I Took His Own Radio Advice And Walked Away From Seven Years Chapter 09

I Took His Own Radio Advice And Walked Away From Seven Years Chapter 09

After Ethan ended their co-hosting partnership, several of Tara’s brand deals began to fall apart. Those companies had signed her because of the attention and speculation surrounding her chemistry with Ethan. Once the station stopped marketing them as a possible couple and Ethan refused to appear with her at events, the brands lost interest. When Tara called, I was editing the final set of interview footage.

“Claire, could you please talk to Ethan for me?”

Her voice shook with sobs.

“If he’d just show up for the events we already signed on for, I wouldn’t be on the hook for all those cancellation fees. He won’t answer my calls. I don’t know what else to do.”

I stopped working.

“You called the wrong person.”

“But you’re the only person he’ll listen to now.”

“That has nothing to do with me.”

There was a moment of silence, then she began crying harder.

“I know what I did at the listener event was wrong, but Ethan gave those answers himself. I only asked a few follow-up questions. Why am I taking all the blame?”

“What Ethan owes me is between him and me.”

I looked at the frozen image on my screen, my voice calm.

“As for you, you recognized me in that anonymous letter. You still deliberately asked why I hadn’t left him and whether the wedding would go ahead. You wanted to use his answers to push me out of the way. Saying you loved him doesn’t excuse that.”

Tara’s breathing grew sharper.

“He never stopped me. When I posted pictures of us, he said nothing. When listeners tried to pair us up, he never corrected them. He made me believe I was different.”

“His encouragement was his mistake. But you knew he had a fiancée, and you still tried to turn those rumors into reality. That was your choice.”

She stopped crying. When she spoke again, resentment had hardened her voice.

“You don’t even want him anymore. Why can’t you leave me alone?”

“I haven’t interfered with your show or your contracts,” I said, cutting her off. “Those deals were built on a romance that never existed. Now that the fantasy is gone, so are the deals. No one forced you to post those pictures. No one forced you to cash in on what listeners believed. Tara, I am not the person you should be calling.”

I hung up and blocked her number. That evening, the documentary crew completed its final shoot. I walked out carrying my notes and immediately saw Ethan waiting at the bottom of the steps. This time, he had no thermos and no wedding plans. He held only a velvet ring box. Ethan walked up to me and opened it. Inside lay the engagement ring I had mailed back.

“Claire, I gave the station my notice. I can move to Bayport. I can build a life here while you make documentaries. You can decide when and where we get married.”

He held the ring out to me.

“This time, I’ll plan it with you. Give me one more chance. Please.”

I looked down at the ring. I had waited seven years for it. When I finally received it, what followed was not a wedding. It was broken promises, favoritism, and being abandoned again and again. Now he had finally followed me to Bayport with the ring in his hand. But I no longer needed it.

I reached out and gently closed the box.

“You’re too late.”

The hope vanished from his face.

“What?”

“You paid me back too late. You drew a line with Tara too late. You remembered our wedding too late. Even the things you’re saying now came too late.”

Ethan’s hand trembled around the ring box.

“I have the rest of my life to make it up to you.”

“I don’t want that life anymore.”

His eyes glistened.

“What do I have to do to make you come home?”

“Nothing.”

I walked past him without looking back.

“I am never coming home.”