บททั้งหมดของ Lost Traces of Love: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 8

I did not walk through the door and turned away to leave. It took 20 minutes after I went downstairs before Erica Livingston realized I was gone. [Where did you go? Everyone is in their seats. Is this all because of a pair of house slippers?]I did not reply and just sat in the hospital while I looked down at my leg. Blood was seeping through the bandage, and it hurt. Three days ago, Erica and I were inspecting a construction site when I was hurt by shards of broken glass. When I fell, Erica was the person closest to me, but she did not even bother to help me up. "Remember to submit the application for your medical leave to make it official."That was the only thing she told me that day.She had been giving me the same attitude for the past three years. She would maintain her distance in public and keep proper boundaries between us.However, when Ryan Strobe had a splinter in his finger, everyone watched as Erica tended to his wound personally and took ten minutes to bandage it

Erica kept texting continuously for the next three hours, asking me who I was meeting in some of the texts while accusing me of being deluded in her other texts. She told me that she would not change her mind no matter what excuses I gave.[Where would you go without me? Stop making things difficult for Ryan. I promise I'll promote you the next time an opportunity comes up.]When she was texting me this, I was having dinner with the team leader of an overseas company who had traveled from afar to meet me. I had booked my flight ticket for the next week after dinner.The company's group chat kept buzzing the entire night with everyone sharing pictures of Erica and Ryan's 'date'. Erica, who had always found it necessary to be cautious when watching a movie with me, would buy separate tickets for us. One ticket would be in the last row, and the other would be in the first row. Yet, in the pictures, she was seated openly with Ryan in a couple's seat. Both were leaning close to each ot

"Why is there so much garbage in your living room, Erica?"Erica's best friends walked into her house, looking puzzled."There's a note here…""Returning these to their owner?" one of her best friends read it out loud."Are you really breaking up with your young boyfriend?""Ryan has a pretty good temper. What did you do to make him return all of these to you?""No wonder you got our help to try and win him back."Everyone started laughing except for Erica, who seemed to be in a daze. She stood in the middle of her best friends, looking pale. "Don't touch it!" Someone reached out for the garbage bag, but Erica made a mad dash toward it and pushed her friend away. "This isn't possible. It's not possible…"Her mind was in a mess, and she was shuddering while staring at the garbage bag.It was not just the gifts. I had also returned everything that had anything remotely to do with her. At the very top was a pair of bracelets we got each other on the first day we got together.

Every moment out of the country felt like freedom to me. I did not need to worry about any red tape in my new company, and I had a healthy relationship with my boss. Most importantly, he appreciated all the hard work I had put into the company. "Are you telling me that you've never been promoted after working for so many years at your previous company?"My colleagues from my new company were all shocked to find out about my past working experience."How is that possible?""Did your previous boss treat you badly, or did you offend her?" "Or is there something there that made you stay behind, and willingly took whatever was thrown to you?"All I did was smile at their questions and say nothing. Maybe there once was something that made me stay.Erica had gone to extreme measures to make sure that no one knew about us, and did not give me any opportunities to be promoted. As for me, I had accepted everything willingly.When she confessed her love to me, her only request was tha