Chapter 3

I didn't take the subway.

I just walked slowly along the street.

When I got hungry, I stopped at a curbside stand and ordered a small bowl of wontons.

For the eight years I lived with Aaron in Harbor City, I had tried so hard.

Tried at work, tried at living, tried to get closer to him.

The night wind brushed past. I couldn't call it sadness. There was only a hollow kind of calm left in me.

By the time I got back to the hotel and finished my shower, it was already past midnight.

My phone rang.

It was Aaron.

His voice was heavy with fatigue.

"Regina wasn't feeling well today. She only just fell asleep after all the fuss. Send me the hotel location and I'll come to you."

My tone was flat. "It's fine. Just stay at the apartment."

There were a few seconds of silence on the line, then Aaron spoke, impatient.

"You're angry? Lois, in a couple of years we're getting married. After the wedding you'll be a stay-at-home wife anyway, so it's perfectly reasonable to give the director post to Regina."

But he knew exactly how many nights I'd burned through over these years, how much I'd poured into it, to get where I was today.

In his eyes, the chance I'd fought for with everything I had should just be handed to Regina, no trouble at all.

Since he didn't care about me, I no longer wanted him either.

I gave a cold laugh. "I'm not angry. But if Regina wakes up in a bit and doesn't see you, won't she panic?"

Aaron couldn't see my face. He seemed to think it over seriously, then made his decision at once.

"You've got a point. I won't come over, then."

After I hung up, I suddenly thought of myself last month, running a high fever and still up all night rushing a design proposal.

Aaron hadn't shown a shred of concern. He'd rushed me and blamed me instead.

"You couldn't get sick before, couldn't get sick later, it had to be right now. Are you doing this on purpose?"

"This project matters a lot to the company. Pull yourself together."

Eight years together, and Aaron never once remembered my birthday.

Yet every year he'd wait right up to midnight to be the first to send Regina his birthday wishes.

Loved or not loved, it was plain to see.

I was the one who'd been blind all this time.

Never turning back until I hit the wall.

Two days later, the company hosted the client's boss for dinner.

At the table, Aaron used Regina's poor health as an excuse and took drink after drink in her place.

And I, sitting across from them, became everyone's target for toast after toast.

Aaron knew my stomach was bad, that I couldn't handle alcohol, and he didn't care.

His eyes were only on the contract about to be closed. He ignored my discomfort and my humiliation the whole time.

A few glasses of hard liquor down, and my stomach twisted with sharp cramps.

I clenched my fists, and when I finally couldn't hold on, I spoke to the table with an apology.

"Sorry, everyone. I'm not feeling well. I'd like to leave first."

Seeing how pale I was, the client's boss didn't try to keep me.

Regina came over at once, steadying me with feigned concern. "Lois, let me see you out."

It was just me and Regina in the elevator.

I leaned weakly against the wall, so sick that cold sweat broke out all over me.

Regina folded her arms and lifted her chin, her eyes full of provocation as she looked at me.

"Lois, you've chased after Aaron like a dog all these years. Still haven't given up?"

She let out a soft laugh, a smug edge in her voice.

"His heart belongs only to me. You could throw yourself at him and he still wouldn't spare you a second glance."

I didn't have the strength to argue with her. I only wanted to grab a cab and get back to the hotel to rest.

Just then the elevator shook violently, the lights flickering on and off, the car dropping fast before it jammed to a stop.

The elevator had broken down.