They Planned A Party In My Home Without Me Chapter 05

They Planned A Party In My Home Without Me Chapter 05

The doorbell rang three times. No one opened the door.

Ethan looked up at the camera and sent me a voice message.

“Lena, open the door.”

“The fish is still alive. Quit stalling.”

The message showed a single red exclamation point.

He stared at it for several seconds, then called instead.

My phone was off.

Ryan frowned.

“She didn’t really leave, did she?”

Tyler snorted.

“Where would she go? She probably locked herself inside, waiting for us to beg.”

Ethan didn’t answer. He typed in his birthday again.

The lock still flashed that the passcode was wrong.

Mia stood behind them and said softly:

“Maybe we should call it a day.”

“Lena’s furious. Showing up with this many people will only make her feel worse.”

Ethan’s face grew even darker.

“This is between me and her.”

“She changed the passcode because she wants me to ask what happened.”

Sophie looked uncomfortable.

“I can just go back to campus.”

Ryan stopped her immediately.

“You came all this way. Whatever Lena’s doing has nothing to do with you.”

They were still deciding where to go when the elevator doors opened.

The landlord stepped out with the young couple.

Ethan recognized her.

“Ma’am, is Lena inside?”

The landlord glanced at the crowd outside the door.

“She moved out this afternoon. You didn’t know?”

The impatience on Ethan’s face froze.

“Where did she go?”

“How would I know?”

The landlord pulled out her key.

“She still had two weeks left on the lease, but she told me to start showing the apartment early. She didn’t

want her rent back.”

The door opened.

The living room was completely empty.

The dining table, sofa, and cabinets were still there, but none of my things remained.

Ethan rushed into the bedroom and pulled open the closet.

Only a few empty hangers were left.

My clothes, books, and photos were all gone.

Ryan called from the doorway:

“Where’s all of Lena’s stuff?”

The landlord pointed toward the front desk.

“She boxed up all of your things and left them there.”

“She said she’d told you to pick them up yourselves.”

Ethan looked down at the fish in his hand, his lips moving.

“She just went home for a few days, right?”

The landlord stared at him.

“She transferred to Riverton for work.”

“Her train left today.”

The room fell silent.

Tyler was the first to understand.

“The Riverton position? Didn’t she turn it down?”

Ethan pulled out his phone and opened their messages from six months earlier.

Back then, I’d asked him whether he would move with me if I took the job in Riverton.

He’d replied with one sentence.

[Don’t make this complicated. I’m not changing cities for your job.]

He’d always assumed I had given it up.

Just like I’d given up on so many things before.

Mia spoke softly.

“Ethan, the fish is dying.”

Ethan’s hand went slack.

The plastic bag hit the floor, spilling water everywhere.

The landlord immediately snapped:

“Hey. What are you doing?”

But Ethan only stared at the empty room.

“She never told me.”

The landlord gave a cold laugh.

“The movers came twice.”

“You didn’t even know your own girlfriend was moving, and you’re blaming her for not telling you?”