6 Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
6 Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t reply. I kept packing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\u00a0<\/p>\n
Morning came. My flight time approached. Ethan did not come home with the dress, or at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took one last look around the beautiful, empty brownstone that had never truly felt like a home. All traces of me-my books, my favorite mug, the photos of my family-were already in boxes, headed to storage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed the door. As the Uber pulled away from\u00a0<\/p>\n
the curb, I sent one final text.\u00a0<\/p>\n
*Ethan. It\u2019s over. Don\u2019t contact me again. -L*\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I blocked his number, his email, every\u00a0<\/p>\n
social media account.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the airport, just before boarding, a notification from an unknown number popped up. *\u201dWhat the hell is this? You\u2019re breaking up with me? I said I\u2019d buy you the damn dress! What more do you\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
6 Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
want? Stop this now, Lauren, or we are done for real.\u201d*\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at the words, a weight I hadn\u2019t realized I was carrying finally lifting from my shoulders. I took a deep, clean breath and deleted the\u00a0<\/p>\n
message.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seattle was a revelation. The air was different. The pace was different. *I* was different. I felt\u00a0<\/p>\n
ten years younger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A month in, my new boss asked me to pick up a senior manager flying in from New York. I stood at the arrivals gate, holding a sign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then I saw him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ethan Carter, in a rumpled suit that probably cost more than my car, striding toward me as if he owned the entire concourse. My stomach dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve taken this little rebellion too far, Lauren,\u201d he said, stopping inches from me, his voice a low\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
6 Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
growl for my ears only. \u201cYou must be pretty\u00a0<\/p>\n
pleased with yourself, making me come all this way to fetch you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I just stared, incredulous. In his mind, my moving across the country was just a tactic, a play for his\u00a0<\/p>\n
attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a deliberate step back, scanning the crowd for anyone who might look like a manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shoved his massive suitcase toward me. \u201cStop looking. You\u2019re here for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I fumbled to catch it, anger sparking hot and bright. I\u2019d thought my leaving would be the end of it. That he\u2019d finally be free to be with his precious Chloe. Instead, he\u2019d weaseled his way into my new life like a toxic weed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d made a mistake. I shouldn\u2019t have transferred. I\u00a0<\/p>\n
should have quit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I called a rideshare. He climbed into the back\u00a0<\/p>\n
without a word, assuming I\u2019d handle his luggage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
6 Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0629\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gritting my teeth, I heaved the case into the trunk myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I opened the front passenger door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSit in the back, Lauren,\u201d he commanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ignored him, got in front, and told the driver the address. The entire ride, I could feel the icy fury radiating from the backseat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the new office, he tried to order me to meet\u00a0<\/p>\n
him for lunch. I pretended not to hear, rushing\u00a0<\/p>\n
inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While he was in with the director, I went straight to my new boss\u2019s office with a resignation letter. I cited a family emergency back home, a sick parent needing care. I was polite, apologetic for the short notice. He was disappointed but\u00a0<\/p>\n
understood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My parents were fine. My golden retriever, Gus, had a slight ear infection. That counted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within two hours, I was cleared out. I\u2019d been at\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
6 Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
the Seattle branch for a month. It took me twenty minutes to pack my desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back at my rented studio, I plugged in my dead phone. When it powered up, seventeen missed calls from the same unknown number-him, no doubt-flooded the screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I went to delete them, it rang again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Against my better judgment, I answered. \u201cEthan, what part of \u2018it\u2019s over\u2019 do you not understand?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I heard his sharp intake of breath. \u201c\u2026You\u2019re not at the office. Text me your address. I\u2019ll come by at lunch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you deaf, or just stupid? We. Are. Done. You are being incredibly pathetic and annoying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silence. Then, his voice went dark and soft. \u201cI brought the dress. We can reschedule the shoot. Whatever kind of wedding you want\u2026 we\u2019ll do it. Just\u2026 stop this, Lauren.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I actually laughed. A dry, brittle sound. *I* was\u00a0<\/p>\n
6 Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
stopping? *I* was the one making a scene?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remembered showing him Pinterest boards full of wildflower bouquets and string lights. He\u2019d handed me his phone, open to Chloe\u2019s contact. \u201cYou plan it. Coordinate with Chloe. She\u2026 she\u2019ll never have this. A wedding. It\u2019s not in the cards for her, with her health. I can\u2019t give her a\u00a0<\/p>\n
marriage, but I promised her she could have the wedding. Let her have this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d screamed then. Cried. *My* wedding wasn\u2019t going to be a pity party for his eternal damsel. He\u2019d shut me down with the one card he always played: \u201cI saved your life, Lauren. The least you can do is this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now, he was offering me the wedding. But I\u00a0<\/p>\n
didn\u2019t want it. I didn\u2019t want *him*.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be no wedding, Ethan. With you. It\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
over.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fate Rolls Dark by Mark Twain 6 6 Chapter 6\u00a0 6 Chapter 6\u00a0 I didn\u2019t reply. I kept packing.\u00a0 1\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gave-up-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21975\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}