{"id":23892,"date":"2026-01-28T07:17:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T07:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/the-paper-trail-of-our-failures-novel-chapter-3\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T07:20:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T07:20:17","slug":"the-paper-trail-of-our-failures-novel-chapter-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/the-paper-trail-of-our-failures-novel-chapter-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Paper Trail of Our Failures Novel Chapter 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
Chapter 3<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I thought the run-in at the restaurant would be my last time seeing Orlando before I left the country.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But the same day I officially resigned as his assistant, he video-called me that night.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It was so unusual\u2014he never called. Fighting the urge to reject it, I accepted the call, but switched to audio only.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
His displeasure was immediate. \u201cWhy only audio?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not wearing any makeup,\u201d I said perfunctorily.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. It sounded like I still cared what he thought.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Sure enough, he chuckled, his mood seeming to lift.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been married for so long. I\u2019ve seen you in every state.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
It almost sounded like flirting, which only annoyed me more. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d I asked, my tone detached.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He noticed the distance in my voice and sat up a little straighter. \u201cHR told me you resigned.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I didn\u2019t explain. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Silence hung between us.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Then he spoke again, his tone teasing\u2014but it felt like he was just filling the space. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s for the best. You\u2019re my wife\u2014why were you working as an assistant, anyway? It\u2019s almost like you wanted to make life harder for yourself.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cTo be honest, you were one poor performer. You were barely ever at work, and I still had to pay you every month. Everyone knew you got the job through connections. They said I was playing favorites.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I cut him off impatiently, \u201cDon\u2019t you need to be with Carolina?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He muttered, almost without thinking, \u201cWhy would I? She\u2019s no one to me.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Then he went quiet. It seemed to hit him\u2014I was just his ex-wife.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He instantly felt a bit guilty.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry about all the divorces. I know it\u2019s not fair to you.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cI just \u2026 didn\u2019t want anyone pointing fingers at Cara.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I said nothing.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He was so worried about Carolina\u2019s reputation, but he never minded making me the laughingstock of our entire social circle.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
My voice turned icy. \u201cIs that all? I\u2019m hanging up.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWait!\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Orlando\u2019s tone turned urgent. \u201cThe 12th is our wedding anniversary. Adele has a concert that night. I know you\u2019ve always wanted to go. Let\u2019s go together, alright?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
For a second, I almost told him the truth\u2014that I wouldn\u2019t be here.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But before I could speak, Carolina\u2019s voice floated in from the background. \u201cOrly, I forgot my towel. Can you bring it to me?\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Instead of answering right away, Orlando stayed quiet, staring at my name on the screen as if torn.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cGo,\u201d I urged, expressionless.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
He stood up slowly but didn\u2019t hang up.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cWait for me, Gretch. I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Then I heard him walk toward the bathroom.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Unsurprisingly, not long after, there were soft sounds of kissing, a muffled groan from him, and then the bathroom door slammed shut.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I hung up with a mocking smile.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Just then, Kristen excitedly asked me to hang out in a pub.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Without a second thought, I put my phone down, stood up, and linked my arm with hers.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
What a fool I\u2019d been, losing sleep over someone so worthless, when life offered so much joy. But that was over. I had turned the page, leaving him as nothing but a memory.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter 3 I thought the run-in at the restaurant would be my last time seeing Orlando before I left the […]<\/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":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","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":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-paper-trail-of-our-failures-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23892","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=23892"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23901,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23892\/revisions\/23901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}