04
Jerry didn’t come back to collect his things.
After clearing out the worthless junk, I stood in the now–empty room, feeling like I had stepped back in time.
There was a time when I immersed myself completely in work. Though it was tedious and exhausting, I didn’t have to suffer through the pain of love.
That night, I drank an entire bottle of red wine by myself, lost in drunken oblivion. When I woke up the next morning, I was ready to embrace a fresh start.
But, to my surprise, I ran into Jerry at the office.
He was arguing with the receptionist.
“Why did you cancel my internship?” he demanded.
“This was all agreed on. She told me I’d not only get an internship here but after graduation. I’d be directly hired!”
I rubbed my temples, watching Jerry, who had completely lost his dignity. I started to question my judgment in choosing men.
Without the expensive designer clothes, he looked like he had no sense of style at all. He was dressed in a jacket and jeans worth less than a thousand dollars, and his angry f only made him appear cheap and petty.
face
He was pointing at the receptionist and yelling, slamming his fist onto the desk, “Do you who I am? Ms. Morrison is my girlfriend!”
know
The receptionist rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, “I think you mean your ex–girlfriend.”
“You!” Jerry snapped.
His face turned even redder. “You have no idea, do you? We’re just fighting. We’re not brokens up! I want my internship reinstated today.”
As soon as the receptionist saw me, she quickly stood up and greeted me. “Ms. Morrison.”
I clicked my heels confidently as I walked towards them.
Jerry rushed over, shouting, “Valerie!”
I didn’t even turn around.
He chased after me, but I didn’t look back.
Just as I was about to step into the elevator, he called out,
“Valerie, it’s me.
His voice, calling my name, took me back to a few years ago. Back then, before we were together, he’d used a web of lies to invade every part of my life slowly.
The elevator doors closed, and I saw Jerry rushing toward me, but I didn’t turn back. That evening, as I entered my building, the smell of alcohol hit me.
A bad premonition gnawed at me, and the moment I saw Jerry, it became a painful reality. He was sitting dejectedly in front of my door, clearly drunk.
30%2
18:08 Wed, 15 Jan AR·
But as soon as he heard the sound of my footsteps, he snapped to attention, standing up
with an unnatural sobriety.
“Back already?” he asked in a hoarse voice.
I didn’t reply and just swiped my fingerprint to unlock the door.
“I came to get my stuff…” As I entered the code, Jerry’s gaze grew intense, and he spoke slowly, “Valerie, you deleted my fingerprints and changed the code.”
- me.
The code had once represented the time we were together.
But the day we broke up, I changed it.
As I opened the door, Jerry tried to push his way in, but I blocked him.
“I’ve already thrown your things away. You can count the cost, and I’ll pay you back.”
He looked down at me, and for a moment, I saw tears in his eyes.
After a brief silence, he finally spoke, “Valerie, can we talk inside?”
His tone had completely changed. For the first time, he seemed to have softened in front of
I switched on the light, and the spacious, empty room lit up.
On the shoe rack was a pair of men’s slippers. They weren’t the ones he used to wear.
He casually picked them up, ready to put them on.
I furrowed my brow. “Don’t wear those. They’re not yours. Just come in.”
He froze mid–motion.
His eyes lingered on the slippers, and he stood there in silence for a long time.
I didn’t explain. Recently, I had added a male assistant to my team due to work demands, and I had bought those slippers for him for convenience’s sake.
I knew Jerry thought I had a new boyfriend.
When ho
finally looked up, his eyes were red.
The dim light made his expression hard to read. He stood there in the doorway, slowly speaking. “Valerie, I regret it.
- me.
Don’t break up with me, okay?”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
He was the one who said I’d regret breaking up, yet here he was, red–eyed and pleading with
him.
He was the one who had been acting, and now, he looked like the victim.
I poured myself a cup of coffee, slowly swirling it in the cup, sipping it calmly as I looked at
“Jerry, do you know why my company keeps growing bigger?”
He stared at me, confused.
“Because I never lack the courage to start over.
That’s probably the advantage of being a mature woman.” I raised an eyebrow and said, “I’ve already started over while you’re still stuck where you are. Honestly, you look… pretty pathetic.”
