Chapter 7

When Whitney saw what I handed her, she raised an eyebrow and sounded even more pleased with herself.

"What is this? A written promise? Let me make one thing clear. It's too late to apologize now. I'm still very upset with you about what happened this afternoon.

"Don't think I'll forgive you just because of some little trick."

I found her smug attitude amusing.

She wasn't wrong. Back when I often upset her and she refused to forgive me, I had written her a promise by hand to win her over.

Looking back, she had certainly been at fault. But I had also been the one to give up my own dignity and let her treat me that way.

Thankfully, that would never happen again.

"It's not a written promise. It's a surprise," I said calmly.

When Whitney heard that, she raised an eyebrow. She was curious and was just about to open the document when her phone rang.

Her eyes lit up when she saw who was calling.

"Hold on. I need to take this call."

After saying that, Whitney answered.

"Ms. Lovell, I accidentally hit someone with my car. What should I do? I'm really scared!" Jude's distressed voice came through the phone, and his words were a slightly slurred.

Whitney looked even more worried.

"Send me your location. I'm coming right now."

After saying that, she stood up to leave, seemingly forgetting all about me.

I stepped in front of her and held out the authorization letter.

Then I got straight to the point. "Take care of my matter first. I brought it up before you took the call, and this document needs your signature. It's urgent."

Whitney paused, looked up at me, and sighed.

"Neil, can you show a little concern for others? Jude's situation is far more urgent than yours. Your jealousy is making you look pathetic."

I found that rather amusing.

If I looked pathetic, then what did that say about Jude, who had been driving drunk?

However, I couldn't be bothered to argue with her. I kept holding out the authorization letter and made no move to take it back.

Whitney said nothing more and opened the document. But before she could read it, Jude screamed on the other end of the phone.

"Hey! Get your hands off me! Ms. Lovell…"

"Don't panic. I'm on my way."

Whitney told him to stay calm, but she was clearly even more anxious than he was.

She didn't even read the document. She hurried to the last page, quickly signed her name, and rushed out after putting on her high heels.

Watching her hurry off, I couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to check what you just signed?"

"What's there to check?" she replied. "Any surprise you could bring me would just be a few small contracts. As long as you've checked the terms and made sure everything is fine, that's enough."

With that, she walked out without looking back.

I could only laugh at the irony.

In the past, I had sometimes secretly gone out to negotiate deals just to make her happy.

At first, she was happy about it. But as the company grew, she began looking down on small companies that had struggled to get where they were, just as hers had.

Before signing any contract, she always checked the terms several times to make sure nothing had been missed.

Now, just because she was worried about Jude, she hadn't even bothered to find out what she had signed.

Still, that was for the best. It saved me a lot of trouble.

Whitney didn't come home that night.

However, Jude sent me a string of messages.

[Neil, I know you saw everything outside the private room, didn't you?]

[But you should know by now that Whitney favors me. All it takes is one call, and she'll rush right over to see me.]

[You should walk away from her now. Otherwise, things will get ugly for everyone.]

I couldn't help but scoff.

Jude had finally shown his true intentions.

I knew there was no point in sending the messages to Whitney. She spoiled Jude. Even if she saw his taunts, she would only think I was trying to turn them against each other.

However, I wasn't about to keep ignoring his repeated attempts to provoke me.

[Congratulations. But if Whitney ever gets tired of you, be smart enough to walk away on your own.]

I knew my words wouldn't hurt him much, but I figured they would still get under his skin.

Sure enough, he stopped replying as soon as I sent the message.

I went to bed early. At daybreak, I sent the agent the authorization letter bearing Whitney's signature.

Someone came to see the house that afternoon.

The buyer liked the house's location, layout, and price. However, he was unsure why I was in such a hurry to sell it.

"Why are you selling such a nice place for so little? Is something wrong with it?" He sounded a little cautious.

I briefly explained that I had bought the house for my girlfriend, but we had broken up.

He seemed to understand. "The decor was clearly chosen by a woman. It's probably for the best that you're selling it. That way, you won't be reminded of her every time you see it."

I said nothing.

Whitney had been very picky about houses. It had taken me three months and over a hundred viewings to find one she liked.

Even the decor had been chosen to suit her taste.

It wasn't until then that I realized my life had revolved only around her all these years.

The buyer made a quick decision. That very evening, he agreed to sign the contract and arranged to take possession of the house two days later.

That worked out perfectly.

I was leaving in two days, too.