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Chapter 7
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I Owed Her My Life, Not My Fiancé Chapter 13
Two months later, I returned to Boston with the project team.Lucia told me my family was waiting at arrivals. Someone had shared the public itinerary for the Northstar signing.“Would you like a different exit?”“The planned one is fine.”We found them beside the barrier. Mom held a coat. Nathan carried my old notebook. Dad stood behind them with his hands in his pockets.Julian had white roses.Once, I would have read meaning into each object until I found a reason to hope.Now I saw people who had come without asking.“Sophie,” Mom said. “It’s cold outside.”“I brought a coat.”Nathan offered the notebook.“I kept it safe.”“Please return the company records to the office. Anything personal can go through the lawyer.”“There’s a hospital report inside.”“Then put that in a separate envelope.”He looked down at the cover.Julian stepped forward.“Are you all right?”Behind me, two engineers were debating where to eat. Lucia had my hotel confirmation open. My phone held a message from
I Owed Her My Life, Not My Fiancé Chapter 12
The wedding was canceled before the guests arrived.Julian finally told the planner himself. Chloe objected, Dad argued about the deposits, and Mom asked whether postponement would sound better.For once, Julian refused the softer word.“It’s canceled.”Chloe accused them of abandoning her now that I worked for Moretti.Nathan said the company problems had nothing to do with Adrian’s family.“You were appointed to a job you couldn’t do. I approved it. That was our mistake.”“And the house? The ring? Were those all my decisions too?”No one answered.They had known enough to question her long before I showed them the recording. Nathan remembered her discussing my promotion. Mom had seen her open cabinets installed during the years she claimed to have forgotten. Julian had heard her use the new door code without asking.Each had accepted an explanation because accepting it meant they didn’t have to change anything.Dad’s company issued a correction to its project announcement. My work wa
I Owed Her My Life, Not My Fiancé Chapter 11
Mom came a week later with an insulated lunch bag.She hadn’t asked whether I wanted a visit. Reception held her downstairs until I finished a meeting.When I entered the lobby, she stood so quickly the bag slipped off her knees.“Sophie. I made your salmon. I rented an apartment with a kitchen.”She opened the lid. The smell was familiar enough to make me feel briefly, painfully young.“I don’t like maple-glazed salmon, Mom.”She blinked.“You made it all the time.”“Because you liked it.”Lucia approached with my coat. Her gaze dropped to the container.“Are those pecans?”Mom looked down.“Just a few.”“Sophie has a tree-nut allergy.”The color left Mom’s face.“I thought it was almonds.”“The allergy plan was on the refrigerator,” I said. “I sent it before Christmas too.”She closed the lid with shaking hands.“I can make something else.”“You don’t have to cook for me.”We sat on opposite sides of the low table.For once, she had no one beside her to comfort, no other daughter who
I Owed Her My Life, Not My Fiancé Chapter 10
My lawyer sent two letters that week.Julian’s set out the wedding-account transfers, my contribution, and the damage to my belongings. It also confirmed that the engagement had ended and asked him to stop presenting us as a couple.The letter to Bennett Technologies addressed my earned pay, project credit, and personal property still on the premises. A separate inventory listed the belongings at my parents’ house, including Grandma’s bracelet.Nothing in either letter asked for an apology.I wanted my money accounted for and my things returned. I didn’t want another evening spent arguing over whether needing them made me ungrateful.Julian arrived in Milan three days later.Reception called upstairs. I could hear him asking to speak to me in the background.“He has no appointment,” the receptionist said.I considered refusing. Then I decided I wanted to say goodbye once, in a place I could leave.“Ten minutes in the café across the street. Please tell him that.”He stood when I entere
I Owed Her My Life, Not My Fiancé Chapter 9
Dad recovered first.“We can replace the project lead. Give us another week.”Martin shook his head.“The pilot starts on a fixed date. You may apply for later work when the requirements are met. We’ll send the review and the appeal procedure.”Nathan leaned toward his microphone.“Sophie knows we can do this. She built the plan.”“I built it around a different team,” I said. “I can’t verify the revised one.”Chloe began to cry.“I’ll step aside. I don’t want everyone suffering because of me.”Martin gave her a moment, then repeated that the staffing and fallback arrangements also remained unapproved.There was no single dramatic concession that could fix the submission. Someone had to do the work.Mom tried a different approach.“Your room is ready, Sophie. I’ve put fresh sheets on the bed. Come home and we’ll talk.”I looked at the time.“I’m safe. I have somewhere to live. This isn’t the place to discuss anything else.”Adrian closed the meeting after Martin confirmed the next steps
I Owed Her My Life, Not My Fiancé Chapter 8
Julian found Chloe sorting through the last of my things at the townhouse.She dropped a mug into a box. It struck the rim and cracked.“Why are you still keeping this stuff?” she asked.He took the mug out.The digital frame on the kitchen counter was cycling through old photographs. One showed me asleep against an unassembled cabinet, a wedding checklist still in my hand.He remembered taking it. He had thought I looked happy.He had promised I would never have to feel alone in our home.Now he was standing in a house he had barred me from entering.Nathan called to say I was abroad. Mom began crying in the background, saying something about a blanket.With half an hour left before the review deadline, my brother finally reached me.“Sophie. We can restore your position.”I stepped into an empty meeting room.“I’ve accepted another job.”“We’ll return the bonus. Dad will talk about the board seat.”I waited.“Chloe would stay the public lead for now,” he added. “We’ve already announc
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