“No, Matthias.Thisis ruined.Weare ruined. I won’t live like this anymore.”
“Because I missed dinner? I didn’t know you planned this.”
“What day is today?” I ask.
“Thursday?” He forks a bite of cold green beans into his mouth. “Alex, I don’t understand… Are you crying?”
“You’ve barely seen me in months. Barely spoken to me. Barely touched me…”
“Ja, ich weiß.”His eyes soften. “Work has been a lot.”
“No more excuses. We are both unhappy.” I adjust the bag on my shoulder and make my way to the front door, pausing at the open entryway for one last look at the man I spent years loving.All those years wasted.
“Mein Herz.”
“Goodbye, Matthias.”
“Alex. Wait.” He drops his fork, it clatters to the tabletop. “Please, don’t do this. I don’t understand-.”
I bend to pick up Tiggie, bundling him into my arms like a baby.
“Happy Anniversary to you, too,” I say.
Realisation illuminates his sharp features, swiftly replaced with devastation.
I turn, rushing out the door and down the steps to my car. I slam the key in the ignition and take off before I lose my nerve.
“Point 5:” I say to Tiggie in the passenger seat as I stroke her fluffy tail. “He forgot our tenth wedding anniversary. Definitely a fucking con.”
Tiggie purrs in the seat beside me, oblivious to my pain. It hurts. It burns. My heart feels as though it has been ripped clean out of my chest, plucked from my body and stamped into the ground.
My eyes flick to the rearview mirror.
Point 6: He’s not even trying to stopme from leaving.
ALEX
CHAPTER ONE
I miss the smell of burning logs on the fire. I need a glass of Riesling in one hand, and a good book in the other as I curl up beneath the blankets and lose myself in a fantasy world.
I mourn the comfort—the luxury.
Instead, I’m here. On board the ISS, hurtling around the Earth in a constant state of free fall. This space station may have cost £100 billion, but it is the farthest reaches from luxury. If anything, it’s a money pit, complete with leaky seals and aged electronics. Not to mention that the homebrew up here requires Dutch courage to even contemplate braving it.
More than the home comforts, I miss the feel of firm ground beneath my feet, dewy grass tickling between my toes and birdsong filling the air. I miss lazy morning snuggles with my fluff-ball cat, and most of all, I miss sleeping in my own bed.
I don’t miss waking up alone.
The station's air recyclers hum loudly as sunlight pours through theWindow to the World– Cupolamodule’s panoramic viewing platform. I watch as the Sun blankets the Earth far below, chasingaway the night.
“Where are you,Fiore?” Luca’s honeyed whisper tickles against my ear, pulling me from my thoughts. “Come back to me.”
I draw my attention back to him, a lock of soft blonde hair is plastered to his cheek whilst the rest of it floats straight up. He nuzzles the back of my neck, inhaling deeply as he pulls me into him, rubbing himself against me.
Now, this. I will miss this.
“You smell so good.” He heaves a satisfied sigh into my hair, hot breath tickling me, and causing a giggle to escape.
