3: 3

3

Someone had commented under the post.

"Doesn't your Mr. Henson have a girlfriend?"

"You're just a secretary. Aren't you afraid the boss's wife will see a post like this and get the wrong idea?"

Deidre replied with a hand-over-mouth giggle emoji. "We're work partners, silly~ Don't say things like that."

"Besides, Mr. Henson isn't married yet, so legally he's single. Who ends up as the boss's wife is anybody's guess."

I put my phone away. The whole thing struck me as absurd.

It didn't matter. We were already over, and my mother's affairs were finished.

It was time to leave.

That night, I was working out which things to pack and take, which to store away or throw out.

The door swung open.

Ned was back. Looking worn out, he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Debbie."

"It's been almost two weeks. Why haven't you messaged me lately?"

"I've been swamped."

"Not getting your messages every day, honestly, I couldn't quite get used to it."

But did you really need me there?

Could even a reply of nothing at all become a habit?

I didn't answer. I slipped out of his hold, so slightly he almost couldn't tell.

"I'm too tired. I don't feel like talking."

"You just got back from your trip. Get some rest."

Holding my pillow, I turned toward the guest room, the same as every other night.

But Ned frowned and caught my wrist.

"Don't go to the guest room tonight. Sleep with me, okay?"

I turned, puzzled, and looked into his eyes.

Back when we'd first moved in together, I was the clingy one. I'd said everything I could think of, wanting Ned to sleep beside me.

I said I was scared of thunder.

He handed me a pair of earplugs. "Block your ears and you won't hear it."

I said I was scared of the dark.

He handed me a sleep mask.

"You'll get used to it."

I racked my brain for other excuses, and he just frowned at me.

"Debbie, I'm really busy. I don't have time for these childish games."

"Before you met me, didn't you sleep alone?"

I had no comeback for that.

He said he needed to focus on work, that he was afraid I'd disturb him, afraid he'd wake me getting up in the middle of the night to revise a proposal.

So he'd insisted on separate rooms.

And after that, the guest room became mine.

But now, out of nowhere, he was the one asking me to sleep beside him.

"No."

I gently pulled my hand free. "I'm used to sleeping alone."

Ned's hand stayed there in the air, as if he hadn't expected me to refuse.

He looked at me, and past the tiredness in his brow was a flicker of confusion.

It cleared quickly, though. He must have decided I was just sulking.

"Fine."

He drew his hand back and loosened his tie. "Then get some sleep too."

I nodded and turned to push open the guest room door.

"Oh, right."

His voice came from behind me again.

"If I remember correctly, your mom's surgery is the day after tomorrow, isn't it?"

My hand went still.

There was a trace of a smile in his voice.

"I took the whole day off the day after tomorrow. I'll go to the hospital with you to see her."

"Something this big, a surgery, your mom would be scared on her own. It'll be a lot easier with us there."

An endless ache rose behind my eyes. I clenched my fists and bit down on my lip.

"Thank you, but there's no need."

My mother was already gone.

And that surgery, the one her life had depended on, wasn't the day after tomorrow. It was a week ago.

He couldn't even keep a thing like that straight.

"Debbie, don't be so formal with me."

Ned looked at me with something almost like tenderness.

"I admit I've been too busy these past weeks and neglected you. When I take that day off, let it make up for it."

Then he pulled a red velvet gift box from his pocket and held it out.

"Saw it on the way back from my trip. Thought it was nice, so I bought it for you."

I turned around.

As if waiting to catch the surprise on my face, Ned opened the box himself.

One look, and my heart sank to the bottom of a lake.

The bracelet inside, I had already seen it, on Deidre's feed.

"Thank you, Mr. Henson, for the Sea of Stars necklace!"

"It's just that this free bracelet that came with it is so ugly, I don't want it. No idea which poor sucker it'll end up going to."

I pulled the corner of my mouth into something like a smile. "Well, thank you, really."

Ned didn't catch the wrongness in my tone. He turned and went to take a shower.

And this poor sucker didn't spare it a second glance. I dropped it straight into the trash.

4: 4

4

Early the next morning, I got up and started packing.

Three years of living here, and the place was crammed full.

The little ornaments on the shelves, the clothes in the wardrobe, the small saucepan I'd used for two years in the kitchen, my mother's photo on the nightstand…

Now I was taking it all away.

Only then did I realize how little of it was actually mine.

I pulled the clothes out of the wardrobe, folded them, and packed them into two 28-inch suitcases.

From the ornaments on the shelves, I picked a few that meant something and tucked them into my backpack.

The rest I planned to throw out.

In a drawer I found a few old notebooks, the diaries I'd kept when I first came to Harbor City.

They were full of a naive girl's bright dreams about love.

"Being brave for love, just once. I've finally made it to Ned's city! We can finally live together, no more long distance."

"Ned really is amazing. So many girls chasing after him. But I have to hold my own too, I can't be a burden to him."

"Ned's working late again today. Too busy to spend time with me."

"Teddy, oh Teddy, I've been in Harbor City half a year now. When do you think Ned will ever have a free moment to take me to see the ocean?"

……

I laughed at myself and dropped the diary into the trash.

I was still packing when footsteps came from behind me.

I turned around. Ned was leaning against the doorframe, his hair still wet, clearly just out of the shower.

He glanced at the mess in the room and asked me, dazed.

"What are you doing?"

He came over and looked at the suitcase spread open on the floor. "A business trip?"

I couldn't be bothered to explain much, so I just gave a soft hum.

And Ned actually thought I was going on a business trip.

"All right. I haven't checked in on you these past two weeks. I heard you got promoted last month?"

"You really should work hard. While you're young, don't slack off on the work you're supposed to do."

"When do you leave? Should I drive you to the airport?"

I didn't even lift my head. I just answered flatly.

"No need."

A decent boyfriend

would not fail to know that his girlfriend had already quit her job a week ago.

"The company's sending a car for me. Don't worry about it."

"Okay."

Ned let out a breath, then frowned again.

"But your mom's surgery is the day after tomorrow. You're not going to be there with her?"

I clenched my fists and still said nothing.

Right there in front of him sat my mother's urn.

Ned had been back all this time and hadn't even glanced at it.

Seeing me silent, Ned probably thought I was upset, and he patted my shoulder as if to comfort me.

"Never mind, go take care of your work. I'll look after your mom for you."

"You've got me. What else is a boyfriend for."

I didn't say anything. Once the packing was done, I buried myself in the study and said I still had work to do.

The truth was I was hiding from Ned, because I didn't want to see him anymore.

For the first time, Ned noticed I wasn't as clingy as before, and he frowned, puzzled.

"Ning, what's wrong with you…"

Before he could finish, his phone rang. He picked up, and it was that junior secretary Deidre Simmons again.

"Mr. Henson, I need saving here!"

"I messed up again. I just accidentally sent the internal pricing sheet to a client as the quote. Come save me, quick."

Ned's expression shifted, but he still scolded her with that indulgent softness.

"You little idiot."

"Don't touch anything. Wait for me at the office."

And so, just like it had happened countless times before, Ned grabbed his coat, told me something urgent had come up at the company, and hurried out.

I watched the car pull away outside the window and let out a small, relieved smile.

"Ned, this time, I'm the one who doesn't want you."

The day I left happened to be the very day Ned had taken time off, saying he'd come with me to the hospital to see my mother.

Ned drove me to the airport first thing in the morning.

"Ning, when you're back from your trip, I'll take you out for a proper meal."

He bent down to kiss my forehead, but I turned away.

Ned's face changed slightly, but he still ruffled my hair. "Take care on the way."

I looked up and, for the last time, really looked at Ned.

"Don't forget. You said you'd go to the hospital and be with my mom."

"Don't worry. I won't forget."

But I waited the whole day, and the questions from Ned never came.

He never discovered that my mother wasn't at the hospital.

Instead, from Deidre's social media posts, I saw that Ned had spent the whole day out shopping with her.

It wasn't until six in the evening that Ned finally sent me a message.

"I'm sorry, Ning."

"Something else came up at the company out of nowhere, and I only just finished. I'm on my way to the hospital now."

I didn't reply. I turned off my phone.

Whether you started from Deidre's apartment or from Ned's office building,

reaching that hospital took only fifteen minutes.

In fifteen minutes.

Ned, you'll never be able to find me again.

Sure enough, before long, my phone started buzzing like mad.