Chapter 3
After that day, Walter and I never spoke again.
20 min left
I was quite satisfied with this arrangement. I’d been planning to draw clear boundaries with him anyway–the sooner, the better.
But he seemed to always hover around our group of colleagues, intentionally or not. When he saw I was ignoring him, he’d storm off in a huff.
After this happened several times, even the people around me started noticing something was off.
Then came the day of housing assignments, and the conference room was packed.
I sat in the corner, listening to a few veteran coworkers tease me.
“Phoebe, I heard Walter chose that place on the west side. You’re so lucky!”
“And here I was worried when you two seemed to be fighting the other day! Now you’ve really got to seize this opportunity.”
Gianna nudged me with her elbow, grinning mischievously.
Isabel joined in the teasing: “Exactly. You’ll be living so close to each other. When you get married, don’t forget to treat us to dinner!”
I just smiled without responding, looking down and fiddling with the pen in my hand.
If this were my past life, hearing these words would have made me incredibly happy.
08:51
Chapter 3
20 min left
I threw the box into the truck and looked back at the small courtyard where I’d lived for ten years.
In my past life, I’d refused to move just to stay close to Walter. Looking back now, I was truly foolish then.
As the truck started, Walter ran to the side of the vehicle, panic in his voice: “Phoebe! Are you… are you really moving away?”
I didn’t answer directly, just opened the car door and told the driver: “Let’s go.”
I saw Walter standing there in the rearview mirror, his face pale as a sheet.
Austin was anxiously saying beside him: “Dad! If she leaves, who’s going to buy us new backpacks?”
I rolled up the window and gave him a cold glance.
I didn’t care who they’d have to find I was done serving them.
Since I was moving, the factory gave me a few days off as a special exception.
So I hadn’t seen Walter for quite some time.
On the last day of my vacation, I prepared a lavish spread and even made a special stew, planning to treat myself.
Just as I was about to start eating, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.
It was Walter, and he’d brought Austin along.
3
Chapter 3
20 min left
Walter said angrily in embarrassment, “Phoebe! Is this really
necessary? Ever since I agreed to go out with Ana last time, you’ve been avoiding me. You just want to be with me and don’t want me talking to other women, right? I’ve already agreed to your terms. Stop being so cold, okay?”
He was finally starting to panic, becoming anxious and restless when he realized I was truly leaving.
Too bad I wasn’t playing hard to get–I genuinely didn’t want anything more to do with him.
I turned to look at him.
Walter’s eyes were filled with tears as he grabbed my arm, not letting me leave.
Colleagues in the hallway were already looking our way.
I shook off his hand and said in a low voice, “Walter, you want to be with me, but I don’t want that anymore. So please, have some self–respect and stop grabbing at me.”
He pulled his hand back as if burned, tears streaming down his face. “Fine! Go ahead and leave! Don’t come back once you’re gone!”
Without him having to tell me, I left him behind without looking back, my mind focused on buying a train ticket to New York as soon as possible.
In this lifetime, I was determined to live for myself.
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Gifts
Not contacting him after being reborn
