I Took His Pampering and Left Him Behind Chapter 07

The failed message pushed Marcus over the edge.

He flew to Pembroke overnight and smoked through an entire pack of cigarettes beneath her apartment building until dawn

At seven that morning, Bonnie padded downstairs in slippers. Her hair was loosely tied in a messy bun, and she wore an oversized hoodie.

She bought a paper bag of pastries from the bakery on the ground floor. When she took the bag, her eyes crinkled into a bright smile.

He had never seen her smile like that.

Around him, she was always furrowing her brows, pouting, putting on that spoiled act that suggested she would fall apart without him.

Now she stood on the sidewalk, pastry bag tucked against her chest, one hand reaching up to fix her slipping hair tie. She looked relaxed and unguarded, like an entirely different person.

Marcus crushed his cigarette under his shoe and walked over, his voice rough.

“Bonnie.”

Bonnie didn’t seem shocked to see him. Her expression stayed calm as she led him up to her apartment.

Marcus followed her inside. The space was small but tidy.

Sure enough, all that helpless, incapable routine had been nothing but a performance.

Bonnie poured herself a glass of water. She didn’t get one for him.

“I froze your supplementary cards. Where are you getting the money?”

Marcus stared hard at her, trying to catch the smallest flicker of emotion on her face.

Bonnie stayed perfectly relaxed. She even pulled a carton of strawberries from the fridge and ate one slowly.

“If you already tracked me down here, didn’t you find that out too?”

He had tried. But the huge sum of money had appeared in her savings account out of

nowhere, untraceable.

“Did you latch onto another man?”

Marcus’s throat tightened as he asked.

Bonnie answered plainly, unapologetic.

“Yep. I’ve grown tired of your type. Thought I’d try something new.”

Marcus had never heard her speak to him in that sharp, unyielding tone.

With him, she had always been soft, compliant. Never like this.

“Watch your mouth, Bonnie.”

Her words “trying something new” looped in his head. Anger coiled upward from his stomach, burning in his throat.

Bonnie popped another strawberry into her mouth and lifted her gaze to meet his.

“Watch my mouth? Where was your sense of decency when you told everyone in that booth to

go ahead and take me?”

He had no retort.

“Name your terms. Come back with me, and I’ll give you anything you ask for.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Bonnie’s face. She pulled out a chair, sat down, and crossed her

legs.

“You must have read the report. You know I approached you on purpose, from the very start.”

Her blunt admission squeezed his chest tight.

He stood silent for a full thirty seconds before sinking onto the sofa across from her. His elbows rested on his knees, his posture unusually humble.

“Was there even one second, over these two years, when you weren’t acting?”

Bonnie looked at him, her gaze flat and unfeeling, like she was reviewing a finished business

report.

“No.”

Marcus’s grip on his knees tightened.

“Did you fly all this way just to ask that? You’ve got your answer now. You can go.”

“I’m not coming back. You know I’m wealthy now. I can pick whoever I want. I don’t have to cling to you.”

Bonnie stood and walked to the window, pushing one pane open. Sunlight slanted in, gilding her outline.

Marcus stared, transfixed.

She stood tall, shoulders relaxed and open. Nothing like the soft, boneless girl who used to curl up in his arms.

It hit him all at once: he had never truly known her.

This sharp, clear, unapologetic Bonnie made him even less willing to let her go.

Marcus rose, smoothed out the creases in his jacket, and slipped back into his usual poised, controlled demeanor.

“Bonnie, I’ll see you tomorrow.”