I Quit My Job Twenty-One Times And He Packed Her Shirt Chapter 03

I Quit My Job Twenty-One Times And He Packed Her Shirt Chapter 03

After work, I ordered a large bowl of spicy Thai takeout noodles along with some sliders and a sweet milkshake.

For the first time in years, I didn’t have to walk on eggshells around Julian.

I still remembered the first time I accompanied him on a relocation. The stress had been overwhelming, and I had craved a comforting bowl of spicy takeout.

But by the time the delivery app notified me it arrived, I found the container sitting in the trash. Julian had looked at me with pure disgust, saying, “That junk is terrible for your health.”

But I knew the truth—he just hated the smell. So later, when he willingly took Chloe to that trendy, packed Thai noodle joint, we had a massive blowout.

I took a bite of my noodles, letting the spice hit my tongue. Suddenly, none of those old fights mattered anymore.

Right as I finished eating, Julian’s FaceTime request flashed on my screen.

The second I answered, Chloe’s face popped into view with a giggling smirk. “Checking up on your man, Rachel?”

“Don’t worry! Julian didn’t look at a single girl today. I’ll keep him on a tight leash for you tomorrow too!”

My brow twitched slightly.

Julian laughed, gently nudging Chloe out of the frame. “Alright, cut it out,” he scolded playfully. “What if Rachel gets the wrong idea? Plane tickets are impossible to book on short notice right now.”

He leaned closer to the camera, giving a helpless smile. “I don’t want you stressing out at home over nothing.”

“Ugh, stop flaunting your romance, Julian! Have some mercy on us single people!” Chloe whined in the background.

“How is this flaunting?” Julian shot back. “Besides, it’s your fault for booking the Airbnb so late that we only got a one-bedroom place.”

Turning back to me, he said, “If I wasn’t trying to save up to marry Rachel, I never would have agreed to this trip with you!”

Chloe laughed mockingly, reaching out to playfully pinch Julian’s cheek. “Keep rubbing it in, see what happens!”

Instead of getting annoyed, Julian grinned and pinched her cheek right back. “I’m not rubbing anything in. Maybe you should just find a boyfriend.”

I stared at the display for a beat, then quietly tapped the red button, ending the call.

He didn’t call back. He just sent a generic [Goodnight] text before bed.

Life without Julian was incredibly liberating.

But on the fourth day, I came home from work to find my front door wide open. Inside, Chloe was sitting on the couch, sobbing softly.

“You’re back?” I asked.

Julian gave a distracted nod. “Yeah. Chloe’s family had an emergency, so I flew back with her to sort things out.”

“By the way, I ordered some groceries on Instacart. Can you whip up that special herbal chicken soup you make?”

I walked into the entryway and dropped my bag. “I’m exhausted. Just order takeout.”

“Rachel, Chloe’s father is incredibly sick,” Julian pressed, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Can’t you show a little basic sympathy?”

As his demanding words echoed through the room, Chloe stood up. Her eyes were red and watery as she put on a pitiful expression.

“Rachel, Julian brought some of your chicken soup to the office last year and my dad hasn’t stopped raving about it ever since.” She whimpered. “Can’t you please just do this one favor for us?”

“Ever since?” My brows knitted together.

That specific herbal soup was something I had spent weeks learning entirely for Julian. I had felt bad about his brutal corporate travel schedule, so I used my rare days off to master the recipe.

Last year, I had spent two solid months cooking it for him constantly. Prepping the ingredients alone took two hours, and the constant skimming and simmering required me to stand over the stove without a break.

My back would ache terribly by the end of it, but because Julian said he loved it, I kept going.

And yet, it turned out my hard work had been feeding someone else’s family all along.

“Why on earth should I help you?”