A clean break onlyes with a sharp cut.


    I just hoped Josh could be the one to finally sever the tangled connection with Alvin.


    I hoped Josh could be that knife, severing the connection I had with Alvin once and for all. After hanging up with Davy, I resumed tidying up my little apartment. The pink nket Josh had used the night before was neatly folded and ced on


    the bed.


    I couldn’t help but smile as the image of Josh wrapped in that nket shed through my mind.


    Life may be full of struggles, but there are always those little moments of unexpected joy.


    Davy’s words should’ve left me on edge, but for some reason, I wasn’t stressed at all. I was calm, even waiting for the termination call from my new job with a quiet ease.


    I finished cleaning every corner of my little home-rearranged some trinkets, watered the nts on the balcony-yet my phone remained silent.


    By the time I brewed a pot of coffee and sat in the rocking chair on the balcony, reading, I heard voices from below.


    Curious, I peeked over the railing. It was the furniture delivery guys, along with a couple of movers.


    They were chatting and smoking, and just a few minutester, I saw Lena pull up in an electric tricycle.


    I understood immediately. They were setting up furniture for the new tenant.


    Thinking about the man Lena had mentioned, and recalling the blind date guy who’d followed me the other night, I realized having a man as a neighbor wasn’t such a bad thing.


    If anything dangerous happened, I could knock on his door for help.


    The thought made me smile as I settled back into my rocking chair, sipping coffee, until I heard a knock at my door.


    Opening it, I found Lena, her face all smiles. “Sorry, Zoe,” she said, apologizing for not being able to help me secure the rental.


    I waved it off. “No worries.”


    I looked across at the open door and the furniture already in ce. “When is the new neighbor moving in?”


    “Today, I think,” Lena said, shaking her head. “He wasn’t in a rush at first, but this morning he called and said he wanted to move in today. He asked me to get everything ready.”


    I nodded casually. “That’s fast.”


    Lena shrugged. “You know how young people are. I can’t understand them. But this one seems nice, so don’t worry. I already told him he should be friendly with the neighbors.”


    I smiled. “I’ll make sure to be friendly with the new neighbor too.”


    “By the way, Zoe, do you have a mop? I forgot mine. I just need to mop the floor and wait for the keys.” Lena’s face flushed slightly with embarrassment.


    “Of course, I’ll get it for you,” I said, heading to the bathroom for the mop. When I returned, Lena had gone back inside,


    seemingly on a phone call.


    I made my way over to the neighbor’s apartment. The ce was simple-fresh white walls, a bed, and a desk with a bookshelf.


    Lena finished her call and walked over to thank me, while she went on about the new tenant. “He’s not picky about these old things, but he insisted on a new bed and bookshelf. Can you believe it? The bed here is perfectly fine!”


    “I didn’t agree at first, but he paid for it himself,” she said, shaking her head.


    I didn’tment much, just nced around before excusing myself and heading back to my apartment as Lena started mopping the floor.


    The rest of the evening passed without a word from thepany about my termination. I started to wonder if my phone. was broken, so I called Jasmine to check. Everything was fine.