All Chapters of The Day I Gave Up on Us: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Ardenville was hit by its worst rainstorm in a decade. After work, my coworkers gradually headed home, while I stayed behind to finish up some overtime.Brandon Cruz texted me. [The rain's really coming down. I'll pick you up.]I knew he was trying to make up with me.It was our wedding anniversary ten days ago. I made reservations for dinner, but he never showed.I waited until the restaurant was closing before I saw a post from his assistant, Stella Beck, on social media. Brandon was clearly visible in the photo.Her caption read, [Best birthday ever. Thanks for dinner, boss!]When I got home, I pulled up the photo and confronted Brandon.He shoved my phone away impatiently. "She was spending her birthday alone. What's wrong with me taking one of my employees out to dinner? Stop making such a big deal out of it. We can celebrate our anniversary any year."Right. We could celebrate our anniversary any year.So why couldn't the same be said about her birthday?We stopped sp

Chapter 2

Brandon texted me. [Are you mad at me?]I had no idea what he was talking about.[Then why didn't you make breakfast?]Ever since we got married, I made breakfast every morning before work. I even kept doing it during the ten days we weren't speaking, though he didn't touch it once.That morning, with my head pounding, I honestly forgot. Still, the way he acted like making him breakfast was automatically my responsibility made me frown.I replied, [I forgot. Just grab something on your way to work.]The rest of the day was so busy that I barely looked at my phone.It wasn't until I was getting ready to leave the office that I saw another text from Brandon.[I'll pick you up after work.]I didn't make a big deal out of it and agreed. After waiting outside for half an hour, there was still no sign of his car.Then my phone rang. It was Brandon. "Are you outside yet?"I glanced around. "I'm in front of the building. I don't see you."On the other end, Brandon let out a slow br

Chapter 3

A moment later, the front door slammed shut. Brandon had probably gone out again.Just like that, he was giving me the silent treatment again.In the past, whenever we stopped speaking, I would get so anxious that I couldn't sit still. I would constantly look for some excuse to reach out and smooth things over.Sometimes, I would even send him a message on purpose, then delete it right away and pretend it was an accident.But Brandon almost never responded. He never even seemed curious about what I deleted.If I called, he wouldn't pick up either.Whenever that happened, I could barely concentrate at work. All I could think about was getting home as soon as possible and figuring out how to make things right.This time, I actually felt relieved.Especially since I was sick and desperately needed a full night's sleep. Brandon usually came home late, and no matter how quiet he tried to be, he always ended up waking me.Now that he was sleeping in the guest room every night, I cou

Chapter 4

Jasper Hunt's birthday? I opened my eyes.No one invited me. I wasn't about to show up uninvited and make things awkward."I didn't know he was having a birthday party," I said quietly.Stella looked surprised. "How could you not know? Jasper and Mr. Cruz are so close."I smiled, but didn't say anything.Jasper and Brandon really were like brothers.Last month, when Brandon came back from overseas, he didn't come home. Instead, he took Stella up into the mountains to go stargazing.When I asked Jasper about it, he covered for his best friend.What he didn't know was that I already saw everything on Stella's social media.I cried and argued with Brandon over it, and he got so fed up with being at home that he stayed at a hotel for three days.After Stella finished speaking, Brandon glanced at me guiltily through the rearview mirror.I ignored him and closed my eyes again.-Our takeout arrived at the same time we got home.I changed clothes and started eating. Brandon ca

Chapter 5

From that day on, Brandon started picking me up from work every day and stopped going out with his friends.Every morning, I left a signed copy of the divorce papers on the coffee table.He pretended not to see them, and I didn't bring it up. The divorce was going to happen sooner or later. I was just the one to say it first.If I seemed too eager, he would probably accuse me of bluffing again, saying I was only threatening divorce to get his attention.One day, as soon as I got into the car, Brandon said, "Jasper's nephew got into the school. He wants to take us out to dinner to thank us."Jasper's nephew had been trying to get into a private preschool, but he didn't meet the admissions requirements.Jasper knew I happened to know the head of the school, so he asked if I could help.The boy got in, and I nearly forgot all about it until Brandon brought it up."Ellie, I seriously owe you," Jasper said. "My sister's been stressing about this for months. She can finally stop worr

Chapter 6

I wasn't going to find the right place after looking at just one apartment. Luckily, Hillside was only a little over 30 minutes away by train, so I figured I would come back the following weekend.I stayed the night in Hillside and didn't get home until around noon on Sunday.To my surprise, Brandon was there. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to Hillside?"I sighed. "I'm an adult. I went on a business trip and came back the next day. I don't need to check in with you every time I go somewhere.""You were traveling alone. That's not safe."A month earlier, Brandon was away on a business trip.One night, I woke up to a faint sound coming from the front door. When I stepped into the living room, I realized someone was trying to punch in the code to our door.My heart dropped. I immediately called building security.While I waited for security to arrive, I called Brandon. He finally picked up on the third try.His irritated voice came through the phone. "I'm working. What is

Chapter 7

I replied to one of Brandon's messages, and he called me almost immediately."Ellie, about last night... Stella was really sick, so I took her to the hospital. That's why I didn't make it home.""Oh. Okay," I said."Ellie, I'm sorry... I should've let you know.""It's fine. I understand.""Ellie, I..."My ride pulled up, so I quickly said goodbye and hung up.Near the end of the workday, Brandon texted me again.[Jasper and the guys are getting together tonight. Wanna come with me?]For a second, I thought I had misread it.Brandon hung out with his friends all the time, but he never wanted me to come along."What would you even do there? It's just the guys, and you don't even drink."Back then, I wanted so badly to be included in that part of his life that I begged him until he finally gave in.Once we got there, Brandon left me sitting by myself and barely spoke to me.I hardly knew any of his friends. Since he never really introduced me, no one made much of an effort t

Chapter 8

I once stopped by Brandon's office to drop off some documents. That was the first time I met Stella and the rest of his coworkers.I assumed Brandon would introduce me.Instead, he barely acknowledged me and kept talking to everyone else like I wasn't even there.Eventually, one of the managers asked, "Mr. Cruz, who's this?"Only then did he casually say, "This is Ellie."Stella smiled warmly at me. "Hi, Ellie. I'm Stella, Mr. Cruz's assistant."Then she turned to him with a teasing smile, sounding like someone who knew him inside and out."Don't take it personally. Once Mr. Cruz gets focused on work, he forgets the rest of the world exists."That day, Brandon and I had a huge fight when we got home.The memory crossed my mind for only a second before I pushed it aside and went back inside to join my coworkers.By the time my dinner wrapped up, Brandon and his friends were still drinking."Wait for me a little longer. I..."The alcohol had worn down what little patience I h

Chapter 9

I gave Brandon a small nod and headed into the subway station.He followed me.The train was packed with morning commuters. Brandon stood beside me with one arm braced against the wall, using his body to keep people from crowding me too closely.When I looked up, he had this almost hopeful expression on his face, like he was waiting for me to notice.I said nothing. He wouldn't keep this up forever, anyway. If I pushed him away too hard, he would probably just become more determined.He had always been like that. The more someone told him no, the more stubborn he got.Years ago, Brandon bought our place close to his office. Getting to mine meant two subway transfers and a walk every morning.At one point, I talked him into driving me to work. He reluctantly agreed, but he never once got up early enough to actually take me.Eventually, I stopped asking.Now that we were divorced, he suddenly knew how to be thoughtful.After he followed me to work like this for several days, on

Chapter 10

That time, I heard Stella say softly in the background, "Ellie's kind of clingy, isn't she?"Brandon sounded even more irritated. "Enough. Stop texting me. I don't have time to read all of this."Right before the call ended, I heard Stella trying to calm him down. "Don't get worked up, Mr. Cruz. Here, try this."Then Brandon's voice came faintly from farther away. "She's so annoying."Back in the present, I sighed. "You said it yourself, Jasper. That was before. I still have work to do, so I'm hanging up."I barely ended the call when Brandon called me himself. His voice sounded weak. "Ellie, can you come see me?"I answered calmly, "Brandon, we're divorced."His voice tightened. "Can't you at least come see me as a friend?""I don't think we're close enough to stay friends after a divorce."He went quiet. I had no interest in dragging the conversation out, so I hung up.A few days later, Brandon showed up outside my office again, the bruises on his face still fading. "El

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