He Flaunted His Mistress; I Vanished Forever

4: 4

Friday afternoon, Jeffrey left for Lakeport right on schedule.

Not long after he was gone, Eugenia updated her social media.

【First business trip ever, and I've got company. Talk about feeling safe.】

The photo was of a business-class seat on the express train.

At the edge of the frame, you could just see Jeffrey's watch.

I tapped the like button.

HR had already approved my resignation.

I set my badge and my keycard on the desk.

From the office I went back to the apartment.

I called for a courier and shipped every packed box to the place I'd just rented.

A whole section of the apartment stood empty.

I wiped down every corner of it, making sure I'd left no trace of myself behind.

At eight that night, Jeffrey called.

"Did you send the report? Genie says she couldn't find it in my inbox." There was an edge of displeasure in his voice.

"It's on the cloud drive. You know the password." I held the phone against my shoulder and packed the last coat into my suitcase.

"Right, found it." His voice softened a little.

"Have you eaten?" he asked, offhand.

"I have." I zipped the suitcase shut.

"Genie's stomach isn't handling the new place well. She's got her heart set on the crab-filled dumplings from that shop on the South Side. Go buy two boxes tomorrow and overnight them with cold-chain shipping."

He arranged it the way he'd assign a task to an employee.

That shop on the South Side had a daily limit.

To get any, you had to line up at five in the morning.

I once stood in line three hours for a single box of them, in the dead of winter, ten below.

He took one bite, complained it tasted too fishy, and threw the whole thing straight in the trash.

"Okay." I looked at the empty living room, my voice so light it carried no weight at all.

Jeffrey seemed pleased with how obedient I was.

"Good girl. I'll bring you a present when I'm back."

The call ended.

I wheeled the suitcase to the entryway.

Out of my bag I took the keys and a printed copy of the down-payment transfer record from years ago.

On it I'd written: 【Consider the down payment four years' rent. We're even.】

I set them together on the entry cabinet.

I'd paid part of the down payment on this place too, but the deed had only his name on it.

Now I didn't even want that money back.

The phone screen lit up again. A message from Jeffrey.

【Genie says those crab dumplings have to be eaten hot, so once you buy them tomorrow, just take the express train and bring them over yourself. I'll reimburse the ticket.】

I looked at the message and laughed softly.

【Jeffrey, let's break up.】

The moment I sent it, I blocked him.