Chapter 2
I wasn’t in the mood to worry about whatever was going on between Walter and Ana.
I just never expected him to show up at my door.
I had just finished washing my feet and was getting ready for bed when I heard loud knocking at the door.
When I opened it, there was Walter standing in the moonlight, wearing that familiar expression of wanting to say something but holding back.
“Phoebe, I… I need to talk to you.”
His eyes kept darting into my room, while I stood in the doorway without stepping aside.
“It’s late. Whatever it is, we can talk about it at the factory tomorrow.”
“Just a few words!” He suddenly raised his voice, then quickly lowered it. “It’s about what happened with Ana today… She asked me to take the kids to the park this weekend, and I said yes…”
I said “Oh” and casually turned around to put away my washbasin.
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After waiting forever for my reaction, his tone suddenly became urgent. “Don’t you have anything to say about this?”
I looked at him with confusion. “Say what? Have fun? Oh right, don’t forget to bring an umbrella – the weather forecast says it might rain this weekend.”
Walter’s hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white.
When he looked up again, his brow was deeply furrowed. “Phoebe, what’s that supposed to mean? I came all the way here this late at night to tell you this, and that’s your attitude?”
“What’s wrong with my attitude? Isn’t it perfectly normal? What other attitude did you expect me to have?” I simply sat down and looked at him calmly.
Walter was stunned for a moment, seemingly surprised by my reaction.
After all, I was the one who used to chase after him saying “Walter can only be mine,” the one who wouldn’t let him get too close to Ana. I was the one who would use money to keep him by my side whenever I caught him getting too close to Ana.
He pressed his lips together, sensing something was different about me, and actually took the patience to explain: “That’s not what I meant. I just didn’t want you to misunderstand, so I came to tell you. Ana and I are just ordinary colleagues. I only agreed because I didn’t want to be rude and refuse her. Oh! The factory
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is going to assign housing, and I’m planning to apply for that unit on the west side of town, just to be closer to you. We could even walk to and from work together. What do you think?”
My eyelid twitched slightly as I looked up to meet Walter’s smiling face.
If this were the past, I would have been incredibly grateful, thinking he truly cared about me. But in this life, I had already seen through it all – this was nothing more than his manipulation.
He always gave me just a little hope when I was feeling discouraged, making me think I could finally capture his heart, so I’d willingly give him everything. But in the end, all my hopes were dashed.
I shook my head, put my water cup on the table, and said, “No need. I’m always in a rush going to and from work – I don’t have time to wait for anyone. It’s getting late, you should head back before people see us together and start gossiping.”
Walter’s face changed dramatically.
Thinking I was still upset about Ana, he immediately widened his eyes. “Phoebe! Are you still mad about Ana asking me to the park? I already told you I just couldn’t refuse her. Why are you being so petty!”
“Is that so?” I interrupted him. “So when you gave Ana that
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scarf last Christmas, that was also because you couldn’t refuse? And bringing her breakfast every day last month was also because you couldn’t refuse? Since when do people go out of their way to be ‘unable to refuse‘?”
His face turned pale, his lips trembling uncontrollably. “You… you were following me?”
I let out a cold laugh. “The textile factory is such a small place – do I need to follow you? Besides, what’s our relationship that would make it worth my effort?”
“Then what gives you the right to interfere in my business!” He suddenly raised his voice, his finger almost touching my nose.
I slowly moved closer to him, my eyes ice–cold. “I should be asking you that question. If we have no relationship, why did you come here in the middle of the night to explain yourself to me?”
Walter’s chest heaved violently, and his eyes actually turned red.
That look used to break my heart for half the winter in my past life, but now it just seemed ridiculous.
Finally, his face flushed red as he spat out “Phoebe, you don’t know what’s good for you” and stormed off angrily, slamming the door so hard the whole room shook.
I stood by the window until his footsteps completely
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disappeared, then pulled out a neatly pressed housing application form from the bottom of my drawer.
In the “Preferred Address” section, I carefully wrote “East Side of
Town.”
In my past life, he had indeed chosen that house on the west side, seemingly for me, but actually to make it more convenient to boss me around. I washed clothes, cooked, and took care of the kids at his place, working like a servant without complaint. And what did he do? He took the kids on dates with Ana.
So in this life, I absolutely had to stay far away from him!
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