Chapter 4
Charles shoved his way past the couple I was helping, his presence like a storm that couldn’t be ignored. Without a second thought, he thrust his phone at me.
“Why haven’t you replied to my messages? Why did you block me?”
I tried to ignore him for a moment, finishing up with the couple. My words were smooth but cold as I handed them off to a colleague. Once they were taken care of, I pulled Charles aside, no longer able to stay composed.
“I told you we‘ re done!” I snapped, my frustration spilling over. “Why are you still here, disrupting my work?”
His expression darkened, the anger simmering just below the surface. “I want you to apologize to Elsie. Ever since you left, her condition has worsened. She‘ s drowning in guilt. If you apologize, it‘ 11
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ease her pain.”
The absurdity of his words hit me like a slap. I let out a sharp laugh, disbelief echoing in my voice. I had hoped for a clean break, but now I felt a surge of anger toward both him and Elsie.
“Absolutely not!” I hissed, my voice laced with finality. I turned to leave, desperate to escape, before I said something I’d regret.
But to my surprise, Charles followed me, his determination unwavering. “If you don’t apologize, I’ll keep showing up on here, causing a scene. You worked so hard to get this job; you wouldn’t want to lose it, would you?”
His words froze me in place. I turned slowly, meeting his gaze, taking in the mix of anger and concern on his face, anger an aimed squarely at me, concern clearly 20 reserved for Elsie.
ed From the very beginning, I had been the
one chasing this relationship with Charles.
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Had I known the unbreakable bond he shared with his childhood sweetheart, I never would have walked down this path. Now, here I was, reaping the consequences of
my own foolishness.
I didn’t want this to spill into workplace gossip. Sensing my hesitation, Charles softened his tone almost too quickly.
“Let’s settle this over the weekend. My parents will be home. We can have dinner as a family.”
They were a family now, while I was the outsider; how bitterly ironic. Charles had promised countless times to introduce me to his parents. I had believed him, even going so far as to research how to make a good impression. But his promises? Empty.
Now, I was being invited over, but only to apologize to Elsie.
Suppressing the frustration bubbling inside, I nodded, giving him just enough to quiet him for now. Charles‘ s face
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Had I known the unbreakable bond he shared with his childhood sweetheart, I never would have walked down this path. Now, here I was, reaping the consequences of
my own foolishness.
I didn’t want this to spill into workplace gossip. Sensing my hesitation, Charles softened his tone almost too quickly.
“Let’s settle this over the weekend. My parents will be home. We can have dinner as a family.”
They were a family now, while I was the outsider; how bitterly ironic. Charles had promised countless times to introduce me to his parents. I had believed him, even going so far as to research how to make a good impression. But his promises? Empty.
Now, I was being invited over, but only to apologize to Elsie.
Suppressing the frustration bubbling inside, I nodded, giving him just enough to quiet him for now. Charles‘ s face
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brightened, the joy almost childlike.
“Great! It’s settled, then. I’ll send you the address. You can come on your own.”
As he walked away, I pulled out my phone and made a call. “Dad, I’m taking that job you arranged for me. Yes, something came up. I’ll resign from this job immediately.”
A colleague, overhearing me, stopped in surprise. “You‘ re quitting already? You just got here!”
I nodded. Charles‘ s home was far from the city and I had taken this job to avoid pulling him away from his family. Now that I’d decided to leave him, staying here served no purpose.
But before I left, I was going to give Charles and Elsie a parting gift. In the last few days, I’d had someone look into Elsie. What they uncovered was nothing short of appalling.
It turned out that Elsie had lived a life full of reckless indulgence. She always hopped
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from one boyfriend to the next, never hesitating to betray them. She had built a notorious reputation for demanding lavish gifts only to offer worthless trinkets in return. At university, her name had become synonymous with scandal.
Before graduation, she had even become pregnant by an ex. She tried to use the pregnancy as leverage, demanding a hefty sum for an abortion. When he refused, her temper flared and in a blind fury, she shoved him down a flight of stairs, breaking his leg in the process.
