He Proposed to Me to Punish Her Chapter 05

He Proposed to Me to Punish Her Chapter 05

I arranged for my grandmother to transfer hospitals and helped my parents secure new jobs

Then I got a new phone number and packed up all the gifts Gillian had given me over the years to

send them back to her.

The boxes piled up high. She had always been incredibly generous to me.

I found our graduation photo on top of everything. We both wore bright, happy smiles. Those were

some of the happiest moments of my life.

I’d always been able to be completely myself around Gillian.

I stared at the picture for a while, then tucked it carefully at the bottom of my luggage instead of

throwing it away.

I had almost nothing that belonged to Liam. He wouldn’t want any of it anyway, so I tossed those

few items in the trash.

I only told my family about my plan to leave town.

My mother shook her head at me, clearly disappointed.

“You’re almost thirty years old. Everyone your age is married with kids.”

“You dated that man for seven years and just threw it all away. You’ll regret this someday.”

“You quit a perfectly good job, and now you’re stuck with tough, exhausting work.”

“Ask your friend to get me another nice position.”

She rambled on endlessly.

“You don’t have any special skills, and you’re nothing special to look at. If you were half as lucky as

her, I wouldn’t struggle so much.”

My head throbbed with frustration.

“I’ve fallen out with her. Don’t go asking her for favors. If you anger her, she’ll make sure you lose

the job you have now.”

Her eyes darted around, and I knew exactly what she was planning.

Once I left, she would do whatever she pleased.

“If you go behind my back to find her, I will never come back home,” I warned.

My words set her off instantly.

“How dare you? Your grandmother still lives here! Are you going to abandon the woman who raised you?”

“You ungrateful girl! I should have—”

I stared at her without saying a word.

After years around Liam, I’d learned to stay calm and intimidating without raising my voice.

Her angry tone faded little by little.

“I’ll send you money every month as long as you leave her alone.”

A forced smile returned to her face.

Life at the Biomedical Research Institute was simple and quiet, and I loved every minute of it.

There were no complicated social games here, and everyone communicated honestly and plainly.

I knew nothing about the work when I first arrived, so I spent every evening in the library studying.

Gradually, I grew skilled with lab work and threw myself fully into my experiments.

I always volunteered for holiday shifts and overtime whenever I could.

Dr. Richard Carter, my department head, sighed as he watched me work.

“Chris, you’re going to make me retire early at this rate.”

“That’s enough. I’m giving you two weeks of paid leave.”

Yet the very next day, he found me back in the lab again.

I wasn’t trying to avoid rest. I was terrified of the loneliness that came with free time.

I feared I’d give in and look up news about Liam and Gillian.

Dr. Carter took the lab key from my hand and handed me an invitation to an Academic Exchange

Venue event.

He also sent me a contact for another researcher.

“You won’t stay idle, so represent our institute at this academic conference.”

“Ethan Black will be going with you. Add his contact.”

I opened his profile. The background photo showed a blurry figure of a girl standing on a school

campus.

I accepted the request. His profile was just as empty and plain as mine.

The conference was held on a Friday. I spotted Ethan Black immediately in the crowd.

He had sharp, striking features and a naturally stern expression that kept most people away.

I walked over and greeted him first.

“Hello, Ethan. I’m Chris from the neighboring lab. It’s nice to meet you.

He bent down slightly and studied me carefully.

My smile froze on my face.

“Hey, Chris. Nice to meet you too.”

I was completely confused. Where did that nickname come from? We’d never even met before.