with Rose, and she occasionally gets even angrier than Rose can get. Despite knowing this will help Rose adapt faster, Cobie needs to pay close attention to their mom's emotional stability and keep her anxiety in check. Especially since this situation might bring back the memory of Cobie's breakup.

For now, work is where Cobie can push the time forward by forcing her mind to focus on something else. Because she still believes nothing can beat time; it will fix everything. Heartbreak, disappointment, and grief are the same as physical pain. Just give it some time to heal and find its balance, then it will be history. And that should also apply to her imbalanced situation with her boss at the moment.

After the conversation with Luke that night on the balcony, Cobie hasn't had a chance to talk to him again, at least not in that manner. They still occasionally discuss the coming projects and what needs to be done during the week, but Bram, Sam, Dara, and the rest of the Marketing team are also there.

Luke is back to his usual self, the same old charming boss; blinding yet untouched. The way he acts around Cobie doesn't give a slight sign that they've shared a moment on the balcony, talking about dating and relationships. And it bothers Cobie to the core. She's almost convinced that they've moved to a different phase of friendship —if she can even call it a friendship. How dumb of her for believing that Luke is genuinely interested in her personal life. Of course, he never is because this is the real Luke; the real charmer.

Tapping her pen on her notebook, she frowns. Why does this even matter to her? Didn't she write the rule herself? She should've known better than falling into the trap of misinterpreting Luke's intention!The more she thinks about it, the more frustration inside her grows.

"Psst," Lucy calls out from her cubicle. Once Cobie turns her head, she smirks. "Wanna hear something juicy?"

Interested, and desperately needing to shoo away Luke's image from her head, Cobie turns around on her chair to face Lucy. "What?" When Lucy beckons her to come closer, Cobie drags her chair to her pal's cubicle.

"I just heard people made a bet," Lucy says in a lower tone to make sure no one can hear them.

"On what?"

"On you and Luke."

Cobie raises her eyebrows. "Huh? What are they betting on?"

"Psst. Turn down your voice." Lucy leans in as she puts her forefinger on her lips. "That you will be sleeping with Luke within three months, replacing Georgia."

"Oh, wow!" Cobie drops her jaw. "But how will they be able to tell if I've slept with him?"

"The Finance girls said they knew the way to find out."

"How?"

Lucy shrugs. "Dunno."

"They can't even tell Georgia and Luke have actually never slept together."

"They have not?"

"Nope."

"Oh."

"This bet is out of nowhere, though," Cobie says.

Lucy purses her lips. "I heard it started from them noticing how Luke has been protecting you, just the same way he treated Georgia from the beginning."

"I'm on his team. Of course, he's protecting me."

Lucy rolls her eyes. "Not in that sense. Anyways, the speculation started to grow from there, that he might secretly enjoy your attention, and that he gets tired of the secretary, and etcetera, etcetera."

"That's insane! He might be friendly," Cobie pauses, her mind jumping to their balcony conversation, "but I don't think he sleeps around with his team members. He's not that desperate."

"I have to say that makes sense, too. He doesn't need to use his power here just to get laid. He can just throw his face on Tinder and girls will be lining up for him. I would." Lucy chuckles. "Anyways, any news about who spread the email?"

Cobie shakes her head. "Nope."

"So, it's not her?" Lucy avoids spelling Georgia's name, but she glances at the blonde who is in the middle of an argument on the phone.

"No." Georgia might be bold in showing her feelings for Luke, but after spending two days with her on a business trip, Cobie has to agree with Luke, Georgia has nothing to do with it.

"Who then?"

"Honestly? I don't care anymore because people no longer look at me with those weird smirks or winks. They seem to leave me alone."

"True. I guess people are careful now since the Personnel will give an official warning if they show any sign of bullying over the unintended email."

Cobie snaps her head to look at her friend. "Since when? How could I miss this?"

"Last Friday. You were on the trip. Bram should have told you, though. He hasn't?"

Cobie frowns, recalling her every interaction with Bram in the past few days. "No."

"Maybe he forgot about it. And...according to my manager, Luke made the Personnel do this."

🔹🔹🔹