He Made Me Feel Lost, So I Became Someone He’d Never Find Chapter 02
Before bed, I came across a video my best friend had posted.
The caption read: [Finally, the ending I’d been rooting for.]
As if I were determined to hurt myself, I tapped the video.
Drone lights and fireworks filled the night sky. Grant was down on one knee in front of Camille, telling her how much he loved her.
He had found the ring from the car after all.
And yet not one of them had cared enough to wonder whether I—the other person who had been in that car—was even okay, or where I had gone.
The next day, I went to the county clerk’s office to request the certified records I needed for my overseas graduate-school plans.
I looked up and saw Grant at a counter not far away. He had a little boy in his arms while Camille bent over some paperwork.
I stepped closer to get a better look.
My mother came rushing out of nowhere and knocked me hard enough to send me stumbling backward. She leaned close and lowered her voice.
“Since you’ve seen them, there’s no point hiding it anymore. Camille had Grant’s baby three years ago.”
“Because of you, Camille was too afraid to let the boy meet his father. She raised him all by herself and went through more than enough.”
“Don’t you dare go over there and bother them.”
I looked at the three of them. They looked like a perfect little family, and tears burned behind my eyes.
“So all of you knew, didn’t you? You kept me in the dark like an idiot!”
My voice broke. I was barely holding myself together.
So all the preparations Grant had made were for their son—not for a child he hoped to have with me.
“If you weren’t so petty, would we have had to hide it from you?”
“The boy is already three. There’s nothing you can change now. If you keep making a scene, it won’t do your relationship with Grant any good.”
The accusations kept coming, as if I were the one who had done something wrong.
After they submitted the paperwork, Grant headed out with the boy in one arm and Camille’s hand in the other.
Our eyes met.
He looked rattled for a moment, then strangely unbothered.
He looked me up and down.
“What, were you driving with your feet yesterday? It takes real talent to put a car in a ditch.”
His sarcasm brought the terror of yesterday’s crash rushing back, sending a jolt of panic through me.
I looked at the three of them and said coldly, “Not nearly as impressive as disappearing while pregnant and showing back up years later with a kid.”
Camille quickly pulled her hand from Grant’s.
“Elena, when Grant and I broke up, I didn’t know I was pregnant.”
“My health was bad, and I had no choice but to have the baby. Don’t blame Grant.”
“They only gave me the house so my son could attend school in that district. I’ll give it back when he turns eighteen.”
Grant took her hand again. The diamond on her ring finger caught the light.
“Camille, you did nothing wrong. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
He turned to me, his voice noticeably colder.
“If you want to make a scene, take it outside. Don’t talk like this in front of a child. You’ll scare him.”
At that, the little boy burst into tears.
“That lady’s scary… I’m scared.”
My mother hurried over and scooped him out of Grant’s arms.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Grandma’s here.”
She patted his back as she carried him toward the exit, shooting me a look full of disapproval.
I felt myself start to tremble.
“None of you did anything wrong. I’m the one who’s wrong.”
“Grant, we’re done. Call off the wedding. I won’t stand in the way of you being a good father.”
I went back to the service counter and finished filling out the records request form.
Grant went still for a moment.
He started to come after me, but Camille gave his hand a subtle squeeze.
“We have an appointment at the preschool. We need to go.”
I picked up my pen and stared at the form for a long time.
A tear fell onto the paper. I hurriedly wiped it away with my sleeve, and my hand brushed the scar on my arm.
Grant lived in an old house, and I had found several safety hazards there. He had dismissed them as excuses I was making because I wanted to move.
“What if Camille gets lost? She has no sense of direction. This is the only route she knows.”
“If you want to move, move. I’m not going anywhere.”
That night, the electric water heater caught fire, leaving burns all along my arm.
Only then did Grant finally agree to move.
Looking back, he had only agreed to placate me.
