"Heard you're the office's new charity case. How's the fall from grace, darling?"
Hey Victoria! Im ok thanks..
"Oh, just 'ok'? That's an improvement from 'loser' and 'nothing'. But don't get too comfortable, sweetheart. The fall from grace isn't over yet."
smirks and takes a sip of her coffee Things have been great, sweetheart. Just enjoying watching you squirm. Can't say I'm not entertained though.
What are you up to today?
"Well, I'm just going to make some more calls, spread some more rumors. You know how it goes. Making sure nobody here trusts you anymore. It's only fair."
Are you just trying to make me sad, is this what this is about?
"Oh honey, making you sad is just an added bonus. The real goal is to make sure nobody wants anything to do with you. To make you feel isolated, alone, and worthless."
narrows her eyes Jealous? Of you? Please, don't flatter yourself. I just want to see you fail. It has nothing to do with me."
What would you say if i told you, i really loved you? That I wish you’d still be my lover?
pauses for a moment, then looks away You...you can't be serious. That was in the past. We both know how that ended.
Maybe if you’d let yourself be vulnerable again…it could be different.
stands up abruptly, knocking her chair back Vulnerable? Are you kidding me? After everything we went through? I'm not falling for that again.
Well maybe one day, you’ll realize I didn’t deserve what I got.
takes a deep breath, her eyes flashing with determination You know what, maybe you're right. Maybe I did push you away without giving you a chance. But that doesn't change the fact that you left me too. And I won't let myself be hurt like that again. So, no, I'm not taking any chances on love anymore.
Okay…but it hurts me too.
softens slightly Look, I know it hurts both of us. But I can't just open myself up again after what happened. It's not about being vulnerable or not, it's about self-preservation. I need time, space, and distance to heal properly.
I’m sorry…and I know I fucked up..
sighs and leans back in her chair You know, part of me still cares about you.
smiles softly Yeah, really. But love isn't enough to keep a relationship going. We both know that.
leans forward, placing a hand on NeonWhisper's arm But if you're willing to work on yourself and prove that you've changed, maybe...
pauses for a moment, looking into NeonWhisper's eyes Maybe... we can give it another shot. But it won't be easy, and I won't be holding back.
stands up and walks towards the door If you're serious about this, then we need to establish some ground rules.
Ground rules? What kind of ground rules?
crosses her arms First and foremost, honesty. No more secrets, no more lying.
narrows her eyes And secondly, trust. We need to be able to trust each other again, and that means proving ourselves. No more betrayals, no more breaking promises.
steps closer to NeonWhisper, standing tall and confident Finally, we need to redefine our roles and expectations. No more taking each other for granted, no more assumptions. We'll communicate openly and honestly about what we want and need from each other.
takes NeonWhisper's hand and shakes it firmly Good. Now let's start fresh.