He Gave Her a Three-Day Honeymoon, Yet Called One Day With Me a Waste of Time Chapter 04

He Gave Her a Three-Day Honeymoon, Yet Called One Day With Me a Waste of Time Chapter 04

When Grant came home that night, the main lights in the apartment were off. He stopped by the front door,

and the first thing he said was, “The clinic called me. They said you didn’t show up today.”

I sat on the sofa and looked at him..

He took off his coat.

“My parents have always wanted to see us have a child. You know that.”

“Your parents mentioned it to me today too. They said you’re not getting any younger and hope we’ll figure

out the baby situation soon.”

“As for Sophie, I admit I should’ve told you beforehand.”

“But I never meant to hurt you with any of this.”

I didn’t say a word.

Grant stepped closer.

“I’m not ending what we have because of Sophie.”

“Sophie can’t carry a pregnancy herself. She and I can’t build the kind of family we planned.”

“I’ll end that marriage.”

“Give me a week. I’ll start the annulment or divorce process, and then I’ll go to the county clerk with you.”

“This time, I don’t care how long it takes.”

I looked at him and no longer had the energy to argue.

“I don’t want IVF.”

Grant froze.

I reached out and touched the sleeve of his shirt.

“Don’t you want a child with me? Then have one with me. Don’t just send me to a clinic and let doctors

handle the part you should be sharing with me.”

Grant instinctively took half a step back.

It was a tiny movement.

But I saw it clearly.

The moment I saw him pull away, I no longer wanted to ask whether he loved me.

He avoided my gaze.

“You know I hate wasting time on things like this.”

Before he could finish, his phone rang.

It was a FaceTime call from Sophie.

Grant answered.

On the screen was a hotel suite.

Champagne, flowers, and white string lights-the decorations left over from the wedding after-party.

Sophie leaned against the headboard and smiled at him.

“When are you coming back?”

The moment Grant saw her, his voice softened.

“Soon.”

He ended the call.

The room fell silent again.

“I’ll go to the clinic with you tomorrow.”

Just then, my phone lit up.

It was an email from HR.

The company had officially terminated my position.

The email was carefully worded, saying only that the board had received serious complaints concerning my

“professional ethics, conflicts of interest, and handling of client information, along with supporting

materials.

Grant was listed among the complainants.

So were my biological parents.

I shot to my feet and grabbed his arm.

“You submitted evidence to my company?”

“You know what that job means to me.”

“I joined that startup straight out of college, back when there were barely a dozen employees. I helped build it

into what it is now.”

“My promotion review is next month.”

“Grant, you knew-”

He cut me off.

His tone was almost gentle.

“Exactly. I did it because I know how much that job matters to you.”

I froze.

He removed my hand from his arm,

“As long as you have that job, you’ll never make starting a family your priority.”

“You can hate me for a while, but I’m not going to keep letting you spend twelve hours a day buried in work.”

“Until this is settled, I don’t want you going back to work.”

I stared at him.

In that moment, I finally understood.

He had never truly believed that my career, my body, or my choices belonged to me.

He had gotten used to deciding things for me instead of treating me like someone who had a choice.

Two hours later, Sophie sent me a photo from the hotel room.

The image made it obvious what had just happened between them..

Then another message came through.

[Sorry, Elena. Don’t blame Grant. I’m the one who never wanted him to touch you.]

[The best thing about him is–]

[Most of the time, he does whatever I say.]

I read the messages without replying.

I didn’t cry again.

I simply set my phone aside.

Thunder began rolling outside.

I called a twenty-four-hour moving company.

Before midnight, everything that belonged to me had been loaded onto the truck.

After the movers left, I received a private message from my direct supervisor.

[Elena, I’ve known you since the company had only twelve people. I don’t believe those complaints.]

[The board is demanding that you be removed from the Chicago team, and right now, I can’t change that decision.]

[But we’re secretly preparing to launch our Canadian operations. The Toronto office needs someone to lead it. The project is confidential right now, and only a few people inside the company know about it.]

[If you’re willing, we can transfer you to the project under a ten-year overseas business agreement. Officially, you’ll be leaving headquarters. In reality, you’ll be building the entire team from the ground up.]

[Are you interested?]

I didn’t hesitate.

[Yes.]

Before I left, I placed the Al marriage certificate Grant had made for me in the center of the coffee table.

Then I sent him one final message.

[I wish you and Sophie the best.]

I blocked Grant, Sophie, and even my own parents.

Then I canceled my old number and eSIM and switched to the new number the company had given me.

That night, I boarded a flight from O’Hare to Canada.

They had all made their choices.

Now I was making mine.