Chapter One

Eliana Brown

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I was certain most people were delighted when their business trip was cut short, but not me, because not only did I have to arrive home early in the morning, I still had to go to work because it was a Monday. I couldn’t even dare take the day off because it determined my future.

However, I carried on with a smile on my face even if I was very sleepy and could crash at any moment. The only thing keeping me awake was the constant chatter in my ear. I had accompanied the assistant manager on this trip and boy, was she a talkative.

None of that mattered though. I was going to get promoted at work and that kept me going. My friends and I had made plans already. After today, I wouldn’t be just a sales associate. I would take over the position of the woman beside me.

It was her last day at work. I didn’t know what she planned for her life after this but I didn’t dare ask. Knowing her, she would say everything, including the details I didn’t want to know.

I was more than delighted when the cab came to a stop in front of my apartment complex. I smiled at the woman beside me. “I’ll be on my way. See you when I see you.”

She laughed. “Good luck, Eliana. You’ll need it.”

My smile turned to a grin. The fact that she believed in me made me confident in myself. “Bye.” I was more enthusiastic after she wished me luck and the smile stayed on my face as I exited the cab and went to the trunk to get my suitcase. It was already bright out, which meant I had to rush to shower and get ready for work.

Releasing a breath, I walked inside the building, not surprised to see that the elevator was out of service as usual. It worked like two days per week and by now, I was used to climbing the stairs.

I made my way up the stairs, humming a familiar tune. I was exhausted from work, but I was in high spirits. Getting a promotion meant getting better pay. Bills were beginning to pile up ever since my boyfriend quit his job.

I couldn’t even blame him for quitting. He was being bullied at work and he complained about it every single day. I expected it to happen. I just didn’t expect it to happen when it did. I thought he was going to hold out for a while until he got a new job.

I let out a relieved sigh when I was finally on our floor. Dragging my legs, I reached the front door in no time. By now, he’d still be sleeping. Since he lost his job, he’d been sleeping for longer hours, only waking up after I was off to work.

When I opened the front door, I was surprised to hear noises inside, specifically from the kitchen, especially because his keychain wasn’t in the key holder I’d bought a few months ago. It was supposed to let me know if he was back home or not and it was cute since our key holders were halves of a home, but he thought it was stupid and didn’t take it seriously.

“Don’t worry about her.” I heard Harry say and made my way to the kitchen. For once, he was awake as early as seven. “I’ll take care of her.”

He must be on the phone. I stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt his conversation, and walked into the kitchen.

I came to an abrupt stop when I realized it wasn’t just Harry in there. There was another person, a woman, dressed in just a shirt. The shirt was familiar. I got it for him on his last birthday, but another girl was wearing it.

Too preoccupied with each other, they didn’t hear me come in. I closed my eyes briefly. Maybe I was seeing things out of exhaustion, but when I opened them again, the girl was still behind the stove and Harry was still behind her with his hands wrapped around her.

“When?” Her voice was whiny and it sounded like fingernails being scraped against a chalkboard. “You say this all the time.”

“Be patient, baby.” He kissed her cheek as she continued cooking. “She’s about to get promoted and I’m sure she has some savings. I’ll tell her I need some money. She’ll give it to me.”

Me. They were talking about me. I didn’t even know how to react. I couldn’t say I didn’t see it coming but I didn’t expect him to be shameless enough to bring his mistress into our house. Our relationship was slowly coming to an end, but that didn’t stop the dull ache in my chest.

I wasn’t just hurt. I was embarrassed.

He wasn’t just cheating on me. He was planning to take advantage of me as though he hadn’t been living off of me already.

When he started kissing her neck, I figured it was time to announce my presence. “I’m going to shower.” They sprung apart at the sound of my voice. Harry's face resembled that of a deer caught in headlights. “By the time I come out, I hope she’s gone.”

“It’s not what you think, Anna.” He started with the typical line as he approached me.

I held out a hand, making him halt. “No need to deny it. I already heard everything.” I smiled at the girl but there was nothing nice about it. “I’ll speed up the separation process so both of you can be together sooner. Would you like that?”

She didn’t respond. She couldn’t. She also looked embarrassed.

Good. She should be.

“Baby–“

“Don’t.” I spat out the word. He just called her baby and he wanted to use the same nickname on me. How could a person be so shameless? “Don’t bother. We’ll talk when I get back from work.”

I didn’t wait for either of their responses before I walked out of the kitchen, dragging my suitcase behind me.

I went into the room and I had to bite the inside of my cheek when I saw their clothes scattered around as well as condom wrappers. It was a bed we shared, but he brought in another woman. How long had he been cheating on me? Did she arrive as soon as I vacated for work? There were lots of questions running through my head, but I ignored them and took off my clothes, grabbing a fresh towel from the wardrobe.

When I exited the room, I could still hear their voices in the kitchen. I let out a bitter laugh. I had sent him a text, letting him know I’d be back this morning yet he still kept her in the house. If he was done with me, he could have just said it instead of cheating.

I tried to tell myself that I still had one good thing to look forward to this morning, but when I entered the bathroom, I couldn’t stop myself from crying in the shower. The hot water had run out already which meant they had used it this morning.

As the cold water ran down my body and tears streamed down my face, I couldn’t help but wonder what I was going to do after work.