He Thought I’d Always Stay—Then the Countdown Hit Zero Chapter 03

He Thought I’d Always Stay—Then the Countdown Hit Zero Chapter 03

My fever was gone the next morning.

But my voice was still too hoarse to use.

Ethan hadn’t come home all night.

At six in the morning, he sent me a text message.

[I couldn’t reach her landlord, so I took her to a budget hotel nearby. I barely slept before going straight to the office. Remember to take your medicine.]

I stared at the words on the screen.

A budget hotel.

A man and a woman alone together.

I didn’t think they had done anything. Ethan had his boundaries.

But the message itself was already jarring enough.

That afternoon, I went to his company.

Rachel Morgan had borrowed my car the previous day. She was returning it outside Hayes Group and had asked me to bring Ethan several documents he had left at home.

The executive suite was quiet when I opened the glass doors.

Ethan was in a meeting.

Chloe sat at the assistant’s workstation outside his office, typing.

When she saw me, she immediately stood.

“Natalie! What are you doing here? Are you feeling better?”

She flashed a dazzling smile, revealing straight white teeth.

She was wearing Ethan’s oversized outdoor jacket.

The sleeves had been rolled up twice, but they were still too long.

It was the jacket Ethan had worn when he left the house last night.

I stared at it.

Ethan was a clean freak. He never let anyone else wear his clothes.

Chloe followed my gaze and tugged at the hem.

“Natalie, don’t misunderstand.”

She explained guilelessly, without the slightest trace of shame.

“My clothes were soaked last night, and the hotel didn’t have a dryer. Mr. Hayes was worried I wouldn’t have anything to wear to work, so he lent me his jacket.”

“He’s such a good boss. He never acts like he’s above anyone.”

Her tone was guileless, and her gaze was clear.

As though she truly felt nothing but gratitude toward a kind employer.

I walked over and placed the documents on her desk.

“Is that so?”

My eyes moved past her to the white ceramic humidifier beside the computer monitor.

It was shaped like a plump little cat.

The previous month, I had seen them while shopping and bought a matching pair.

One sat beside my bed.

The other had been meant for Ethan’s office.

Now the humidifier was releasing a fine white mist into Chloe’s face.

She noticed me looking.

“Oh, this?”

She touched one of the cat’s ears.

“The office is so dry, and Mr. Hayes gave it to me this morning.”

“It’s pretty cute, isn’t it, Natalie?”

She smiled sweetly.

There was no obvious challenge in her voice.

I didn’t answer.

I turned and opened Ethan’s office door.

The room was empty.

So was the place on his desk where the humidifier used to sit.

Ten minutes later, Ethan returned from his meeting.

When he saw me sitting on the couch, he clearly froze.

“What are you doing here? I told you to rest at home.”

He walked over and instinctively reached for my forehead.

I turned my head away.

His hand stopped in midair before he withdrew it awkwardly.

“Are you still angry?”

He sighed and sat in the armchair beside the couch.

“Last night was an emergency. I couldn’t let a young woman sleep on the street.”

I looked up at him.

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t stand other people wearing your clothes?”

Ethan frowned.

“Natalie, stop being unreasonable. Her clothes weren’t dry. What was she supposed to do, come to work naked?”

“And the humidifier?”

I cut him off.

“Did you just happen to give her that too?”

A flicker of discomfort finally appeared in his eyes.

But it disappeared almost immediately, replaced by his usual self-righteous expression.

“It was just sitting on my desk. Her workstation is directly under the AC vent, so the air is too dry.”

“If you like it so much, I’ll buy you ten identical ones. Will that make you happy?”

He looked at me, exhaustion creeping into his voice.

“Natalie, you never used to be this petty.”

“Is it really worth humiliating yourself over a few little things?”

Petty.

Humiliating myself.

I stared at the countdown above his head.

[89 days, 12 hours, 5 minutes.]

It had fallen below one hundred days.

Suddenly, I almost laughed.

Once someone had already sentenced a relationship to death in their heart, even breathing could become a crime.

I stood and picked up my bag.

“You’re right.”

“It isn’t worth it.”