Forty-Eight Hours Until I Disappear From His Life Chapter 02

Forty-Eight Hours Until I Disappear From His Life Chapter 02

Early the next morning, I started packing.

Three years of my life fit into two suitcases.

I’d just zipped the second one shut when the bedroom door swung open.

Ethan walked in with Sloane.

The same people who had mocked me the night before were with them.

Not one of them looked even slightly embarrassed. Instead, they gathered around my suitcases and started picking them apart.

“Wow. She really packed.”

“If you’re going to put on a show, you have to commit. Even the empty suitcases have to look convincing.”

“I bet she puts everything back by tonight.”

“Tonight? That’s generous. I give her three hours.”

Sloane held up one finger.

“One hour.”

“The second Ethan offers her the condo, she’ll unpack.”

Someone gave her a thumbs-up.

“See? This is why we listen to Sloane. She’s the expert.”

“She used to play the gold-digger game herself. She knows the type.”

They all burst out laughing.

I crouched down and slipped my driver’s license and passport into the inner pocket of my suitcase.

Ethan stood in the doorway, his expression dark.

“Where are you going?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Sloane cut in immediately.

“Hear that? She won’t tell you where she’s going because she wants you worried.”

“The second you start asking questions, she wins.”

Ethan had already taken one step toward me.

At Sloane’s words, he stopped short.

I opened a drawer and took out a box.

Inside were the access fob, the keys, and the few things Ethan had given me over the years.

The most expensive was an $800 necklace.

It had been left over from a raffle at some party, and Ethan had tossed it my way without much thought.

I pushed the box toward him.

“These are yours.”

The moment Ethan saw the keys, his expression hardened.

But Sloane got to them first, lifting them up between two fingers.

“Ethan, you still don’t get it?”

“She’s lived here for three years, and her name still isn’t on the deed.”

“She’s telling you you’ve been too slow to take the hint.”

Their friends exchanged knowing looks.

“Three years and she still didn’t get the condo? No wonder she’s losing patience.”

“Whitmore, you’re really slacking on your charity work.”

“The whole block she grew up on probably isn’t worth what your bathroom costs. Of course she’s getting desperate.”

My nails dug deep into my palm.

Ethan knew better than anyone how much I hated having my background thrown in my face.

But he stood there and didn’t tell them to stop.

He only looked at me.

“I’ll have Noah transfer the deed this afternoon.”

“The condo is yours. Happy now? Stop putting on an act. There’s nothing wrong with being honest about what you want. You know I can’t stand women who pretend to be something they’re not.”

It felt like someone had punched straight through my chest.

“I don’t want it.”

His friends exchanged looks, then laughed again.

“Damn. That’s a bigger appetite than I thought.”

“A Manhattan condo isn’t enough? Guess she’s after a piece of Whitmore Capital.”

Sloane folded her arms, contempt thick in her voice.

“It’s not that she doesn’t want it. She just thinks it’s not enough.”

“Give her the condo today, Ethan, and tomorrow she’ll be asking for part of the company.”

I looked up at Ethan.

“You think I’m saying no because it’s not enough too?”

He said nothing.

In that moment, the last part of me that still wanted to explain simply went quiet.

I took out my phone and called the wedding planner right in front of them.

“Cancel the engagement party.”

Ethan’s head snapped up.

“What did you just say?”

“The wedding’s off.”

“Charge the deposit to my account. Don’t contact Ethan Whitmore about it.”

After I hung up, I canceled the dress order and the makeup artist too.

Ethan grabbed the box off the table.

“Once you cancel everything, it won’t be that easy to undo.”

I nodded.

“Then don’t undo it. Ever.”

He stared at me hard.

Sloane tugged at his arm.

“Ignore her.”

“The harder she pushes this, the more obvious it is that she’s terrified you’ll actually let her go.”

Ethan finally turned to leave.

At the door, he tossed one last cold sentence over his shoulder.

“I’ll wait for you to come back and beg, but I’m not giving you forever. Think carefully about what you’re doing.”

After the door shut, I opened my phone.

Meridian Infrastructure Group had already sent over my overseas assignment contract.

I signed my name and hit confirm.

From that moment on, there was no going back for Ethan and me.

And for the rest of his life, he could wait all he wanted. I would never turn back.