I Could Hear His Heart Begging While He Cheated On Me Chapter 01

I Could Hear His Heart Begging While He Cheated On Me Chapter 01

Seven years into our long-distance relationship, I quit my job and moved back to Nathaniel Cross’s place.

Beep——Beep——Beep——

I entered the door code three times. It was wrong every time.

When the door was opened, I saw an unexpecte, my best friend, Penelope Reed.

She was wearing one of Nathaniel’s button-downs, and the hem barely covered the tops of her thighs.

“Lena, you’re back?”

She smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“I had a fight with my roommate, so I’ve been staying at your boyfriend’s place lately.”

At the sound of her voice, Nathaniel walked out of the bathroom.

“Don’t block the doorway.”

“Penny’s staying in the master bedroom. You can sleep in the guest room tonight.”

He looked impatient, but his thoughts rang in my ears again.

[We’ve been apart for so long. Did you fall for someone else?]

[Lena, tell her this is our home. Tell her she can’t stay here.]

[Come on, make a scene. Show me you still care.]

SEVEN years. He had been like this for seven years.

If I answered a message late, he took Penny out to dinner.

If I couldn’t spend one night with him, he let Penny stay over.

Before, I would question him, cry, and give him the fight his thoughts were begging for.

But this time, I looked at the pink towel wrapped around his waist.

Then I saw the women’s underwear hanging on the balcony.

Suddenly, I didn’t want to ask anything.

I stepped back, grabbed my suitcase, and left.

I wasn’t staying in a home built for three.

…

Penny reached out and caught the handle of my suitcase.

“Lena, you’re seriously mad because the door code didn’t work?”

“Don’t overthink it. I could never remember the old code, so Nate changed it to my birthday.”

Nathaniel scoffed.

“She just has a bad temper. It’s a string of numbers. What’s the big deal about changing it?”

His face was dismissive, but his thoughts grew more frantic by the second.

[Say something. Tell me the old code was the date we got together. Tell me I had no right to change it.]

[Lena, why aren’t you reacting at all?]

I said nothing.

Penny leaned against the doorframe and yawned.

“Are you coming in or not? We’re going to bed.”

I took out my apartment key and set it beside the door.

“No. You two go ahead.”

Nathaniel froze for a second.

“Then get the hell out!”

He slammed the door in my face, and I stumbled back.

My bag fell to the floor, spilling a stack of old train tickets.

The date on the top one was from seven years ago.

The day I transferred to Havenport, Nathaniel took me to the station.

The boarding announcement played three times before he finally let go of me.

“Go, Lena. Don’t look back.”

He made it sound easy.

But in that exact moment, I heard his thoughts for the first time.

[Lena, I don’t want to let you go.]

[But I can’t ask you to stay.]

[I love you. Please wait for me.]

My hand froze over my ticket, and tears flooded my eyes.

After we started living in different cities, I took that five-hour express train over and over again.

Even when I worked until midnight, I still rushed to see him.

Then one week, after pulling two all-nighters, I passed out at the office and missed my train.

The moment I woke up in the hospital, I called him.

He finally answered on the seventh try.

“I’m having dinner with Penny.”

His voice was colder than I had ever heard it.

“Why are you crying? If you don’t have time for me, am I not allowed to see her?”

“She’s your best friend. If she’s keeping an eye on me, what do you have to worry about?”

That night, Penny posted three Instagram Stories.

Dinner at a steakhouse. Drinks at a bar. A city street at three in the morning.

Meanwhile, I lay alone in a hospital bed with an IV running all night.

Back in the present, a tear landed on the train ticket.

I tried to wipe it away, but the paper stayed wet.

The door opened again.

“If you can’t bring yourself to leave, then get inside.”

When Nathaniel saw my tears, his expression softened.

“How long are you staying this time?”

I didn’t tell him I had already quit my job.

There was no point anymore.

I had given up everything because I wanted to end seven years of long-distance dating, move in with him, and start a new life together.

But he and Penny were already living that life without me.

Penny came out of the bathroom with a towel.

As naturally as breathing, she began drying his hair.

Nathaniel didn’t pull away. He even lowered his head for her.

His thoughts said he loved me.

But he had already grown used to having Penny beside him.

There had been no place for me in this home for a long time.

The train tickets were still scattered across the floor.

I left them there and walked toward the elevator.

Nathaniel gave a cold laugh.

“Lena, if you walk out today, we’re done.”

I pressed the elevator button without looking back.

His thoughts instantly spiraled.

[Lena, don’t go. I only wanted to make you jealous.]

[Just turn around. I’ll make it up to you.]

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside.

[Please. Don’t leave.]

I heard him.

But this time, I didn’t stop.

The doors slowly slid shut, blocking his face and silencing his thoughts.

Just then, my phone rang.

“Lena, the position at our Ashford headquarters is still open for you. Have you made up your mind?”

I wiped away my tears and cleared my throat.

“Mr. Shaw, I’ll report for work tomorrow.”