Resign with Grace, Return with Fire Chapter 23
Sandra had always been rational and objective. I understood the theory behind her words, but I was a sentimental person. If a stray cat were starving right in front of me, I couldn’t just watch and do nothing. I didn’t have it in me to be that cold.
Looking back, I realized that when two people didn’t share the same values, they should never have gotten together in the first place.
Ariana couldn’t stand seeing the stray cat suffer and said she wanted to adopt it.
“Fred, I want to adopt this cat, but I’m allergic to cat hair. Can I keep it at your place? Don’t worry. I won’t be a freeloader. I’ll cover the food and daily expenses.”
I nodded. “Works for me. I like cats, too. I don’t mind keeping it at my place, but let’s split the costs 50-50. We can be like its co-parents.”
After a half-hour walk, we were heading back with the cat when I heard a familiar click of high heels behind us. I turned and saw Sandra, whom I hadn’t seen in days. Her eyes were red-rimmed as she stared at Ariana and me.
“Fred,” she called out hoarsely, locking her gaze on me.
Ariana read the room, gave me a nod, and carried the cat home without asking any questions.
I watched Sandra walk toward me, looking wounded. “Who is she? Your girlfriend? Answer me, Fred. And why did you change your lock to a keypad model? I tried my birthday and our anniversary, but none of them worked.”
After she’d broken into my place last time, I’d switched to a keypad lock. The passcode was my birthday. Sandra had spun through different possibilities, yet she’d somehow missed the simplest one.
“Do you need something?” I asked instead of answering her.
She looked at me pitifully. “I missed you. I haven’t gotten a single good night’s sleep these past few days. I’ve cut things off with Lester, so can we start over?”
To prove herself, she pulled out her phone to show me that there were no traces of Lester on any of her social media platforms. She’d also deleted his number.
Sandra looked at me with eyes filled with longing. “Fred, it wasn’t until you left that I realized that I can’t live without you. My company has gone under, and I’m drowning in debt. That’s the retribution I deserve. Don’t worry. I’ll pay it off myself. I won’t drag you down. I just want you to give me a chance to make things right.”
I said coolly, “I don’t need it. I’m doing just fine now. My work is thriving, and my personal life is much better than before. I’m more comfortable than I used to be.”
Sandra panicked. “Is it because of that woman from earlier? She’s not a good match for you. We’re the ones who belong together!”
She pulled a sandalwood bracelet with my name carved into the beads from her pocket. “Do you remember this bracelet, Fred?”
Of course I remembered. It was our token of love-one for each of us, each carved with the other’s name.
Back then, we’d gone to a chapel to have them blessed after making them ourselves. We had stood under a tree and slipped the bracelets onto each other’s wrists, promising to stay together until we were old and gray.
But we didn’t make it that far.
Maybe fate had other plans. On Lester’s first day at Wendell Group, my bracelet had suddenly snapped. I’d hurried home to fix it before going to the same chapel to have the pastor bless it again.
I had thought that if the bracelet were mended, my relationship with Sandra would smooth out, too.
