Chapter 5
Arthur’s POV
Two in the morning. I pushed open the door to our apartment.
Silence greeted me.
Evelyn had taken everything that belonged to her, erasing herself from my world.
Clean and thorough, as if she’d never lived here at all.
My gaze fell on the trash bin.
The shattered pieces of our couple’s mugs still lay inside.
I crouched down and picked up a shard of porcelain. The edge
was sharp, cutting into my palm, drawing blood. But I felt
nothing.
Even now, I still didn’t understand-
Why would she leave?
I stood up and, as if possessed, walked into the bedroom and
pulled open her jewelry drawer.
Inside lay all the gifts I’d given her over the years, neatly arranged.
Two bracelets in different colors–same style, different shades.
Three pairs of diamond earrings.
Nearly identical.
I picked up one pair and froze.
Evelyn doesn’t have pierced ears.
She’d told me this. In our first year together, I’d wanted to buy her earrings. She’d said no need, she didn’t have pierced ears,
and she was afraid of the pain. I’d said I wouldn’t buy her
earrings anymore then, I’d get her something else.
Later, I forgot.
Or rather, I never bothered to remember.
I looked at these careless, repetitive, thoughtless gifts in the
drawer, then at the earrings she could never wear. My throat
tightened.
I suddenly realized that these five years of neglecting her couldn’t be explained away as mere oversight.
This was damning evidence of indifference and disregard.
I stood there, unable to move.
My phone suddenly vibrated.
I practically lunged for it–thinking it was Evelyn.
Chloe’s name flashed on the screen.
She’d sent a long message:
“Arthur, I think I have a fever, my head is spinning, I’m so scared being alone at home ��”
“I know you’re having a bad day, but I really don’t know what to do…”
you come keep me company? Just for a little while?�
“Can you
I stared at the message, at those familiar emojis, that familiar
helpless posture, that familiar routine of needing me.
Over the past year, messages just like this had pulled me away
from Evelyn countless times.
Every time, she appeared precisely when Evelyn needed me.
Every time, she got sick exactly when Evelyn and I had
important plans.
Every time, I rushed over without hesitation.
I stared at the message, my chest churning with a visceral sense
of disgust.
I deleted Chloe as a contact and immediately called the firm’s
senior partner, David Morgan.
His voice came through, thick with sleep:
“Arthur? Do you know what time it is?”
“David, I need to take over the Mexico cross–border acquisition
case.”
David’s voice suddenly sharpened: “What did you say? Mexico? Are you insane? Didn’t you swear you’d never touch a Mexico case again as long as you lived?”
“Arthur, have you forgotten when the opposing party hired people to ambush you outside the firm? You were stabbed seven times, spent a month in the hospital, nearly lost your right eye. Since then you haven’t even wanted to hear the word Mexico, and now you want to take the case voluntarily?”
He paused, his tone turning sharp:
“This is about Evelyn, isn’t it? I heard she resigned today and went to Mexico. Are you losing your mind over her?”
My hand trembled holding the phone.
I closed my eyes.
“David, I owe her too much.”
David let out a cold laugh:
what
“A bit late for that, don’t you think? Arthur, tell me, exactly are you doing? Everyone could see it clearly–Evelyn broke her back for you, for the firm. And you? You gave the resources to that intern, gave your time to that intern, gave her the credit that should have been Evelyn’s. Now that she’s gone,
you suddenly remember you owe her?”
I leaned against the wall, offering no defense, no rebuttal.
My voice carried an exhaustion and pain I’d never felt before.
“I know… I know everything.”
“Chloe and I… I was a fool. The way she looked at me, that worship in her eyes, it made me feel important. I got drunk on that vanity, too stupid to distinguish what was real and who truly mattered to me.”
“What’s even more despicable is that I took Evelyn’s devotion for granted. She drank until her stomach bled entertaining my
clients, and the next day I still made her work overtime revising
contracts. She stood by me through the hardest startup years,
and I gave the credit to someone else. I exploited her for seven
years and never gave her a single thoughtful gift.“
My voice dropped lower.
“David, I’m a bastard.”
On the other end, David was silent for a long time.
Finally, it dissolved into a long sigh.
“I understand. I’ll handle the case transfer.”
After hanging up.
Half an hour later, my phone vibrated again.
An email from David:
“Mexico cross–border acquisition case transfer completed. You
officially take over tomorrow.”
“Booked you on the first flight to Mexico City tomorrow
morning.”
I stood by the window, looking out at this awakening city,
murmuring:
“Evelyn, wait for me.”