Chapter 1

"Are you working overtime this weekend again, Emmett?"

Emmett Carr's voice sounded impatient over the phone. "Yeah, I have to. I’ve got no choice. It's a critical moment for this international merger."

The airport announcement could be heard in the background. "Attention to all passengers heading to Baylen—"

I looked at the newly signed lease agreement in my hand and asked calmly, "You're working on a merger in Baylen?"

There was a short pause on the other end of the call. "Um, yeah. The other party is in Baylen.

“I can't talk anymore. I need to board the plane."

Emmett hung up after that, and I put my phone away.

I folded the agreement and kept it in my bag while the realtor looked at me hesitantly. "Miss Jones, your boyfriend spent a fortune renovating that house. Are you sure you want to lease it to someone else?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Is he aware of this?"

"He doesn't need to know."

I walked out of the realtor's office and felt the cold wind of early winter against my face. It chilled me to the bone.

When I got home, I opened the door to see the shirt Emmett had changed out of the night before, thrown on the living room's sofa.

I went over to pick up the shirt and put it in the laundry basket with the other dirty laundry.

That was when I caught the faint aroma of a fir-scented perfume on the collar. It was Cherry Lewis's favorite scent.

I did not throw it in the laundry basket, but into the bin instead.

I walked to the television and activated its intelligent voice box. "Play yesterday's recording from the cloud."

I had installed a voice-activated security camera with audio recording in the living room to prevent break-ins.

Emmett had not paid any attention to my efforts as he always thought they were useless, so he knew nothing about it.

I heard a recording of him speaking in a tender voice.

"The heater at your place isn't working? I'll book a flight ticket over right now, Cherry."

"You don’t need to do that, Emmett. That’s too troublesome!" Cherry replied in a dainty voice, but anyone could tell she was just being coy.

"It's not troublesome at all. It worries me to think of you being overseas all alone."

That was the end of the recording.

I looked at the clock on the wall.

At 3 PM yesterday, Emmett told me he had a team-building session that night and could not have dinner with me.

At 8 PM, we met at a cafe below his office, and he checked his watch three times over a cup of coffee, claiming he had a meeting to go to. I supposed that meeting was called Cherry Lewis.

I went into the bedroom, pulled a suitcase out from under the bed, and started packing.

I did not have much, so my clothes filled only half the luggage.

I pulled open the drawer of my dressing table, where my passport was.

Last winter, Emmett had promised me he would take me to Nordin to see the snow after he completed his project. I applied for my passport ahead of time because of that.

A year had passed since then, yet there was not a single stamp in my passport.

Instead, his passport was the one that was filling up every month with more stamps on every page.

My phone vibrated, and a notification popped up.

Cherry had sent me a photo of two steaming coffee cups side by side at a cafe in Baylen. Emmett's wrist was visible in the background, sporting his watch.

That watch was a birthday gift from me, and I had scrimped and saved for six months before I could afford to buy it for him.

The caption on the photo read: [I'm grateful that Emmett has sent me warmth from 5000 miles away. With him around, this winter isn't so cold after all.]

It was quickly followed by another text.

Cherry: [I hope you’re not jealous that I borrowed Emmett for two days, Naomi. We're childhood buddies, after all.]

Buddies?

What a great buddy Emmett was, traveling 5,000 miles every weekend to visit her.

I started typing in reply.

Naomi: [Don't worry! I'm not jealous at all.]

Naomi: [Just remember to get him to pay for the heater to be fixed before his supplementary card gets maxed out.]

Sent.

Her ‘typing’ chat bubble popped up, but no message came.

I flung my phone onto the bed and continued packing.

At the very bottom of my wardrobe was an exquisite gift box.

It was the bespoke suit I had ordered for Emmett last month as a surprise gift for the party celebrating his promotion next month.

It looked like I would not need it after all.

I took the gift and stuffed it into the recycling bin along with that fir-scented shirt I found.

After I was done packing, I sat in the empty living room and stared at the pair of couple's cups on the table. Mine was pink, and his was blue.

Below the blue cup was a very small 'C' printed at its base, which Emmett claimed was a mistake by the manufacturers. I believed his explanation for five years.

I picked up the blue cup and took it to the kitchen, where I let go of it. There was a loud smash, and the ceramic flew everywhere. It was music to my ears.

After that, I took out my phone to buy a one-way ticket to North City.

The flight was in three days, which was enough time for me to resign and hand over my work.

It was also ample time to watch Emmett put on his very last performance for me.

Before I could put down my phone, my best friend, Mandy Stiles, called me. "Naomi, did you really resign?"

"Yup, I did."

"Are you crazy? You worked hard for three years to become the supervisor of your department. Is it worth it to resign because of a jerk like Emmett?"

"I didn't do it because of him. I did it for me."

"Where are you going?"

"North City."

There were several seconds of silence on the phone. "Does Emmett know this?"

"He doesn't, nor does he need to know."

"Are you going to give up on your relationship just like that? You've been together for five years."

"What else should I do? Continue to be with him and watch as he flies every weekend to help Cherry whenever she's in trouble?"

Mandy sighed. "I saw that picture Cherry posted on social media. She's a total b*tch. How blind can Emmett be?"

It turned out that Cherry also posted that picture on social media. "Emmett isn't blind. He's just playing favorites."

"When are you leaving?"

"In three days."

"Fine. I'll see you off that day. Just remember not to turn back now that you've made your decision."

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

After hanging up, I pushed my luggage into a corner, and I turned to look at the house I had decorated myself.

I had picked out the curtains and the sofa cover, and even measured and installed the carpet myself.

Emmett claimed he was always busy at work, so he left these chores to me.

I thought he trusted me, but now I knew he just did not care to be involved.

He did not feel like this was his home. He thought his true home was 5,000 miles away, in another apartment.

I went to the balcony and lit a cigarette while watching the heavy traffic downstairs. I had three days left here, and the countdown had started.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Emmett.

Emmett: [I just landed, Naomi. It's a little cold over here. You should remember to stay warm over there too.]

I smiled as I read his text.

Naomi: [All right. You too.]