"He's not here."
"He promised to come help me look at the house today. I waited forever, and he won't pick up his phone." She craned her neck to peer inside. "Can I come in and wait for him?"
I stepped aside.
As she came in, her eyes swept over the entryway. Derek's shoes, his coat, his car keys—all there.
"Derek didn't go out today?"
"He did."
"But his keys are still here."
I didn't answer. I watched her settle onto the couch. She sat in the exact spot Derek had sat in last night.
Kitty seemed to sense something. She lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingers. "Ruby, don't get the wrong idea. There's really nothing between me and Derek. He's just helping me deal with the old estate."
"I know."
"It's just that—I only just got back, and I don't know my way around anything. He's the only one I can ask."
"Mm."
She lifted her head and looked at me, something I couldn't quite name in her eyes. "Derek's such a good person. If only I'd never left."
She said it lightly, but I understood her.
She was telling me that if she'd never gone abroad, I wouldn't be the one standing in this home.
I let it pass. The door opened in the entryway, and Derek came in. He saw Kitty sitting on the couch and froze in the doorway.
Kitty stood, her eyes going red again. "Derek."
Derek glanced at me, then at her. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't show, so I came myself." Her voice was thick with tears. "I wanted to see the renovation blueprints for the old estate. You said you'd show me today."
Derek pulled a document folder out of his bag and held it out. "The blueprints are here. Take them home and look them over."
Kitty took them, but didn't go. She stood there, looking at me, then at Derek, and bit her lip. "You two had a fight, didn't you? Because of me?"
Before Derek could say anything, I spoke first. "No. We never fight."
It was the truth. Three years, and we'd never so much as raised our voices. I used to think that proved how good we were together. Only now did I understand—it was because he simply didn't care.
After Kitty left, the living room was frighteningly quiet.
Derek stood there, hands in his pockets, not moving for a long while.
In the end, I was the one who spoke first. "You left your other phone at home. Kitty sent some messages. I saw them by accident."
His fingers twitched. He said nothing.
"Why did the two of you break up back then?"
A long silence.
"Her family wouldn't allow it. They sent her abroad."
"Did she leave you any word?"
"She did." Derek's voice was low. "She told me to wait for her."
"You didn't wait."
"I did. I waited two years. She never came back."
So then you found me.
I didn't say it out loud.
Derek lifted his head and looked at me. "Ruby, what was between her and me is over. I'll make it clear to her. I won't contact her again."
I looked into his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Then tell me—when you bought back the old estate, were you thinking of helping her, or were you keeping something of her for yourself?"
Derek opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
I had my answer.
"Let's get divorced."
Derek stood frozen.
"What did you say?"
"Divorce."
He stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a short laugh. "You're joking with me?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
Derek set down what he was holding and crossed to stand in front of me. "Over Kitty?"
"Not because of her." I raised my eyes to his. "Because of you."
