“Dylan? Hello? Are you even listening to me?”
It took Huby calling his name twice before Dylan snapped back to reality. “What? Sorry.”
Ruby’s perfectly manicured nails drummed against her arm as she crossed them tightly. “Seriously, what is your deal today? You’ve been somewhere else mentally since we got here.”
Dylan had no good answer. This amusement park—the same one he’d reluctantly visited with Harper on two separate occasions—kept triggering unexpected flashbacks. Every familiar corner sent his mind wandering back to memories he thought he’d buried. His silence only intensified Ruby’s irritation.
“Look, I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “Weren’t you dying to ride the carousel? Let’s go do that.”
At the mention of the carousel, Ruby’s expression instantly brightened. Dylan had always flatly refused these “kiddie rides” before, calling them undignified wastes of time. When she playfully placed a ridiculous pair of glittery unicorn ears on his head, he didn’t even protest—something that would have triggered a ten-minute lecture about professional image just weeks ago.
The carousel offered a professional photography package, and Ruby eagerly paid for the deluxe option with multiple prints. Dylan perched awkwardly on his painted horse, looking about as comfortable as a cat in a bathtub, mentally counting down until the torture ended.
When the ride finally stopped, Ruby dragged him to the photo display wall where hundreds of pictures waited to be claimed. That’s when he saw it: a faded Polaroid of himself with Harper from their college days. It must have been taken during that spring break when Jemma had practically blackmailed him into joining them at Disney. The shot had clearly come from Jemma’s vintage camera, and it wasn’t hard to guess who had hung it on the wall.
“Babe, the photographer says that section over there is for couples’ photos. We should totally add ours to the wall!”
Dylan tried to redirect her, but Ruby was already heading straight toward it. He hurried after her but was a second too late. Ruby spotted the photo immediately. She ripped it off the wall, her eyes flashing.
“So that is why you’ve been mentally AWOL all day—you’re thinking about her.”
Dylan opened his mouth, but no explanation emerged; his silence was damning.
Furious, Ruby tore the photo into pieces and threw them in a nearby trash can before storming off toward the exit. Their “magical day” ended in complete disaster.
After she left, Dylan retrieved the scattered photo fragments from the ground. On the back, he recognized Harper’s loopy handwriting. Only four words remained visible through the tears: “Harper loves Dylan always.” He stared at the fragments for a long moment before quietly slipping them into his wallet.
Back at her penthouse, Ruby unleashed her rage on everything within reach, smashing a crystal vase against the wall. She checked her phone obsessively, expecting Dylan’s groveling texts. The screen remained stubbornly notification-free. In a fit of frustration, she hurled her iPhone across the room, instantly regretting it when she heard the screen crack.
For several days, Dylan made absolutely no attempt to contact her—no calls, no texts, no apologetic flower deliveries. Despite her pride screaming in protest, Ruby finally caved and made the first move.
“Dylan,” she said, appearing in his office doorway with practiced vulnerability. “I may have overreacted the other day.” She toyed with the sleeve of his suit jacket, looking up through her lashes.
Since he knew he’d been mentally absent during their date, Dylan could justify holding out when she was making amends. “You should probably get back to your department,” he said evenly, giving her the face-saving exit she needed. But he seized the opportunity. “So we’re good? No more fighting?”
Dylan’s “Yeah, sure” wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, but it was enough.
When Ruby returned to the design department, she discovered the newly promoted co-director had already moved into her private corner office. Remembering Dylan’s lecture about team morale, she plastered on her brightest smile and greeted the designers with forced cheerfulness. The entire team looked straight through her as if she were made of glass. Ruby’s fake smile crumbled as she lowered her hand awkwardly. Walking back to her significantly smaller workspace, she clearly overheard whispered comments: “Guess sleeping with the boss doesn’t guarantee job security.” “Two weeks of schaal design experience and she thinks she’s Vera Wang.”
Between this professional humiliation and the amusement park fiasco, Ruby knew exactly who to blame for all her problems. Harper Coulson had to pay.