He Treated Me as a Servant but Begged Me Not to Leave Chapter 07

He Treated Me as a Servant but Begged Me Not to Leave Chapter 07

On the drive back, the car was quiet.

I was looking at apartment photos my agent had sent me.

Landon tried half a dozen times to strike up awkward small talk. But I brushed him off.

He caught a glimpse of my phone screen, and his grip on the steering wheel tightened abruptly.

His throat moved as he asked me why I was looking at apartments.

There was an edge of nervousness in his voice.

Right then, that familiar ringtone sounded.

Landon ignored it.

But it wouldn’t stop—it rang for a long time until it hung up automatically, then started again.

Landon irritably hit decline several times.

But the person on the other end seemed determined to get through.

Sweat beaded on Landon’s forehead.

He said, “Spam calls are so relentless these days.”

When we got home, I went to shower.

Halfway through, the bathroom door slid open.

Landon wrapped his arms around me from behind.

That stupidly handsome face leaned in, his warm breath fanning softly over my skin.

“Blair, it’s been a while since we…”

I pulled away from his embrace and turned him down.

“Big meeting at the office tomorrow.”

I’d built up immunity to that face.

Landon’s like a pretty, overhyped dish—nice to look at, but nothing special to taste, and definitely not something you’d want every day.

When he kept pushing it, I said, “Why don’t you call her back? Maybe it’s urgent.”

His brow furrowed, expression stiff for a moment.

“It’s spam. Why would I call back?”

“Blair, don’t you trust me?”

I sighed.

“Don’t you remember?”

“Remember that? You set a custom ringtone for Chloe.”

When I came out of the shower, Landon was sitting on the bed, smoking.

Butts were scattered all over the floor.

He’d picked up smoking after his first breakup with Chloe.

Every fight or split after that, he’d smoke.

But it’d been a long time since the last one.

He looked at me and said, “So you knew all along?”

I nodded.

He stared at me, confused, “And you never confronted me?”

I checked the time. “I have an early meeting tomorrow. And the smoke is too strong. I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight.”

Landon watched in silence as I walked out.

The next morning, I opened my eyes and saw him standing by my bed.

He looked like he’d been up all night, haggard and raw, staring at me unblinking with dark, heavy eyes.

“We need to talk.”

Before I was even fully awake, he was already talking.

“Blair, I don’t want to lie to you.”

“I thought Chloe and I were over.”

“But the moment I saw her again, I had to admit… she’s different.”

“Still, I ended it last night. For real.”

He held his phone out to me.

He’d deleted the nickname “Coey” and unpinned the chat.

The last message he sent her was: [That’s it. Don’t contact me anymore.]

“See? Chloe and I are done.”

“From now on, it’s just us…”

Right then, a photo came in from her end.

A bathtub selfie.

And before you get the wrong idea—it wasn’t a sexy pic.

It was a photo of a slit wrist in a bathtub.

Landon’s face went pale.

His first instinct was to run out.

But he took two steps, then turned back to me, his lips parting.

Watching him struggle, I didn’t give him a hard time. “Go on. It’s a matter of life and death.”

Landon didn’t look relieved.

He seemed to finally realize something—I genuinely didn’t care.

Before he left, he lingered on me for a long, reluctant, longing look.

“Blair, wait for me tonight. We’ll talk then.”

I didn’t take it seriously.

I hadn’t lied to Landon.

That meeting really was important. It would decide my promotion and transfer.