Jane – Friday Evening (The Weekend)
"I'm… okay," I said into the phone. "Not great. But I made it through the week."
"I thought you might need to breathe," Levi replied. "Want to hang out? Just walk. Talk. No Zayn Anderson in sight, I promise."
I laughed. Quiet. Almost surprised at myself.
"Yeah," i said. "I'd like that."
we walked for a while, the city lights humming softly around us. i started to loosen. i could breathe in Levi's presence, and that felt like a luxury. No tension. No ticking clock. No list of expectations taped to a frosted glass wall.
But then he spoke.
"You don't have to stay there, you know."
my smile faded. "Where?"
He looked over at me, like it was obvious.
"At Zayn Anderson's company."
my steps slowed slightly, unsure.
"I mean it," Levi said. "You're smart. Resilient. You don't belong under someone who chips away at your confidence like it's routine."
my chest tightened. Something in me coiled defensively. But he wasn't done.
"I've actually been thinking…" he added carefully, "I could use someone like you."
I blinked. "What?"
"I run a company too," he said, tone still light, almost cautious. "Smaller, not as... icy. We do tech-based education platforms. I'm not saying jump into anything, but—if you ever wanted a fresh start, somewhere you're treated like a human being, not a checklist—there's space for you."
I blinked again.
Wait.
Levi didn't just run a company.
Levi… Levi Monroe.
I eyes widened slightly as the name clicked into place. The business card. The logo. The articles i seen in passing.
He was the CEO of MonroeTech. A rising star in the tech education world. Widely respected. Friendly. Powerful—but not in the cold, feared way Zayn was.
And still… not Zayn.
I looked away, feeling my thoughts tangle inside my chest.
It was a good offer. A kind one. Levi was everything Zayn wasn't—warm, approachable, safe.
But part of me hated how the first thing she thought was:
Zayn's company is bigger.
Zayn wouldn't have asked—he would've expected.
"I don't know," I murmured.
Levi didn't push. "You don't have to decide tonight. Or ever. Just… know that you have options, Jane."
I nodded slowly. "Thank you."
But the thanks felt hollow, even to me.
Because now my heart was even more confused. my mind was split between the man who made her feel safe… and the man who made her feel everything else—rage, humiliation, challenge, need.
And that man wasn't standing beside her.
That man was still haunting her from a glass office she couldn't stop returning to.
I hadn't laughed like that in a long time.
Levi had a gift for pulling joy out of the mess. our hangout hadn't been anything fancy—just coffee, a walk through a weekend market, and sitting on the hood of his car watching people pass by like moving pieces in a painting. But it had left a warmth in my chest that lingered even after i got home.
For once, I slept peacefully.