"Ms. Sullivan, please don't fight with him over me."
"He's right. My work just isn't good enough. I've already turned in my resignation. Please review it when you have a moment."
Leigh walked into the ward with his eyes rimmed red, and as the last word left his mouth, the tears spilled over, his cheeks flushing again as he turned to look at me.
"Mr. Lyons, I swear I never meant to come between you and Ms. Sullivan."
A cynical smile touched my lips.
"You already have."
My gaze dropped to their arms, pressed close together, and I let out a soft laugh.
"Since you two are so into each other, just be together."
Leigh froze, then looked at Annette with a wounded face.
Her face darkened completely. When she spoke, her voice was full of anger.
"Oliver Lyons. You'll regret this."
She grabbed Leigh by the wrist and walked out without looking back.
She'd just reached the door when I called her back.
"Annette."
Her steps stalled, but her hand stayed wrapped around his.
"You've got ten hours. Move out of my place."
Early the next morning, the traffic officer called to say they'd found the driver.
I'm no good at handling things like that, so I left it all to a lawyer.
Kevin came to pick me up from the hospital. Once he heard how things had gone with Annette, he told me to come stay at his place.
I gave him a reassuring smile and asked him to take me home.
He gave me a pained look, and finally gave in.
I keyed in the code and opened the door. Her heels were still in the entryway.
I took out my phone, meaning to call Annette and get a straight answer, when one message after another from our mutual friends started coming in.
【Oliver! Heard you and Annette are getting married next Tuesday? Congratulations, man, ten years of dating and you're finally crossing the finish line. I'll definitely be there.】
【Congratulations! You're a lucky guy, landing a woman like Annie—sharp, capable, and gorgeous too.】
I stared at the phone, not following.
A wedding? Next week?
While I was still puzzling over it, Leigh came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of instant noodles topped with a fried egg and meatballs.
"Mr. Lyons... you're back?"
The moment he saw me his hand jerked, and the broth sloshed, part of it splashing onto his hand, the rest onto the rug.
Annette heard and came hurrying out of the bedroom, taking his hand and pulling him into the kitchen to run cold water over the red, swollen skin.
She never once glanced at the rug.
Annette had paid someone to bring it back from overseas last year.
She'd never let me eat snacks on it, never let me drink coffee near it, wouldn't even let me set a bare foot on it.
And now it was ruined.
But all she could see was Leigh's hand.
Kevin's eyes went red with fury. He wanted to charge in and settle it for me, but I shook my head, told him I'd handle it, and sent him on his way.
Two minutes later they came out of the kitchen.
I leaned back against the couch, looking at Leigh.
"Who told you that you could come into my home?"
Leigh flinched, shrinking back on instinct, his voice small.
"I'm sorry, my blood sugar dropped and Ms. Sullivan said I should come up and eat something. I didn't mean any of it—"
My eyes settled on the knitted slippers on his feet, and the cold crept into my voice.
He followed my gaze and rushed to explain.
"Ms. Sullivan gave me these slippers. I said the disposable ones were fine, but she said the floor was cold and to put these on for now—"
Annette stepped forward, putting herself in front of him.
"They're just slippers. Why are you scaring him like that?"
My throat closed. I let out a cold laugh, and my voice climbed.
"Just slippers?"
"Annette, my mother knitted those for me!"
"When she was dying, what did you promise her?"
My chest heaved, my eyes brimming.
No answer came. When I looked at her, her eyes were calm as still water.
I gave a bitter twist of my mouth, swallowed down the thing breaking loose inside me, and pointed at the door.
"Get out. This is the house my mother left me."
"Or I'm calling the police."
Annette didn't move. She pulled out a purchase contract and tossed it on the table.
"Leigh likes this place. I'll pay three times market value. It'll be our wedding home."
I stood frozen, barely able to believe my own ears.
It took me a long moment to understand what that message I'd just gotten actually meant.
When I said nothing, her tone stayed flat.
"If you'd rather not, that's fine."
"I can buy the unit across from you and have it done up exactly the same."
My phone buzzed. A message from Sheila Lawrence, Annette's friend.
【Oliver, don't listen to Annie's nonsense. This wedding business with the little assistant is just a stunt to force your hand. Don't take it seriously!】
【You two have been together ten years. You're a grown man, just humor her a little. You can't bring yourself to leave her anyway.】
I stared at the screen and felt only how absurd it all was.
In the end, under her astonished gaze, I signed my name.
Then I calmly packed up some of my clothes, booked a moving company on my phone to deal with the rest, and dragged my suitcase out the door.
Over the next two days, those mutual friends kept dropping wedding details to me, casually or otherwise.
I muted every thread and blocked them from my feed.
Tuesday morning, Kevin drove me to the airport and clapped me on the shoulder.
"When you make it big, remember to send for your boy."
I smiled and nodded.
Before I boarded, I took out my phone and sent Annette one last message.
【Happy wedding day. The ten years are yours.】
