Chapter 5

Noah walked through the park and kicked a rock along the ground. He didn't understand why she didn't want anything to do with him. Years ago, she would have jumped at the chance to be with him. But now it was few and far between. He sighed and looked up at the Eiffel Tower.

"You're a joke. You know that?" Noah scoffed at the symbol of love for the whole world. "Symbol of love... my ass. You know what you are? A fucking symbol of heartbreak and false ideals! This whole city is a fucking joke." He sniffed and grumbled the last bit under his breath.

"Speak for yourself." A girl with a red hoodie spoke. He couldn't see her face in the dark and his heart raced.

"Excuse me?" Noah was shocked that someone had heard him. The park was deserted for all he knew. So, to find someone so close was a bit alarming.

"I said, speak for yourself. I happen to still find this city thriving with romance. Just because it's dead for you, which I can't even fathom why... doesn't mean it is for others. Maybe you just need to see what you've been missing." She put her hands in her pockets and walked away like she had never been there in the first place.

Noah was left confused and slightly turned on more than he already was. He shook it off and walked back towards his house, stopping to grab a cup of coffee on the way. He sipped it and welcomed its warmth into his chest. By the time he got home, he saw a car outside that he didn't recognize.

He stood behind a tree as the door opened and he watched a man kiss Olivia on the cheeks before he got into his car.

"He'll be back home. You'll see!" The man smiled for her and when he turned, Noah instantly knew who it was. Anger boiled up in his veins and made his fingers twitch.

He cleared his throat as he watched Olivia look around; before, she crept back inside and back up the stairs to their apartment. Noah lingered behind her and watched her shut their door and lock it.

***

Olivia grabbed the red jacket from the couch and hid it deep within a box in the back of their walk-in closet. She blew her hair out of her eyes and smiled for Noah when he walked back into the house.

He didn't talk to her and when he walked past her, he bumped her shoulder by accident. But to Olivia it didn't feel like an accident. There was a cold aura about him, and it worried her.

"Noah? Are you okay? Can we talk?" Olivia walked after him and he looked at her with a cold expression as he poured a shot of vodka.

"So... here's what I don't get. If you have a problem with me... why not just talk to me about it? Hm? Why talk to some other man about it?" Noah felt his heart break the more he spoke. "Why call some other man over to comfort you and not me?" He pointed to himself and threw the shot back; before, he poured another.

"I- You ran off and... I- I didn't- I tried to call your phone." Olivia spoke and Noah pulled out his phone.

He opened up his missed calls list and her number was nowhere to be found. "So... concerned that you didn't think to call me? Yeah, you called so many... times, Olivia." He threw his phone onto the counter. "I didn't realize I'd been replaced with a newer model." He scoffed, grabbed the bottle, and walked off to their balcony.

"What about you? You said the Eiffel Tower was a symbol of heartbreak and false ideals!" Olivia countered and he turned around to walk back towards her.

"Because it is! It is all a lie!" Noah burst out at her and continued to walk away from her. "Also! Thanks for spying on me at the park. How trusting of you! But you know... guess I shouldn't be so trusting of you either! Now should I, dear?" He growled and slammed the French doors, scooting a metal chair out from the table.

Olivia flinched and sniffed, grabbing her coat, and texting her mother. She gave him a moment to calm down; before, she opened the back door. "I'm going to go pick up Amelia a little later than I was planning to."

Noah sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "Pick her up whenever you like. I'm gonna walk to the college. I have stuff to do. Get your dress done, I won't bother you."

Olivia worried her bottom lip at his words. She wasn't sure if the storm was over or just beginning. It was hard to tell, and she didn't know how to reassure him.

"Nothing happened between Adam and I! If you were wondering." Olivia burst the words from her mouth and his eyes went wide. "I just called him to talk and vent. He chose to come over on his own. And what was I gonna do? Tell him no? That he couldn't come in?"

Noah cleared his throat and froze up. He clenched his fists and swallowed hard. "Well... you could have started with not calling the bastard, but you know... that's just me." He opened the door and left her alone again.

Olivia's heart clenched tightly, and she grabbed at her dress as tears fell from her eyes. She didn't know how to fix it. She couldn't stop talking to Adam because he was her main male model for her collections.

"I wish I still had someone to tell me what to do." She burst out the words in tears and curled up on the floor, staring at her engagement ring.