Chapter 4

“He didn't even show up to dinner last time, and it's been almost two weeks now without a single apology. What kind of attitude is that?”

“Mom, we're fine,” I comforted her softly. “He's just been really busy with the competition lately. Don't overthink it.”

“No matter how busy he is, does he not even have time to make a phone call to his elders?” Mom's voice grew louder.

“I’ve already talked it over with your dad. This guy is unreliable. If it’s not working out, just break up with him and come back home! You're not desperate, so why should you put up with it?”

“Mom…”

“Don't say another word. I see right through him now. He just doesn't care about you!”

After hanging up the phone, I sat on the couch and stared into space for a very long time.

Even my mom could see it clearly, yet it took me three whole years to realize.

Over these past years, I cooked and cleaned for him, managed his social relationships, and pushed him step by step into the position of a gold-medal coach.

How ridiculous.

The house key was still lying on the coffee table, one he had personally handed to me back when he begged me to move in with him.

Now, he could have it back.

…

Inside the auditorium, the lights were dazzling.

Sean and Madison’s partnership was absolutely perfect. Every single movement was precise and full of intensity.

The applause from the audience was deafening.

As Sean bowed at the end of the performance, he instinctively looked out toward the audience.

In every past competition, no matter how far away it was, Ellie would always be sitting right there, cheering for him.

But today, there was only an empty seat, standing completely alone in the crowd.

Sean's heart began to race with a panic tighter than he had ever felt before.

“Sean! We did it! We’re the champions!”

Madison and the rest of the team hugged him excitedly, screaming and shouting with joy.

However, Sean couldn't hear a single thing anymore.

Only one thought echoed in his mind.

She really didn't come.

“Sean, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale?” Madison asked worriedly. “Are you not feeling well? What about the after-party tonight…”

“I'm not going.”

Roughly pushing Madison away, Sean ignored the stunned looks of everyone around him, grabbed his jacket, and rushed out.

“Sean! Where are you going? The award ceremony hasn't even started yet!” the teammates shouted behind him.

“I have an emergency! You guys bring the trophy back. I have to go home right now!”

Yelling back without even turning his head, Sean ran out of the auditorium like crazy and hailed a cab.

“Sir, take me to Meadowbrook Apartments! Step on it! It's an emergency!”

The entire way there, he kept calling Ellie.

An automated female voice repeated over and over again, notifying him that the phone was turned off.

Sean's hands were shaking so badly that he could barely hold his phone.

No way.

Ellie was definitely just throwing a tantrum, waiting at home for him to go back and coax her.

As long as he apologized properly and swore never to get that close to Madison again, she would definitely forgive him.

“She loves me so much. How could she ever actually leave me?”

Before the car could even come to a complete stop, Sean threw down a handful of hundred-dollar bills and rushed out into the pouring rain.

He stumbled his way into the elevator, frantically smashing the button for his floor.

Finally, he arrived at the sixteenth floor.

Trembling, he pulled out his keys and shoved them into the lock.

With a click, the door swung open.

The apartment was pitch-black and terrifyingly quiet.

“Ellie?”