Lahat ng Kabanata ng They Voted Me Out So I Left: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Caleb was 40 minutes late the night we went to try on our outfits. By then, the sales associate had already ironed the white shirt twice.When Caleb finally showed up, Connie Moore was with him. She was his childhood friend and the only woman among his friends going on the trip."I ran into Connie on the way here. She wanted to do some shopping anyway, so I brought her along."Caleb took the water the sales associate handed him. "You don't mind, do you?"Before I could answer, Connie laughed. "If Anna doesn't want me here, I can leave. I wouldn't want anyone saying I'm overstepping."She said that, but she'd already made herself comfortable on the couch.Caleb frowned. "Don't worry about her. She's upset about the vote."The sales associate came over with two shirts, one ivory and one light blue."Your fiancée picked out the ivory one earlier, and your friend just chose the light blue one from the window display. Which one would you like to try?""The light blue."Caleb took

I asked Caleb what exactly putting off getting married would be perfect for.He was packing and didn't even look up. "What are you talking about?"I put the torn piece of paper in front of him.He glanced at it and tossed it in the trash. "Harry wrote that as some stupid penalty from a game. You actually took it seriously?""It's your handwriting.""He copied it.""Caleb, you always touch your watchband with your right hand when you lie."His hand was already on his watch.The room went quiet for a moment.Caleb lowered his hand and finally looked at me. "Anna, do you really have to question everything lately?""I just want an answer.""The answer is that I love you, and I'm going to marry you. But getting married doesn't mean I have to cut off all my friends."He said it calmly, like he was reassuring me and warning me not to push my luck.The night before the trip, both families got together for dinner at a restaurant. Caleb called it a pre-wedding dinner and said we cou

Caleb bought the soonest return ticket he could get that same day.There were no seats left. The only ticket available was for a train leaving in the middle of the night, and it didn't come with a seat.Harry tried to stop him. "You're already here. Anna's probably just waiting for you to go running back. If you leave now, you're playing right into her hands.""She moved out.""Where could she go? Back to her family, obviously."Caleb didn't explain.Mom and Dad had died years ago, and Irene was married. I didn't have a home there anymore.Caleb used to know that. But over time, he'd come to think of wherever he was as my home and forgotten that it had never really been mine.He spent the entire ride back, more than ten hours, standing between train cars. Every time the train pulled into a station, he checked his phone.I never replied.When Caleb got home, everything looked just as he'd left it. The paperwork we'd prepared to get married was still sitting untouched on the di

Once the refund from the wedding venue came through, I sent Caleb his half.He called almost immediately."You really have to split everything this cleanly, even the deposit?""We each paid half.""What about our new place?""The realtor already listed it. I worked out exactly how much each of us put into the down payment and renovations. Once it sells, we'll split the money accordingly."Caleb's breathing grew heavier for a moment. "That was supposed to be our home.""Not anymore.""Anna, do you really have to reduce seven years together to dollars and cents?""This isn't about the money.""Then what is it about?"I looked down at the first draft of the route plan on my desk."Giving back what was never mine to begin with."He had nothing else to say.A week later, the Jorlen rail feature was released and got a great response. Head office decided to turn the Jorlen route into a standalone issue, and I was officially put in charge of it.At the celebration dinner, Arthur

Six months later, the Jorlen rail feature won an industry award. Arthur and I headed back along the old platform.He handed me a train ticket. "We're going to Rivelle for an interview tomorrow at 7:00 am. Don't be late.""Got it.""I booked two tickets this time."I glanced at him."They're both for work. Don't read into it.""I wasn't."He smiled. "Good."We stayed somewhere between coworkers and friends. No one pushed me to move on, and no one tried to convince me to go back.Eleanor sent me a few letters after that.The first was an apology. In the second, she told me she'd found a part-time job and wouldn't ask me for money anymore. The third included her grades.I kept every letter, but I only wrote back once."Take care of yourself."Irene never contacted me again.I heard she eventually fell out with Harry and the others. They got into an argument over who was supposed to pay for decorating the ocean-view suite.Connie went back to the city where her ex-husband li