Chapter 2I Took Their Advice… And Ran With My Child

Step one of running away from home: select a suitable vehicle from the garage.

My eyes landed on Alistair’s favorite, a sleek, midnight-black Bugatti supercar.

You’re the one, Alistair’s favorite child.

To make the drama as authentic as possible, I waited for the day I knew he’d be swamped with work, then sped off. With the top down and the wind in my hair, I sighed contentedly. This was the life. Alistair could go cool his heels somewhere else.

The roads were clear, and soon I was pulling up to my best friend Veronica’s place with my luggage in tow. Sprawled on her couch, I laid out my master plan.

She just collapsed onto my shoulder, howling with laughter.

“Seriously, Selena, what is going on in that head of yours?” she asked, completely bewildered. “What did our dear Mr. Russo do to offend you this time?”

Just thinking about it made my blood boil.

I hate to admit it, but our previous arguments had been a bit… flimsy. There was the time he forgot to buy me the new Hermès bag on his business trip, only for me to realize I’d never actually asked for it. Or the time he ate spicy takeout next to me while I had cramps…

But!

This time, it was one hundred percent Alistair’s fault!

I told Veronica this with absolute certainty.

“Alright, spill. What happened?” She propped her chin up, grabbing a bag of chips with the air of someone settling in for a good show. This had been her attitude toward my fights with Alistair ever since college. She was convinced we’d never really fight, that we were an endgame couple.

“Stop eating!” I swatted her hand away. “General Veronica, show some respect! This is serious!”

“Yes, Commander Selena.”

The cause of our current cold war was a tale of pure tragedy, enough to make anyone who heard it weep.