He Treated Me as a Servant but Begged Me Not to Leave Chapter 09

He Treated Me as a Servant but Begged Me Not to Leave Chapter 09

Once I settled in, I adjusted quickly.

The world felt wide open, and everything breathed of freedom.

I no longer had the burden of taking care of Landon.

Walking down the street one day, someone called out to me—awkwardly, but they got my name right.

“Miss Madden!”

After all these years, I remembered—it was the street artist.

In a foreign land, a chance reunion.

Not really a friend, but still a connection.

We had a drink together and said a polite goodbye.

Maybe we’d meet again years from now.

Life is just a series of hellos and goodbyes.

Like with Vivian, like with Landon.

A few days later, our mutual friend told me Landon had been looking for me.

He’d gone to my company.

My manager only told him which country I’d gone to.

The friend said a guy that devoted and faithful was rare.

It was just a few boundary issues, they said. Men need their freedom; women shouldn’t hold on too tight.

I blocked him without a second thought.

I did receive messages from Landon.

I said we’d already broken up.

He said he didn’t agree.

The conversation was too childish, so I didn’t reply.

Landon looked for me for three or four months.

Then he got together with Chloe.

He made a big public announcement on social media, posting multiple 9-photo albums.

No one tried to convince me to get back with him anymore.

I enjoyed the peace.

Landon’s social media eventually went quiet too, and he set his profile to three-day visibility

A year later, I came back.

Vivian heard about it and insisted on picking me up.

At the airport, I saw Landon standing beside her.

I wasn’t angry about it.

Vivian was the closest family I had—closer than my own parents.

I couldn’t avoid Landon entirely.

A year apart had left him thinner, but of course he was still good-looking.

Otherwise I wouldn’t have had a crush on him in the first place.

It was a light, quiet crush that never needed to be returned.

It was like admiring a beautiful flower.

I never wanted to own the flower.

If it let me hold it for a while, fine.

But when I’m ready to move forward, carrying a flower like that only weighs me down.

Landon stared at me quietly, his eyes faintly red.

I greeted him calmly, with the polite distance of an old acquaintance—the same tone I’d used for him back in high school. “Hi, my brother.”

He froze for a long moment.

I’d used that name a long time ago—back in school.

But later, after we fell apart and then dated, it didn’t fit anymore.

Now, with time passed, it was just right.

Vivian apologized and explained that Landon had insisted on coming.

I waved it off.

I shared stories about my life abroad with Vivian.

Landon listened intently.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him sneak a smile and keep glancing at me.

But when I mentioned my new boyfriend, Landon’s smile stiffened.

Vivian, on the other hand, kept asking about him—who he was, where he worked, when I’d bring him to meet her.

I said, “Not planning to get married anytime soon.”

Landon seemed to relax.

Then I added, “But I’d like to have a child first.”

Landon blurted out, “That’s crazy!”

Vivian said, “I actually think that’s a good idea. Men can be a drag sometimes.”

“How about a girl?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yes, that’s what I’m thinking.”

Nobody paid Landon any mind.

He came after me many times after that.

But he was always turned away at the door.

He’d stand outside my door and say, “Blair, you can’t treat me like this.”

Through the door, I said, “We’re both seeing other people. This isn’t appropriate.”

Landon latched onto that like a lifeline.

He blurted out, “Chloe and I aren’t together! I was just trying to make you jealous.”

I stopped responding.

After a while, Landon figured out that I only gave him any courtesy when Vivian was around.

He started showing up at the Hale house constantly and inviting me through Vivian.

My birthday came around.

Except for the years I was abroad, I’d always spent my birthday at the Hale house.

My real parents had another daughter later.

Not because they missed me—they needed money for my brother’s future bride.

That sister I’d never met once tracked me down.

I gave her some money and didn’t say much.

Because I knew she had a good head on her shoulders.

She sent me a few updates after that.

Just to say she was okay—got a sales job, made manager, eventually opened her own shop.

Everything was fine.

Vivian lit the candles for me.

I closed my eyes and made a wish.

That Vivian, my sister, and I would all be well.

After dinner, we were sitting on the sofa when my boyfriend video-called.

“Happy birthday!”

He’d already sent his birthday wishes right at midnight the night before.

I introduced him to Vivian and Landon.

After a couple of exchanges, Vivian went to cut fruit.

I kept talking to my boyfriend.

Landon just sat there watching.

Half an hour later when I ended the call, he was still sitting exactly the same way, like he hadn’t moved an inch the entire time.

Suddenly he spoke, his voice hoarse.

“You two seem really close.”

I smiled. “Yeah, we are.”

“…”

His look made me uncomfortable.

I stood to leave, and he spoke again.

“I’ll wait for you to break up.”