Chapter 6

Samantha's words about her warning stopped me cold.

It was clear I was not getting away today. From the way she said it, she had no intention of letting me off so easily now that I had fallen right into her lap.

I looked up at the person in front of me. For a moment, I actually felt as though she looked like a stranger. The young woman in my memory had been innocent and kind. She was the sort of person who would be upset for days over an injured animal.

Now, she had also become so unforgiving.

How badly had I hurt her for her to make her hate me this much? When the thought crossed my mind, it filled me with guilt.

I could almost feel the despair she must have felt when she read that text back then, trapped alone in the dark with no one answering her cries.

She held my wallet with her left hand and the photo in the other. "You want them back? I'll let you choose one. Either take the photo or the wallet. Choose!"

I looked at the items in her hands. I knew she was only testing me, but that photo was the only thing I had left of us.

"Ms. Scott, why make things hard for me? I'm just trying to make a living," I said.

"Really? Since you know your place, how dare you treat me that way? Aren't you afraid I'll file a complaint?"

Of course, I was afraid. I had just lost my job. If I received another complaint, I would not even know what I could do when I woke up tomorrow. "Thank you for stepping in for me just now. I was also quite rude. I apologize."

The woman standing in front of me was someone I had once risked my life to save, and now, I had to lower myself and apologize to her like this. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but I still forced all my feelings down. I asked, "Can you return my belongings now?"

Samantha chuckled coldly. "You think an apology is enough to get them back?"

I was shocked. Since when had she become like this? Even so, I kept my feelings under control. "What else do you want me to do?"

I looked at Samantha as she stood in front of me. She was still holding up the wallet and the photo. "Pick one. If you choose the item I'm thinking of, I'll let you go!"

I clenched my fist, then finally exhaled and pointed at the wallet. "I want the wallet. Give me the wallet."

There was not much money in the wallet. The ID cards could always be replaced, but if I chose the photo...

Then, wouldn't she see through everything I was trying to hide?

The man I was now no longer had the qualification to stand by her side. No matter how much I still loved her, I had no right to say it out loud.

Samantha looked stunned. Between the wallet and the photo of her with me, I had chosen the wallet. If I had kept the photo, it would have meant I still cared. So, why had I not picked it?

She stared at me in disbelief. "You didn't choose the photo? You chose the wallet? Then why did you keep this photo in there?"

In the days after I left her, I had survived countless days because of that photo.

Of course, it mattered. It mattered more than anything…

But I could not let her see how much I cherished that photo. My chest felt so tight I could barely breathe. I dug my nails deep into my palm until the pain stung me.

After a moment, I forced a smile and said, "This photo? It has been in my wallet forever. I just never got around to throwing it away. I've been busy with work, so I never bothered. You know how men are. We don't care much about things like this."

The instant Samantha heard that, her face went ice-cold. "You don't care, do you? Good! You don't care, right?!"

She hurled the wallet at me, and it slapped right into me, and everything inside spilled across the floor. A few nearly maxed out credit cards, my ID, my social security card, a few bills, and some coins.