Vanessa had continuously been the kind of lady who got what she needed. She had the charm, the looks, and the mind to drag anybody into her circle. When she and Tyrone were together, they were the envy of everybody they knew. They were the “it” couple—the idealised coordinate, everybody said. But that was a long time back, before Tyrone met Alexis, before everything changed. Vanessa stood at the entrance of the swarmed bar, filtering the ocean of faces until she spotted him. Tyrone sat at a little table by the window, nursing a drink and gazing vacantly out into the night. He looked good—maybe more than he had the last time she saw him, she thought. His shoulders were broader, his fashion more refined, but his eyes still held that recognizable thoughtfulness. Vanessa took a deep breath and walked over, her heels clicking against the wooden floor. “Tyrone,” she said, her voice light, nearly perky, as she pulled the chair over from him and sat down without holding up for a welcome. T

Judy had been pacing her flat for hours, the cadenced tap of her heels against the wooden floor as it were sound breaking the hush. She looked at her phone for the tenth time in as many minutes, her thumb drifting over Tyrone's title. It was continuously the same with him—pulling her in, pushing her away, as if to drag her back once more. But this time, Judy decided things would be different . She wasn’t going to let him just walk back into her life without a few kinds of confirmation. She knew precisely what she needed, and she knew she had use. Over town, Tyrone sat at his table, gazing at the city horizon through the wide windows of his office. His domain sprawled out underneath him, a kingdom built on canny deals and heartless aspiration. However, none of it appeared to matter when his thoughts floated to Judy. Their relationship was like a storm, all-consuming and outlandish to foresee. He had made his botches, more than he cared to tally, but he was prepared to make things righ

Vanessa observed the sun plunge underneath the skyline through her loft window. Its searing orange beams cast long shadows over her living room, coordinating the turmoil roiling in her mind. Tyrone had been hers—once. They had went through a long time together, building dreams and making plans for the longer term. But all of that changed when Judy entered the picture. Vanessa clenched her clench hands, her knuckles white against the scenery of her profound brown skin. Judy had stolen Tyrone. No—she had enticed him, attracted him away, demolished everything. It wasn’t reasonable. Vanessa paced back and forward in her little, faintly lit flat, her bare feet making delicate crashes against the wooden floor. The sharpness chewed at her. Months had passed since Tyrone and Judy had gotten hitched, and Vanessa’s life had spiralled ever since. Each time she saw them together, grinning, living the life she ought to have had, a new piece of her, smashed. She seems to feel herself falling more