Chapter 3

Dylan called back almost at once, sounding thrilled. "Are you serious?"

Then he hesitated. "What about Whitney?"

Dylan and Whitney had started their businesses around the same time.

Unlike Whitney, who had started with nothing, Dylan had plenty of resources to work with and could offer much better pay and benefits.

His company was in desperate need of skilled technical staff, so he had offered me a larger share of the company and a cut of its profits if I joined them.

Even after learning about my relationship with Whitney, he had made an exception and offered to let me work part-time.

But I had turned him down without hesitation for Whitney's sake.

Back then, when I had hit rock bottom, I had nearly frozen to death in the snow. Whitney had found me and dragged me into a police station, saving my life.

I had been deeply grateful to her, so I had given up everything else and devoted myself to building her company. I had done everything I could to help it grow.

But now, it seemed she didn't care about any of it.

Besides, after all these years, I had more than repaid the debt I owed her. I didn't have to keep putting myself through this hurt.

"Don't worry about her. I can decide for myself," I replied.

After chatting with Dylan a little longer, we set a time to sign the contract. Then I drove home to pack my things.

I had paid for the house in full, but every room held memories of Whitney and me. I no longer wanted to live here.

I started by clearing out the space under the bed and found a pile of scattered drawings.

Some showed a woman smiling, while others captured her looking sad. In a few, she was peeling an apple with her head lowered or putting on makeup in front of a mirror.

They were all portraits of Whitney, and each one captured a different lively expression.

I had drawn every one of them for her.

She used to love having me draw her. She treasured every sketch, had them framed, and kept them all.

But after Jude came along, she grew impatient with my drawings. She called sketching old-fashioned and a waste of time.

She claimed taking photos was much easier, and she no longer wanted me to draw her.

She had even tossed these drawings under the bed without a second thought. The paper had yellowed with age, and the portraits had faded.

I smiled bitterly.

I carried them to the basin in the bathroom and set fire to one corner of the pile.

The flames consumed the drawings until nothing but a pile of ashes remained.

Our love had ended the same way, fading away until nothing was left.

After that, I threw out everything else I no longer needed. I didn't own much, but the rooms still looked far emptier and more spacious.

I dropped onto the couch and picked up my phone to look for an apartment near Dylan's company.

But as soon as I opened it, I noticed that Jude had shared a picture in the company group chat.

It showed him and Whitney at an arcade. Whitney was holding a bunch of stuffed animals and smiling brightly at the camera. She looked genuinely happy.

I hadn't seen her smile like that in a long time.

I had taken her to an arcade once, too. But as soon as we'd walked in and exchanged our money for tokens, she'd turned around and left.

She had called me childish and said she was too busy to waste time on such silly games.

She'd had no time for me, but she'd always had time for Jude.

I scoffed.

It had never been about the games being childish. She simply didn't want to spend time with me.

Several coworkers in the group chat showered them with compliments. They praised Whitney's beauty, saying she looked like an angel.

Others complimented Jude for his photography skills, and some even jokingly asked if the two of them might be getting married soon.

They all knew Whitney and I were dating.

However, they only dared to make jokes like that because Whitney had never bothered to hide how close she was with Jude at work.

Normally, I would've gotten upset and called Whitney to tell her to keep her distance from Jude.

But this time, I stayed calm. I pretended I hadn't seen anything and went back to what I was doing.

When I checked the chat again two minutes later, several messages had been deleted, including Jude's original photo.

I had expected Whitney to come home late again, but she returned not long after. She was still on the phone with Jude and looking delighted.

When she saw me, she looked guilty for a split second. Then her expression darkened, and she deliberately rolled her eyes at me before walking into my bedroom.

I knew she was waiting for me to go after her and make things right.

In the past, whenever we had a fight at work, I had always found a way to apologize and ask her to forgive me.