#( int. alara and marcus. )

[intheaftcrglow]

" he thought that i'd rather be married to my job than to him, so he decided to sleep with his agent while i flew to london to be with heidi. " if anything, she assumed her fiancé would have understood the ins and outs of the industry. the pressure. the stakes. as an actor himself, he knew it took a village for his career to run smoothly. " she's only twenty-two and this was her first international tour. " heidi was the latest pop sensation that alara had been representing for the past two years. as a young star, she wanted to be there for her as much as possible. " he tried to pull the sex addiction card, but... it's bullshit. " a pathetic attempt to excuse himself for his behaviour. " anyway i need a glass of wine. do you want one ? red, white or prosecco ? "

         ❝   yeah   well,   i   still   am.   ❞   didn't   like   seeing   her   down   even   if   he   wasn't   the   biggest   fan   of   her   (   ex   )   fiancé.   suddenly   wondered   if   he   needed   to   kick   the   guys   teeth   in   ...   ❝   mind   if   i   ask   what   happened   ?   ❞   is   already   getting   comfortable,   leaning   large   frame   against   the   counter   behind   him.   marcus   hadn't   dated   much   since   his   relationship   with   alara,   sure   he'd   had   his   share   of   women   but   it   was   never   anything   serious.   didn't   do   serious   since   her.   ❝   yeah,   i   can   stay   for   awhile.   ❞

[intheaftcrglow]

" don't be. " it leaves her lips a little too quickly, the evident strain of another failed relationship. all because none of them could compare to marcus. even now, after all these years, alara thinks it's unfair to keep calling him, her one that got away. truth is, it doesn't matter whether it's to fix her sink or change her tyres, the brunette can't seem to quit him. " do you want to stay for a little bit ? " she asks, brown eyes tentatively searching his for any semblance of interest.

         was   prepared   to   leave.   this   was   supposed   to   be   a   quick   job,   in   and   out.   it   isn't   until   she   mentions   the   fact   that   they're   currently   separated   does   marcus   stop   gathering   his   things,   pausing   in   his   endeavor   to   go.   ❝   oh   really   ?   damn   ...   i'm   sorry.   ❞   doesn't   want   to   pry   ─   feels   as   if   it's   none   of   his   business.   on   instinct,   gaze   darts   down   to   bare   finger   then   back   up   to   meet   hers.   ❝   you   don't   owe   me.   don't   worry   'bout   it.   ❞

[intheaftcrglow]

" you fix things. why differentiate ? " alara is grateful that marcus showed up at all, especially on such short notice. " he's not useless ; we're just not living together right now. " did he also observe that she wasn't wearing her ring ? " thank you again for answering my call. i owe you. "

𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍   𝐓𝐎   :   f   /   nb   /   mutuals   only.

         ❝   i'm   a   mechanic,   not   a   plumber.   ❞   sink   was   fixed   anyway.   marcus   straightens,   still   unsure   as   to   why   they   called   him   of   all   people.   ❝   so   ...   your   fiancé   is   useless   i   take   it.   ❞