“We broke up.”
I was dragging my suitcase out of the building when the high beams swept across me.
A brand-new car sat parked at the curb.
The window slid down, and Sarah let her gaze travel over my suitcase before raising an eyebrow with a smile.
“What's this, running away from home in the middle of the night?”
I smiled back.
“If I don't leave, how are you going to move in?”
Sarah pushed the door open and stepped out.
“Don't make it sound like I'm the one who came between you two. That's just sad.”
“Paddy chose to spend his money on me. What am I supposed to do about that?”
She paused deliberately.
“Honestly, you're kind of pitiful. You know that?”
“One time Paddy got drunk and told me that back then, if it weren't for the fact that I was the untouchable Fox family princess and he was just the poor kid they sponsored”
“if the gap between us hadn't made him too afraid to even try, he never would've settled for someone else.”
“So don't kid yourself that you were ever the real thing.”
“If I'd actually wanted to take him from you, you wouldn't have stood a chance.”
The night wind blew through, tangling my hair across my face.
Hearing all of this, I didn't feel the slightest bit of hurt.
All I felt was how absurd these five years had been.
I gave a faint smile.
“Then I wish you two a lifetime of happiness. Locked together for life.”
My reaction caught Sarah off guard. For a second she just stood there, and you could see it—that flash of irritation when a punch lands on nothing but air.
When she saw me turning to leave, she grabbed the strap of my suitcase.
“Wait. Who said you could leave?”
“You walk out and Paddy's still lying in that hospital. I'm not about to play nurse. You need to go take care of him.”
I looked down at her hand gripping the suitcase.
“Let go.”
Sarah didn't let go. Instead, she pulled out her phone and video-called Paddy.
“Paddy……did I make Carly mad again?”
“I just wanted to show her the new car, but she's got her suitcase and she's insisting on leaving. She won't even go to the hospital to see you. I tried to stop her, but……”
On the screen, Paddy's head was wrapped in gauze, his face pale.
After hearing what Sarah said, he didn't ask why I was standing on the street with a suitcase in the middle of the night. He didn't ask if I was cold.
He frowned, his voice weary and exasperated.
“Carly, what are you throwing a fit about now? We just talked on the phone and everything was fine.”
“Stop giving Sarah a hard time. Just get to the hospital.”
I stood in the night wind, about to turn around and walk away, when I suddenly remembered what my advisor had told me.
“The security clearance review for the Iceland polar project is strict. First thing tomorrow morning, you need to bring your passport and original ID to the department office to start the paperwork.”
And my passport, along with every important document I had, was with Paddy.
Because today was supposed to be the day we'd agreed to meet each other's parents and set a wedding date, then go to the clerk's office first thing tomorrow to get our marriage license.
I'd packed all my documents into one pouch last night, and it was in his overnight bag.
That bag was sitting on the nightstand beside his hospital bed.
I looked at Paddy on the screen.
“Fine.”
“I'm on my way.”
Half an hour later, I reached the third floor of the inpatient ward.
I was about to push the door open when I heard Karl's voice inside.
“Paddy, you really crossed a line this time.”
“That was the down payment you and Carly saved up to get married, and you blew all of it buying Sarah a car?”
“You stood up her parents today too. Aren't you worried she's finally had enough and actually leaves you for good?”
“Carly's been so good to you these past five years. All of us could see it.”
My hand froze in midair.
