The End Began in That Café

Charles' POV

After hanging up, I signed my transfer papers and handed them to my manager.

By the time I got out of work, it was raining. All the girls were calling their boyfriends, gigglingly asking to be picked up.

I thought back to the heavy rain earlier this year. Because I felt sorry for Naomi, I used my savings to buy her a car.

It was pouring the day she got it, thunder and lightning shaking the sky. Since that was the case, I took the day off, brought an umbrella, and went to her office to celebrate with her.

But she grabbed my umbrella and said she had to run an errand, leaving me to find my own way home.

I was drenched by the time I made it back. That was when I saw Jason’s new post.

[Congrats to Naomi on your new car! Thanks for letting me be the first to ride shotgun!”

The photo showed Naomi behind the wheel, smiling sweetly.

That night we had a huge fight. She accused me of being petty and dramatic, “making a big deal out of nothing.”

We didn’t talk for days. To make peace, I took two days off work and planned this trip to Florence, Italy.

But in the end, this so-called vacation only showed me exactly where I stood in Naomi’s heart.

When I walked out of the building, holding the umbrella I’d borrowed from a coworker, I unexpectedly spotted Naomi’s car parked across the street.

For a second, I thought I must be imagining things. Was the sun rising from the west today?

But when I looked up, the sky was nothing but dark gray clouds and fine drizzle.

I was just about to open the driver’s door when she said, “I’ll drive today. You can sit in the back. We still have to pick up Jason later. He gets carsick easily.”

So that was why she was here. She wasn’t here to pick me up. She was here to pick him up since my office just happened to be near the gym he worked out at. Turned out, I was nothing more than an afterthought.

We soon pulled across the street to the gym entrance. From a distance, I saw Jason waving at us with three guys around his age standing beside him.

As soon as we stopped, he hopped into the passenger seat with a grin.

“Naomi, can we drop my buddies off first?” he asked cheerfully.

Before he even finished, one of his friends had already opened the back door. When he saw me sitting there, he froze.

“Uh… there’s someone already in the back?”

The air went awkwardly still.

Only then did Jason notice me. His smile faltered, and he quickly said, “Oh, Charles! I didn’t know you were here. Maybe I should just grab a cab with my friends instead. I don’t want to trouble Naomi.”

But Naomi didn’t hesitate for even a second. She pressed down on his hand as he tried to undo his seatbelt, then turned and gave me a look.

“Charles, just take a taxi home, okay?” she said under her breath.

Heh. I hadn’t even warmed the seat before getting kicked out of the car.

Luckily, the rain stopped just as her taillights disappeared from view. At least this time, I didn’t look as pathetic as before.

Just then, my boss called. He told me my transfer request had been approved. I could start working at the head office in New York next month.

Over the past two years, they’d invited me several times. But every time, I’d turned it down because I couldn’t bear to leave Naomi.

Now, I finally realized how foolish that was. Well, at least it wasn’t too late to wake up.

When I got home, I looked around the apartment I’d lived in for three years and couldn’t help but feel a bit sentimental.

I’d stayed in San Diego for her, despite my parents’ objections.

The first year we dated, she was wonderful. She learned to cook for me and even cut her fingers a few times in the process. When I got sick, she stayed up all night by my side. Whenever I had to work late, she’d show up with homemade soup and keep me company.