Chapter 159: A Crack in Us

Chapter 159: Chapter 159: A Crack in Us

"Closer."

The photographer waved a hand, gesturing for them to close the gap.

Zoey took half a step toward Alexander. Their shoulders brushed. The studio lights flashed, blinding her for a fraction of a second. She kept her chin high and maintained the sharp, fierce expression the creative director requested.

Alexander looked down at her.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Not particularly," Zoey muttered without breaking her pose.

"Good. You look more convincing when you are annoyed."

She stepped on his foot. Not hard enough to cause a scene, but just enough to make her point. Alexander did not flinch. He just shifted his stance and matched her glare for the camera.

The shutter clicked rapidly. The photographer called out a few more directions, praising the competitive tension between them.

Zoey did not think anything of it. It was a luxury campaign built around a rivalry concept. They were doing their jobs.

Ten minutes later, the shoot wrapped. Zoey grabbed her bag, ignored Alexander’s parting remark about her terrible attitude, and headed straight to her car.

Gregory was waiting for her when she arrived at his place.

He had prepared another elaborate dinner. The table was set with fresh flowers, tall candles, and plates of perfectly seared scallops.

Zoey sat down. She took a sip of water and immediately checked her phone. Her inbox was overflowing with campaign notifications and emails from her agent.

Gregory sat across from her. He did not touch his food right away. He just watched her.

She replied to a message, took a small bite of a scallop, and went right back to typing.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Gregory asked.

Zoey kept her eyes on the screen. "I am tired."

Gregory studied her face in the candlelight. This was not the first time. He was beginning to notice a pattern. She was physically sitting at his table, but emotionally, she was miles away.

"How was the campaign shoot?" Gregory tried again.

"It went well," Zoey said casually. She flipped her phone face down.

"With Alexander?"

She looked up. "Yes."

It was just one word. But she paused for a fraction of a second before saying it. That tiny hesitation bothered him.

Later that night, Gregory sat alone in his living room. The house was quiet. Zoey had gone upstairs to sleep an hour ago.

He opened social media on his phone. The luxury brand had just dropped the official campaign announcement.

The main photograph filled his screen.

It was Zoey and Alexander. They were standing close, their bodies angled toward each other. Both of them looked sharp, confident, and magnetic. The image was polished and professional, but it carried an undeniable intimacy.

Gregory scrolled down to the comments.

"Their chemistry is insane."

"Are we sure these two aren’t dating?"

"Zoey and Alexander look dangerous together."

Gregory stopped scrolling. He looked at Zoey in the photograph. Her eyes were focused. She looked alive and genuinely engaged in the moment.

He opened his own photo gallery. He found a picture of them at dinner from two weeks ago. He looked at Zoey’s face in his photo. She was smiling, but her eyes were blank. She looked distracted.

The difference was obvious.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Zoey walked into the living room wearing an oversized t-shirt, heading for the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Gregory stood up from the sofa. He walked over and held his phone out to her.

"You look happy," Gregory said.

Zoey glanced at the screen. She saw the campaign photo.

"It’s work," Zoey said. She walked past him to the kitchen island.

"I know."

"Then what is the problem?" she asked, filling a glass from the tap.

Gregory hesitated. He put the phone back in his pocket.

"You never look at me like that."

Zoey went quiet. She stopped pouring the water. She did not argue or roll her eyes. She just stood there, because she knew he was right.

Gregory watched her back. "Do you like him?"

"No," Zoey answered immediately. She turned around and met his eyes. "I really don’t."

She meant it. Alexander was arrogant and annoying. He was not the issue. The real issue was that she did not love Gregory either, and the campaign photo just highlighted the gap in her chest.

Gregory let out a slow breath. "Then why does it feel like I am losing you?"

Zoey looked at the marble countertop. She did not have an answer.

Gregory did not press her. He did not start a fight. He just nodded once, turned around, and walked upstairs.

The next few days felt different.

Gregory became unusually quiet. For the first time since they started dating, he stopped chasing her.

There were no flowers delivered to her office the next morning. There were no surprise dinner reservations. He did not bring up the Paris trip. He stopped sending a constant stream of text messages checking on her day.

Zoey noticed the silence immediately.

She went to work, attended meetings, and went home to an empty apartment. Her phone stayed quiet.

She sat on her sofa with a cup of tea and waited for the familiar feeling of anxiety to kick in. She waited to miss him. She expected to feel a desperate urge to call him and fix the rift between them.

Nothing happened.

She took a sip of her tea and realized she enjoyed the quiet. She felt relieved.

That realization should have bothered her. It should have sent her into a panic. Instead, she just turned on the television and finished her tea.

Gregory stood at the edge of a crowded ballroom.

It was an annual corporate networking event. He usually brought Zoey to these functions. Tonight, he was alone.

He took a slow sip of his scotch. The ice clinked against the glass. He felt restless and frustrated. He had spent the last three days giving Zoey space, waiting for her to reach out and pull him back in. She had barely sent him two text messages.

"Trouble in paradise?"

Gregory turned his head. A woman in a dark red dress stepped up beside him.

Her name was Clara. She worked in commercial real estate. They had crossed paths at several corporate events over the last two years. She knew he was dating Zoey.

Gregory forced a polite smile. "It’s nothing."

Clara did not walk away. She stepped a little closer.

"You look like a man who would rather be anywhere else," Clara noted. She leaned against the high cocktail table, giving him her full attention.

"Just a long week," Gregory said.

Clara smiled. She asked him about his latest development project. She listened intently when he spoke. She laughed at his dry jokes. She kept her eyes focused right on him.

She was giving him the exact attention Zoey had been withholding.

Gregory took another sip of his scotch. He did not excuse himself. He did not mention that he needed to call his girlfriend. He just stayed right where he was, basking in the easy, uncomplicated warmth of someone who actually wanted to talk to him.

His phone vibrated in his jacket pocket.

Gregory pulled it out. The screen lit up with a new message.

Zoey: I will be late tonight.

It was a mundane, ordinary text. There was no apology attached to it. There was no explanation. It was just a statement of fact.

Gregory stared at the glowing words for a long time.

He thought about the campaign photograph. He thought about the blank look in Zoey’s eyes when he asked why he was losing her.

He locked his phone and slid it back into his pocket.

He looked at Clara. She was still smiling at him, waiting for him to speak.

Gregory smiled back.