I Took His Own Radio Advice And Walked Away From Seven Years Chapter 07

I Took His Own Radio Advice And Walked Away From Seven Years Chapter 07

During my second month in Bayport, I wrapped the first interview package I had produced for the crew. At the rough-cut screening, the room remained quiet for several seconds after the final clip ended.

The subject had initially refused to appear on camera, and the crew’s repeated attempts to reach her had gone nowhere. I revised the interview plan, cut every question that might make her uncomfortable, and spent two days working beside her. In the end, she chose to face the camera on her own terms. Someone closed a laptop and smiled at me.

“Getting her to trust the camera again took real skill. Claire earned this.”

The first time I heard words like that, I stood frozen for a long while. Eventually, I got used to them. I got used to having my judgment trusted. I got used to people listening to my pitches instead of cutting me off.

At last, the only person I had left to prove myself to was me. After the meeting, I stepped out of the building and my phone vibrated twice. One deposit was for thirty-nine thousand dollars. The other was for one thousand. I studied the bank alerts for a moment, then sent the extra thousand back.

“Why did you return it?”

The familiar voice came from the bottom of the steps. I looked up and saw Ethan. He had lost weight in the two months since I had seen him. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, as though he had not slept properly in weeks. He hurried toward me, never taking his eyes off my face.

“Did you get the forty thousand?”

“You’ve paid back what you took. I returned the extra thousand.”

His expression stiffened.

“That was compensation.”

“I don’t want it.”

“Claire, I wasn’t trying to buy you off.”

“All I wanted was my money back.”

I put away my phone and walked around him. He followed me.

“Tara and I are no longer regular co-hosts. The station pulled every promo that played up our chemistry. I should have drawn a line years ago, but it will never happen again.”

I kept walking.

“That’s your business.”

Ethan reached for me, then stopped just before his fingers touched my arm.

“I paid you back. I fixed the situation with Tara. What else do you want me to do?”

I finally turned to face him.

“You think returning my money and ending your partnership with Tara means I should go home with you? Those are things you should have done anyway.”

The color slowly left his face.

“But we were together for seven years. Can you really walk away without giving me one chance to explain?”

He was accustomed to watching me give in. My indifference was something he did not know how to handle. In his mind, the fact that he had swallowed his pride and followed me to Bayport should have moved me. But the thirty-nine thousand dollars had been everything I saved for our wedding. He took it without asking me a single question. When I demanded it back, he accused me of caring too much about money.

Now he had merely returned what was mine and somehow believed that would restore everything else too.

“Ethan, I have a good life in Bayport. Without you, I am happier than I was at any point in the last seven years.”

He stared at me.

“You’re pretending. You have no idea how grueling documentary work is. When you can’t take it anymore, you’ll come home.”

I looked at his face, tight with anger.

“Then that’s my choice to live with. Whether I succeed or fail, I will never come back to you.”

A coworker called my name and reminded me that our next shoot was about to begin. I called back to her and turned away. Behind me, Ethan called, “Claire, are you really refusing to give me even one chance?” I did not look back.

“I am.”

There had been a time when I waited for him to choose me first. I waited until the wedding was canceled. I waited until I left for Bayport. I waited until I no longer loved him. Now he was finally choosing me.

It no longer mattered.