I Sent Away Every Woman He Loved Until I Became the One Who Left Chapter 03

I Sent Away Every Woman He Loved Until I Became the One Who Left Chapter 03

The elevator doors opened. I stepped in.

I closed my eyes against the violent discomfort rising in me.

Seven years ago, the day he confessed.

He said, “Meredith, I’m stuck with you for life.”

Back then, he fought some thugs to protect me and got his nose broken.

His face was covered in blood.

I cried and screamed for help.

He lay on the ground and smiled at me. “Don’t be scared.”

A love that ran both ways was unsolvable.

We dated, married, fought side by side. The business grew bigger and bigger.

Then my parents died in a freak accident, and I developed a rare condition. Severe emotional dependency.

At its worst, I clung to Grant pathologically.

If he was away for three days, I couldn’t sleep for three days.

If his phone died and I couldn’t reach him, I’d panic and knock on his coworkers’ doors at midnight.

When he didn’t reply, I couldn’t sit still. My mind churned with one thought: he’s leaving me.

If he didn’t come home, I’d turn on every light in the living room and wait on the couch until dawn.

Back then, his company was just starting. No matter how busy, he’d find time to text me. He never stayed out overnight.

On business trips, even at two in the morning, he’d rush home to be with me.

He’d say, “Merry, don’t worry. I’m here.”

But later, I heard he had a pretty female executive assistant.

After a few projects with him, everyone at the company said she was indispensable.

I heard she worked late with him every night. They often grabbed late-night food together.

I heard he carefully picked out birthday gifts for her. They watched fireworks together.

Finally, I couldn’t take it. I went to see the woman.

The next day, she jumped from a building over personal matters.

The police investigated and said it had nothing to do with me. I explained I hadn’t said anything to her.

But the way Grant looked at me changed.

I tried to please him. “Let me be your assistant from now on. I understand the company better than anyone. I understand you better.”

He agreed.

I went to work with him every day. I left with him every day.

Wherever he went, I followed.

Someone joked that I was like a piece of tape stuck to him. I just smiled and didn’t argue.

Later, work took over part of my attention. Those days of watching him so closely I couldn’t breathe finally eased a little.

But then I found a receipt in his suit pocket.

A jewelry store. A pair of women’s earrings. Eighty-three hundred dollars.

I didn’t have pierced ears.

They weren’t for me.

After going back and forth, I chose not to ask. He chose not to mention it.

I knew quitting my dependence on him was harder than quitting breathing.

And he was tired of the eyes watching him all the time.

One wouldn’t let go. One wanted to run. We silently played dumb.

I thought that was enough to hold something together.

But the women outside got spoiled. They showed up one after another.

They sat across from me, pulling out things more painful than the last.

Gifts, transfer screenshots, cheap promises.

What they had, I didn’t.

What I had, they all had.

Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays big and small. All he gave me was the time for one meal.

Those nights he claimed were busy with work, he gave to someone else.

So they all thought they were more favored than me. They asked when I’d step aside.

From anger, to fear, to numbness.

I learned to ask the three questions, listen to their answers, and send them away.

I thought if I sent them away one by one, he’d belong to me forever.

But more and more came. Each younger. Each more confident.

Then Brittany appeared.

After all these years, he’d never brought any girl to face me.

He put his affair out in the open.

In that instant, I finally understood. What I’d been guarding was just a job.

The elevator reached the first floor. The doors opened.

I walked out, crossed the lobby, and pushed through the revolving door.

I stood on the steps, pulled out my phone, and texted Grant.

[Tomorrow, 9 a.m. at the courthouse.]