He Gave Me Fake Bags and a Fake Future Chapter 06
“I made chicken and rice soup. Don’t forget to eat some when you get home.”
“Lirone your shirts. They’re hanging on the left side of the closet.”
“Don’t work too late. I left a light on for you.”
He kept scrolling until he reached last winter. She’d written, “It’s snowing. I made ginger tea. Have some when you get home before you head back out.”
He hadn’t replied.
The spring before that, she’d written, “I had my follow-up today. The doctor said my right hand is recovering pretty well. Do you think I could try again?”
He’d replied, “Don’t put yourself through all that. Isn’t cooking enough?”
Four hours later, she’d sent back one word: “Okay.”
He stared at that single word for a long time, a strange pressure building in his chest.
Close to midnight, he texted his assistant. “Find out where Claire went.”
His assistant didn’t respond until the next afternoon. “Mr. Sterling, Ms. Bennett flew to the UK three days
ago.”
Adrian hurled his phone across the room.
The screen shattered but stayed lit. His wallpaper was a candid shot he’d taken the first time she’d cooked
for him.
A Band-Aid covered her left index finger, probably from a knife slip. She’d turned toward the camera with a
bright, goofy grin.
He suddenly realized he didn’t have a single decent photo of her.
He bent down and picked up the phone. Cracks cut her smiling face into pieces. When he brushed his thumb
over the screen, a sliver of glass nicked his fingertip and a bead of blood welled up.
He ignored it.
That afternoon, he called Sloane into his office.
“You’re fired. Starting today, I don’t want to see you again.”
“Adrian… what is this?”
“You heard me.”
Sloane went quiet for a few seconds. Her eyes slowly filled. “Is this because of Claire?”
His fingers stilled over the keyboard. He said nothing.
Sluane stepped closer, her voice starting to shake.
“She’s already gone, and you’re still throwing me out because of her? What about everything you said to me? The necklace? You told me deserved the best…”
