They Planned A Party In My Home Without Me Chapter 07

They Planned A Party In My Home Without Me Chapter 07

A week after I started my new job, Ethan came to Riverton.

He didn’t tell me.

When I left work, he was waiting outside the office. I almost didn’t recognize him.

The man who was usually so particular about his appearance wore a wrinkled shirt, and his eyes were

bloodshot.

He was holding an insulated food container.

“I brought you honey-glazed salmon.”

I didn’t take it.

“Who made it?”

“My mom.”

“Then thank her for me.”

I walked around him, but he followed.

“Lena, talk to me.”

“I have to work late.”

“You never used to be like this.”

I stopped.

“Like what?”

“You never used to ignore calls, leave texts unanswered, or just leave us hanging.”

He said it so naturally that for a moment I didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh.

“I’m not the maid for all four of you.”

“I never thought of you that way.”

“Who bought the groceries for the Independence Day dinner?”

His lips pressed into a thin line.

“I did.”

“Who cooked it?”

“You.”

“Who got sent away?”

Ethan couldn’t answer.

I looked at him and asked, one word at a time:

“Who packed the cold leftovers into a container and told me to heat them up if I got hungry later?”

“I did.”

His voice finally dropped.

“I’m sorry.”

It was the first time he’d admitted he was wrong.

But I didn’t need to hear it anymore.

Ethan reached for me, but I stepped away.

“Lena, I made Mia move out.”

“I had the place cleaned and rearranged too.”

“You wanted to come to Riverton. I can apply for a transfer. If I have to, I’ll quit.”

“Don’t.”

I cut him off.

“Don’t quit your job and then say you did it for me.”

“If you regret it later, you’ll only blame me.”

Ethan panicked.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“What if I change?”

“You don’t have to change.”

I looked at him.

“You’re just used to me cleaning up after you.”

“Now that no one is doing it, you’re finally uncomfortable.”

Ethan’s face went pale.

At that moment, a coworker ran out of the building after me.

“Lena, the proposal got approved. The manager’s taking everyone to dinner. Are you coming?”

“I am.”

Ethan immediately asked:

“Who is he?”

My coworker glanced at him.

“A coworker.”

“And you are?”

Ethan opened his mouth.

I answered first:

“Someone I used to know.”

The words hit him like a slap. He stood there, completely still.

I had walked several steps when I heard him call after me:

“Then what did our twenty years together mean?”

I didn’t turn around.

“It took me twenty years to learn not to wait for you.”