Seven Times I Said Yes Until I Finally Said No

I had thought the chance encounter at the restaurant would be my last interaction with Julian before leaving Boston.

But on the very night I officially resigned from my position as design director at his company, I received a FaceTime call from him.

The call was so unprecedented I had to fight the urge to hang up, settling for answering with audio only.

"Why only audio?" his dissatisfied voice came through the phone.

I offered a flimsy excuse. "I'm not wearing any makeup."

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. It sounded as if I were still trying to please him.

Sure enough, Julian chuckled, his tone instantly brightening. "It's not like we haven't seen it all before."

His flirtatious tone made my skin crawl. I asked coldly, "Did you need something?"

He keenly sensed the distance in my voice and subconsciously sat up straighter. "HR told me you resigned?"

I hummed in agreement, not bothering to explain.

The line fell silent for a moment.

Julian spoke in a teasing tone, though it sounded more like he was just trying to fill the silence. "It's probably for the best. You could have been Mrs. Astor, but you insisted on being some design director. Weren't you just making things hard for yourself? Not that you were a very dedicated employee. I barely saw you at the office, but I still had to cut you a check every month. The whole company knew you only got the job because of me, that I was playing favorites."

I cut him off impatiently. "Don't you need to be with Chloe?"

Julian couldn't help but mumble, "There's nothing going on with her, so there's nothing to 'be with.'"

But then he fell silent, suddenly recalling that I was nothing more than his ex-wife.

A hint of guilt crept into his voice. "I'm sorry about the divorce. I was just afraid that if we didn't, people would attack Chloe online..."

I almost laughed. Right. Chloe's influencer career couldn't be jeopardized, so of course, I was the one who had to become the laughingstock of Boston.

"If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"Wait!" Julian's tone was urgent. "The 12th is our anniversary. There's a Coldplay concert. I know you want to go. Let's go together, okay?"

For a split second, I almost told him the truth.

But before I could speak, Chloe's coquettish voice drifted from the other end of the line. "Julian, my zipper is stuck. Can you help me?"

Julian didn't respond immediately. He stared at my name on his phone screen, looking torn.

"Go on," I urged, my voice flat.

Only then did he slowly get up, but he didn't hang up. "Elara, wait for me. I'll be right back."

With that, he walked toward the closet.

As expected, I heard the distinct sound of a kiss, followed by a muffled groan from Julian, and then the bedroom door was slammed shut.

A mocking smile touched my lips as I hung up.

Just then, Maya called, excitedly asking me to go out to a bar.

Without a second thought, I put down my phone, stood up, and linked my arm through hers.

There were so many other things in the world that could bring me joy. For years, I had been blinded by my own obsession. Why should I waste another ounce of energy on a man who was already in my past?