All Chapters of No Longer Welcome: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

11 Chapters

Chapter 1 Outside His Circle

The chilly night breeze slipped beneath my collar and sent a shiver through my body. I wiped a hand across my face. I was not crying, and my eyes were completely dry. It was only the wind making them sting. I walked toward the curb outside the apartment complex and pulled out my phone to book a ride home. Before I could open the app, someone called out to me. "Hey, what are you doing out here?" I looked up and spotted Alex Hudson coming toward me with a convenience-store bag swinging from one hand. He was close friends with both Haiden and Kendall and lived in the same apartment. "Are you here to see Haiden?" he asked. "Yeah." I glanced back at the building. "The door is locked from the inside, so I can't get in." Alex stopped walking and frowned at me. "Isn't Kendall inside? She just sent a voice message to the group chat. She's cooking at Haiden's place right now, and she invited everyone over for drinks." Alex spoke as though the situation were completely ordinary. H

Chapter 2 Always on the Other Side of the Door

The next morning, I turned my phone back on and found two missed calls from Haiden waiting on the screen. Underneath them were two messages from the night before. 'Why didn't you wait for me?' His second message followed a few minutes later. 'Kendall is cooking, so I can't leave right now. Text me when you get home.' I had barely finished reading them when his name appeared on my screen again. Once I answered, Haiden got straight to the point. "What happened with the door was Kendall's doing. I already talked to her about it." He moved on almost immediately, as though the matter had already been settled. "Alex and the others are having dinner tonight. Come with me. We're all friends. You just need to spend more time with everyone. Once you do, you'll feel more comfortable around them." I had no desire to spend another evening with his friends after what had happened the night before. Somehow, I still heard myself agree.… That evening, I arrived at the seafood-and-st

Chapter 3 The Seat That Was Never Mine

Once dinner was over, everyone drifted out of the restaurant and gathered near the curb in small groups, chatting while they waited for their rides. I headed toward Haiden's SUV and reached for the front passenger door, assuming I would sit beside him. Kendall came around the vehicle before I could open it, stopping directly in front of me. "Can I sit up front?" she asked with an easy smile. "I get really carsick in the back." She did not wait for an answer. She opened the passenger door, climbed inside, and fastened her seat belt as naturally as if the seat had always belonged to her. She glanced toward Haiden. "Come on, Haiden. Let's go." Haiden looked at me briefly. "Kendall really does get carsick. Just take the back seat." I pressed my lips together, opened the rear door, and climbed in without arguing. We had barely left the restaurant when Kendall opened the glove compartment and pulled out a small bag of nuts. The ease with which she found them made it obvious t

Chapter 4 The Night the Truth Came Out

The taxi stopped in front of Haiden's apartment, and I used the access code he had given me earlier that night to enter. When I reached his study, warm yellow light spilled across the desk. My document envelope was sitting exactly where I had left it, except someone had opened it. I walked closer and immediately saw the damage. The property transfer agreement had been torn cleanly in half. Both pieces were wrinkled and drenched with water, and dark stains had spread across the pages. The ink had bled so badly that the official seal and signatures were almost impossible to read. I carefully picked up the two pieces. My fingers trembled when they touched the torn edges. The agreement was supposed to transfer ownership of our family home in my hometown from my mom to me. My mom had originally planned to mail the paperwork straight to my place. Haiden had changed her mind after he found out about it. "Have her send the documents to me instead. I know someone at the property

Chapter 5 When Her Silence Finally Hit Him

By then, Kendall was resting against the raised hospital bed and looked far better than she had when she first arrived. "Haiden, I feel much better now. You don't have to worry about me," she murmured. Haiden grunted, remaining in the plastic chair beside her bed. His attention stayed on his phone. He opened his conversation with Jane Calhoun and typed, 'Are you asleep?' Five minutes went by without a response. Haiden stared at the empty screen for a while before sending another message, 'I'll look at the contract when I get home tomorrow. Don't be mad.' As the hours passed, the emergency room slowly became quieter. Haiden leaned back in the chair and shut his eyes, hoping to get some sleep. Instead, his mind kept returning to Jane's last reply. 'No need.' There had been nothing emotional about those two words, yet something about them bothered him. They sounded final, almost as though she had quietly closed a door and had no intention of opening it again. His thou

Chapter 6 The Only Thing She Left Behind

My train departed at two in the morning. I had booked a coach seat, and only a few passengers were scattered throughout the car. Once I settled in, I blocked Haiden's number and muted his messages on my phone.… By the time the sun came up, I had reached Alderidge. I checked into a modest hotel near the station. The woman at the front desk asked how long I planned to stay. I told her I was not sure yet and would decide later. After reaching my room, I set my suitcase beside the bed and took out my phone. Instead of resting, I opened a job-search app and began looking through available positions in Alderidge. … Haiden did not return home until later that morning. He changed his shoes at the entrance and walked into the living room. One of the throw pillows on the couch was slightly creased. The last time Jane had been there, she had sat in that exact spot with her fingers absently gripping the fabric. Haiden walked over and straightened the pillow. Once he finis

Chapter 7 The Truth He Could No Longer Deny

I spent two days at the hotel before attending an interview at a design firm on the third morning. The company's design director, a woman in her thirties, reviewed several pages of my portfolio before looking up at me with an approving nod. "Your work is clean and well put together. What made you leave your previous city?" I took a moment before answering, "I wanted a change of scenery." She accepted the answer without asking any further questions. After closing my portfolio, she said, "That's all I need for today. You'll hear from us next week." I thanked her and left the meeting room.… On my way out, I passed through the open-plan office. A man carrying a coffee mug walked by and casually asked whether I was new, but one of his coworkers called him away before I could answer. Everyone around me seemed absorbed in their own work. Nobody stared, questioned me, or seemed particularly interested in what anyone else was doing. For some reason, I found that comforting. Br

Chapter 8 A Life That Finally Felt Like Mine

Monday morning marked my first day at the new design firm. Someone from HR walked me through the office, pointing out the restrooms, break room, emergency exits, and safety equipment before showing me to my desk. A woman with short hair occupied the workstation beside mine. She glanced over as I sat down. "Hey, you must be the new hire. I'm Zoe Marsh." "I'm Jane Calhoun." "Nice to meet you, Jane. Come have lunch with me later. I'll show you the places worth eating around here." I thanked her and settled into my chair. After placing my mug in one corner of the desk, I switched on the computer and waited for IT to finish setting up my account. Zoe soon slipped her headphones back on and returned to whatever she had been working on, humming quietly to herself. Nobody wandered over simply to study the new employee, but nobody treated me as though I were invisible either. People were friendly without being intrusive, and the comfortable distance between us felt surprisingly

Chapter 9 Too Late to Make It Right

By the end of my second week at the firm, I had started settling into a routine. That Friday evening, Zoe and I were crossing the lobby after work when I noticed someone standing near the glass entrance. It was Haiden. He wore a dark gray coat and looked as though he had been waiting there for some time. Zoe followed my gaze and lowered her voice. "Do you know him?" "Yeah. He's an old friend. You can go ahead." She gave me a quick nod without asking for an explanation and headed outside. I walked toward Haiden and stopped a few feet away. Seeing him there did not surprise me as much as I expected. There was no anger either. I simply felt calm. I asked, "What are you doing here?" "I came to apologize to you in person." His voice sounded rough and tired. "What exactly are you apologizing for?" Haiden opened his mouth, but no answer came. I watched him for a moment. "You can't even put it into words? Or did you really think showing up and apologizing would be eno

Chapter 10 This Door Knows Me

It was nearly 10 p.m. by the time I finished work and left the office. The evening had turned cool, and my apartment was only about a fifteen-minute walk away. A few blocks into the walk, something occurred to me. Nearly a month had passed since Haiden had last crossed my mind. I tried to remember when I had thought about him before that evening. The only moment I could recall was from a shopping trip several weeks earlier, when I had come across a set of sheets that looked almost identical to the ones he used to have. I had stared at them briefly before choosing a completely different set. After that, there had been nothing. I had never deliberately tried to forget Haiden. Somewhere along the way, my life had simply become full enough that there was no longer much room for him in my thoughts.… Once I passed my probation period at the firm, I moved out of the studio and rented a larger apartment with a small balcony. One of the first things I bought for the new plac

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