Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Murray was enjoying a candlelit dinner with Millie at an upscale steakhouse when his phone buzzed with a message. His face darkened instantly. Seeing the sudden change in Murray's demeanor, Millie asked cautiously, "What's wrong?"

Murray held his breath, not making a sound, then replied to the message tersely. [None of my business.]

On the other end, Corley couldn't help but smirk with a knowing look as he texted back, [Looks like it's truly over between you and Roseanne, huh?]

Murray glanced at the message and clenched his jaw, but his reply was indifferent. [Yeah, so? Got a problem with that?]

Corley responded with a surrendering emoji, [No, wouldn't dare to have an opinion.]

Then he added, [So, you wouldn't mind if someone else starts chasing Roseanne?]

York interrupted out of nowhere, [What's the deal? You're after her now?]

Corley's reply was a cheeky GIF that said, 'Oh yeah.'

Cliff burst into laughter. [Hahaha, that's rich!]

York added, [You've got guts, man.]

No one took it seriously.

Murray saw the GIF but didn't care, typing back, [Sure, go ahead and chase her.]

Corley put away his phone, satisfied. He wondered if Murray would regret it later.

...

Millie smiled. "Babe, thank you for making my birthday the happiest yet."

It was 9 PM when Murray dropped Millie off at her dorm.

She held his hand, reluctant to let go. "I hate that we have to part so soon." Her smile was radiant, revealing two cute dimples as she pouted playfully. "You seem so calm. Don't you hate to see me go?"

Her eyes were bright, her smile sweet, her voice soft and teasing like a gentle breeze.

Murray's gaze softened as he looked at her upturned face, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "You have class tomorrow. You've had a long day. Better head back and rest."

Millie bit her lip, a fleeting look of disappointment, but she nodded, "Okay, I'll head back then."

The brief delay had them lingering for over half an hour.

Leaving the Grandstone Institute, his home was to the left, but the image of the photo Corley sent flashed through Murray's mind. Impulsively, he turned the steering wheel right.

As he drove, a drizzle began, droplets forming on the windshield, blurring the lights into a kaleidoscope of colors.

In the rearview mirror, a plaid cashmere blanket could be seen lying on the backseat, forgotten by Millie when she got out.

It reminded Murray of how

Roseanne used to complain about the air conditioning in his car being too cold,leading them to buy a light brown plaid blanket together. After their breakup, the blanket remained untouched on the backseat until today.

The honk of a horn snapped him back to reality as the traffic light turned green. He accelerated away. Arriving at the bar, Murray tossed

the

keys to the valet and went inside, a regular among regulars.

"Where's Corley?" he asked the manager, who greeted him promptly.

"They're upstairs in the VIP lounge," the manager replied.

Ignoring the manager's eagerness to please, Murray headed straight for the stairs.

Inside the VIP lounge, the group was drunk, their laughter and conversations slurred. Murray scanned the room. Roseanne was absent, but Corley was relatively sober. "What are you doing here?" Corley looked surprised, "Weren't you with your girlfriend?"

"Just dropped her off at her place," Murray replied indifferently, then found a seat among the group.