He Drove His Female Intern Every Day. I Vanished After the Storm Chapter 02

He Drove His Female Intern Every Day. I Vanished After the Storm Chapter 02

I ran into Ethan in the elevator after work.

I stepped inside, pressed the button for the first floor, and moved to the farthest corner, leaving enough space for another person between us.

“Why aren’t you riding with me today?”

When it was just the two of us in the elevator, he finally spoke first.

Before I could answer, the doors suddenly opened.

Sophia hurried in on stilettos and squeezed herself right between us.

She pouted and punched Ethan lightly on the arm.

“You seriously went downstairs without me? You said we’d leave together! I was just touching up my makeup. Didn’t I tell you to wait for me?”

Ethan clutched his arm dramatically.

“All right, my princess.”

The two of them laughed together, easy and familiar.

A few seconds later, Sophia seemed to finally remember I was standing there.

“Oh! Eileen, do you want to ride home with us today? We can take you part of the way. It’ll save you some money!”

The way she said it didn’t sound like she was talking to the woman who actually shared a home with Ethan.

It sounded more like the lady of the house casually offering a guest a ride.

The elevator reached the first floor.

“No, thanks.”

I had barely stepped out when Ethan grabbed my wrist.

“Hey! I need to talk to you about something tonight. Come home early.”

His tone was casual.

But getting home from the office meant taking the light rail for five stops, then transferring to a bus.

That bus ride alone took nearly an hour.

And in a storm like this, trains were delayed and streets were flooded.

God, I’d be lucky just to make it home at all.

“I’ll try. I have something to do.”

I pulled my hand free and walked away without looking back.

When I passed a bakery, I stopped.

The smell of buttercream drifting from the window was exactly as I remembered it.

Back when Ethan and I used to leave work together, we’d go out of our way to stop here for a slice of cake.

One bite for him, one bite for me.

It had felt like the sweetness could wash away all the exhaustion of the day.

That was a long time ago.

The little table near the entrance where we used to sit was now occupied by a young couple.

I looked away and pushed open the door to the leasing office next door.

The property manager was waiting for me.

“Ms. Carter, the paperwork to end your lease early is all set. You just need to be moved out by the weekend.”

“Thank you.”

The property manager smiled.

“You’re welcome. Honestly, an older apartment like this can be hard to rent out. If you hadn’t paid to renovate the place yourself, we never would’ve found a new tenant this quickly.”

She glanced down at the inventory list.

“But are you sure you want to leave all the furniture and decor for the next tenant?”

“Yes.”

The freshly painted walls, the furniture still in perfect condition, the carpets I’d had professionally treated…

I’d spent so much time going from thrift stores to furniture warehouses, choosing every piece for the home Ethan and I were supposed to share.

I’d spent a lot of money too.

But now, none of it mattered.

By the time I got back to the apartment, it was already late.

I turned on the lights. No one was home.

Then I sent Ethan a message.

[Where are you?]

A long time passed before he replied.

[Sorry, I’m not home right now. Sophia suddenly wanted to try this restaurant. It wasn’t that far of a drive, so I took her.]

I looked at the name of the restaurant he’d sent me.

It was at least an hour’s drive from the office.

For our fifth anniversary, I’d booked a restaurant only twenty minutes from home.

He’d said it was too far.

In the end, we’d stayed home and ordered takeout.

My phone suddenly rang.

It was Mom.

“Have you and Ethan set a date for the engagement party yet? If you keep putting it off, all the good venues are going to be booked.”

No.

Ethan had forgotten to get me a gift for our fifth anniversary.

He had also forgotten that on our anniversary, he’d promised we would finally set a date for our engagement party.

I stayed silent for too long.

Mom immediately knew something was wrong.

“He canceled again, didn’t he? I knew it! I never wanted you following him all the way to Seattle in the first place. You told me he treated you well. You said, ‘Mom, he’ll take care of me!’ But the last time you ended up in the ER, you were still all alone!”

The day my stomach condition flared up, I was in so much pain I couldn’t even get out of bed.

I forced myself to call Ethan again and again.

He didn’t answer once.

In the end, Mom called 911 for me from several states away.

She also contacted the property manager and had them unlock my door so the paramedics could get inside and take me to the hospital.

The doctor said that if I’d arrived any later, the consequences could have been serious.

After I came out of emergency surgery, I told Ethan I wanted to break up for the first time.

He panicked.

While I was in the hospital, he took an extended leave from work and barely left my side.

One night, I woke up and saw him slumped beside my bed, his eyes red.

For those few days, he really was the Ethan I used to know.

Back then, his phone was never on silent.

And the back seat of his beat-up college bike had always belonged to me.

Whenever my roommates complained that their boyfriends didn’t understand boundaries, I was the only one everyone envied.

Mom’s failed marriage had always made it difficult for me to trust romantic relationships.

But Ethan never backed away.

No matter how many times I refused to let him close, he kept coming back until, little by little, I finally lowered my guard.

He spent years proving to me that he was different.

But in the end, he was no different from any other man who betrayed the woman he claimed to love.

The day I was discharged from the hospital, I asked him one question.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

He said there had been a major system failure at work and that he’d been too busy troubleshooting it to notice his phone.

But Sophia had moved into a new apartment that same day.

And Ethan’s hand had appeared in one of her Instagram posts.

I didn’t confront him.

I needed time.

Time to wrap up my work, end the lease, and then leave him for good.

And now, that day had finally come.

I said to Mom,

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to get engaged.”

“I don’t.”

The apartment door suddenly opened from the outside.

Ethan stood in the doorway.

“What did you just decide?”