Chapter 7

I knew she wouldn' t come home. This time, I didn' t wait. I went back to the penthouse and methodically packed everything that was mine. My clothes, my books, the few remaining pieces of my old life.

I took down the photos of us, the happy, smiling strangers from another lifetime, and I burned them in the fireplace, watching the ashes curl and turn to dust. I cleared out every trace of my existence from that apartment. After ten years, all I had left fit into three cardboard boxes.

As the sun began to rise, I placed my key on the small table by the door. I pulled the door shut behind me, the sound echoing the finality in my heart. A new chapter was beginning, and she wasn't in it.

I drove to the office to finish the last of my duties. Kendal was supposedly on a last-minute business trip to Japan. She called me from the airport.

"Brock, I' m heading out," she said, her voice bright and cheerful. "Can you make sure the house is stocked? And I ordered some new furniture for the bedroom, a surprise for you. It arrives tomorrow. Make sure you' re there to let them in."

She was still playing the game, pretending everything was fine.

"Of course," I said, my voice a monotone. I took down the number for the delivery company.

As soon as she hung up, I called them. "This is Brock Johnson. I' m calling about the delivery for Kendal Spears. Please cancel it and issue a full refund. The items are no longer needed."

Meanwhile, in a first-class lounge at the airport, Kendal hung up the phone, a relieved smile on her face. She turned to Jaime, who was sitting beside her, sipping champagne. They weren' t going to Japan. They were going to a luxury camping retreat an hour outside the city.

The day I officially left InnovateX, the company was buzzing. Kendal had, from her "trip," closed a massive deal. She arranged a company-wide video call to celebrate, a huge screen set up in the main conference room.

I was cornered by my colleagues, forced to attend my own farewell party disguised as a corporate celebration.

Kendal' s face appeared on the screen, beaming from a hotel room that was supposedly in Tokyo. She toasted her success, thanked the team, and announced a huge bonus for everyone.

"And Brock will be distributing the bonus packets!" she announced cheerfully.

Then, as she moved to grab something off-camera, she bumped the laptop. The angle shifted, the camera dipping down to show the table in front of her.

It was covered in photographs. And right in the center, in a silver frame, was a picture of her and Jaime, their faces close, their eyes full of a deep, unmistakable love.

The entire conference room went silent.