The Red Light I Couldn’t See, The Love That Was Never There Chapter 05
The instant the words left my mouth, the living room fell silent.
Ethan’s expression shifted from confusion to impatience.
“Here we go again.”
He released Lily, stood up, and walked toward me.
“You do this every time. The second you’re unhappy, you threaten to break up. You’re bleeding all over the
floor, and you’re still making a scene?”
He reached for me.
I stepped aside and put the suitcase between us.
“I’m serious.”
Ethan’s hand froze in midair. Then he gave a mocking laugh.
“Serious? You threatened to break up with me three times last month. And what happened?”
“You called me in the middle of the night, saying you missed me, and cried so hard you could barely speak.”
He took another step toward me and looked down at me.
“Sophie Hart, you do this every time. You throw a fit, then come back. I’m honestly sick of it.”
“This time is different.”
“How is it different?”
He crossed his arms, wearing the smug smile of someone who thought he had me figured out.
“What are you upset about?”
“Is it because I came back to take care of Lily when she had a fever? Or because I didn’t go to your
appointment today?”
“You throw a fit over every little thing. I’m used to it by now.”
I gripped the suitcase handle until my knuckles turned white.
“You’re sick of it, and I’m tired, too.”
“So let’s break up. It’ll be better for both of us.”
The smile finally faded from Ethan’s face.
He stared at me for several seconds, as if trying to figure out whether I meant it or was putting on an act.
At last, he frowned, his voice going cold.
“Fine. You want to break up, right?”
“Fine. I agree!”
He took a step closer and lowered his voice.
“But let me make one thing clear, Sophie Hart. Let’s see how long you can keep this up!”
“Don’t come crying back to me later, saying you miss me and that you realized you were wrong.”
“I’m warning you. I won’t go easy on you like I did before.”
He spoke with absolute certainty.
It was the certainty of someone who believed I already belonged to him.
I said nothing.
I pulled my suitcase past him, stepping around the pool of blood on the floor.
When I passed Lily, she looked up at me, her eyes rimmed with red.
Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something.
I didn’t stop.
The door closed behind me.
The motion–activated hallway light flickered on, then went dark again.
I dragged my suitcase to the elevator and pressed the down button.
When the elevator doors opened, a sharp pain shot through my leg.
I looked down. The wound was still bleeding, the blood running down my calf.
When I stepped out of the building, the wind had picked up.
I stood beneath a streetlamp and checked my phone for the next train to my hometown.
It would leave in forty minutes.
I flagged down a cab and shoved my suitcase into the trunk.
As I climbed into the back seat, the driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror and asked where I was
headed.
“The train station.”
As the car pulled away from the apartment complex, I looked back at the building.
The seventh–floor windows were still lit, and two shadows moved behind the curtains.
One tall and one short, standing close together.
I turned back around and sank into my seat.
