His GPS Always Navigated To My Best Friend’s Apartment Chapter 06

His GPS Always Navigated To My Best Friend’s Apartment Chapter 06

Oak Creek was incredibly dry.

I was sitting in a café downstairs from the office, reviewing a project with a colleague from my new

department.

“Director Sterling, if we keep up this pace, the data model for the proposal will be fully simulated by next

Wednesday.”

The young man sitting across from me was Logan, a top-tier graduate who had recently joined the company.

He was sharp, efficient, and had a warm, infectious smile that showed off a faint dimple.

“Perfect. That’s ahead of my schedule. Thanks for the hard work,” I said, nodding as I made annotations on

my iPad.

“It’s no trouble at all. It’s an honor to learn from you, Director Sterling.” Logan blinked playfully and slid a small pastry box across the table. “I grabbed this Swiss roll when I ordered the coffees. I heard most girls

have a sweet tooth.”

I was just about to politely decline when a figure outside the floor-to-ceiling glass caught the corner of my

eye.

Ethan.

He was wearing a wrinkled trench coat, his jaw covered in dark stubble, his eyes bloodshot and locking onto

Logan and me with terrifying intensity.

The moment he realized I had spotted him, he pushed through the café doors and stormed inside.

“Rachel,”

His voice was brutally hoarse, carrying a faint tremor he couldn’t quite conceal.

Logan froze, looking back and forth between Ethan and me. “Director Sterling, who is this?”

“Just an insurance salesman.” I slid my iPad into my bag. “Logan, head back to the office and organize the

datasets first. I’ll be up to look at them in a few minutes.”

“Alright.” Logan was sharp enough to sense the sudden drop in temperature. Without asking a single

question, he stood up and left.

Ethan pulled back the chair Logan had just vacated and slammed himself down into it. He stared fixedly at

my face, desperately searching for a single crack in my composure.

“Two months,” he spat through gritted teeth. “Rachel, you are cold-blooded.”

“Disappearing to Oak Creek without saying a damn word, leaving absolutely nothing behind. Do you have any idea how close I came to losing my mind looking for you?”

I picked up my coffee and took a measured sip. “Mr. Vance, I don’t recall having any obligation to report my

personal schedule to you.”

The title Mr. Vance visibly sliced through him.

He lunged forward across the small table, gripping my wrist in a vice-like hold. “What did you just call me? Rachel, haven’t you thrown enough of a tantrum by now? You should be over it by now! Get your things and

come home with me!”

His grip was incredibly heavy, squeezing hard enough to make the bones in my wrist ache.

Yet, I didn’t struggle. I simply looked down at his hand, completely detached. “Let go.”

My gaze was entirely too still-no anger, no resentment, just the icy indifference reserved for a complete

stranger.

Ethan’s fingers stiffened instantly, and he automatically recoiled, letting his hand drop.

“Rachel…” His tone broke, dropping into something pathetic, bordering on a plea. “I know I messed up. I shouldn’t have abandoned you that night to take care of Chloe.”

“I’ve already blocked her number. I’m completely done with her. I won’t ever see her again.”

“Come back home with me, okay? The apartment is exactly the way you left it. I haven’t touched a single one

of your things.”

“Home?” I let out a soft, sharp laugh, finding the entire concept absurd. “The place cluttered with her slippers? The place that still smells like her throw pillows and her toothbrush? That place belongs to you,

Ethan. It was never my home.”

“I threw all of it out!” Ethan cut me off frantically. “I threw every single bit of it away! From now on, you’re the

only one who matters in that apartment.”

“Ethan, do you still not get it?” I looked at his panicked face, my voice remaining entirely flat. “I already threw you away right along with the rest of that garbage.”

I stood up, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “Don’t ever come looking for me again. I’m busy.”

“Rachel!”

He shouted my name behind my back, his voice cracking violently at the edge.

I didn’t pause. I walked right past him and stepped out into the blinding, arid sunshine of Oak Creek.