His Automated Reply Cost Him His Wife Chapter 16

His Automated Reply Cost Him His Wife Chapter 16

A passerby called an ambulance, and Ethan was taken away.

I thought that would be the end of it. A Californian gets frostbite in a Chicago blizzard, spends a few days in the hospital, and the story is over.

But a week later, he was back.

He had been discharged. First, he was on the corner below my office. Then at the Trader Joe’s I frequented. Finally, he followed one of my neighbors through the security entrance of my apartment building and cornered me at my own front door.

That night, I was just coming back from a project celebration dinner. I’d had a few glasses of champagne, and my head felt heavy. He was holding a large bag of groceries from Whole Foods: organic steak, San Pellegrino, even a bottle of the Italian balsamic vinegar I used to love.

The alcohol had softened my defenses. When I opened the door, he slipped through the gap like a mass of damp, cold fog, filling the entryway.

I was too tired to call security and too tired to argue.

I walked straight into the living room, dropped onto the sofa, and looked at him coldly. “What do you want?”

“To take care of you,” he said, his voice hoarse and weak. “Even if you hate it.”

I said nothing. I just took out my phone, walked into the bedroom in front of him, and locked the door.

Ethan stood outside for a long time, his breathing heavy and suppressed. I could imagine his expression: that mixture of stubborn, pleading humility.

I ignored him and called my lawyer.

“Nora? It’s late. What’s wrong?” Sarah, my lawyer, always sounded calm.

“He’s here,” I said concisely. “In my apartment.”

There was a beat of silence. “Did he force his way in?”

“He followed a neighbor into the building and squeezed in when I opened my door.” I leaned against the cold wall, listening to the rustle of plastic bags in the living room. He was putting away the groceries.

“All right, I understand.” Sarah’s voice turned serious. “Nora, he followed you from California to Chicago and has continued to appear at your office and residence after you clearly refused him. This constitutes interstate stalking and harassment. We can petition the court for an emergency No-Contact Order immediately.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Provide the times and locations where he appeared. I’ve sent the application to your email. Just check the information and sign it electronically. A judge will issue it first thing tomorrow morning, and a marshal will serve him the order. Once it’s in effect, if he comes within one hundred yards of you, you can call the police and have him arrested.”

“Okay.”

I hung up, opened my laptop, and found the email. From the living room, I heard the click of the stove lighting. He was actually cooking in my kitchen.

Expressionless, I typed in every time and location he had appeared over the past week. *Outside my office, Monday at three p.m. Outside the supermarket, Wednesday at eight p.m. At my apartment door, now.*

I signed the document, scanned it back to my lawyer, and fell asleep on the sofa.