He Waited for Me at the Border, I Already Left the Country Chapter 08

He Waited for Me at the Border, I Already Left the Country Chapter 08

“Eight years. Imagine wasting your prime on a guy like that.

“Disgusting. He really went looking for a free maid and called it love.”

I scrolled through a few more, and the crushing weight in my chest finally began to lift.

Adrian called. I hung up.

He called again, five or six times in a row.

In the end, he sent a long text.

Adrian:[Elena, I really did have feelings for you. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have lasted this long. I know I’ve hurt you deeply, and I’m so sorry. I sorted out the condo situation over the last few days. I’m just asking for one chance to make things right.]

Feelings.

After eight years, he said he had feelings.

I turned my phone facedown on the table and poured my mother a glass of warm water.

“Who was that?” she asked.

“Spam.”

She looked at me, then did not ask again.

After my mother found out what I had done, her mood improved a lot.

She was eating and sleeping better, and the doctor noted her recovery was well ahead of schedule.

I knew she was holding herself together for me.

She did not want to become my burden, so she tried desperately to get better.

And I was holding myself together for her too.

I did not want her to worry, so I tried desperately to act as if I was fine.

Mother and daughter, both pretending.

But by then, I truly was not hurting anymore.

Adrian still refused to give up.

A few days later, he waited downstairs outside my office.

The moment I came out after work, I saw him.

He was wearing a dark blue dress shirt, holding a bouquet of red roses, his hair slicked back until it

shone.

He did not look like a man begging his ex for forgiveness. He looked like some nervous boy at the

start of his first romance.

I pretended not to see him and walked straight ahead.

He hurried after me and said anxiously, “Elena, wait. I need to talk to you.”

He stepped in front of me.

I looked at him without a single ripple in my eyes.

“What is it?”

The roses in his hand were lifted halfway, frozen in mid-air.

“I know you’re still angry. I came here today to apologize.”

My expression didn’t budge. “I’m not angry anymore. I just don’t want to see you.”

He froze for a few seconds. His lips moved. “Elena, I’m sorry. I really know I was wrong.

I nodded. “I heard you. Can you leave now?”

He had never seen me so cold. It completely paralyzed him.

“What exactly do I have to do for you to forgive me?”

“There is nothing to fix. We’re done.”

I quickened my pace and walked away.

He did not follow.

But I could feel his stare pinned to my back the whole time.

That night, after dinner, my mother pulled me onto the balcony.

Adrian was standing downstairs, still holding that bouquet of roses.

“He’s been there since you came back. Now he knows how to beg you to stay.”

“Don’t worry about him. Mom, go to bed early.”

She turned to leave, then looked back and asked, “You really don’t feel even a little softhearted?”

i shook my head.

Softhearted?

I remembered the slap he had given me.

I remembered every time he protected Sienna.

I remembered the things he said at the late-night grill.

I remembered every single “wait.”

Whatever softness I once had had already been worn away by all that waiting.

The police investigation also came back clear.

The last wave of online harassment had been staged by Sienna. She had hired people to record the video and post it online.

That day was a total setup, the footage had been heavily edited to frame me as the sole aggressor.

Defamation.

Assault.

Sienna had already been taken into custody.

The police asked me to come in the next day.