Returning the Ten Years I Stole Chapter 05
Third-person POV
Graham’s grip on the bill tightened when he heard Leanna’s words. He didn’t say anything and just continued staring at her.
Leanna was still grinning happily at him. She patted his arm and said, “Your sister’s all grown-up now: She’s going to elope with someone else. Aren’t you going to say something?”
He found himself responding with, “Yeah. That’s good.”
His gaze slid past Leanne, landing on Gwyneth instead.
Gwyneth stood quietly by the window with her head down, the sunlight casting a long shadow on the ground. She was avoiding his gaze, not even sparing him a single glance from the start.
“I’ll take you both home first,” he finally said, putting the bill away and helping Leanna to her feet. “The doctor said that you need plenty of rest. No overexerting yourself.”
Leanna grinned and nodded, turning back to beckon Gwyneth over. “Come on, Gwyn. Let’s go!”
She sat in the front passenger seat, while Gwyneth sat in the back. No one spoke during the drive.
The radio was playing some oldies. Gwyneth leaned back in her seat and gradually nodded off to sleep.
Graham glanced at her in the rearview mirror.
She was facing out the window. Her face was reflected on the glass, but he couldn’t see the expression on her face.
She’d lost a lot of weight.
She had been running back and forth between campus and the hospital for the past three months, and even her jawline was much more prominent now.
He wanted to say something to her, but his mouth hung open for a while before he shut it again.
What could he say anyway?
Tell her not to leave?
He was the one who told her to move out in the first place. He was the one who bought the apartment for her. So, why was he the one regretting it now?
The car slowed to a stop at a red light.
Gwyneth’s phone buzzed with a notification, waking her up. Her screen displayed the name of the person texting her.
Graham had really good eyesight, and he managed to see the name on her phone. A “Dean Lucero”.
He didn’t manage to read the message. However, Gwyneth grinned a little after reading it.
It was just a small grin, but a grin nonetheless.
The light turned green just then, and the car behind them honked impatiently. Graham snapped back to his senses and floored the gas.
He drove steadily back. Gwyneth had fallen asleep again sometime later, and her breathing was even.
Leanna only woke up when they got home. She rubbed her eyes sleepily as Graham helped her out of the car.
Meanwhile, Gwyneth followed behind, pulling a suitcase.
After stepping in through the door, Graham suddenly said, “Leave the suitcase. I’ll help you move tomorrow.”
Gwyneth froze for a second and looked up at him. “It’s fine. I’ve already called the movers for tomorrow at 9:00 am,” she replied.
Graham curled his fingers slightly. “Whatever.”
Leanna went to sleep very early that night.
Graham stayed up in his study, staring at his laptop, but he just couldn’t type a single word. The only thing on his mind was the name he’d seen on Gwyneth’s phone screen-Dean Lucero.
Who was he? When did they meet? Was he the person Gwyneth said she was seeing?
He turned his phone on and tapped into the chat window with her. The last text from her was from three months ago when she bade him good night.
“Night, Gram.”
He had never replied.
He scrolled all the way up and noticed that her texts were always about some mundane things that happened in her life.
“What do you want for dinner tonight?
“Gram! I passed my exams with flying colors!
‘It’s raining. Don’t forget your umbrella today.”
He basically never replied to most of her messages. At most, he’d just like her message and call it a day. Yet, Gwyneth never complained about it and still texted him with as much fervor and excitement the next time.
However, he didn’t know when she’d stopped.
After digging a little, he realized that the last time she’d texted him first was two months ago, on the day he had a huge fight with Leanna and then broke up with her.
After that, all of the messages he received from her were only from the group chat.
Graham set his phone down and massaged his temples.
t was dark outside the window. He sat in his seat for a long time, lost in thought.
The movers arrived at nine on the dot the next morning. Gwyneth had already packed everything up. There was a total of three cardboard boxes and a suitcase.
Graham came downstairs in his loungewear, watching her from the staircase.
‘Is that all?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
Gwyneth continued moving the things out of the house. “I got rid of most of my stuff.”
Grahain walked up to her and picked up the heaviest box. “I’ll help.”
She paused for a bit and nodded. “Thanks, Gram.”
Graham carried the box into the movers’ truck, going back and forth a total of three times. On the last trip, he stood at Gwyneth’s bedroom door and saw how empty the room had become.
