Ch. Mr.chatterbox for her, Mr.Icebox for me? Ice melts and so did my love. 50 Mr.chatterbox for her, Mr.Icebox for me? Ice melts and so did my love. 50

Chapter 1 

Every password in our house: 0912. 

Door locks. Safe. Phone. Food delivery. All 0912. 

Then I saw the wifi: JY0912. 

September 12th. His ex-Jenna Mitchell. 

Five years since they broke up, and her birthday’s still coded into everything we own. 

Mine? I told him three days early: “Saturday’s my birthday.” 

“Got it.” 

Saturday. I waited from six till eleven. 

He stumbled in reeking of whiskey. “Work dinner.” 

His phone lit up on the table. 

Thanks for coming to Jenna’s party! She was SO happy to see you. 

My cake sat there, candles melted into the frosting. 

Five years. And she’s still living in every lock in this house. 

I’m done. 

Every code’s getting changed-starting now. 

I dumped everything into the trash-ribs swimming in sauce, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, green beans-all bleeding together into one soggy mess. 

Tied up the bag and hauled it to the door. 

The shower was already running upstairs. 

Eric had walked right past the table without even looking. Just muttered “already ate” and headed straight for the 

bedroom. 

7 

Chapter 1 

My phone buzzed. Voice message from Casey. 

“BABE! Happy birthday! What did Eric plan? Tell me everything!” 

I stared at that 59-second message until the screen went dark. 

Typed back: Pretty good. Tell you tomorrow. 

Hit send and flipped the phone facedown on the counter. 

Water shut off upstairs. Hair dryer hummed to life. 

I picked up my phone again and pulled up that text. 

Thanks so much for coming to Jenna’s party today! She was absolutely thrilled. -Mrs. Mitchell 

I turned off the living room lights and went upstairs. 

Eric was slouched against the headboard scrolling through his phone, hair still wet, sheets barely covering him. My hand moved toward the towel out of habit-then I stopped myself. 

Sat down on the edge of the bed instead. 

“Eric.” 

“Mm.” 

“Today’s my birthday.” 

His thumb paused mid-scroll. 

“Yeah, I know. We’ll do something next weekend.” 

He absolutely didn’t say that before. 

“You never mentioned next weekend.” 

“Well, I’m saying it now. We’ll go somewhere nice.” 

“You went to Jenna’s party.” 

He locked his phone and turned to me, jaw already set. 

“Her mom called three times. I’ve known that family for ten years-what was I supposed to do?” 

“You could’ve come home for dinner first.” 

15:55 

Mr. Chatterbox for Her, Mr. Iceberg for Me? Ice Melts, and So Did My Love! 

40.8% 

Chapter 1 

“By the time I got back you would’ve been asleep anyway.” 

“I wasn’t asleep. I had four dishes on that table from six to eleven waiting for you.” 

Silence stretched between us. 

After a beat: “Alright. Got it. Next week then.” 

I watched his phone light back up in his hand. 

“All your passwords are 0912.” 

“Yeah, it’s easy to remember. Why?” 

“My birthday’s September 12th too.” 

His hand went completely still. 

The clock downstairs ticked loud enough to hear from up here. 

“Right. Same day. That works out-I didn’t forget.” 

“You remembered hers. You just didn’t bother coming home for mine.” 

Eric slammed his phone onto the nightstand hard enough to make it bounce. 

“Jesus Christ, Diana-what do you WANT from me? It’s ONE birthday! I told you I’d make it up to you-what more do you need?” 

I looked at him without saying anything. 

His face was twisted up like he’d been tolerating me for months. 

I turned off the light, rolled over, and faced the wall. 

He flipped onto his side. Two minutes later his breathing evened out. 

I lay there in the dark counting slowly to one-twenty. 

Then I grabbed my phone, dimmed the screen as low as it would go, and opened the browser. 

Typed: apartments for rent near me. 

Scrolled for twenty minutes and bookmarked three listings. 

Then I pulled up my contacts and found the number I’d saved last month. 

15:55 

Mr. Chatterbox for Her, Mr. Iceberg for Me? Ice Melts, and So Did My Love! 

41.0% 

Chapter 1 

Marcus Reed. Divorce attorney. 

Too late to call tonight. First thing tomorrow. 

Put the phone down and closed my eyes. 

Every lock in this house-still those same four digits. 

Same day, he said. Didn’t forget. 

Funny how when two women share a birthday, he only shows up for one. 

Next morning he was already tying his shoes when I came downstairs. 

“Running late.” 

He yanked the door open and the lock screen flashed for a second. 

“Wait. You said next weekend-which day exactly?” 

“Saturday. I’ll book something.” 

“Not French. I don’t eat that.” 

He glanced back at me. 

“Fine.” 

The door slammed shut and the lock screen blinked twice before going dark. 

I called Marcus Reed right then. 

Set up a meeting for tomorrow at 3 PM. He told me to bring the house deed, marriage certificate, and bank statements. 

Then I texted Casey. 

Free day after tomorrow? Really need to see you. 

She responded immediately: OMG WHY?? 

I typed three words: Tell you then. 

I sat down at the kitchen table with a glass of water and noticed the worn letter at the bottom-barely visible anymore.