Chapter 2

"Where do you think you're going?" Charlotte charged at me and grabbed my arm.

"I'm meeting Brian and the boys."

Ignoring the look on her face, I walked straight out of the house.

Charlotte wasn't particularly fond of my loud, boisterous friends. She considered our habit of meeting at bars every time we got together unseemly and always told me to keep my distance.

Of course, I wasn't going to ditch my friends for her. Still, to avoid arguments, I scheduled our hangouts when she wasn't around and cut the nights short. As a result, I could never fully enjoy myself when I went out with them.

Now, I no longer had to give a damn about what she thought.

After hearing my plans, Brian Russell and the others exchanged surprised looks. Obviously, they were skeptical. After all, they knew how much I had loved Charlotte.

Yet now that I'd finally come to my senses, I couldn't believe I'd been stupid enough to lose myself over a woman. Why on earth didn't I come to my senses sooner?

I sighed inwardly.

I partied with Brian and the boys until the wee hours of the night, and I even posted photos of us on social media.

…

By the time I arrived home, it was already 3:00 am. As soon as I pushed the door open, I was surprised to find Charlotte on the couch with a gloomy expression.

When she saw me, she spat out, "You're not a kid anymore, Liam. Why are you throwing tantrums just because you're jealous? I can't believe you'd stay out until this hour just because you're upset! Is that any way for an adult to behave?"

I could barely keep my eyes open, and I was honestly too exhausted to deal with her, so I walked around her and headed to my room.

Charlotte rose to her feet and stood in my way. "Enough's enough! Dustin and I are ancient history. Nothing is going on between us, and nothing ever will, so you don't have to give me the silent treatment because of him.

"On that note, I don't like it when you come home at this hour. Don't ever do this again."

I yawned. "You're imagining things. I'm not jealous, and I'm not throwing a tantrum."

Her expression hardened. "Enough already. Even if you're throwing a tantrum, you need to know when to stop. I'm not your mother. I'm not going to indulge you forever!"

I was way too exhausted to utter another word; all I wanted was to go back to my room and sleep.

Charlotte, however, thought I'd backed down. She let out a soft sigh and spread her arms to hug me.

I took a step back, avoiding her embrace. With my last shred of consciousness, I made a beeline into the bedroom, shut the door, and locked it.

Before dozing off, I groggily wondered if I should sleep in the guest room and leave the master bedroom to her now that I wanted to sleep separately. But before I could dwell on it, I drifted off to sleep.

…

For the first time in what felt like ages, I slept soundly through the night.

I was getting ready for the day when Charlotte emerged from her bedroom. She walked past me with a stony expression, acting as if I didn't exist.

However, this time, I didn't anxiously grab her hand and desperately ask her what was wrong. I simply went about my own business.

I was about to head into the kitchen when I heard the front door slam shut.

I sighed inwardly. No matter how sturdy the door was, it couldn't be slammed like that.

I whipped up a simple breakfast for myself. After finishing it, I headed off to work.

As soon as I arrived, I went straight to my boss Richard Sullivan's office. I was about to knock on the door when I heard, "Liam? You're here early!"

I turned around and came face-to-face with Richard.

As it turned out, I had beaten the rush. Richard hadn't even clocked in yet.

Once we were in his office, I told him that I was willing to accept the company's overseas assignment.

The company had previously offered me this opportunity, and Richard had repeatedly encouraged me to take it for the sake of my career. However, I'd turned it down every time because I didn't want to be away from Charlotte for that long.