He Told Me to Wait While He Was With His Cheating Ex — I Sold Our Home That Night Chapter 07

He Told Me to Wait While He Was With His Cheating Ex — I Sold Our Home That Night Chapter 07

Julian searched for Chloe like a man possessed.

He returned to her parents’ house.

This time, Chloe’s father came downstairs to meet him.

Mr. Parker held out a paper bag. Inside were a scarf, a phone charger, and an insulated travel mug. Julian had once left at the Parkers’ house.

“Don’t come back again.”

Julian stood rigidly in place.

His lips trembled as he asked, “Mr. Parker, where did Chloe go?”

Mr. Parker shoved the bag firmly into his arms.

“Somewhere you know nothing about.”

Julian’s throat tightened.

“I only want to apologize.”

Mr. Parker gave him a cold look.

“She doesn’t need your apology anymore.”

The hallway light flickered twice.

Mr. Parker turned and went back upstairs.

Julian remained where he was, holding a bag that felt almost weightless in his arms.

He went to their mutual friends next.

One of them spread his hands helplessly.

“Before Chloe left, she said she didn’t want any more contact with people from her past.”

“She cut all of us off too. Julian, stop asking.”

Julian went to the restaurant he and Chloe used to visit together.

The owner still recognized him.

“That girlfriend of yours? She used to call ahead every time and order all your favorite dishes.”

“Once, you never showed up, and she sat here alone until we closed.”

“Later, she came in to close her rewards account. I asked whether she was moving away.”

Julian stood at the register, his face tense with desperation.

“What did she say?”

The owner thought for a moment.

“She said she was done waiting.”

He went to the jewelry store next.

An associate pulled up the purchase record.

“Oh, Ms. Parker bought this ring herself.”

“She had us resize it several times.”

“Every time, she said the man she was buying it for had slender fingers and she was afraid it wouldn’t fit.”

“Why didn’t you ever come in with her?”

Julian looked down at the ring box.

When Chloe returned it to him that night, he had only thought she was trying to embarrass him.

He had not even opened it.

After leaving the jewelry store, Julian went to the developer’s sales office.

The sales associate who had worked with Chloe three years earlier was now the sales manager.

The man looked surprised when he saw Julian.

“Ms. Parker isn’t with you?”

Julian’s mouth felt dry.

“Did Chloe… come here often back then?”

“Yes. She came in a lot.”

The sales manager pulled up the old records.

“She handled the contract and the final walkthrough herself, and she personally supervised the renovations.”

“She said you were busy and asked us not to bother you.”

Julian remembered the photo of the curtains Chloe had once sent him.

Chloe: [Julian, do you like light gray or ivory curtains for the primary bedroom?]

At the time, he had been having dinner with one of Sabrina’s friends.

Julian replied: [Whatever.]

The curtains in the condo had ended up being ivory.

He had never asked why.

Back in his car, Julian scrolled through their old messages one by one.

Chloe: [Julian, are you coming home for dinner tonight?]

Chloe: [I learned how to make that soup you love.]

Chloe: [I passed a bridal boutique today. The dress in the window was beautiful.]

Chloe: [Remember to take your medicine when you’re done with work.]

The farther back he scrolled, the more messages there were.

The closer he came to the present, the fewer they became.

Over the last six months, Chloe’s messages had grown shorter and shorter.

Long paragraphs had dwindled to a single word.

Chloe: [Okay.]

The conversation ended with the photo of the condo sale agreement.

Julian pressed the phone against his forehead.

Chloe had not left him all at once.

She had been pulling away from him little by little for a long time.

It was early spring, and the willows outside the condo complex were beginning to bud.

The condo no longer belonged to either of them. Julian stood outside the building, holding the bag of wedding things in one hand.

Deep down, he knew he would never find Chloe again.