Chapter 5

The locks had been changed.

I let out a humorless laugh and immediately called a locksmith. Ten minutes later, the locksmith opened the door with practiced ease. I pushed the door and walked inside.

A strong smell of disinfectant hit me in the face.

The living room was a complete mess. Men's clothes that did not belong to me were piled all over the couch. Elliot was lying on the custom-made leather bed in the main bedroom, the one I had spent 30,000 dollars on. His eyes were closed as he rested.

Jeannie was in the kitchen wearing an apron, tending to a pot of soup.

The moment she heard someone enter, she rushed out with a ladle in her hand. When she saw it was me, her expression instantly darkened.

"What are you doing here? Who said you could come in?"

She pointed the ladle at me as if she were driving away an intruder. "Elliot is living here now. He needs a sterile environment to recover! You're covered in germs. Get out!"

I stared at her self-righteous expression and found the whole thing absurd. "Jeannie, are you out of your mind? I bought this apartment before we were engaged. I paid for it in full. The deed has only one name on it—mine. And you're telling me to get out?"

Jeannie slammed the ladle onto the table and planted her hands on her hips. "So what if you bought it? We're about to get married. What's yours is mine!

"Besides, Elliot is seriously ill right now. Do you expect him to stay in some filthy, run-down rental apartment? Can't you show a little compassion?"

A weak cough came from the main bedroom. "Jeannie... Stop arguing… I'll leave… I can't keep causing trouble for you..."

Elliot struggled to sit up in bed, only to collapse heavily back onto the mattress.

Tears immediately filled Jeannie's eyes. She rushed into the bedroom and grabbed his shoulders. "Elliot, don't move! Stay right here! This house belongs to my fiancé, which means it belongs to me too! No one's driving you out!"

Then, she turned and glared at me viciously. "Carson, if you're really a man, then you should be the one to leave! When Elliot gets better, we'll naturally give the apartment back to you! And if you dare call the police, I'll completely destroy your reputation online!"

I looked at the shameless couple who had taken over my home as if it belonged to them.

Then, I smiled. "Fine. I'll leave."

I walked into the guest bedroom, grabbed a few clothes, and stuffed them into a suitcase. Dragging it behind me, I headed for the front door.

Before leaving, I turned back and looked at Jeannie, who was still standing protectively beside Elliot's bed. "Jeannie, I hope you enjoy living in this apartment."

After walking out, I immediately called a real estate agent I knew well. "Mr. Robinson, I need to sell my apartment downtown. Yes, 20% below market value. My only condition is full payment. The faster the ownership transfer, the better."

After hanging up, I opened the utility payment app on my phone. I canceled the payment for the apartment's water, electricity, and gas services. Then, I submitted an immediate request to shut everything off.

Once that was done, I dragged my suitcase to a five-star hotel near the hospital and checked in.

At 10:00 pm, I had just finished showering when my phone suddenly began vibrating nonstop. Jeannie's name flashed across the screen. I answered.

"Carson! Are you insane?!" Jeannie's hysterical scream exploded through the speaker. "What gives you the right to shut off the water and electricity?! Elliot's breathing machine stopped working! Are you trying to kill him?!"

I calmly dried my wet hair with a towel. "My apartment, my utilities. I can shut them off whenever I want. If you've got a problem with it, pay the bills yourself."

"Carson, you animal! I won't let you get away with this!"