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Chapter 4

Author: Katerina
Before reporting to the New York headquarters, I needed to send one final set of signed documents.

I scanned the transfer agreement, identification forms, and professional certificates and emailed myself copies. Then I checked the originals, sealed them in an envelope, and tucked it behind the files in my desk drawer, ready to send the following morning.

The next morning, it was gone.

Adrian came out of the guest room while I searched the study.

“What are you looking for?”

“My documents.”

“What documents?”

I kept searching. My transfer was none of his concern

, and I had no desire to explain it before leaving.

Mara approached from the living room. Her gaze fell on my open suitcase beside the desk.

“Claire, are you packing because you are still upset with Adrian?”

Adrian frowned. “You are leaving?”

Tears filled Mara’s eyes. “I know it is my fault you two have been fighting. But please do not leave just to make him come after you. Tell me what you need me to do, and I will do it.”

Adrian’s expression shifted from surprise to impatience. Before he could question me, I went to check the laundry room.

The envelope was inside the washing machine.

It had gone through a complete cycle. The pages were soaked, the signatures had blurred, and several embossed seals were barely visible.

Mara paled when I carried the papers into the living room.

“How did they get in there?” Her voice trembled. “You do not think I put them there, do you?”

Adrian stepped between us. “No one is making accusations until we know what happened.”

He had never asked for evidence when Mara accused me of destroying the mosaic. Her word had been enough for him to believe I had done it.

I held up the dripping envelope. “So evidence only matters when I am the one who was hurt.”

His face tightened, but he said nothing.

I contacted the New York office and requested replacement documents.

That evening, Mara lost control again. She smashed a lamp and a drinking glass, then sat among the pieces and cried.

“I never wanted things to turn out like this,” she cried. “Could you take me somewhere quiet for a couple of days, Adrian? I cannot bear another argument in this apartment.”

Adrian helped her up and agreed to take her away.

Adrian booked two nights at a quiet resort on Cape Cod.

He found me in the study while I was completing the replacement forms online.

His eyes moved across the screen. “Claire, what were those documents for?”

A muffled sob came from Mara’s room.

Adrian immediately looked toward the door. He paused before speaking again.

“I am taking her to Cape Cod for two days. We need to talk when I get back.”

“I have things to finish.”

Mara called his name, and he left before asking anything else.

The next morning, Mara appeared in the entryway wearing my beige trench coat.

Adrian had given it to me after completing his first major acquisition. He had fastened the belt around my waist in the store and promised to buy me something better when he could afford it.

His career had grown since then. The time and care he gave me had slowly disappeared.

Mara adjusted the sleeve. “I was cold, so Adrian said I could borrow this. You do not mind, do you?”

“I do. Please take it off.”

Adrian frowned. “It is only for two days. I will have it cleaned afterward.”

“It is my coat. You needed to ask me.”

Mara looked at him, then slowly unfastened the belt. I waited until she took it off and handed it back.

Adrian picked up her suitcase. I folded the coat over my arm as he followed her into the elevator.

I packed everything that remained. There was less than I expected. I took my documents, a few clothes, and the wooden cat with its broken ear.

When I first moved in, Adrian had cleared half the bedroom closet for me.

“This is your home now,” he had said. Then he smiled and corrected himself. “Our home.”

I placed my cup on the left side of the dining table and filled the shelves with my books. I had slowly built my life into every room.

In the end, my place had been the easiest thing to remove.

I left my key on the entryway cabinet. The New York office had approved electronic copies while the replacement originals were being processed.

That afternoon, I took my suitcase to the airport.

Before boarding, I sent Adrian four messages.

[Adrian, I am leaving.]

[I am not trying to punish you, and I am not waiting for you to follow me.]

[You can keep taking care of Mara.]

[I am going to take care of myself.]

I turned off my phone and walked through the gate.

This time, I never looked back.
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  • He Gave Her My Place, So I Left   Chapter 10

    Adrian remained in New York after the confrontation.He sent me brief messages each day.[The temperature is dropping tonight. Bring a warmer coat.][I remember you liked the soup from this place.]I answered when necessary.[Please do not bring anything else.][I already ate.]He waited outside the headquarters twice during the following week. On the second evening, rain darkened the shoulders of his suit as he stood beside the entrance with a paper bag in his hand.“You do not need to do this,” I said.His eyes were red. “I owe you.”“You do, but there is no way to repay it.”After I asked him to stop, he stayed away. He remained at a nearby hotel and gave me the distance I had requested, although I knew he had not accepted the end yet.Several weeks later, Julian developed a fever during an important stage of the project. I took him to an urgent care clinic.He sat beside me in the waiting room with a file open on his tablet.“The transaction will survive ten minutes without you,” I

  • He Gave Her My Place, So I Left   Chapter 9

    Mara came to New York two days later. I later learned that she had left Cape Cod against her treatment plan after discovering Adrian was still in the city.She found my office through the company website and waited outside the building during the lunch rush. She wore a thin white dress despite the cold, and a fresh bandage circled her wrist.The moment she saw me, she rushed forward in tears.“Are you satisfied now, Claire? You took away the only family I had left. Do I have to die before you finally leave me alone?”People stopped on the sidewalk, and several raised their phones. Mara had always known how to make herself look helpless while turning everyone else into an aggressor.“I lost my husband,” she cried. “I only wanted someone to stay with me. Why are you still punishing me?”In the past, I would have tried to explain that I had never harmed her. I would have stepped into the story she created and struggled until I looked guilty.Instead, I turned to a colleague beside me.“Ca

  • He Gave Her My Place, So I Left   Chapter 8

    I did not know Adrian had come to New York until I saw him outside the headquarters.Later, the receptionist told me he had arrived shortly after one and waited near the entrance until six. He spent five hours watching the revolving doors.Adrian had rarely waited for anyone. During our years together, I had always been the one waiting for his meetings to end, for Mara to calm down, or for an explanation that arrived too late.That evening, I left the building with Julian and several colleagues after four consecutive meetings. Our revised proposal had finally passed its first review, and we were discussing where to have dinner when someone called my name.“Claire.”I stopped and turned.The smile from our conversation faded before I could stop it. Seeing him did not feel like coming home. It felt like finding an old address that was not mine anymore.Adrian looked thinner. His suit remained neat, but his eyes were bloodshot, and the wind had disturbed his usually perfect hair.For year

  • He Gave Her My Place, So I Left   Chapter 7

    CLAIRE’S POVI stepped out of the airport with my suitcase and felt the cool New York air moving between the buildings.The headquarters operated faster than the Boston office. I completed orientation on my second day, attended project meetings on my third, and joined a cross-border acquisition team on my fourth.No one knew what had happened between Adrian and me. They judged my proposals, data, and decisions without reducing me to Adrian’s longtime partner.I rented a small apartment near the office. The rooms were modest, but the windows faced south. On my first morning there, sunlight crossed the floor and touched the unopened boxes.I stood beside the window for a long time. Light could enter my home without anyone giving me permission.The new project demanded knowledge of foreign regulations, industry models, and unfamiliar client expectations. I arrived early each morning and often stayed after most employees had left.I prepared for a week before my first internal presentation

  • He Gave Her My Place, So I Left   Chapter 6

    ADRIAN’S POVI went to the Boston office the next morning and immediately noticed that people were avoiding me. Some entered meeting rooms when they saw me, while others suddenly remembered calls they needed to take.I stopped a project manager who had worked closely with Claire.“Where did Claire go?”“You really do not know?”“If I knew, I would not be asking.”She studied me with open disappointment before showing me several screenshots.Mara had implied in a client group chat that Claire received major assignments because of her relationship with me. On the company’s anonymous forum, she had accused Claire of excluding a grieving widow who was trying to return to work. Although she never used Claire’s name, the project details and job titles made her identity obvious.The manager opened another conversation. Mara had shared part of Claire’s proposal with several colleagues and added a message.[It does not matter how much work she does. Adrian will give me the final presentation be

  • He Gave Her My Place, So I Left   Chapter 5

    ADRIAN’S POVI saw Claire’s messages several hours after she sent them.Mara had taken the medication prescribed by her psychiatrist and fallen asleep on the sofa in our hotel suite. When my phone lit up, I expected another message from the office. Instead, four lines from Claire waited on the screen.[Adrian, I am leaving.][I am not trying to punish you, and I am not waiting for you to follow me.][You can keep taking care of Mara.][I am going to take care of myself.]I read them repeatedly as anger rose before fear had a chance to reach me. Claire knew Mara was unstable, and she knew I planned to stay away for only two days. I had promised we would talk when I returned, yet she had chosen this moment to leave.I typed a reply.[Do not use this to pressure me.]The words looked harsher after I sent them, but I left them on the screen and waited. Claire did not answer.Mara stirred on the sofa and opened her eyes. “What happened?”“Nothing.”She watched me hide the phone. “Did someth

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