Half an hour later, I met Vanessa at the coffee shop.
“What’s so important that you couldn’t say it over the phone? Why drag me here?”
“How long do you plan on driving Derek Wallace to and from work?”
“A bone takes about a hundred days to heal—at least three months.”
“Alright then, return the car. I’ll drive myself.”
The car Vanessa used belonged to me.
When she first saw me driving the Mercedes-Benz, her eyes lit up. She said she’d never driven anything that nice and wanted to try.
Eventually, she just took the keys and declared she’d be my full-time driver. So I let her have it.
“And why would I return it? So I can drive myself again?”
“My dad gave me that car for commuting. Since you’re not picking me up anymore, isn’t it fair I get it back?”
“Can’t you just take a taxi? You know I need to drive Derek. Why are you being so petty, Ethan?”
“Derek is like a brother to me. His foot’s injured. Isn’t it right for me, as his sister, to help out?”
“Last I checked, you’re an only child. When did you get a brother?”
“Besides, can’t he take a taxi too? And you’re about to get married. Is it really appropriate to drive your fiancé’s car just to shuttle another man around every day?”
I reached my hand out. “Give me the car keys.”
Vanessa pulled a face and stayed silent for a while. Then she sighed. “Fine, I won’t pick him up anymore. I wasn’t thinking. Don’t be mad.”
“That’s more like it.”
Later that night, Vanessa called me. “I can’t pick you up today. I’m helping a friend move.”
“Alright, just don’t be late tomorrow morning.”
After I hung up, I noticed Sophie leaning nearby, watching me.
“What are you looking at?”
“Is your fiancée using that as an excuse to go pick up her childhood sweetheart?”
“No way. She promised she wouldn’t.”
“You sure? Then what if she takes her childhood sweetheart home to care for him?”
“Ridiculous. Don’t be absurd.”
Even though I said that, a sliver of doubt crept in.
Later that night, I video-called Vanessa. “Are you home alone?”
“Of course. Who else would be here?”
“Then take your phone and show me around.”
“What, you think I’m hiding a man in here?”
She walked me through her small rental unit. Sure enough, it was empty.
I finally relaxed.
But just as I was about to sleep, a new post from Derek popped up in his Moments.
A selfie with the caption: “Moved into a new place.”
Behind him, the painting on the wall matched the one from mine and Vanessa’s new home exactly.
A sinking feeling hit me, but I told myself Vanessa wouldn’t go that far.
The next morning, Vanessa came to pick me up, and I asked casually,
“Who did you help move yesterday?”
“An old colleague. We were close at work, so I went over to help when he asked.”
“Really? What a coincidence—Derek moved too. Didn’t he ask for your help?”
“Did he? He never said anything. Maybe he just hired movers.”
She answered smoothly, so my doubts eased.
The weekend came. I bought a few decorations and asked Vanessa to come with me to the new house.
She clearly panicked for a second.
“Huh? Do we have to go? It’s scorching out. Let’s just stay home and watch a movie.”
“A movie? If you don’t want to go, I’ll go by myself.”
She quickly grabbed my arm. “Wait, how about this—I’ll treat you to that Japanese place you’ve been dying to try, and then we’ll catch a movie. My treat!”
