Chapter 2
The Umbrella He Never Held for Me Chapter 02
My answer was the sound of the door closing behind me.
On that stormy night, I dragged two suitcases through the rain-soaked streets.
“If I’d known they’d be this heavy, I would’ve bought even less stuff back then. Don’t you think so, Simon?”
When we first graduated, Simon and I were young and ambitious. We stayed in Cresthill.
Back then, all we could afford was a tiny rental. Then one night, our landlord suddenly showed up and demanded that we leave immediately.
“Someone’s paying more. You need to leave right away!”
Our belongings were tossed into the hallway. One of my suitcases rolled several times before crashing to a stop right in front of me.
I picked it up and said that exact line.
Simon’s eyes welled up right away.
“Tessa, I’ll never let you suffer like this again. At least you won’t end up on the street.”
Back then, I smiled like the biggest fool in the world.
But I couldn’t smile now.
Now I was alone on the street.
Simon Hayes, you liar.
By then, I couldn’t even tell whether what was running down my face was rain, sweat, or tears.I pulled out my buzzing phone.
My best friend was calling again.
“Tessa, stop this and come home.”
“It’s pouring. I’d be heartbroken if you got sick, you know?”
If she said she cared about me, I believed her.
Three years ago, Simon was stressed out. He wanted to go back to his hometown, Riverside. I quit my management position and followed him.
But in Riverside, I couldn’t find a job.
Before long, the anxiety and stomach problems landed me in the hospital.
That’s when Yvette showed up. When she saw me in that hospital bed, she cried through an entire box of tissues.
She and Simon took turns caring for me for two whole months, until I recovered and finally found a clerical job.
I was so happy back then.
But now, I didn’t even dare think too deeply about it. When exactly had they become so close?
Was it when I was sick?
The more I thought, the more I hated myself.
The rain kept falling. Thunder made my voice shake.
“Forget it. I’m not going back.”
“It’d be best if we never saw each other again for the rest of our lives. I can’t bring myself to wish you happiness. That’s all I have to say.”
I hung up.
Dragged my two suitcases and found a hotel.
After my shower, I lay down on the hotel bed, wrapped in a long-forgotten sense of warmth, dryness, and comfort.
I stared at the ceiling.
My mind replayed everything that had happened tonight over and over again.
So sudden. So unreal.
Sleep refused to come. Maybe because, for the first time in years, Simon wasn’t there beside me, coaxing me to sleep.
And he never would be again.
Tears slid down, soaking the hair behind my ears. But I didn’t have the energy to wipe them.
I thought I was hearing things when Simon’s and Yvette’s voices drifted in from outside.
I opened the door. They were actually there.
When I asked how they knew I was here, both of them immediately became evasive.
But I pieced it together.
It turned out Simon had installed a tracking app on my phone so he could always know where I was.
No wonder I never noticed.
Yvette reached over and grabbed my hand.
“Tessa, don’t overthink it. This is all for your safety.”
Simon casually slipped an arm around Yvette’s shoulders.
“See? She’s perfectly fine. You were worrying over nothing.”
Then he turned back to me, his eyes filled with unmistakable disdain.
“I thought you’d checked into some hotel with another man. If Yvette hadn’t been worried sick about you, I wouldn’t have bothered coming.”
