He Drove His Female Intern Every Day. I Vanished After the Storm Chapter 01

He Drove His Female Intern Every Day. I Vanished After the Storm Chapter 01

Every morning before work, I asked Ethan to give me a ride.

He always said it wouldn’t look good at the office.

But today, Seattle was hit by a downpour.

I was standing at an intersection waiting for the light to change when an SUV tore through a huge puddle, splashing filthy water all over my coat and pants.

The driver was my boyfriend, Ethan Walker.

In the passenger seat sat an intern from our company, Sophia Bennett.

Her blonde hair had clearly just been styled, and she wore a cream-colored trench coat as she turned toward him, laughing at something he’d said.

Ethan didn’t see me.

Or maybe it had simply never occurred to him that I’d be walking in weather like this.

Seattle got plenty of rain.

Ethan had never once driven me to work.

But ever since Sophia came to Seattle, he’d picked her up and dropped her off every single day, rain or shine.

He’d been doing it since her very first day at the company.

An elderly woman waiting beside me at the light handed me a few tissues.

“Seattle weather is strange, isn’t it? You get used to it after you’ve lived here long enough.”

I wiped my face and smiled.

“I don’t think I ever will.”

My resignation had already been approved.

Next week, I would be flying back to San Diego.

It was sunny there most of the year.

That sounded nice.

Soon, I wouldn’t have to worry about how I was supposed to get home every time it rained.

…

I made it to the office with one minute to spare before the meeting.

Water was still dripping from my soaked hair.

I didn’t even have time to dry off before grabbing my laptop and rushing into the glass-walled conference room.

When I looked up, my eyes met Ethan’s.

Less than a second later, he looked away first.

A few coworkers asked if I’d fallen into a lake.

I gave them a brief explanation, then chose the seat farthest away from Ethan.

My phone lit up.

It was a message from him.

[Why didn’t you call an Uber today?]

Before leaving home, I’d shown him a screenshot.

Because of the storm, ride-share prices had quadrupled, and the estimated wait time was over ninety minutes.

All he’d sent back was a thinking emoji.

I looked up.

Ethan was leaning toward Sophia, talking to her.

She smiled sweetly, her blonde hair resting over one shoulder.

The paper cup in her hand was from the coffee shop where Ethan bought her coffee every morning.

During a break in the meeting, everyone started talking about the storm.

“I only had to run a few dozen yards from the underground garage, and my shoes still got soaked.”

“Ethan, I’m so jealous. Having your own car is so convenient. No wonder the tech department pays so well.”

Another coworker glanced at Sophia and laughed dramatically.

“I can live without a car, but I want an on-call chauffeur like Ethan too. Who wouldn’t be jealous?”

Sophia covered her mouth as she laughed.

“Ethan just worries about me being out there alone.”

I took a sip of my coffee.

It tasted unbearably bitter.

Back then, I’d moved from San Diego to Seattle for Ethan because I truly believed we were going to build a home here together.

But after I arrived, I slowly realized things weren’t the way I’d imagined.

We had agreed to save together for the down payment on our first home.

Then he bought a car instead, draining almost all the money from our joint savings account.

And I could count on one hand the number of times he’d actually used that car to drive me anywhere.

Because he had to take care of that “vulnerable girl.”

At the end of the meeting, the air-conditioning made me sneeze.

Ethan’s voice came from behind me.

“Go get some cold medicine.”

Sophia immediately hurried after me.

“Eileen, I still have some of the medicine Ethan bought me last time. He’s seriously so thoughtful. Whenever I feel even a little sick, he has everything ready for me. Want me to get you some?”

“No, thanks. I’ve already ordered some for delivery.”

Ethan had told me to “take care of myself” so many times that I’d long since gotten used to handling everything on my own.

At noon, Ethan and Sophia headed to the employee cafeteria downstairs together.

They invited me, but I declined.

I only had a few days left before I resigned, and there was still work I needed to hand over.

I had to use every minute I had left to get it done.

Not long after that, another message popped up on my phone.

Ethan again.

[Fine. What the hell is wrong with you? You looked at me earlier like I’d killed you or something!]

[Sophia’s apartment is really far from the office. The weather was terrible today, and I was worried something might happen to her on the way. What’s the big deal if I give her a ride once?]

It wasn’t once.

It was every single time.

A second later, he sent me a deliberately cute bear sticker.

It was from the exact same set Sophia always used.

[Come on, babe. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of this?]

[I’ve known her since we were kids. She came to Seattle for this internship because of me, and she doesn’t know anyone here except me. If I can help her out a little, why wouldn’t I?]

He’d forgotten.

I had also moved more than a thousand miles away from home because of him.

I sent back only one message.

[You’re absolutely right.]

The “typing…” indicator stayed at the top of the chat for a few seconds.

Finally, he replied.

[Good.]

The sharp click of high heels drew closer across the office.

Sophia sat down beside me.

I glanced at my own shoes.

I’d worn the same old black clogs for so long that the edges had faded gray.

The skin around my ankles had been rubbed raw, then soaked in the rain until it turned pale and wrinkled.

The glare off the desktop stung my eyes.

Sophia was touching up her lipstick.

The gold tube looked familiar.

I’d seen it in Ethan’s shopping cart last week.

Sophia noticed me looking and deliberately turned the lipstick around in her hand.

“Pretty, isn’t it?”

She blinked at me, smiling sweetly.

“Ethan gave it to me for my hundredth day at the company. I told him he didn’t have to make such a big deal out of it, but he insisted that a hundred days was worth celebrating.”

Last week had also been my fifth anniversary with Ethan.

That day, he’d told me he was too busy and had forgotten to get me a gift.

At the afternoon all-hands meeting, the regional vice president stopped as he passed my seat.

His eyes swept over the cuffs of my pants, which still weren’t completely dry, and then down to my worn-out shoes.

“Eileen, you’re in sales. You need to pay attention to your appearance.”

He paused and turned his gaze toward Sophia.

“Look at Sophia. She understands the importance of looking presentable in front of clients. Why do some people still fail to understand something so basic?”

Sophia lowered her head, clearly hiding a smile.

Ethan looked at me but said nothing.

After the meeting, my team lead, Megan, asked me to stay behind.

Once the glass door closed, she pushed a cup of hot water toward me.

“I’ve gone through all your transition documents. They’re very thorough. I don’t have any issues with them.”

She fell silent for two seconds, then sighed.

“Back then, you gave up the chance to lead a team in San Diego for Ethan. You even took a pay cut to transfer to Seattle. I’ve always thought you deserved better than that.”

I smiled.

Megan and I had gone to the same university.

She had graduated a year before me, and she was the only person at the company who knew about my relationship with Ethan.

“What finally made you decide to leave?”

Honestly, it wasn’t anything in particular.

Back then, all I’d wanted was to be closer to him.

Now, all I wanted was to leave him.

And after that, I hoped I’d never have to see him again.