He Said He Only Pretended to Love Me, So I Left Him Chapter 07
He froze for a second, then quickly retreated back inside.
Ever since that day, we hadn’t been alone together-not once. Either I dodged him, or he dodged
I’d even given up on auditioning for the hip-hop dance club I really wanted, all because of him.
The elevator arrived. I was about to step in.
“Lena!”
Jace burst out of his apartment and grabbed the hem of my shirt, his face flooded with guilt. “About
that day… I’m so sorry.”
I kept my face ice-cold and yanked my shirt out of his grip. “I have no idea what you’re talking
about.”
I turned and walked into the elevator.
He followed. From the elevator, to the ground floor, from our apartment complex all the way to my
family’s store. He stayed silent the whole way.
When I helped customers, he stood guard by the door. When I fetched items for people, he hovered at the register. When the shop was empty, he wandered the aisles.
He picked something up. I immediately went after him. “Hi. Can I help you find something?”
“I…” He paused mid-reach, glanced at me, and said, “I’ll take two.”
I grabbed the items, went straight to the counter, and bagged them. “That’ll be twenty dollars. Card
or cash?”
He stared at me, his throat working. “Card.”
The transaction finished. I didn’t even lift my eyes, just pointed toward the door. “Have a nice day.”
He didn’t move. “Lena, can we please talk?”
Somebody pushed through the front door. I spread my hands, feigning helplessness. “Sorry, I’m kind of busy right now.”
Jace didn’t argue. He just took his bag and stood silently outside the entrance.
But that morning, customers kept walking in one after another. I barely had a second to breathe. It wasn’t until nearly noon, when my mom brought me lunch and the store finally emptied out.
“Oh! Jace, you’re here too! Have you had lunch yet?”
jace rubbed the back of his neck and gave a polite nod. “Hi, Mrs. Fowler. Not yet.”
As my mom unpacked the food, she waved him over. “Why don’t you eat with us? I brought plenty today.”
Jace opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “Mom, he was just leaving.”
Still holding his bag, Jace’s face fell in a way he couldn’t hide. Even the smile he forced tasted bitter. “Yeah, I just stopped by to grab something. I’m on my way home now.”
He looked at me, head bent over my food, then waved to my mom. “I’ll head out, Mrs. Fowler.”
Probably because I wouldn’t engage, he showed up almost every day of the break. One afternoon, he came by with a container of washed grapes. “Want some?”
I glanced at them and shook my head. “No, thanks.”
He leaned against the counter, his voice rough. “Lena, I know no apology can undo the hurt I
caused. But I still need to say I’m sorry.”
He braced his hands on the counter, completely earnest. “Believe it or not, I meant what I said- those words that day were just me lashing out at my mom. I’ve never hated you. Never.”
He’d said this a hundred times over the past few days. I was getting tired of it. “Fine, I forgive you. Okay? Can you please stop standing out front like some kind of stone guardian?”
His lips moved, and the smile that came out was painfully bitter. “Last time, I promise. Just let me
explain the whole story. Please.”
I sat back in my chair and scrolled through my phone with one hand. “Fine. Talk.”
I was so absorbed in my screen that I almost forgot he was there. Then he finally started, his voice slow and quiet.
“You know how controlling my family is. Every step I’ve taken since I was a kid-they’ve had it mapped out for me.”
“Before college, I lived under that pressure every single day. The only time things felt lighter was when I’d run into you.”
