When I Finally Let You Go

I didn’t flinch.

“What do you mean?I couldn’t move all my stuff alone.So,I asked a friend for help.”

I didn’t even lift my head as I explained more,“Relax.You know Edward’s like a brother to me.”

Fredric’s jaw clenched,throat working like he wanted to say something,but choked on it.

Because just yesterday,he told me Deana was“just a sister.”

Funny how it sounded so different when I said it.

Edward looked him up and down with a faint smirk,mocking,“Dinner?Nah,save it for the divorce party.”

“What did you say?”Fredric’s voice rose,eyes blazing.

I paused for a beat.

“My cousin’s father and stepmom are divorcing,”I said calmly.“We’re throwing a celebration.”

A flicker of relief passed over Fredric’s face.I also felt relieved since he actually bought it.

After all,in his mind,I would never divorce him.

In his mind,he only knew me loved him too much…right?

The next morning,I woke later than usual.

By the time I came downstairs,the kitchen was already filled with the heavy scent of pork broth.Deana was at the dining table,gently ladling soup into a bowl,her face glowing with effort and sweetness.

“Fredric,”she said softly,“I remember you loved this kind of pork rib soup.Back in high school,you used to drink two big bowls at once.I simmered it for three hours just for you.”

Fredric didn’t say anything.He simply took a sip,then another.His gaze,as always lately,was gentler when it landed on her.

He even let her fix his collar and adjust his tie like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I froze at the bottom of the stairs.

I had tied his ties before—clumsily,perhaps,but with love.He used to brush my hands away,feeling annoyed and saying I was too slow or that the scent of my perfume bothered him.

But now,with Deana,he didn’t flinch.Though he knew if her hands were still warm from cooking and directly touched his collar with those dirty hands.

I forced my eyes away and walked to the table.

I picked up my spoon and took a bite of Deana’s soup.

It was…awful.The smell alone turned my stomach and the taste made my throat burn.But I forced it down.

Seconds later,I couldn’t hold it anymore.

I jumped from the table and rushed to the sink,retching.

Deana gasped behind me,her voice trembling,tearful.“Was it…that bad?Did I do something wrong?Should I leave…?”

She wrung her apron,eyes shimmering and her voice barely above a whisper full of guilt and innocence.

I wiped my mouth calmly.“I’m just not used to it.I’ll make something else later.”

Before I could sit back down,Fredric slammed his spoon on the table.

Clack!

The sharp sound made the room still.

“She spent hours making this,”he said coldly.“If you didn’t want to eat it,you could’ve said so.No need to be so cruel.Cook your own food from now on.”

His words hit harder than any slap.

There was warning in his eyes,as if he felt annoyance and disgust at the same time.

I didn’t even have the energy to feel angry.

I simply turned away and walked to the kitchen.

Behind me,Deana whimpered,“Fredric,maybe I was too forward.I shouldn’t have…”

He didn’t go comfort me.Instead,he patted Deana’s shoulder and said,“Don’t overthink it.She’s just like that.”

I stopped in my tracks.

My hands,hovering over the cutting board,began to tremble.

He didn’t even try to hide it anymore.

For five years,I cooked,burned my hands and studied his tastes.I flipped through cookbooks until the pages wore thin just for one word of praise.

But I never got it.

Deana simmered a pot of lukewarm sludge and he calls it“effort.”He shielded her from my reaction like I was the villain.

When we arrived at the office,they stood side by side in the elevator.

I stood behind them and pressed the button for my floor.

A few colleagues joined us,whispering just loud enough for me to hear.

“Did you see that video yesterday?The way the CEO rushed to save that girl looked like a scene out of a drama!”

“She’s his old classmate,right?They look so good together,like a perfect couple.”

“I thought the CEO was secretly married?Don’t tell me,it’s her?”

Deana’s cheeks turned pink.She waved a hand,laughing softly,“No,no.We’re just classmates.Really!”

The way she said it in a gentle,shy and delicate way was worse than a confirmation.

She didn’t need to say yes.She let their imaginations run wild.

Fredric didn’t say a word to clarify or to stop the rumors.

I remembered the time I draped my jacket over his shoulders at work.He pulled me aside that night and said,voice like ice,“This is a workplace.Don’t do anything that could cause misunderstandings.”

But now?

He stood there while they guessed she was his wife and said nothing.

I turned,stepped out of the elevator and walked straight to HR.

“I’d like to hand in my resignation,”I said.

The HR manager blinked in disbelief.“You’re quitting?”

I handed over the envelope.“Yes.”

She lowered her voice.“Is it because of the‘new lady’?But I thought you were…”

I smiled faintly and said nothing.

Everyone in the company had already decided who the real‘Mrs.Gilbert’was.

And it wasn’t me.

Just as she was about to respond,a staff member rushed in and reported,“There’s a fight outside.Mr.Gilbert is in a fight for Deana!”

I bolted.

A crowd had gathered at the front gate.Three or four thugs surrounded Deana.One of them was swinging a metal pipe.

Fredric stood in front of her,shielding her with his own body.Blood dripped from a cut above his brow.

His voice was ice as he shouted,“Get lost!”

Then he lunged—fist connecting with one of the attackers,fighting bare-handed.

My heart nearly stopped as I saw this,so I ran toward him and yelled,“Fredric,are you crazy?!You could die for this girl?!”

He turned,eyes blazing and shoved me away.

“What?”I gasped.

He took a step forward,fury twisting his face the time he asked coldly,“Brittany,was this you?”