Chapter 3

James stood there, stunned.

"You're disgusted by me?" he asked, incredulous.

"I have to go out later tonight. I'm going to change clothes first," I said flatly.

I turned to go back to the bedroom. James tried to follow, but I closed and locked the door without hesitation.

"Fine! Emily, don't regret this!" James seemed truly angry now. After spitting out these harsh words, he kicked the door hard and stormed off.

When I came out of the room, the living room was empty.

James had posted a message in the company group chat, saying he wanted to treat everyone to dinner and asking who wanted to join.

Everyone remained silent.

Only Mia sent three "excited" emojis in quick succession.

I knew James was deliberately trying to provoke me.

This had happened many times before. Every time, it was the same - other colleagues were reluctant to participate, with only Mia showing enthusiasm.

In the past, I would have been jealous and insisted on going along, only to be mocked by them.

Now, I couldn't be bothered.

I changed my clothes and went to see the apartment I was planning to rent. After confirming everything was okay, I paid the deposit right away.

Then I contacted a real estate agent to help me sell the current house.

However, although I had bought this house and had personally overseen all the renovations, I had put James's name on the property deed.

Back then, James and I barely had any money between us. To give James a sense of security, I had used up all my savings to buy this house.

Now that the company had grown to its current scale, I guessed this house probably didn't even catch James's eye anymore.

The agent told me that if I wanted to sell the house, James would need to be present. If he couldn't make it, he would at least need to sign a power of attorney.

I had no choice but to message him again.

But when I sent the message, a red exclamation mark appeared in the chat window.

He had blocked me.

It had been like this before too. When we fought to the point where it seemed irreconcilable, James would angrily block me.

Worried about his safety, I would sometimes borrow someone else's phone and humbly call him, begging him to add me back.

And he would ask me from the other end of the line, in a high and mighty tone, if I had realized my mistakes.

Now that I think about it, I can't count how many times I said things against my will just to appease him.

After some thought, I still decided to call him.

"Come back tonight. There's something I need to discuss with you," I said.

"What is it? I'm very busy," James replied, his voice cold.

I pressed my lips together. "We'll talk when you get back."

James let out a cold laugh. "You push me away when you want to, and now you expect me to come back just because you say so? Emily, do I owe you something? Is this how you apologize?"

"Have I been too good to you lately? Have you forgotten how to apologize properly?" he taunted.

Hearing his sarcastic tone, I still lowered my voice as I used to: "I'm sorry. I was wrong."

After all, I had already apologized insincerely so many times, once more wouldn't hurt.

Moreover, this apology would get me a house.

Even though the house was mine, if James really wanted to make trouble and refused to sign, I wouldn't be able to sell it.

Even with proof of my investment, I would still have to go to court.

James could afford to make a fuss, but I couldn't.

Sure enough, after hearing my apology, James's tone became more pleasant. He magnanimously said, "Wait for me then."

With that, he hung up the phone.

My inner calm remained unbroken. I listed the house on a website, deliberately lowering the price considerably to sell it quickly.

After doing all this, I contacted Sophie and signed the contract.

Sophie was extremely excited, repeatedly asking me if she was dreaming. She even specially arranged a celebratory dinner for me.

I had planned to go home early, but then I thought that James probably wouldn't be back for a while anyway. There wasn't much to do if I went back too early, so I agreed.

After a few drinks, when I went to the restroom, I heard a familiar voice coming from the adjacent private room.

I instinctively stopped in my tracks.

Through the slightly open door, I saw Mia nestled in James's arms. I don't know what they said, but James's previously cold face broke into a smile.

Seizing this opportunity, Mia quickly leaned in and kissed him on the lips.