All Chapters of He Let Childhood Sweetheart Move into His House, I Left: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

In that photo, Mia Quinn stood with a suitcase in one hand and my towel in the other.No wonder Ethan had been in such a rush to get rid of me. He hadn't even offered to drive me back.The second I was out the door, Mia must have walked right in.Mia was a new hire at my company.She and I weren't close.A while back we'd clashed over a pitch, and I'd mentioned it to Ethan. He hadn't seemed interested.I'd had no idea the two of them even knew each other.I took a deep breath. Something jabbed at my heart, a thin, needling ache.A little while later, she posted again."He really is a dream guy. Gorgeous, soft-hearted, and he cooked me dinner with his own hands.""I must've saved the world in a past life."This time Ethan was in the picture.The two of them sat at his dining table, steam rising from a couple of dishes and a bowl of soup.He was ladling soup into her bowl.There was something indulgent in his smile, his eyes flicking toward her the way you'd look at a child who didn't kn

Chapter 2

I stayed at the hotel by myself for two days.On the third day I lined up a new place and planned to move in soon.In those two days, I didn't reach out to Ethan once.And as if we had an understanding, he didn't send me a single message either.That evening, just as I left work, the sky opened up.Ethan broke the silence by showing up to pick me up.But the moment I got in, I saw Mia sitting in the passenger seat.I froze, suddenly not knowing what to do with myself."Nora, you're Ethan's girlfriend? No way."Mia didn't seem the least bit awkward. "I always figured Ethan went for the petite, cutesy type. Who'd have guessed."She stuck out her tongue, playful.Cute.And so fake it made my skin crawl."You don't mind, do you? Sorry, the rain's just awful, I couldn't get a car, so I had to bother Ethan."Her smile was bright.Ethan glanced back at me in the rear seat, soaked through and miserable."Pass Nora a towel."Mia hummed in answer and pulled out a towel with practiced ease, press

Chapter 3

"It's just helping out an old friend. Is this really necessary?"His tone was all complaint."Would you cut it out with the suspicion? If there were really something between us, you wouldn't even be in the picture."My head went blank with a sharp ringing.Then I took my suitcase back out of his hand."Perfect. Then I'm out of the picture now.""I hope you two are very happy."With that, I ran off and flagged down a cab."Nora, stop right there."I heard Ethan shouting and his footsteps chasing after me.The cab sped off, and I dissolved into sobs.I rushed to the office out of breath, and found my department empty.Two hours later my manager came back from a meeting and laid into me."Nora, what is wrong with you? You skip this morning's meeting, you drop the whole pitch. If Mia hadn't stepped in with the proposal, both our jobs would be on the line."I turned and saw Mia off to the side, eyes darting away from mine.She was nothing like the naive little girl Ethan imagined."She neve

Chapter 4

What came next was almost inevitable.He gathered Mia against him and murmured to her, soft, the way you'd soothe a child.Applause broke out around them, loud and eager.Some of the gawkers, never ones to let a scene go to waste, actually shouted, "Marry him!"And in that moment, what was left of my dignity tore clean apart.The whole mess between Mia and me became the talk of the industry.To keep the gossip from spreading, the company sent out a termination notice that very night. Mine.The stated reason: failing to do my job and picking a fight with a new hire for no reason.I didn't sleep a wink.The next day I marched into the director's office to demand an explanation, and walked in on Mia dabbing at her eyes, pouring out her sob story to him.Before I could get a word out, the director cut to the chase."Nora, I know you feel wronged too. You've put up real numbers over the years. But the culture here is about helping each other, not bullying the new people."My jaw dropped."H

Chapter 5

He must have realized I'd blocked him, because in no time Ethan had switched to some unknown number and was bombarding me."Nora, where did you go? Why did you block me?""Pick up, Nora.""I'm sorry, Nora. I didn't blow you off on purpose yesterday. Something held me up and I didn't get the chance to tell you.""I actually did come. By the time I got there the café was closed. They told me you'd waited the whole day. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.""Can you please pick up? Let's talk, okay? I'm begging you."I looked at the avalanche of messages and found the whole thing absurd.He'd stabbed me in the back at my lowest, when I needed help most, and now he was begging me to talk?Talk about what?About how hard things were for his precious little-sister Mia, and how I ought to be understanding, how I ought to rise above it?What a joke.I didn't answer. I waved to my parents, who'd come to pick me up."Nora. You should've come home a long time ago."Dad took my bags, and Mom hurried over to p

Chapter 6

Mia flinched at Ethan's sudden fury."Ethan... do you... do you really hate me that much?"Tears welled in her eyes and her voice cracked, like she'd suffered some terrible wrong.This time, Ethan didn't coddle her at all."Yes. I hate you. I don't feel a thing for you.""Get out."He roared it and shoved her out the door."Ethan—"Mia cried out, pitiful as ever."Ethan, why won't you just admit it? You've had me in your heart this whole time.""When we were kids you always followed me around. You said you'd protect me until we grew up.""That promise is the reason I called you my very first day in the city, because I believed you'd still protect me the way you used to."Through the heavy door, Ethan's voice was nearly spent."But the person I love now is Nora."A sob escaped him, and he slid slowly down against the door to the floor, a tear hitting the ground with a soft tap.Meanwhile, I was home with my parents, the three of us around a steaming hot pot.Dad said, "Nora, your uncle'

Chapter 7

That caught me off guard."Nora, are you okay?"Ethan was trembling all over."These past days, with you gone, I've really... I've missed you so much."His voice caught.His eyes rimmed red, and he reached for my hand.I stepped back, out of reach.He pulled a stiff, awkward smile and went on explaining, mostly to himself."I'm sorry, Nora. The reason I didn't come that day was Mia suddenly got these awful stomach pains. I had no choice but to rush her to the hospital. I didn't know you'd waited alone all that time.""I don't have feelings for Mia. You're the only one I want."His voice was small and soft, but earnest.He wiped at his eyes, on the verge of breaking down."I never told you because I was afraid it'd bother you. Mia and I grew up together. I'll admit it. Back then, as kids, I did like her.""More accurately, I had a bit of a crush.""Then we grew up and went our separate ways. I never forgot that childhood feeling, but whatever I'd had for her was long gone, let alone lov

Chapter 8

"Nora, I'm sorry. I wanted to get ahead so badly that I stole your proposal. But now the project's about to launch and I can't pull it off.""Nora, could you let bygones be bygones and help me?"I laughed, cold and short."Mia, are you out of your mind?"My voice was ice. "You took my boyfriend, you cost me my job, and now I'm supposed to turn around and help you? How brain-dead would I have to be?"I hung up.What Mia didn't know was that I'd recorded the whole call from the start.That same afternoon, the recording showed up on my old company's intranet.It set off a firestorm.The reputations Mia and I had carried flipped overnight.Word was the higher-ups were furious enough to fire Mia on the spot.And Mia really was a fool. Riding on the director's favor, she'd never bothered to learn a thing. Only when the project was about to launch did she realize she couldn't fake her way through anymore, and panicked.As for me, I got a call from the company's HR department.They asked if I'

Chapter 9

The day I left for overseas finally came.My parents drove me to the airport, and once again I left home alone, heading somewhere far away.This time, I knew I was flying toward a better future.I took to the work abroad with ease.It was a new branch my uncle had set up, and the people there were warm. I fit right in.I made plenty of friends I clicked with, and no shortage of admirers, but I turned them all down.Until my own future was settled, I didn't want to date again.I used to think love alone was enough to live on.Now I understood that love was the smallest, most trivial part of a whole life.Over time, I picked up bits and pieces about Ethan from my parents.He'd come by the house looking for me several times, always to an empty doorstep.Worn down by it, my parents finally told him I'd gone abroad and probably wouldn't be back.Ethan went white as a sheet, like the life had drained straight out of him, and sat down hard on the ground."If he keeps bothering you, just call

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