Chapter 2

"I was scheduled to be discharged today," I said softly, not even bothering to look at her.

Rebecca seemed to snap out of her daze, her eyes drifting away as she mumbled, "I was planning to pick you up later, but I didn't expect you'd be back early."

My gaze shifted to a bag on the table next to her. Inside, there was a neatly folded pair of dress pants, and a note stuck on it that read, [Be sure to deliver this to my sweetest secretary this afternoon so that he'd reward me with a night at his place!]

Rebecca noticed where I was looking and quickly tried to hide the bag behind her, brushing it off with a forced casualness. "Hendrix's washing machine broke, so I just brought it back to clean for him."

She didn't do a very good job hiding the navy blue men's underwear peeking out from the edge of the bag.

I couldn't be bothered to call out her pitiful excuse, so I simply replied, "Got it."

Rebecca eyed me with suspicion, perhaps trying to gauge if I was really going to let it slide. After a moment, she cleared her throat and, for once, seemed to genuinely try to explain herself. "I've been swamped with work these past few days. I just couldn't make it to the hospital. How's your recovery? Did they give you any discharge instructions?"

Her words hit me like a slap. Swamped with work? If I hadn't seen Hendrix's social media posts, I might've bought her excuse. But I knew better now.

I didn't respond.

Rebecca, noticing I wasn't engaging, went into the kitchen and came back with a take-out box of king crab. The dish was obviously reheated leftovers, but she said, "I remember you love this. I bought it yesterday just for you. Eat it and stop being mad at me, okay?"

I stared at the crab, silent.

Nine years together, and Rebecca still hadn't remembered that I was allergic to seafood. Not to mention, it wasn't even me who liked king crab—Hendrix was the one who did.

She peeled the crab meat and offered it to me, holding it up to my lips. I turned my head away. "I'm allergic to seafood."

Her attempt at being sweet was met with rejection, and it immediately frustrated her. "Spencer! Stop making up excuses! I've been with you for nine years—do you really think I wouldn't know about your allergies? It's been days; are you still holding a grudge? Hendrix nearly slit his wrists because of you, and now he's not eating because of the stress. Is that not enough for you? You're going to go over and apologize to him tomorrow, whether you want to or not. You have to forgive him!"

Her words were suffocating. Hendrix's appetite loss and almost killing himself were tragic, sure. But what about the hell I'd just been through? I nearly died. Was that nothing to her?

A cold chill swept over me. My body trembled as I watched her storm out of the house, carrying the bag of clothes with her.

I sat there in numb silence, feeling my heart sink. I wasn't sure how long I sat there before I managed to gather my thoughts enough to open a conversation I hadn't touched in a long time.

[Hey, Brianna, is it too late for me to head to the office?]

The reply came quickly. [As long as you want to come, my company will always have a place for you.]

Brianna Stevens, my cousin, had tried for years to get me to join her company abroad. But I had been determined to stay, helping Rebecca manage everything for her business, and I had turned Brianna down multiple times.

Brianna always said that if I ever got tired of being Rebecca's support, I could always leave and go work with her.

I thought back to the time when Rebecca's first love had passed away from cancer. She'd been devastated, nearly ending her life multiple times. I had stayed by her side through it all, comforting and soothing her pain.

I had loved Rebecca for three whole years, putting her ahead of everything, even myself. She had been my world. I had skipped classes to cheer her up with comedy shows when she was down. For every birthday, I rented out an entire mountain lodge for her. On every holiday, I gave her ten thousand roses, each one symbolizing my love.

After three years, she finally became my girlfriend.

Even after we got married, things stayed the same. We were happy. At every reunion, we were the couple everyone envied. I thought we'd be together forever—until Hendrix came into the picture.

Hendrix resembled her late love so much. And, as I had feared, Rebecca soon became enamored with him. She started coming home less, and every time I called to ask where she was, she would tell me she was busy.

We worked together. Of course, I would know if she were really busy.

Then I saw the posts from Hendrix on social media—those "busy" days she was spending with him, traveling the world.