Chapter 2

I was scrolling through my phone until 10 p.m. when I finally heard the sound of Claire closing the door and leaving.

I finally got up, ready to talk to him about breaking up.

Unexpectedly, Caleb turned his head. He looked displeased as he fired an accusatory question at me.

“Shannon, what was that attitude of yours when Claire was here just now?”

I froze.

When I looked up, I met Caleb’s disapproving gaze.

I opened my mouth to speak. Yet before I could say a word, he turned away and cut me off.

“Forget it. I shouldn’t have asked,” he said. “You’ve always been so petty, haven’t you?”

Without giving me a chance to respond, he pushed open the door and stormed into the bedroom. Then, he slammed it shut loudly.

I stood frozen in the living room for a full twenty minutes.

It was not until I heard the text message notification confirming my flight booking that I snapped back to reality.

With trembling hands, I tapped open the app and changed my flight, which was originally booked for next week, to the earliest available departure. I would leave at dawn the day after tomorrow.

After changing the flight, the slight hunger I had been feeling turned into nothing but nausea.

Finally, I downed a glass of cold water, which stung my stomach and left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly heard Caleb opening the front door. He had gone out.

Not long after, Claire updated her Stories.

[I posted on my Stories that I wanted to watch a tear-jerker, so he bought tickets in the middle of the night. The two of us ended up crying our eyes out at the movie theater.]

In the photo, I saw Claire’s hands, which were full of crumpled tissues. Caleb was partially in frame, holding her bag.

I exited my Stories but accidentally tapped into my own feed.

There was a post visible only to Caleb.

It was the one I had posted saying I wanted to see a certain movie—a hint for him to go with me.

We had a bit of a falling out that day, so I used this approach to give us both a way out.

However, I waited for him at the movie theater entrance until midnight. Even after the cleaning lady at the mall had gone home, he still did not show up.

When I got home, I realized he had gone to bed early.

Then, when I brought it up the next day, he replied irritably, “If you don’t just say these things outright, how is anyone supposed to understand? Not everyone has the time to keep guessing what you’re thinking.”

However, he had picked up on Claire’s hint.

My phone rang again. The real estate agent sent a message saying he had found a buyer and wanted to set a time to meet with me.

I replied that tomorrow afternoon would work.

After sending the message, I held my phone. It was as if I’d just remembered something, only to have it slip from my mind moments later.

Once the house was sold, Caleb and I would have absolutely no connection left.

I assumed Caleb would not be back for a few days.

To my surprise, when I went downstairs the next day, I found him sitting on the couch.

A steaming hot breakfast lay on the table, and when he saw me, he gave a rare smile.

“You’re awake? Perfect timing. I just went out to get breakfast.”

I sat down at the dining table and paused for a moment as I unwrapped the breakfast bag.

It was my favorite crab bun. I never expected that he would still remember.

Caleb sat across from me and hesitated before speaking.

“Shannon, you remember that full set of security cameras you ordered for the new place? I would like to install them at Claire’s new home first.

“After all, she lives alone, and her safety isn’t really guaranteed.”

My hands paused mid-motion. So, that was the real reason he had gone out of his way to buy breakfast.

However, he had forgotten that I had installed the security cameras to ensure my own safety, too.

Caleb was always so busy at the law firm that he would not come home even once a week.

One day, while I was home alone, I heard someone picking the lock on the front door.

I was so terrified that I called him more than twenty times, but he never picked up.

That night, I hid on the bed, holding a fruit knife, too terrified to sleep.

Later, I had this security camera system custom-made to prevent something like that from happening again.