Chapter 0005

I smile, pushing some curly blonde hair behind my ear and out of my eyes. “Yeah, it is.”

“How much is your rent going to cost?” Lily jumps in.

I think for a second, putting books into another box. “Uh, about two thousand.”

Lily throws a pillow at me, pursing her red lips in my direction as she waves her arms around in the air. “I’m going to kill you!”

“What?” I laugh, unsure what she’s talking about.

“I never envied your promotion; everyone knows how hard you work. If I worked late like you, my face would collapse!”

Annie says, “But this, I cannot forgive you for!”

“Why?” I question, hands on my hips.

The two girls look at one another before returning their gazes to me.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Annie replies, rolling her eyes.

“City center,” Lily ticks on her finger.

“One thousand square meters,” Annie says next.

“Fully furnished apartment.”

“Swimming pool, security, a gym downstairs.”

“Only 100 meters from the closest shopping center!”

“And we’re going to kick you out after you’ve signed the contract.” Lily crosses her arms with a satisfying smirk on her face.

I roll my eyes and sigh but understand they’re having fun at my expense. “Girls, this is the employee care system, okay? I’m getting a divorce.”

I point at Lily. “And you? With one handsome boyfriend after another.” Then, I point at the tall blonde. “And you, with a husband that absolutely adores you! Life is fair for the two of you, and there’s no need to be jealous of my pathetic life.”

I let myself fall to the ground with my legs crossed, exhausted.

Annie approaches me, her hand on my shoulder. “We know, hon,” she reassures me.

“And we’re sorry you’re going through all of this right now,” Lily adds, joining us on the floor.

“We’re just trying to keep you as happy as we can,” the first woman insists. “You’re our best friend, Esme, and we just want you to smile.”

I take both girls around the shoulders and hold them close, so thankful to have the two greatest friends on the planet.

“What the hell would I do without you two?”

Lily shrugs against my embrace. “You’d probably be packing this place by yourself?”

Annie nods matter-of-factly. “Also, no one would be here to taunt you.”

“Or remind you that Ryan’s a piece of shit, and you’re a thousand times better off without him!”

“Plus, then you’d have no one to invite to your new, beautiful, stunning apartment!” Annie finishes, clapping her hands together as I let them both go.

“You two are absolutely ridiculous!” I roll my eyes.

“But you love us!” They sing song together.

It takes only a few hours of rushed packing to get out of the house I’ve lived in for the past several years. I look around one more time once the girls have left, saying goodbye to pieces of my home that will no longer be mine.

The perfect window perch to look out at the view around me.

The spot on the wooded living room floor where I’d spilled just a touch of black nail polish.

The perfect shower and bath combo that I used to lie in for hours at a time enjoying the calm.

The walk-in closet is mostly barren now.

The steps that I’d tripped down the first time I got a promotion.

“It’s not easy to say goodbye,” I whisper to the house. The creaks and the shadows that I’ve grown so used to will just become a faded memory. “I’ll miss you.”

A creak in the ceiling sounds as if the home is replying to my final words.

“Thank you for these past few years,” I finish, standing in the middle of the living room and taking one final deep breath in.

Then, I take off my wedding ring and place it on the kitchen table next to my house key. This is it. This is the end of my story here.

I grab my car keys off the counter by the front door, take one more look around, and then I finally make my exit, knowing there’s no chance I’ll ever walk through this door again.

I’m no longer Esme, Ryan’s wife.

Now I’m Esme, a strong, independent woman who is relearning the world around her.

“You took your sweet time,” Lily taunts as I finally get into my car downstairs.

“Just needed to say goodbye,” I insist.

“Only you would say goodbye to a fucking house,” Annie says, poking my arm from the passenger seat. Her nails are white today, and I swat her hand away.

“Let’s gooo, come on!” Lily cries, holding out the second word to annoy us. She jumps up and down in the backseat. “Onward to new adventures, Esme!”

The drive to the new apartment isn’t too far. It’s about ten minutes away from the house, and surprisingly, it’s pretty close to our favorite dive, Ransom’s Tavern. That’s pretty perfect since it’s the middle point for all three of us.

“Wow,” Annie whispers as she looks out the window on her side of the car. “Look how beautiful.”

“When you said the city center, you really meant it,” I reply to the two, leaning forward in my car to see the apartment building as it towers over us.

“The name fits well, too,” Lily adds, pointing out the window ahead of us. I follow her gaze as I see the plaque.

“Center City Apartments.”

“This is nuts,” I say without really thinking about it.

“You’re telling us,” Lily huffs. “Damn, Esme.”

We get a parking spot to the elevators closest to where my unit is supposed to be, and the girls and I start planning our attack.

“So, let’s get the important stuff into the bedroom first, and then we’ll grab everything else and put it in the living room,” I instruct.

“Good plan,” Annie nods, pulling her straight, blonde hair into a ponytail.

We spend about an hour just bringing things up to the apartment, moving quickly and laughing with one another about how dumb we all look doing this.

“Hire movers next time!” Lily groans as she drops a box of clothes on the ground. “If I’d known this was how I was spending tonight, I’d have told you I was busy!”

Annie bumps our friend as she walks by with another box of pictures and memorabilia. “At least if she hired movers, they’d probably be hot!”

Lily gasps. “Oh God, yes! They’d probably be all hot and sweaty and look amazing. Instead, I stink, and I’m tired and hungry!”

I throw the closest object at Lily, which just so happens to be my car keys. “You love me, and you’d never leave me in the lurch.”

Annie and Lily both shrug at the same time, and the three of us head back to the car for the final round of transferring my stuff.

Once we’re done, the two girls decide to utilize the fully furnished couches, but I end up kicking them out so they can each go home and spend time with their men.

“Call us later if you need some talk therapy?” Annie asks.

I give her a hug. “Of course.”

“Don’t call me, I’ll be sleeping for the next four days,” Lily deadpans, so I shove her playfully before giving her a hug and watching the two head off together.

I look around the apartment, not sure where to start. Maybe the best step is to be neighborly and go greet the people who live next store.

I head out of the door and go to put my new key in my side pocket. However, I accidentally drop the metal onto the ground and crouch down to pick it up.

Suddenly, as I’m picking up the key, a little missile comes barreling toward me, and the blur crashes into my arms before falling to the ground.

Instincts take over, and I quickly pick up the small child, an adorable little girl with dark hair. Instantly, she begins to cry as I hold her close and stand back up.

“No, it’s okay!” I tell her, bouncing her. “Don’t cry!”

I look around for an adult, but I’m only met with another girl, a few years older than the first, who looks like a carbon copy. However, she is glaring at me.

“How dare you make my sister cry!” She shouts out. “I’m telling my dad on you!”

Then, as the older girl is yelling, a man in a bathrobe comes running out of the apartment next door, calling out his apologies for his daughter scaring me.

The first thing I see is a set of perfect abs, and I have a hard time pulling away from the sight. Wow, what a handsome set of abs.

My eyes move up from the abs to the eyes of the tall, tanned man. He looks incredibly relaxed and handsome as he stands in front of me, but it takes me about five seconds longer than it should to put it together.

I can’t help but gulp as I set down the girl in my arms.

My boss…he’s my neighbor?!