CRACKS IN THE FOUNDATION

Are you even listening to me?"

I snapped, my patience wearing thin as Ethan scrolled through his phone, barely acknowledging my presence.

He sighed, setting his phone face-down on the table. "Of course I am, but you're making a big deal out of nothing."

I clenched my fists under the table, forcing myself to take a slow breath. "Nothing? You've canceled on me three times this week, Ethan. You barely talk to me anymore unless I bring it up first."

His jaw tensed, and for a fleeting second, something flickered in his eyes, guilt? Frustration? I couldn't tell anymore. "I told you, work has been insane."

"Right. Work." My voice dripped with skepticism. "And yet you always seem to have time for last minute drinks with your friends. Do you know how humiliating it is to hear about your nights out from Olivia before I even get a text from you?"

As if on cue, Olivia appeared beside our table, raising an eyebrow. "Speaking of, I was just telling Mia here that I saw you at Club Indigo two nights ago. Funny, I thought you said you were working late that night."

Ethan's expression darkened. "Seriously, Olivia? You're getting involved in this now?"

Mia, my closest confidante since college, slid into the seat beside me, sipping her cocktail with amusement. "Oh, don't mind us. We just love a good mystery. And lately, Ethan, you've been one hell of a puzzle."

Ethan ran a hand through his hair, clearly exasperated. "I don't need this right now."

I shook my head, pushing my chair back. "No, Ethan. What you don't need is to keep lying to me."

Honesty. Reassurance. Anything to make me believe that the foundation we built wasn't already crumbling beneath us.

But the silence that stretched between us, even with Olivia and Mia's watchful eyes, told me everything I needed to know.