บททั้งหมดของ He Let Childhood Sweetheart Move into His House, I Left: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 9

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

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

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'

"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'