His GPS Always Navigated To My Best Friend’s Apartment Chapter 05

His GPS Always Navigated To My Best Friend’s Apartment Chapter 05

Midnight.

Ethan supported Chloe as he pushed open the front door of the apartment.

“Rachel must be so angry with me, Chloe murmured timidly, leaning into his chest.

“She wouldn’t dare,” Ethan scoffed with a cold sneer. “She actually had the nerve to turn off her phone. I’m going to put her in her place and cure that nasty temper of hers once and for all tonight.”

He reached out and flicked on the living room switch. The moment the light flooded the space, the words died in Ethan’s throat.

The living room was abnormally, impeccably clean.

The closet door stood open, holding nothing but his own clothes. The vanity table was completely bare.

Ethan’s breathing turned ragged all of a sudden. He sprinted over to the dining table, his eyes locking onto the surface.

There lay three hundred dollars in cash.

No note, no lingering attachments, not even a single line of accusation.

Panic seized Ethan, and the car keys slipped from his hand, clattering onto the floor.

“Ethan, what’s wrong?” Seeing the money on the table, Chloe covered her mouth, faking a gasp of shock. “Did Rachel… run away from home?”

Ethan ignored her. He stared fixedly at those three hundred dollars, a loud ringing filling his ears.

“Impossible,” he muttered under his breath, snatching the keys back up. “Where could she possibly go? She doesn’t have a single relative in this city. She’s definitely crashing at some friend’s place, trying to throw a tantrum to force me to back down.”

He pulled out his phone and frantically dialed my number.

“We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off.”

The mechanical female voice echoed hollowly through the empty living room.

Ethan yanked off his tie in frustration, opened iMessage, and his fingers flew across the screen.

[Look at you, getting brave, aren’t you? Learning how to run away now? What is the meaning of leaving the cash behind? Are you threatening me?]

I’m telling you right now, if you don’t drag your ass back here tonight, don’t you ever bother coming back!)

The instant he hit send, a bright red exclamation mark popped up next to the text.

Message Not Delivered – You have been blocked by this contact.

He was blocked.

A sharp, violent pang of chest pain ripped through Ethan’s heart.

It hit him all at once that this time was entirely different from before. In the past, when I got upset, it usually meant a cold war or me locking myself in the bedroom to ignore him.

But I had never blocked his number, and I had never cleared out every single one of my belongings.

“Ethan?” Seeing his face twist, Chloe tugged gently at his sleeve, her voice dripping with careful concern. “Don’t be mad. Rachel is probably just acting on impulse. How about I help you post a missing person notice on my Instagram Story tomorrow?”

“Shut up!”

Ethan slammed his arm down, violently throwing off her hand, his eyes flashing with a rare, unchecked rage.

Chloe gasped in shock, tears immediately welling up in her eyes. “Ethan… why are you yelling at me? I didn’t

even do anything wrong…”

“Did you not hear me tell you to shut up?” Ethan pointed a trembling finger toward the front door. “Since your foot has already been bandaged, call a cab and get out. I don’t have time to deal with you.”

Chloe stared at him in utter disbelief, heavy tears spilling down her cheeks. But Ethan didn’t give her so much as a second glance; he grabbed his car keys and stormed out the door.

That entire night, Ethan drove aimlessly, scouring every street in the city.

Our usual restaurants had long since closed down for the night. Pounding on the doors of my few close friends yielded absolutely nothing.

He even drove down to the old apartment complex I used to rent years ago, circling the block for hours.

The longer he searched, the more suffocating the panic in his chest became. There wasn’t a single trace of

me anywhere.

Early the next morning, his eyes bloodshot and raw, Ethan stormed into my corporate office building.

“Where is Rachel? Tell her to get out here and see me,” he demanded, stopping the receptionist with a hard,

icy tone.

The young girl behind the desk was visibly terrified by his disheveled appearance. “M-Ms. Sterling?” she

stammered. “She doesn’t work here anymore.”

Ethan froze. “Since when?”

She just finalized the paperwork. Word is she took a transfer to the regional branch.

Ethan felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him, paralyzing him where he stood.

A transfer to Oak Creek?

Two nights ago?

A memory suddenly rushed back-the night I had sat calmly on the couch, telling him in a flat voice that I had

to go to the office to work overtime.

It turned out that even back then, I was already preparing my exit.

Recalling every little detail of the past few weeks, it hit him. I had stopped asking about his whereabouts. I had stopped flaring up over Chloe’s boundary-crossing stunts.

Even when handed a cake that could have triggered a fatal allergic reaction, I had merely rejected it with

complete composure.

Only now did Ethan finally realize how incredibly abnormal I had been acting.

He had foolishly assumed I was finally growing up, finally learning how to compromise.

It wasn’t until this exact moment that he truly understood that kind of composure was called a heart

completely turned to ash.

Ethan collapsed onto the lobby sofa, burying his face in his hands.

A profound, unprecedented wave of panic and terror surged up from his gut, leaving him completely

breathless.

“Rachel…” he choked out through gritted teeth, his voice carrying a distinct, pathetic tremor. “What gives you

the right to just walk away like this?”