All Chapters of Traded for Gratitude, I Chose Exile: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My fingers were still trembling as I signed the agreement, but no one in the living room noticed.Wyatt Whitfield, my boyfriend, emerged from Savannah Keller's room, a faint sweat glistening on his brow. He grabbed the water bottle from the coffee table and took a few quick gulps."Wyatt," I called after him. "You've been at it all afternoon. Why don't you take a break?"He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his gaze already drifting back toward Savannah's room."In a bit," he said. "The curtain rod in Savannah's room is a little crooked. I want to fix it."He set the bottle down absentmindedly and disappeared back inside. He didn't even glance my way as he passed.In three whole years, Wyatt had never gone out of his way like that for me. The day I moved into my college dorm, I hauled five cardboard boxes up six flights of stairs all by myself.He said something came up at the last minute. But later, I saw on Savannah's Instagram that he'd taken her to an amusement park

The tenth day after moving into the new apartment marked three years since Wyatt and I had been together.I confirmed the time with him two days in advance.He replied quickly, "Of course I remember. It's this Saturday afternoon."Saturday morning, I rummaged through my cardboard boxes to find the only cardigan that hadn't pilled. Then, I scrubbed the stains off my white shoes with wet wipes and spent half an hour in front of the tiny round mirror in the storage room putting on light makeup.I arrived at the restaurant we'd agreed on. After taking a seat by the window, I ordered a long black and Wyatt's favorite iced latte.The ice melted, so I had them top it up. But those melted too.For two and a half hours, I couldn't get through to his phone, and he didn't reply to any of my messages either.At 6:00 pm, he finally texted me on WhatsApp."I'm really sorry. Savannah suddenly wanted to go to the riverbank Mr. Keller used to frequent. She was really down, and I was worried som

When Colton Bennett arrived, he was clutching a yellowed kraft paper envelope.He sat down on the couch and glanced around at everyone in the room—Mom with her red-rimmed eyes, Dad looking utterly distraught, Benjamin standing barefoot in the hallway, and Savannah huddled in the corner, too afraid to make a sound."I've been holding this in for ten years." Colton placed the envelope on the coffee table, his rough fingers pressing down on its edge. "The day Liam died, I was down by the river too."Mom's head jerked up.Colton spoke very slowly, as if each word had to roll around in his throat several times before he could let it out."The first one to go in after Benjamin fell into the water that day wasn't Liam. It was a young man fishing by the river. I can't remember his name. By the time that young man had hauled Benjamin up onto the bank, Liam had only just reached the river's edge."The living room fell so silent one could hear the airflow from the air conditioning vent."L

The day I arrived at the Northwest Base, the wind and sand blowing were so fierce that I could barely keep my eyes open.A senior colleague from the research team, Eric Stark, came to pick me up. He wore a pair of black-framed glasses that had been knocked askew by the wind."You must be Riley Sullivan. Mr. Atwood talks about you all the time. He says your data modeling skills are the strongest he's ever seen in a student.""He's exaggerating." I hopped out of the vehicle with my backpack, the grit stinging my face."The conditions here aren't great. You should prepare yourself," Eric said."I'll be fine."I glanced at the cluster of short, gray buildings in the distance and the skyline where the wind never seemed to stop blowing.It was a lot bigger than the storage room. Not to mention, there were windows and the sky.That made it more than enough.I had to turn my phone in at the registration desk. Before I powered it off, I took one last look at the screen. There were no m

In the fifth year, the project at the Northwest Base passed its final evaluation and was accepted a year and a half ahead of schedule.I stood outside the base gate, carrying the same backpack I'd arrived with.Five years ago, I'd come with a change of clothes and my ID card. Now, tucked alongside them, were a laptop and three award certificates.Eric pulled up beside me and rolled down the window."Have you thought it through? You're not renewing your contract?""Yeah. It's time to go back and see them.""I'll drive you to the airport then."The car drove for two hours along the desert highway, flanked by endless stretches of barren land and mountains in the distance.Eric talked nonstop the whole way. He said the cafeteria lady would miss me, and that whatever I did, I couldn't let my colleague, Patrick Granger, water my cactus in the lab. He also asked who would maintain the core algorithm once I was gone.Toward the end, he suddenly fell silent.After a long pause, he ask