“Can you here me? Stay with me, okay? Help is on the way.”

His eyelids fluttered slightly, a weak groan escaping his lips. Chloe tightened her grip on his hand, her pulse racing. She had never seen someone so close to the edge of life and death.

The early morning air was warm, the hum of distant traffic filling the quiet stretch of road. A wrecked car lay against a tree, its front end crushed, smoke curling from the hood.

Chloe’s breath hitched as she crouched beside the injured man, his face smeared with dirt and blood. His breathing was faint and shallow.

In the distance, sirens blared, growing louder by the second.

Paramedics rushed toward them the moment they arrived. One of them turned to her. “Miss, are you the one who—”

Before they could finish, her phone rang.

A sharp voice cut through the line. “Where are you, Chloe?”

Chloe jerked upright, her pulse spiking. She had almost forgotten—work.

“I’m on my way, sir” she answered hastily, already stepping back.

Without another word, she turned and hurried off, leaving the injured man in the hands of the paramedics.

She didn’t even know his name or who he was.

Chloe rushed through the glass doors of the office building, slightly out of breath. She barely had time to compose herself before Emily, her best friend and work colleague leaned in and whispered, “What took you so long? Mr. Richard asked for you.”

Chloe straightened, smoothing her blouse. “I—”

Emily’s eyes dropped to Chloe’s neck, and she frowned. “Wait, where’s your ID card?”

Chloe’s stomach dropped. She reached up, realizing she wasn’t wearing it. Quickly, she dug into her bag, rummaging through her belongings. No sign of it.

Before she could say anything, a firm voice cut through the space.

“You’re late.”

Chloe stiffened. She turned to see Mr. Richard Cole standing there, arms crossed, his expression serious and sharp.

“I’m sorry, sir. I—”

“I don’t want to hear excuses,” he said, his tone clipped. “Be more responsible, Miss Lindsey. And next time wear your I.D”

With that, he turned and walked off, leaving Chloe exhaling in frustration.

She slumped into her chair beside Emily.

“Rough morning?” Emily asked, her voice laced with amusement.

“You have no idea,” Chloe muttered.

Emily glanced at her. “So, what happened?”

Chloe hesitated before leaning in slightly. “I saw an accident on my way here. A guy was trapped in his car. I had to pull him out before the paramedics arrived.”

Emily blinked. “Wait, what?”

“I know it sounds crazy, but it happened.”

Emily gave her a skeptical look but said nothing.

Chloe sighed and reached for her bag again. “Ugh. And now my ID is missing. I must have left it at home.”

Emily’s expression changed. “Oh… actually, no, you didn’t.”

Chloe looked at her, confused.

Emily pulled out an ID card from her bag and held it up. “We swapped by mistake yesterday. The one at your house… is mine.”

Chloe stared at the card before groaning. “Great.”

Emily smirked. “At least you didn’t actually lose yours.”

As Chloe tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, still flustered from the morning’s rush, a familiar voice interrupted.

“What happened, Chloe? Why did you come late?”

She turned to see Greg approaching, his sharp eyes scanning her expression with mild concern.

“Long story,” she sighed, shaking her head.

Greg smirked, stepping closer. “You always have a long story.”

Chloe rolled her eyes but smiled. “Yeah, well, this time it’s actually true.”

Greg chuckled, then reached out, brushing his fingers gently against her arm. “You okay, though?”

She nodded, and before she could react, he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

“Good. I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”

Chloe laughed lightly, but beside her, Emily’s smile faltered for the briefest second before she quickly masked it. She clutched her pen a little too tightly, though no one seemed to notice.

“You two are cute,” she said, forcing a soft chuckle. “Honestly, I don’t know how you put up with her, Greg. She’s always running late.”

Chloe nudged her playfully. “I heard that.”

Greg grinned. “I like a little chaos.” He glanced at his watch. “Alright, I’ll see you later.”

As he walked off, Chloe exhaled softly, oblivious to the subtle tension beside her.

Emily, still smiling, leaned in slightly. “You’re lucky, you know? He really likes you.”

Her voice was sweet, but her grip on her pen was tight, her nails digging into her palm as she watched Greg disappear down the hall.

As soon as Greg disappeared down the hall, Chloe turned to Emily with barely contained excitement.

“Oh my God, Emily! Greg wants to introduce me to his mom.”

Emily’s smile tightened, but she quickly masked it with an enthusiastic nod. “Really? That’s… wow! That’s a big deal.”

Chloe beamed, her hands clasped together. “I know, right? I mean, that has to mean something, doesn’t it? Like, maybe he’s serious about me. Like, really serious.”

Emily let out a soft laugh, playing along. “Of course, it does. Meeting his mom? That’s huge.”

But deep down, she hated it. If Greg was introducing Chloe to his mother, then things were getting too serious. And that was the last thing she wanted.