Eight Years Of Silence Ended When I Saw Him Talk To Her Chapter 04
“What do you mean?”
Evan froze where he stood, his expression turning ugly.
I stopped packing and looked up at him.
“Exactly what I said.”
“You’re doing all this over some girl who just entered the workforce? Seriously?”
“I already said I’d transfer her away. What more do you want?”
Evan looked at me as if he genuinely could not understand, as if everything had gotten to this point only because I was being unreasonable.
I stopped talking.
I only felt tired.
It was as if something had been stuffed inside my chest, making it hard to breathe.
“Fine. You don’t want to talk, right? Then let’s never talk again.”
Evan slammed the door and left. The force was so strong that the entire room seemed to shake.
I laughed, then slid to the floor as if every bit of strength had drained out of me.
Early the next morning, I checked out of the hotel with swollen, red eyes.
As soon as I turned around, I saw Evan and Sophie in the lobby.
Sophie jogged up to me, her face full of guilt as she lowered her head and apologized.
“I’m sorry, Claire. I shouldn’t have posted those things.”
“There’s nothing between Mr. Harlow and me. It was just one-sided admiration on my part, so please don’t overthink it.”
Just admiration?
I did not expose her lie. I only nodded calmly.
“Okay.”
“She apologized. Stop making a scene.”
Evan walked straight over to me and put his arm around my shoulders.
“My attitude was bad yesterday. I’m sorry.”
“There’s a team dinner today. Come with us. It’ll help take your mind off things.”
I was just about to refuse, but he picked up my suitcase on his own and put it into the trunk.
When we got in the car, Sophie instinctively sat in the passenger seat.
I did not say anything.
Only when Evan noticed how unusually quiet I was did he explain at an unhurried pace.
“She gets carsick, so she likes sitting up front.”
I reached over and rolled down the window, then said over the rushing wind, “I get carsick too.”
Evan froze.
His lips parted, but in the end, he said nothing.
When we arrived at the restaurant, everyone was already there, and the place was lively.
The moment they saw Evan and Sophie, the others immediately cleared two seats right next to each other and started teasing them.
“Here, here. The cute couple has to sit together.”
“Otherwise, when Mr. Harlow starts peeling shrimp later, he’ll have to reach so far just to put it on her plate.”
As soon as they said that, Evan instinctively looked at me, as if checking my reaction.
But I said nothing.
I simply found an empty seat in the corner and sat down.
Seeing Evan distracted, everyone turned their eyes to me and whispered among themselves.
“Who is she? I’ve never seen her before.”
“She came with them. She’s probably a friend of Mr. Harlow’s.”
Hearing that, I looked up at Evan.
He did not deny it.
So in his heart, his girlfriend of eight years only counted as an ordinary friend.
When the food was served, everyone sat close together.
Only the space beside me remained empty.
A server carried a scalding pot of soup over to my side.
Just as he was about to set it down, Sophie suddenly cried out, “That’s hot!”
The server was startled and lost his grip, dropping the pot to the floor.
Scalding broth splashed all over my legs, leaving blisters across my skin.
I frowned in pain, and my breathing grew heavier.
Instinctively, I looked to Evan for help.
“Evan, I…”
Only then did I realize all his attention was on Sophie.
“How is it? Does it still hurt?”
Sophie had been splashed by a little hot water, and he anxiously pulled her to the sink to run cold water over it.
My legs had blistered, and half my dress was stained, but he did not see it.
All of a sudden, I felt that this meal was nothing but a performance put on by the two of them.
I lost my appetite instantly and stumbled outside.
I found Evan’s car and took out my luggage.
“Claire!”
Evan chased after me and grabbed my wrist.
“You’re leaving without a word? What’s with the attitude?”
“Do you know everyone was watching?”
I laughed, every word laced with mockery.
“So you do notice things after all. I thought Sophie was the only person you could see.”
Evan froze for a second, then sighed helplessly.
“She got burned. I was just helping her.”
“What about me?”
I lifted the stained part of my dress, revealing the blisters on my legs.
“You know how to care about your employee, but you don’t know how to care about your girlfriend.”
“Anyone who didn’t know better would think the two of you were the couple.”
“Claire!”
He frowned hard, his eyes full of irritation.
“You could have just told me. It’s not like I wouldn’t have taken you to the hospital.”
“And you’re a grown woman. If something really happened, don’t you know how to call 911?”
When it came to Sophie, he took care of her personally.
When it came to me, I was supposed to handle everything myself.
All at once, I felt that these eight years of love had amounted to nothing more than this.
Seeing me pull my suitcase and start walking away, Evan immediately blocked my path and reached for me.
“Enough. Stop making a scene. I’ll take you to the hospital.”
The words had barely left his mouth when several employees rushed out in a panic.
“Mr. Harlow, something’s wrong. Sophie accidentally ate seafood, and now she’s having an allergic reaction.”
“She’s covered in hives.”
The hand around my wrist slowly loosened.
Seeing how anxious he clearly was while still pretending not to care, I smiled.
“Go.”
At that, Evan looked as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. He immediately took the out I had given him.
“Then go to the hospital first. I’ll be there soon.”
After saying that, he ran toward Sophie without looking back.
I watched his figure fade farther and farther away.
This time, I did not hesitate.
I got a cab to the airport.
Right before takeoff, I sent Evan one final text.
Me: [Evan, let’s break up.]
Then I removed my SIM card and snapped it in half.
With an almost brutal finality, I completely severed the eight-year relationship between us.
