Chapter 3

I pondered this question all day long. I still didn't have an answer when he came to get me in the afternoon. Despite that, I followed him anyway. Habit sure was a scary thing. Ten years was what it took to make me accustomed to both him and going back to Gildon Estate after work. "Why aren't you saying anything?" Chris probably sensed my low spirits on the way back and took the initiative to ask. I was silent for a few seconds before I mentioned, "Chris, maybe we should—" Before I could finish my sentence, his phone rang. The car display showed an unlisted number, but I clearly saw Chris' grip on the steering wheel tighten. He was nervous, which was rare. Instinctively, I looked at his face, but he quickly turned off the car's speaker and switched to Bluetooth. "Hello… Okay, I'm on my way now." The call was short. After the call ended, he looked at me and said, "Maddie, I have an urgent matter to deal with. I can't take you home." Even before he spoke, I knew he was going to leave me behind. It wasn't the first time. But before he said anything, I still hoped he would take me home first. A sudden pain hit my heart, but I suppressed my sadness. "Is something wrong?" Chris' jaw tightened. He didn't answer and instead looked out the window. "Get off in front, and take a taxi home." He didn't even want to give an explanation. What more could I say when he had already made arrangements? I would only embarrass myself if I asked questions or made a fuss. "Text me when you get home," Chris instructed as he pulled over to a temporary parking spot by the road. My grip on my backpack was firm when I got out of the car. It wasn't just my imagination. Judging from his reaction to the incoming call and how he didn't dare to answer it on speakerphone where I could hear the conversation, I already had a hunch. But I had chosen not to ask or say anything. Some things were just like a thin layer of paper over a hole. It was left there for me to keep deceiving myself. "Be careful on the way!" he hurriedly reminded me before he left. Then, he stepped on the accelerator and left. I stood there, watching the direction he left until my eyes grew sore, and then I lowered my gaze to my toes. My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a call from my best friend, Lisa Carline. "Maddie, where are you? Want to grab dinner?" she asked. Lisa, a gynecologist, was a skilled doctor despite her young age. She didn't have a boyfriend. "Sure," I agreed readily. Lisa immediately exclaimed, "Wow, did the sun rise in the west today? When I ask you to dinner, you always say, 'Let me check with Chris first.' What's with the quick agreement today?" My chest felt stuffy. Over the past ten years, I had lived as if I were an accessory to Chris. Fearing he couldn't find me, I even reported to him before having dinner or going shopping with Lisa. However, I found out today after hearing Chris' words that I had become a burden to him. He was exhausted because of me. "Are you at the hospital or home?" I answered her with a question instead. Lisa gave me an address, telling me to come over. "What's wrong? Did you have a fight with Mr. Gildon?" Lisa sensed that something was off the moment she saw me. She was one of my few close friends, so I didn't hide anything from her. After listening, Lisa immediately started cursing, "Men are jerks. Insipid to eat, he said? As if he's slept with you a hundred times or something." Her words didn't comfort me; instead, they made me feel even more humiliated. Despite being with Chris for so long, we had never been intimate. There had been those moments, like the time I got drunk and made a move on him, but he had just wrapped me up and sent me back to my room. At that time, I thought Chris respected me and didn't want to take advantage of me while I was not in a clear state of mind. But today, I realized it was because he wasn't interested in me. Wasn't there a saying that if a man truly loved a woman, he would definitely want to sleep with her? However, Chris had never shown any such desire toward me. "Liz, I think I want to give up." I suddenly had an answer to the dilemma that had troubled me all day. "Good. I support you." Lisa clinked her glass with mine. "There may not be three-legged toads, but there are plenty of two-legged men. With your looks, you can get any man you want." Lisa was right. When I was 18, I won a beauty pageant. If Chris hadn't stopped me, I might have walked the path of stardom by now. With my beauty, I've received countless admirers and suitors over the years, but I never felt anything for them. The only person I wanted was Chris. This realization made my nose sting. Not wanting Lisa to see my inner turmoil, I quickly ran to the restroom. In my haste, I bumped into someone exiting the restroom, knocking them down and landing on top of them. I was about to apologize when I heard a scream. The person then shouted, "Help! Someone is molesting me!"