He Only Lets Me Call Saturdays at Nine I Call Someone Else Chapter 03

He Only Lets Me Call Saturdays at Nine I Call Someone Else Chapter 03

The cab stopped outside Adrian’s apartment. I stared at the key in my hand.

Five years, and this was the first time he’d ever given me his apartment key. And it was because he had to take another drunk woman home.

How ridiculous.

When we’d first gotten together, he’d given me his key once.

Back then, he lived in a cramped, run-down apartment in a poor neighborhood. There was no elevator.

Later, he moved into this apartment and switched to a keypad lock. My fingerprint access lasted less than a day before he deleted it.

His reason was always the same—he wanted to keep things professional. It wouldn’t look right if people saw me in his apartment.

The elevator climbed to the sixteenth floor. The hallway was empty.

I unlocked the door. Two glasses sat untouched on the coffee table, and there was a new makeup mirror beside the TV stand.

On the back of the mirror was a Polaroid.

Lilah was posing at the camera with two fingers raised in a peace sign, while Adrian stood behind her with a smile on his face.

I looked away and started packing my things. Actually, there wasn’t much to pack.

When I’d moved out, Adrian had offered to box everything up for me.

But when I came back for my things, I found that he’d opened the boxes and half of my belongings were gone.

He’d simply said, “I threw out the old stuff. I’ll buy you new ones.”

I never saw those new things.

I found an old book in the nightstand and then felt an earring beneath it.

Outside the window, the sky had already gone completely dark. I sat there for a while, remembering something from years ago.

We’d just graduated then, and Adrian had failed with his first startup. We had no choice but to squeeze into a studio apartment and live on cheap meals.

He’d worked on his proposals until three in the morning while I sat beside him and watched.

Then he’d suddenly pulled me into his arms.

“Roselyn, wait for me two years. In two years, I’ll give you a real home.”

I came back to myself when Adrian walked in. His voice softened.

“Take everything with you if you want. Once I get through this promotion review, we can finally…”

“Does Lilah know about our relationship?”

Adrian paused. Then came that familiar, weary tone.

“Roselyn, I thought you understood me. After all these years, I never thought you’d suspect me of something like this.”

“Lilah’s kinder and more innocent than you think. She doesn’t have the intentions you’re imagining.”

He stepped closer.

“You’re always impulsive. You’re emotional, too. If I didn’t push you at work, what could you actually accomplish?”

“Come on. Don’t be angry. I promised you I’d marry you. Can’t you wait a little longer?”

When I didn’t respond, he took out a card and placed it on the nightstand.

“The PIN is your birthday. Buy whatever you want. Don’t worry about the cost. I’ll take you home.”

“Let’s keep our relationship private for now. Don’t tell Lilah. Her health isn’t great, and I don’t want to upset her.”

I looked at him one last time. His face was full of patience and restraint.

He looked just like the man he’d been years ago.

And somehow, like someone I didn’t know at all.

I walked past him and left.

“Adrian, do whatever you want. We’re done.”

The next afternoon, Lilah came bouncing over to ask me to lunch. I stayed at my desk.

She started flipping through the papers on it and came across the book from the night before. A note with Adrian’s name on it was tucked between the pages.

I didn’t have time to grab it.

The smile slowly disappeared from Lilah’s face. Her fingertips turned one page after another. Then she suddenly threw the book at me, her voice sharp.

“Roselyn! Are you the woman Adrian has been keeping all this time?”